Grinders

This place is super awesome and laid back. The servers are super cool and nice. I had the Reuben with jalapeño sauerkraut and I haven’t had a better Reuben anywhere else. Also be sure to get the smoked Gouda potato casserole, you won’t regret it.

My daughter and I loved this funky restaurant. I ordered ‘Goldberg «Phats“‘, which is a pesto sauce topped with smoked salmon, capers, and cream cheese pizza, and couldn’t believe how good it was. My daughter ordered a South Philly Cheese Steak. We were also there on Thursday, when they have a 3 for $ 1 tacos and those were amazing as well. The server was patient and sweet and so was the rest of the staff. The restaurant has a nice vibe and their menu is unique and so good. I cannot wait to visit this place again.

If it wasn’t for the food, this place would go out of business. Folks that work there are rude. This may be their «style»… But I won’t go back.
The concert venue is ran by a bunch of kids. I asked if I could go outside and they said «no re-​entry». Then… Watched a gal re-​enter. 2 sided rules but it was no problem fooling the idiots running the door once we walked out… Removed our arm bands… Walked back in… Re-​installed arm bands and finished the show. If you like being treated like crap, this is a great place to go. Would have been 1 star but I gave em 2 because they have a good Philly. Bye bye Grinders!!!

Awesome food with great service! You can’t beat that! We had a great waiter, John F. He made great suggestions for our lunch, we had the West Club and the California BLT. Both were awesome with sweet crispy bacon and you choose between bread or wraps! I loved both equally! Sides were a house salad, and the tomato /​cucumber salad. Again so good! Get here quick though, the place fills up fast! I will be back for sure!

I have visited this place a few times and the food is always great! Great vibe and décor right off the bat. The waitresses and waiters are wonderful with great service. When it comes to the food, basically everything is awesome! If you order a pizza make sure to order it with their signature «Chili Bomb Pie». It is basically tater tots with chili and cheese in the middle of the pizza!!! Also check out the Philly Cheese Stakes! I order mine with everything! If you like hot wings beware of their Near Death and Death sauce!!! Great flavor but might leave you crying!

Came for brunch on a Sunday. There were a couple of other groups waiting for the doors to open promptly at 11am.
We had a group of 10 and grabbed the large table at the front by the windows. Having just opened for the day, there was still some setting up going on and it took a few minutes to get some service.
I think I was told they just started serving brunch which had to be the case because they gave us regular menus and there was some confusion if there were brunch menus at all.
We ordered a round of double mimosas for $ 4 which were pretty good. The brunch menu had a two egg breakfast, breakfast burritos (choice of 3 ingredients plus eggs), biscuits and gravy and pancakes. All choices were under $ 7.
I opted for the pastrami sandwich and crinkle cut fries instead. The pastrami was juicy, the rye bread was good and it was a decent serving. The breakfast burritos most of the table got said they came with salsa but it wasn’t brought with and everyone had to ask for it but it was supposedly tasty.
The décor is kind of divey/​kitschy and it gets a very eclectic mix of customers and staff.
Fun time with good people. Food is decent and prices are really good. Chips on the coffee mugs and erratic service but might have just been the day.

I’m saddened to give this place two stars, but I’m hoping to maybe update this review when I go back soon to try the pizza.
So, I see this place on Triple D, and I have just moved to KC, I had to try it.
We arrive, and there is a concert going on. Totally fine, but for some reason, on concert nights they don’t do their specialty pizzas. Have no idea why. And they only do pizza in one size, for $ 15 and then each topping is like $ 1.50 — $ 2.50. So the pizza I was really excited to try would of ended up being like $ 25. Nope. Decided to wait and come back to get it.
So my friend orders two slices of pizza and I order the Philly. Her pizza comes out instantly before my food arrives 20 min later. This is just fu@&ing stupid from the waiter, why would you bring out one meal way before the other? We came in together don’t you think we would like to eat together???
My friend tells me not to make a scene, so she lets her food get cold before my food arrives.
The philly was anything but memorable. Not close to how it is in Philadelphia. The meat was dry and it just lacked any depth of flavor.
Maybe it was an off night, I’m hoping the pizza will be the saving grace. The spot is a really cool area, again I really hope to update this review as I see so so so much potential!

