The Rieger Hotel Grill And Exchange

There is a great deal more than casual sophistication in the air at the Rieger... the aromas rolling from the open kitchen through the dining room make waiting exceedingly difficult. The staff is gregarious and conversational, and dedicated to YOUR experience being personalized. This is evident when you use the reservation services. The are forward in asking about the kind of table you have - special dietary needs, events or celebrations, even special requests. Loved that! The hostess stopped back by our table midway through our meal to make sure we were pleased. (Extra kudos for follow-up from the podium.) With my foodie companions in tow, we did our best to devour the menu - a poetically written love letter to their diners and impressively varied in ingredients. Sienna was our server, great smile, very engaging and she knew immediately by our immense order that the plates needed to be staggered and I suspect she served from light to rich on purpose. Clearly this girl is appreciated and not hated by the kitchen. A harmonious chain of plates and cocktail. Great job from a young woman who had full tables all night. She made us feel like we were the only diners in her section. What a lovely and knowledgeable young lady. The FOOD: Bass Crudo - sashimi cuts of sea bass with onion and sepia ink mayo. Light, delicate, fresh - a nice start to the meal. Black mayo is not a friend to the teeth- still delicious. ;) Shrimp Toast - I always order items that are well known, traditional selections, I feel the chef has the best opportunity to express himself in redefining a classic. This is not the Chinese food appetizer that you grew up on. Elevated and improved this was one of my favorites. The addition of black lime powder took the normal greasy/oily properties of the toast completely off the flavor profile. Then there are the accompanying pickled shrimp that I wanted to eat all by myself... Hell given the chance I would have robbed the kitchen and happily absconded to a land where I don't have to share. Don't fuck up your visit by forgetting to order this dish. Popovers - Goose fat version of Yorkshire pudding served with some serious brown gravy. Technically perfect execution. Gravy of the gods. Truthfully, I'm spoiled by the classic beef fat version, and though beautiful and a fun dish, I prefer the beef to the goose. Winter squash agrodolce - this was a complex dish with a lot happening. Good presentation, the squash bread with the egg yolk was tasty. Overall, not a table favorite, it had very stiff competition. Rosti - Leslie loved this - basically the most perfect hashbrowned/latke style potato ever - they had her at horseradish. Pork soup - This is one of the most commented on dishes at the Rieger. For good damn reason. It's rich and satisfying with an pleasing play between the melty comte' and the meaty, aromatic broth. The deeper the spoon dives into the bowl the more delicious pieces of confit pork you find. Confit in soup?!? The more of the meal I eat the more I think - Howard doesn't fuck around. Agnolotti - house made duck sausage folded into fresh pasta - every bite was so good I found myself closing my eyes to really enjoy it. As a special surprise, Sienna brought us a sampling of other menu pastas setting them down and saying simply "Chef thought you might enjoy these as well." That, my friends, is why the Rieger is one of the most notable destinations in the city. Carrati - compliments of the Chef - a blood sausage ragu with hand rolled, fresh pasta. WOW. Just WOW. I have to return to have a larger portion of this all to myself. Thanks to the kitchen for correcting my omission of this dish while ordering. Arrabiata - rigatoni in a smooth tomato sauce that starts with a hint of the sweetness of tomato and finishes with a warm but not overly intense heat on the back of the palate. Again technical perfection, and a palate satisfying vegetarian entree in a carnivore's playground. Rabbit - a whole fried rabbit, including some of the offal bits, mashed potatoes and smoky bacon gravy. Did I mention the house made bread and butter pickles? This is quite the presentation as it is served on a sheet pan in all it's chicken fried glory. Way too much food by the time it arrived. Succulent and crisp, the rabbit was lovingly raised and the flavor reflected intelligent and thoughtful sourcing of ingredients. There's a lot of gratitude in this building and you feel it as well as tasting it. I won't be the first or the last person to to tell you this is a gem in the KC dining community. Nor will I be the only one who tells you what a great date or occasion venue this is - I can only hope I am not alone in appreciating the contributions Howard Hannah is making to the culinary scene in our proud town. (Standing ovation in text) Well done, Sir.