gram & dun

this was a wonderful place for dinner with friends. drinks were great, food was delicious, and for a seemingly smallmenuthere were good options. ambiance was great and staff were super friendly. i ate off of our whole table's plates and everything was delicious.

we had a very nice brunch. our server was very attentive and helpful with themenu the bnb was very good but needs more gravy. chicken and waffle was also very good. the bloody mary's looked amazing but didn't have one. we would definitely go back.

good food, even though it there wasn't as big as a selection as i had hoped. themenuhas changed a little since it was posted on here. however, the pig wings were delicious. the service was slow though, not our waiter, our waiter was wonderful and honest about what he liked. i think when they get busy the kitchen must get backed up a little, still worth it though. it's also a little loud in there, not a place to go for a quiet, romantic dinner. overall, i enjoyed it despite the few complaints.

great evening. went to g&d for our anniversary and it was a great evening. they seated us in a nice section which we had requested (we had made reservations). when we arrived at the table, there were two flutes of complimentary champagne from g&d. themenuis very diverse and you really can't go wrong on what you order. server was busy but still very attentive to our needs. thanks g&d for helping make our anniversary celebration a special one!

we started with the croque madame fondue an ahhhhmazing dish of brioche bread slices, fried egg, country ham all swimming in a gruyere fondue, talk about decadent and rich, matt and i both agreed it would be a perfect brunch dish but we were sure glad it was on the appetizermenubecause it was one of our favorite things of the night. we both had a salad, i went for the g&d small salad and matt

unfocused. i've been to g&d a few times now, weekday lunches and two weekend dinners, and would like to give hearty approval. can't do it. lovely as the decor is and though the stone and earth tones seem to promise a relaxed and woodsily elegant ambience, the actual experience in the dining room is like being thrown around in a dinghy in a storm. loud, with a hectic edge. overall feel is of a corporate theme restaurant. themenutries way too hard to be eclectic and interesting, and many dishes are just overly complicated and overworked. staff have been generally pleasant at first approach but get hurried at presentation and then inattentive until it's time to flog the dessert menu. my standard for a plains state "gastropub" experience was the now-defunct argyle in denver. maybe this plaza location dictates a faux glam program, but the execution here leans more to the faux side. on the plus side, the bar turns out a nice range of house cocktails, the patio is nice and - most important - it's not seasons 52.

we really enjoyed our experience at gram & dun despite the long wait. our server more than made up for it in her extensive knowledge of themenuand her genuine engagement with us. it is nice to see an establishment with a fresh concept on the plaza. this location is prime real-estate and i always thought this was the best patio on the plaza.

bread & butter concepts' best yet. i had the opportunity to try gram & dun for the first time last night, and this is easily the best execution of the bread & butter concepts family (brgr and urban table being the other two) yet. i was blown away by the service on many levels--the host station being able to come find me and my party in the hopping (and crowded) bar area, with only the initial interaction upon which to identify me. i loved the fact that our server was able to talk knowledgeably and at-length about the variousmenuoptions, and i enjoyed the fact that the runners had no trouble pairing the correct diners with the correct dishes. all these things are subtle, but are often lost at restaurants that aren't on the same level as the american, michael smith, bluestem, etc... now, i'm not saying that g&d isn't on that level, but it is certainly less expensive than those other options. another major plus in my book.

the food and drinks were excellent. we, upon recommendation from our server, tried the not-so-standard potato chips, which were essentially chip-shaped fries that came with three unique and incredibly tasty ketchups: guacamole, vanilla bean, and blood orange-habañero. each had the distinct flavor for which they were named, but were still distinctly ketchup in nature. we also each sampled a different salad--i had the shaved brussels sprouts, which was very good, but i think a gentle cooking/searing of the brussels before shaving them would have really made the flavor explode. as it was, it was just a very good salad.

the highlight of the night was easily the main course. mrs. foodiophile sampled one of the evening's specials--a pan-roasted halibut dish with spinach and carrots that looked excellent. so excellent, in fact, that i sampled the fish and it was cooked perfectly; a nice crispy carmelization on the outside, while remaining moist and succulent inside. i was tempted to order it myself, but ended up being glad i went with the sweet tea braised pork shoulder that came with lemon rocket and a cornbread stuffing.

