Food Review

Westport

Flea Market

817 Westport Road

The words "flea market" always make me think of a flea circus. You know those books where fleas are trained to do back-flips and jump through flaming hoops and people pay to see it?

Westport Flea Market is a circus in its own right. It's not just some random name - flea markets line the building. They provide a place for customers to buy jewelry or pictures of people they don't know. There is an arcade room and a dart room.

To walk into the restaurant for the first time and not be overwhelmed is an accomplishment. It was busy both times I went. No one greets you at the door. No sign tells you whether to seat yourself or to wait to be seated - you seat yourself. There was just a line going from the bar to the back of the dining room.

This line is where you order food. When your order is up, a cheeky announcer calls your name. He makes each name stand out in a different way.

Westport Flea Market advertises the best burgers in Kansas City. The restaurant gets its meat from McGonigles - one of the few real butcher shops in the city.

On our first trip to Westport Flea Market, Nick, Adrian and I ordered burgers. There are two kinds of burgers: the mini market burger, $5.99, which is five-and-a-half ounces, and the flea market burger, $7.99, which is 10 ounces.

The burgers are greasy, be forewarned of this. The meat is good, but it didn't stand out in any way. The curly fries are fine; they have no kind of seasoning on them so you don't have to worry about having a sodium-induced heart attack.

Of course, they messed up my burger. They put American cheese on it instead of cheddar. Yes, I am a cheese snob. I can't stand American cheese and taking one bite of it made me gag.

The second time I went, Laura and Nadine accompanied me. I got the veggie lovers panini, $6.79. It has three different kinds of cheese, onions and bell peppers. Nadine got the Fritz's smoked hot dog, $4.99. Laura got the BLT, $7.29, with a quarter pound of bacon. Laura also got onion rings, $1.50, and I got a chocolate cupcake, $3.

The best thing I had was the cupcake. My panini was disgusting. It was greasy, falling everywhere and the peppers tasted pickled. The cupcake, however, was orgasmic. It was like going on vacation and finding out your flight is cancelled - then getting to spend more time on the beach.

Both times my compadres liked their choices. Adrian and Nick thought the burger was fantastic. Nick told me after one bite it was "the best burger, hands down." This may be a time where I'm too picky, but others will love the place.

There are many more reasons to go to Westport Flea Market. For starters, two-for-one Tuesday. After 5 p.m. on Tuesdays you can get two burgers for the price of one. On Wednesday at 7 p.m. you can play trivia there. On Mondays, there is always live music with $3.50 margaritas and Bloody Marys. It's always a fun place to hang out, and the menu is big enough to give anyone what they want.

But enough about that. This is my last food review of the semester, so I wanted to share a good tip with everyone. The Pitch has coupons for restaurants. I just found this out. Look at all those little ads for places to eat carefully. This week I found a coupon for $5 off a meal at Korma Sutra.

Enjoy your dining this summer, and if you get any ideas for places to review, e-mail me.

jburche@unews.com