My husband and I visited grinders in the power and light district in Kansas City Missouri today and I have to say it was one of the best experiences ever! We had a Reuben pizza that was beyond good. Best pizza I’ve ever had I think! And I have to give kudos to our server Chelsi, she is smart, knowledgeable, pretty, fun, and she just kept selling us beer :-) this girl knows what’s going on.

This place is extremely cool inside, has a very divey-​hip aesthetic. The concert venue is great too if you get a chance to see a show here. The food I found is either really good or ok. I eat here quite a bit because it’s close to my office. Pizza is great, never had a bad experience with the pizza. The Philly cheese steaks are a little inconsistent. Once it was outstanding, next time the meat was kinda chewy and it was very greasy. Can’t go wrong with the tator tots. They are mega crispy and delish. Every now and again I just crave a good tator tot! Salads are pretty small for the money, stick with pizza special for the best bang for your buck.

Caveat: I’ve only been once, but enjoyed the food and atmosphere (eclectic vibe — even use airplane seats for some tables) and they have a huge stage out back, used quite a bit for performances.
I recently visited Philadelphia and of course tried their famous Cheesesteak «wit whiz» and immediately noticed the difference in cheesesteaks there than any other around the country. With that said, I tried their cheesesteak «wit whiz» and it is a close replica of the one I had in Philadelphia, which is quite an accomplishment.
I highly recommend the cheesesteaks, as well as their tater tots. The service is great and their beer and drink menus are extensive.
Additionally, most of the art you see on their walls are for sale, which is kind of cool.
This place isn’t fancy, but a great dive bar/​eatery with a cool, funky vibe to it.

I had the philly, it was real good, the meat was not over salted. The bread was the best part. Yummy bread from Philly. The pizza looks good. I’ll be back. I didn’t notice until it was too late, they have some good looking specials. 2 for 1 slices on Monday. 3 tacos for a buck on Thursdays. Tacos in my future.

Grinders… ahhhh what’s not to love about an enormous hoagie roll filled with shaved beef, grilled onions, bell peppers, melted provolone and cheese wiz? Nothing I tell you… absolutely nothing. Grinders is the place to go when you’re hungry and ready for a big lunch. We used to look forward to the Grinders kiosk at Sporting Park but damn if they didn’t close it up and replace it with «gourmet» hot dogs now. Double drats! Guess it’s back to Grinders in the Crossroads!

This is an eclectic place. I LOVE IT!
THE place was super busy but they kept moving people through fast.
Got seated and drinks and menus.
Ordered crab Rangoon and gouda potato casserole Delish! The pizza is thin crust NY style Super good.
Come and give it a try

Got sprayed in the face with cleaner sitting at our table by a blue haired bus boy who evidently didn’t like when people were sitting down while he was trying to clean. Ok fine dude but at least give me a chance to get out of the way. Service was glacial at best. Waiter was apologetic about it though.
BLT was good. Chips so-​so.

I came for lunch wanting to try something different and because of a recommendation by a friend who saw this place on TV.
My guests got a roasted chicken sandwich and philly cheesesteak and I ordered the Bengal Tiger pizza bombed which meant tator tots with cheese wiz, chilli, scallions.
You are able to order just a slice of pizza if you choose. I just got the whole pizza so I would have leftovers and food for later.
My sister in law enjoyed her roasted chicken sandwich which came with thinly sliced and fried potato chips. She felt the chips were salty, but after I ate it I can agree it was a little salty, but what potato chip isn’t? The potato chips seemed freshly made by them.
A friend told me she liked and had the philly chesesteak when she came, so my hubby ordered it and felt like the Firehouse subs cheesesteak was better. The bites I had, the cheesesteak was yummy but it didn’t stand out different from any other cheesesteak.
I saw 2 pizzas listed on the menu to show being known for, one was said to be on a Food Network TV show. The 2^nd was the Bengal Tiger pizza which was said to be on Triple D’s (ie. Diners, Drive ins, and Dives).
The Bengal Tiger pizza was a bit oily, given the sauce was a lot of pesto. It had tandoori chicken so the Indian spice flavoring along with pesto, and some crab meat (although I barely saw or tasted the crab). Since I got it bombed/​loaded, that was placed right in the middle. I asked for it on the side but the waiter and I had miscommunication so it was on top. I would get it on the side if you could. The bomb was pretty good on its own. I wouldn’t say it was bad being on top of the pizza, but I was wanting to try each part separately. Also the tots were mush in the middle because of the chilli. On another note, when I did bring it home, I did try to spread the bomb over one slice versus one plain pizza and the bomb changes the pizza so much. It’s almost like you get 2 tastes and pizzas. I couldn’t make a final decision on which method I liked better.
Venue: divey, hipster, bar. I can see how people say the place can be busy at night. Since I came on a week day for lunch it wasn’t too crowded, I think maybe 3 tables including ours.