speaking of my choice, i had been debating between the pork shoulder and the other night's special (a rabbit sausage) but went with the pork, again upon recommendation from our server. she said it would "fall apart", and she wasn't lying or exaggerating. in fact, i ate the entire thing with nothing but a fork, and at times had a hard time getting the food into my mouth because i couldn't get it onto my utensil without the meat melting apart when i would try to skewer it with the tines of the fork. before the food arrived, a runner brought me a nice, big steak knife, which i can only imagine is done to accent just how ridiculously tender the meat was. it's almost as if they bring it to say "you won't need this". the cornbread stuffing was delicious, with sausage lending an earthy, smoky flavor to it, but the star of the dish was the play of flavors between the pork shoulder and the lemon rocket. upon eating the two components together, the lemon dressing and the sweet tea marinade combined to impart the feel of an iced tea with lemon. it was an incredibly successful dish and i will be hard-pressed the next time i return to try something new instead of getting the pork shoulder again.

we wrapped up with dessert--the strawberry shortbread--and it was good, but nothing amazing. it's entirely possible that it just didn't come up to the lofty standard established by the pork shoulder. perhaps next time we'll have to try the gram & dun bar, which i've heard from several people is exceptional.

i have a feeling that g&d will be a staple on the plaza for a long time to come. well, at least i hope it will be.

update

i had to come back and modify my review to rave about one of the house cocktails at gram & dun: the smoking dun. the thing that really sets this off is the smoked ice cube that imparts a subtle but hauntingly tasty smokiness to the drink without being overpowering. if you are the type who likes artisan cocktails, try the gram & dun.

they finally hit it out of the ballpark. i've been waiting for this local group to come up with a concept that sends it over the top and they have finally done it. i like every thing about the other two restaurants but the food is just good and not great. finally, last night at gram & dun i had my great meal, and like both of the other restaurants, the atmosphere and service were top notch. our server last night was ted and he went out of his way to assure our comfort and satisfaction in a prompt manner-almost as if we were his only table-which we were not.
let me talk about this fine dinner, the 5 of us started off with the asian pig wings which i highly recommend-however they are served with a sauce that will have an after burn like a coal furnace so beware, however a wing without the sauce would just not be the same. friends had scallops, pork chops and catfish sandwich, while i had the catfish dinner. mind you, i say i hate catfish because it is usually prepared so awful. it sounded so good on themenuthat i had to try it and i was not disappointed!!! catfish as good as mad jack's on troost and that is a supreme compliment!!! then, the sides of mashed potatoes and collard/mustard greens and a side of two sauces, butter and hot sauce, was perfect-just perfect. you have got to try this place-but make a reservation-they are uber busy.

great food, but crowded. went to gram and dunn on the evening of feb 18. i had heard good buzz about the location and food. of course, it was crazy to find a parking space anywhere close on a saturday evening on the plaza. fortunately, the food was worth the parking hassle, though, the restaurant was crowded. i had the garlic bread appetizer and shrimp po boy and was impressed with both (and i was born and raised in south louisiana). special recognition for the fries, which, were obviously homemade and delicious. i sat in the bar and would recommend reserving a table, especially on busy evenings. i plan to go back soon, as most, if not all, of themenulook great.

owners, alan gaylin and glynn & jean roberts, poured some serious money into the overhaul of this space and the gorgeous outdoor patio, thus bringing kc another great locally owned restaurant to our beloved plaza. executive chef bradley gilmore has created a rustic, comfortingmenufull traditional southern dishes with a twist.

gram & dun. i was unsure about this place, but not having a say in the dinner plans, i dutifully joined my party here the other night for a group dinner. the ambiance of the establishment was welcoming and decor well chosen. our server was helpful, attentive and friendly. even with this good start being the case, nothing on themenusounded appetizing to me, and i was fearful that i'd end up dropping cash on a meal that was less than appealing. let me say now, i was sorely wrong. dishes ordered included the short rib grilled cheese, which was phenomenal, and the citrus-roasted chicken, which was also incredibly delicious. in addition, the sweet tea braised pork shoulder was ordered, though it was not nearly as good as the aforementioned dishes, the french onion dumplings, an utter disappointment, and the sangria salad, which was nothing special. overall, i was very surprised at the food that came from the kitchen, and would certainly recommend this to friends for a casual dinner.

