Well Fed Network

Posted by Chris Perrin on Well Fed on the Town

There has been a recent trend in Midwest restaurants over the past few years, which, for lack of a better term, can be called hybrid restaurants.  These restaurants combine the affordability and pace of fast food with the quality of a nice sit-down restaurant.

These hybrid restaurants come in all shapes and sizes and offer many different types of cuisine.  Perhaps the most successful hybrid to date has been Pei Wei, which offers the same approach towards quality and taste that its parent, P.F. Chang’s, has, but the food is done very quickly and cheaply.

Still the hybrid phenomenon is not limited to national chains.  In Kansas City, Cupini’s has opened several locations, all of which use this same successful formula.  They offer a very full menu, reasonably priced, and the food comes out fast.

Recently, I had the opportunity to eat at their Lee’s Summit location, which on first glance was really nothing to write home about.  The interior was definitely no frills.  There were no checkered tablecloths, candles, or even dark lighting, just basic tables and metal chairs.  No menu could be found except for writings on a chalkboard.  There was not even a wait staff because drinks were self-service.

What Cupini’s did have was a fifteen foot cold case full of desserts and starters including spaghetti squash, bruschetta, stuffed zucchini, chicken and eggplant parmesan, coconut cake, tiramisu, and the Zuccotto, a raspberry/citrus cake.  The chalkboard menu, while not fancy, had many different hot and cold paninis from the Italian beef to the meatball to the Roman and The Gangster, as well as lasagnas, pizzas, and raviolis so good the Neelys visited Cupini’s on their show Road Tasted with the Neelys.

For our first visit, we went a little crazy ending up with stuffed zucchini, the Mediterranean panini, spaghetti squash with marinara, the Adriano pizza, and a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs.  It was all amazingly good, due in no small part to Cupini’s fantastic marinara which was just a little salty and blessed with a kiss of basil and garlic.  The marinara was a major flavor component on the squash, the zucchini, and the pizza.

The Mediterranean panini was full of vegetables and dressed with a delicious garlic hummus.  The pizza was loaded with cheese and piled high with portobellos, eggplant and zucchini.  The odd thing about the zucchini was that it had not been precooked before the pizza went into the oven which I thought I was going to dislike because of the difference in texture.

Still, I tried it and my trust in Cupini’s chefs was well placed.  The zucchini had cooked long enough to soften so the texture difference was not as drastic as I had feared and actually it made the mouth feel each bite of pizza interesting.

So despite it’s less than impressive appearance and the hybrid restaurant ambiance, Cupini’s has very tasty food, an incredible diversity, and it was all very affordable.  The most expensive dish on the menu was the pizza and it was less than ten dollars.

Next time we go back, I am going to be hard pressed not to try some of their nationally famous ravioli, but it is going to be hard not to get that pizza again.  Maybe I’ll go with friends and make them get the ravioli so I can order the pizza and share from their plate.  Make a hybrid meal of my own.