Culture in the Kitchen: Austrian, Ethiopian and Mexican restaurant in the area, each with its own traditional dishes

Grünauer

Kansas holds a melting pot of ethnic cuisines, ranging from authentic Mexican restaurants to Ethiopian cuisine and European dishes. I went out to sample a few.

My first stop was Grünauer — an Austrian restaurant located at the crossroads of Kansas City, Missouri. It’s the number-one-rated Austrian spot in Kansas, according to Yelp.

Walking inside, the sounds of faint jazz music, a painting of a coffee bean wearing a Turkish Fez hat and a steaming Schnitzel being served to a table made me eager to see what Austrian cuisine had to offer.

Austrian cuisine encapsulates many different countries: coffee from Turkey, roasts and sausages from Germany and the staple dish of Schnitzel — thinly sliced pork that is breaded and fried — thought to have originated from Italy.

My appetizer of Frittatensuppe was an $8 soup made from beef broth stock, garnished with a cut-up crepe and thinly sliced chives.

The stock just didn’t add anything — I was just eating a wet, soppy crepe in salty water. I wished the beef stock offered something more than a salty broth, because it felt incomplete without accompanying meat, and left me wanting more.

The redeeming element of the soup was unlike a heavy cream-based soup, the Frittatensuppe’s light stock left me eagerly anticipating the main course, Mailälander Schnitzel — $25. This is a parmesan-breaded Duroc pork Schnitzel topped with lemon caper sauce and served with Panzanella salad.

When it comes to Schnitzel, there isn’t much variety — it’s breaded pork. But the flavor that the soup lacked was made up by the savory lemon sauce served on the schnitzel. It had a smooth, oily texture with a sharp bite from the lemon and capers, making it the dish’s standout element. The Panzanella was just as delicious because all of the vegetables were pickled and offered an even more tart flavor.

Blue Nile

Nestled off of 5th and Broadway, Blue Nile offers a rich and ethnic dining experience of Ethiopian cuisine where patrons eat without utensils.

In traditional Ethiopian fashion, Blue Nile provides injera bread — a sour fermented pancake-like flatbread with a spongy texture — instead of forks and knives.

I ordered three vegetables and two meat dishes which cost $18.

The first vegetable was Gomen, a dish of sautéed collard greens. It’s prominent in many cultures, but I’ve always had the problem of the dish being over-salted whenever I ordered it. I finally found a place that leaves them bland instead of on the verge of giving you a heart attack.

Then I had the Misir Watt, a lentil stew that showcased the art of slow-cooking. Earthy lentils, aromatic spices and a velvety texture created a blend that had me savoring each injera-encapsulated bite. Next came the Atikeltt, offering a comforting and hearty addition to the Ethiopian culinary ensemble. It’s made from diced carrots, potatoes and cabbage, each retaining its distinct taste while being elevated by the medley of spices that are mixed in.

For the meat, I got Doro Watt and Tibbs Watt. Doro Watt is a spicy chicken that’s slow-roasted and infused with a robust berbere spice blend. The Tibbs Watt is cooked in the same way, except it’s red meat. Whether beef, chicken or a combination, each piece has a smoky char that complements the spices and pairs well with the sour texture of the injera.

Blue Nile showed the beauty of the cultural exchange of Ethiopian cuisine. Its diverse array of spices and cooking techniques introduced me to a world of flavor as well as a new way of eating food.

San Antonios

Although Carnerica y Torterilla San Antonios is a grocery store off of Kansas Avenue and 10th Street, it’s still home to the best tacos in the city, being recognized by magazines, like Forbes, for having some of the best tacos in the city.

On my recent monthly visit, I ordered two Lengua tacos and two Pastor tacos, for only $10. These authentic tacos are served in corn tortillas without any cheese, but who needs cheese anyway? The meat’s rich, spicy flavor would only be buffered with the addition of a bland cheese.

The Pastor pork is vertically spit-roasted, making it very juicy and flavorful, but the Lengua is beef tongue — some of the best tasting meat I’ve ever tried despite where the meat comes from.

For toppings, my favorite combo is onions, lime juice, cilantro and their “mild” salsa for texture.
Despite the mild title, this salsa has a kick and is much more flavorful than the watered down tomato paste that is served at many Tex-Mex restaurants.

The taste was delectable — the tender meat, the heat of the salsa and the piquant addition of the cilantro and lime juice all come together to leave your mouth on fire, yet still wanting five more tacos.