Apologies about the tardiness of this installment. As most of you know, I am a very important business man, with many business meetings that keep me very busy.
Ninfa's Tortillas & Taqueria
964 Kansas Ave, Kansas City, KSFacade: Very Good. It's charming. Nice little awning, faded red paint, cinder block / Morton building exterior. I'll tell you what, I bet that Ninfa's favorite bird is a Cardinal, and so they were like "hey, let's put a freaking Cardinal on the side of the building, because it's Ninfa's favorite bird!" Done deal, Cardinal on the side of the building, rest is history.
Décor/Ambience: Excellent. The festive orange paint and open view of the kitchen are fun, but the best part of the decor is in the form of the bright bluw Parkay squeeze bottles on every table. If you haven't been here before, they are the first thing you notice....and immediately ask yourself "what the eff is that all about?"
Service: Very Good. They were all very nice. Our waitress had a camo K-State hat. No joke. She said her Dad owned the joint, and so her grandma must be Ninfa or something. Not really sure.
Food: Good. Ninfa's might as well be called "Gringo Steve's Tex Mex Restaurant, with a couple of Authentic things." Maybe they have off-menu stuff that I am not aware of, but most of that menu is straight Jose Pepper's. Flour tortilla's are given early in lieu of chips, with a puree salsa that is pretty similar to the salsa at El Pollo Rey. Everyone sort of loads them up with Parkay and/or salsa and munches on them before the food arrives. The tamales are authentic, and very good...they are the only thing that saves this place from being thrown off the list for being too Tex Mex. You can buy them in bulk as well. The crispy fried flour tacos looked decent, but are California style and don't really belong on this list. I was just turned off by all the flour tortilla items. Flour tortilla's are not too common in Mexico, seems like Ninfa sold out to the Flour Man. They serve breakfast all day, which is nice. However, another person at my table ordered the Huevos Rancheros and the eggs were burnt to a crisp and all brownish all over. How the eff do you ruin eggs?