Small, Simple, rustic, new age vibe with awesome food. Stopped here after having a horrifying experience at a close establishment where I left without eating the food. The coffee was amazing, the food was fresh and delightful and the atmosphere inviting. Would come back here very frequently if I lived in KC. Stop by, u will be glad u did.
Had lunch there. Wonderful experience. The food and coffee was great. Talked to a customer out front before I went in. Nothing but praise for the place. Good to know that a place like this is still around.
YJ's is as close as you can get to Berkeley in the Midwest. Excellent homestyle grub, eclectic people, and a distinctly bohemian vibe fuel your experience. Be aware, night owls: weekends they are open all night - though the drunk 3am influx can get noisy, yjs is often a great place to kick back and read, write or ruminate.
Eclectic with flavor. My wife and i were in K.C for a weekend. Like someone else had posted we saw this place on Diners, Driveins and Dives and were intrigued. The first day we had tilapia, redbeans and rice with a side of cornbread. it was GREAT. Went the next morning for the southern love breakfast. The gravy on the biscuits was the BEST i have ever had. The grits were point on. PLEASE move to Wichita i will soley suppost you for the rest of my days. We loved it. NOTHING in our cultural wasteland of a town icompares...
Great place to eat. My wife and I wanted something different, and being huge fans of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives decided on checking another off our list, so we went to YJ's. We were not disappointed, the tilapia, cornbread, fried pickles,and my personal favorite the red beans and rice were outstanding. We also tried two different desserts, a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting that had an orange taste and pecan pie. Again, both were outstanding. And inexpensive. We'll be back to try other things as the menu is different daily. Awesome place!!!
I visited YJ's for the first time tonight with my boyfriend and two close friends. Although the eatery is small the area seemed intimate and cozy rather than stuffy or over-crowded. The atmosphere is truly urban and just the right balance of intellectual and visceral.
There was just one guy working the overnight but he had everything well in hand and was kind in addition. They were serving "Home Cookin" tonight and it was a delicious plate of barbecue chicken, corn bread, mashed potatoes, corn and the best cheese pasta (Penne rather than Mac) I've ever had. The coffee wasn't half bad either and my boyfriend's Mocha was great. I'll definitely return!
YJ's Snack Bar. I am completely infatuated with YJ's. I've been several times, and will continue to return. Everything I've had has been delicious, and the coffee is wonderful. I love how the menu theme changes by the day of the week. I particularly enjoy the dirty rice that they offer. If I'm not in the mood for the daily menu item, I'll order a sandwich and salad, which never disappoints. The ingredients are always fresh and flavorful. I love this quirky little place.
Amazing Place. Love the atmosphere. I had Red Beans and Rice w/ breaded Tilapia... sooo delicious. Great coffee too. And have a slice of the cherry pie. You'll thank me later. Great place that I'll be back to.
Oh, yeah!. Eclectic just doesn't seem a strong enough adjective to sum up the diversity of this urban cafe. Home to the crossroads urban core artistic community, this little diner serves up some serious soul satisfying delights. My Southern Love breakfast of a fried egg in the middle of a piece of toast on top of grits, fried potatoes, and the yummiest southern, slightly-sweet, drop bisquit was to-die-for good! But, let's not stop there bcause the fresh baked goods in the bakery case beckoned me and I throughly devoured a wonderful piece of totally home-made perfect blueberry pie. But, don't stop there...finally it was all topped off with possibly the cities best iced mocha!!! This is a TINY restaurant so, please, please, please, don't go there so there's always room for ME!!!!!!
Like no other coffee place in KC. This is the kind of place where the beat poets would have composed their prescient ballads, where socialists and anarchists and communitarians and hippies and gays and pacifists and environmentalists and painters and musicians now come to drink coffee and write ballads of their own.
Btw if you're a fundamentalist Christian you can come too, it's a really cool place and the coffee is really good! The sandwiches are really satisfying as well.
Place is small and there is always nice music in the background whenever I go. I made it my goal to try every meal and the coffee is great!
Unbelievably good. A bit of a seedy atmosphere. They stick to minimum items on the menu and do an excellent job! Great coffee too.
Good, filling, and inexpensive food. Great locally-roasted coffee. Friendly staff and cozy spaces. What more can you ask for? If you like your eateries squeaky clean and character-free, look elsewhere. If you love a place with soul, look no further. I highly recommend the dirty rice on Tuesdays!
This place is the original eatery and coffee bar within the Crossroad District. I love going there, people watching, and meeting with friends while I have the dish of the day. The sandwiches are great, too. They always have the daily paper, great books and magazines, plus they have all the local shows and art gallery showings posted in the window.
I used to eat here weekly, years ago when I worked in the area. The only thing I didn’t like back then was the cramped space, but that was enough for me not to visit again for ten years, once I no longer had the excuse of work proximity.
I only today found out they moved, so I took my wife for a breakfast date to check out the new location. Wow! Everything I used to love, with none of the claustrophobia. It even still had the pleasant feeling of dropping in to visit someone who is always cooking for friends, a very welcoming experience that sets YJ’s apart. We will be back.
The food is always plentiful and very flavorful. They use a unique mixture of things to create unusual and very tasty dishes. Had the pork fajita today,was fantastic. Imagine all the ingredients tasting so good that you neither need or want to put salsa on it. That's what this was like.
Interesting bohemian hideway, with music playing that is anything BUT pop, lots of ephemera, and folksy decorations; Its more than snacks, but not a full on restaurant with a menu. There are snacks, hot beverages, cold beverages - even of the eclectic nature, but the real reason to visit is the Prix Fixe meal.
You get your choice of one meal, without substitutions, and its worth every penny. The plate is creative, savory, and of the quality you would pay much more down the street. Just check the chalkboard to see what is scheduled, and if it will appeal. I enjoyed a Caribbean fish plate with Curry vegetables, plantains, and more. Delicious!
Seating is limited to about 25, so large groups might over-run the place, and the regulars keep those seats filled much of the time.
Personally I think everyone should visit once. I'm sure you'll come back again.
Great 3rd world atmosphere with high ceilings lined with books and mini altars throughout the space.
This place is such a chill spot. I love stopping in while doing First Fridays. Their food is always delicious. Their prices are reasonable and its just a hip spot to people watch outside. This place is the core of the Crossroads Arts District and historical.
More bohemian than hipster, this unique coffeehouse serves a superior brew and has a daily lunch and dinner special with a homemade feel from a limited rotating menu. YJ's has been around nearly 100 years. The location is quite small and decorated creativity with interesting advertising. A hidden gem.
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