fantastic addition to the plaza!. me and my wife ate here on friday night and i must say they did live up to our expectations. we walked in around 6:30 and asked for a table of 2, we were told that the wait was around 30 minutes and that if we wanted to provide them with a mobile number they would fire us a text message letting us know our table was ready. awesome, more restaurants need to do this. after our wait we walked back and were promptly seated, we started off with an oldfashoned and ginger rodgers off the libationsmenuand both drinks were top notch. i believe they used makers mark in the old-fashioned and they were not shy with the portion. other locations that charged 9$ for this same type of drink usually skimp but not these guys. both of my old fashions and "local" were made with plenty of top notch liquor! finally a place on the plaza where i feel i can get my moneys worth at the bar.

onto the food! we started off with the onion dumplings which where fantastic!!! one order(8$) came with 6 single bite dumplings, 8 seemed a little steep for what we got but they were so dang good i quickly forgot about the price. after that my wife ordered their boar sloppy joe and i ordered their cheese burger. i really shouldn't have ordered the cheeseburger but i figured with this place having brgr dna they would really knock this burger out of the park but i was wrong. i have been searching for a long time to find a burger that can top westside locals burger but none comes close. this burger while good was a bit dry and the bun to meat ratio was way to much in favor of the bun. even with those complaints i would put this burger as maybe 5th or 6th best in kc behind brgr. now onto my wife's sloppy joe, that thing was phenomenal! i hate sloppy joes, but this sloppy joe was done right, everything from the flavor of the meat, the sauce and the ciabatta bun was perfect! the chips that came with it were top notch as well, i would highly recommend this item to someone who loves sloppy joes, you will not be disappointed.

next was dessert, they must hire a wizard because our desert was nothing short of magical. we got the gram and dunn bar and a side of the candied yam ice cream. the gram and dunn bar is their version of a snickers and holy crap, it makes a snickers look like a tootsie roll. i was stuffed off dinner but had to make room for this because it was so amazing. the quality of all the components was top notch, you can really tell their pasty magician/chef took a lot of time making it perfect. now on to the ice cream, i think most people agree that christopher elbow or murrays ice cream hold the crown for amazing ice cream in kc. both have amazing flavors and quality. but this candied yam ice cream blew anything those locations have to offer out of the water and is seriously took me by surprise cause im a big christopher elbow fan. it was better than any candied yam you have had for thanksgiving/ christmas i can promise you that.

we will definitely be going back again! there were many things on themenuwe wanted to try and we have no doubt that they will be awesome!

gram & dun - disappointment. lured to g&d by their creativemenuand attractive, upscale decor. unfortunately the food was sub-standard. the sangria house salad was over drenched in vinaigrette. the blue-blond mussels were nice and plump but the broth was truly retched (extremely salty). the short rib grilled cheese was tasty with the exception of the main ingredient. the meat. it was grisly, chewy and practically inedible. our server described the handmade perogies as upscale nachos. turned out to be a bed of french fries tossed with melted cheese. ridiculously priced at $10. won't be back! not worthy of a second chance.

fun menu, great service. with our company in tow, we decided to try gram & dun, understanding they are a self-described "gastropub." having been a frequent patron at baja 600, the prior inhabitant of the space, i was pleasantly surprised at the new layout. the front door is now on pennsylvania (not through the patio as it was formerly). after seeing the crowd waiting to be seated, i am so glad we made reservations. we were promptly seated and given the libations menu. not a huge wine list, but what is there seems more than adequate. our dinnermenuarrived almost as soon as our drinks were delivered. my daughter had the catfish blt club sandwich, which came with a side of apple slaw. my husband had chicken fried quail and i had catfish with collard and mustard greens, served on a bed of mashed potatoes. the portion sizes were pretty much on target. my catfish was fried to perfection, accompanied by a grilled lemon half. we did go for dessert, with my daughter getting the pink peppercorn panna cotta and i helped myself to an ice cream trio and i chose the thin mint ice cream. it was a perfect ending to my meal. my daughter was very impressed with the server's knowledge that the pink peppercorn is a distant relative of the rose, and that it imparts a sweet, fruit-like quality to the panna cotta. there was always a server nearby, making sure our water glasses were never empty. we left satisfied, without feeling stuffed. considering the restaurant opened only four days ago, if there were any kinks, they must have worked them out the first night.