When I’m craving (delicious!!) garbage food, I go to Grinders. I’m kind of stuck on their philly cheesesteak with all the vegetables and provolone– I like it so much, that I don’t think I’ve ever had anything else there?! I like that the mushrooms they use on the cheesesteaks are whole mushrooms and are fried such that they have a bit of crunch to them– it’s a nice texture difference. I always get a half sandwich, because my eyes are consistently bigger than my stomach there.
Their beer list is impressive. Impressive in the breadth of types of beer available, as well as availability of nearly any KCMO/​KCK brewery beer. Always appreciate it when they put the abv % on menus and up on the board– important when you carry double IPAs that are like, upwards of 11%, but also carry session beers (less than 4%). (Drink smart, kids!!)
Service is great and I never feel like a jerk for taking my time.
Finally, I stinkin’ love the art on the walls. It’s all for sale– I have my eyes on a piece when I have the $$. I don’t know when that’ll be, so maybe hold off on buying anything for a bit? :)

3.5 stars.
I can’t believe I hadn’t tried Grinders yet! Luckily some out of town friends were visiting this weekend and so we finally tried it out. I found myself pretty torn so that’s why my review is smack dab in the middle…
First, let’s start off with the good:
–I dig the divey, quirky ambience of this place. Pictures pasted all over the walls, airplane seats, good music. A solid place to chill.
–The draft beer list is quite good, and I was pleased to see Delirium Tremens on tap!
–Those tots!!! There’s not much new to be said, but do yourself a favor and get them!
But then there’s the not-​so-​good:
–The food (minus the tots) was across the board mediocre. My philly was kind of dry and tasteless; the wings were hella spicy but that actually overpowered any other flavor. The last thing you want after a night out drinking is bland bar food…
–Service was… lacking. Our server took forever to get us waters, then menus, then she never checked in on us and we had to flag her down for the checks in the end. Would’ve liked some efforts beyond the bare minimum.
I’m giving an extra 0.5 stars because of the beer and tots — I could see myself returning to Grinders for those. Otherwise, there are plenty of other places in the Crossroads that can provide better food, service, and a just a better overall experience.

I want to like this place. It’s so convenient, its right next to Thou Mayest so you can bring in carryout… but the food is greasy and overrated, and more importantly, the service here is terrible. Not just once, but I have picked up from here multiple times and every time they are rude, make me feel like a bother, and this time just got my order wrong and I had to pay over twice what I was expecting because of it. And the demeanor, on top of that, was straight up «I don’t care.» Wow.
It’s disappointing.

Grinders is dang good za. I have now been here on 3 separate occasions and thoroughly enjoyed it every time.
I hope to check out a concert in the back at some point, although even if I can’t make it, I can usually hear it from my apartment anyways! Maybe I’m an accidental freeloader.
My only complaint, is that the workers have been a little… Snippy… When I have been there. Nothing to sound the alarms, but it just seemed like they know they are popular and don’t need to be super friendly because of it. Knocked a star for that alone, but the pizza will keep me coming back.

All I can say is WOW. I was really impressed by everything here. The food and service were great. I’ve seen mixed reviews here about the service but that just wasn’t the case for me. We often weren’t ready when they came by multiple times.
I had the Bengal tiger pizza which may have been the best pizza I’ve ever had! I also had the molten death wings which were pretty good. Not too hot but just hot enough.
I also had a slice of the bombed pizza which was just over the top insane. I couldn’t finish all of it. This was just a really inventive and interesting place. It needs to be a chain!