Novel restaurant–Special Sunday evening Tasting Menu

Written By: Mary Bloch - Aug• 10•15

I’ve been saying to anyone who will listen that Kansas City is becoming one of the country’s great food cities. We don’t have the volume of restaurants that one finds on either coast, but we have some very talented chefs who are offering up incredibly creative and exciting fare. My recent dinner in the kitchen of Novel, with Chefs Ryan Brazeal and Jessica Armstrong reaffirms that belief.

Chef Ryan and General Manager Richard Garcia have started offering a special 18 course tasting menu once a month, on Sunday evenings when the restaurant is typically closed. A table is set up in the kitchen, and ten lucky people get to watch the chef meticulously prepare every course. Once each diner is served, Ryan gives a short description of what is on the plate and how it was conceived. Almost all ingredients are locally sourced, and a nod is given to each grower. Richard pairs each course with a beer or wine selection, all of which you can count on being conversation starters.

Aside from the complex flavors, textures and stunning creativity, what impressed me the most about the evening was how incredibly organized it was. With so many courses to plate and serve, there could have been a long lag between them, but there was a lovely flow to the evening from start to finish. Everyone was served at the same time, the pace of the dishes was perfect, clean wine glasses arrived in a timely fashion, our water glasses were never empty, and there was a general calm in the kitchen that was quite extraordinary.

Here’s a photographic lineup of each dish. Feast your eyes and then get yourself on Novel’s mailing list so you, too, can sign up and participate in one of these incredible dinners.