There's a relatively new tapas bar in downtown Kansas City Saturday night. One of the top meals I've had this year; simply phenomenal. It's called JP Wine Bar and Coffee House and they do flights of wine in addition to wonderful small plates of food.
We were with a big group; as a result we got to try nearly everything on the menu, probably ten different small plates. All but one (crab cakes, which were just okay) were wonderful. Coffee-crusted tenderloin, lamb chops served over lamb stew, salmon over beets, scallops...it was great.
Word has it that the former Otto's in downtown Columbia is set to become a tapas bar. If it is half as good as JP I'll be a happy and frequent customer.
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I guess I have kind of a beef with tapas restaurants in the US and that's that in Spain tapas equals bar food. It's a cheap night out and much less expensive, generally, than ordering entrees in a full-service restaurant in Spain. I find it irritating that the food-for-the-people vibe has been ignored as tapas has become trendy in the U.S.
Though I've never been to Spain, I do see your point. My main experience to tapas has been at Washington, D.C.'s excellent Jaleo (www.jaleo.com) and the now-empty husk of what used to be 100 King (which stopped doing tapas and started sucking).
The tapas at each of these places were indeed less expensive than at JP in Kansas City, but they were also smaller portions. Each diner would need to order, say 3-4 tapas each versus 2-3 at JP. I didn't mind - it let you try more things - but it balances things out a little bit.
That said, it remains to be seen whether people in Kansas City are going to pay 12-15 bucks for small plates.
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