Three O'Clock in the Morning: Restaurant review: in•gre•di•ent

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Restaurant review: in•gre•di•ent

Trying to break the monotony of lunch spots in south OP, I took my Supermodel Wife to the new Park Place strip mall at 115th and Nall.

We ended up, after my awesome parallel parking job, at in•gre•di•ent, a fancy new local joint with a second location in Lawrence.

in•gre•di•ent, 11563 Ash Street, Park Place @ 117th and Nall, Leawood

It's a great lunch spot with nice terrace seating as well as a clean indoor dining room. The atmosphere was contemporary with a walk-through ordering process, very much like an upscale, more contemporary version of Jason's Deli.

For lunch I had the daily special -- the Sicilian Melt with a side of tater chips. The sandwich was spicy and excellent, with generous portions of salami, pepperoni and provolone laced with tomatoes, pepperoncini and a pepper sauce all on ciabatta bread.

I especially liked the ciabatta, which was nice and chewy, the way I like my artisan (or as I say, "artisanal") bread.

My Supermodel Wife had the half-pizza and half-Caesar salad lunch combo. By all accounts, the pizza (Alfredo chicken) was excellent if a little too cheesy for her taste. The salad was good, although according to the missus, was a little heavy on the dressing.

Service was quick and friendly. We arrived early enough to beat the lunch rush, but there is definitely a lunch rush so be prepared to wait in line if you get there after 11:45.

Overall, it's nice to have a good lunch spot that isn't a chain restaurant. I felt good about supporting a local business and I also am a big fan of their tipping policy, which I think says a lot about the management of the place:

In order to maximize the value you receive from your visit to Ingredient, we do not allow tipping.

Instead of tipping, should you feel the need, we recommend one of the following: Give a few dollars to charity...Say Hello to a stranger...Pet a dog...Perform a random act of kindness...Put a quarter in a parking meter you see that is expired...Do something nice for yourself!