Will Work for Blanc

During this past weekend, I made my second voyage to Blanc, a burger restaurant in Westport.

Now, I know that most readers of this blog don’t live in Kansas City and have rare occasion to visit.  But if you’re ever in town, go to Blanc. As many times as your time/budget/stomach allows you to.

Blanc’s slogan is “Burgers and Bottles,” which seems simple enough.  The menu has about 10 different types of inventive burgers.  There’s an inside-out burger, which is stuffed with bleu cheese; a pepper-encrusted au poivre burger; a freakin’ meatloaf burger; a pulled pork burger topped with spicy coleslaw; a bison burger; and, of course, your regular classic burger.  There’s also a Kobe burger for you high-rollers, if you’re into that.

The bottles part comes from their menu which features dozens of different kinds of sodas and other fizzy drinks, and — for the lushes out there — more than 110 kinds of beers from all over the world.  All in bottles.

One my first trip, I tried the au poivre burger, which was perfectly cooked and had just the right amount of heat from the pepper.  My second trip, I settled on the pulled pork burger, which has perfectly-seasoned, slowly-braised pork that fell apart upon eating.  You know, in a really, really good way.  I imagine my next stop at Blanc will probably lead me to the inside-out burger, which is apparently their most popular menu item.

In addition to the incredible burgers, Blanc does the little things well.  Its name ties to its minimal decorating scheme, which has plenty of white and brick, in a sort of Mac-inspired hipness.  They use a local bakery for their buns, along with Shatto, a local milk company.  And their milkshakes feature Foo’s Fabulous Frozen Custard, which is outstanding.  Blanc also makes in-house its own ketchup, mustard and chipotle aioli sauces for dipping.

Did I mention that the fries are incredible?  On top of that, Julie’s sister, Anne (a great cook in her own right), had the onion rings, which she called “the best I’ve ever had.”  I tried one and also thought it was great; and I don’t even really like onion rings.

In a desperate attempt to stop the gushing of this review, and seem balanced, I tried to find negatives to the restaurant.  I pretty much failed.  Certainly, Blanc is a little pricier than some burger places — expect to pay $8-10 for an ala carte burger — but it’s hard to not feel like it was worth it after you roll walk out of there.

So, in short, go.  Eat.  Enjoy.  Thank me later.

Tags: blanc, food, Kansas City