Delicious food, cool crafted drinks and lively events — there’s no shortage of reasons to visit the Lenexa Public Market this summer.
The next few months of summer are already planned for you, jam-packed with weekly live music, special shopping events, and playful family activities. You can’t go wrong pairing any of the season’s celebrations and pastimes with a pizza, burger or Mexican street food from the Market.
The chefs who craft these popular dishes at the Market shared which qualities take their cuisine to the next level.
Cosmo Burger
This smash burger concept, the Market’s newest anchor merchant, strives to execute a focused menu extraordinarily well: burgers, tater tots and craft cocktails.
“We hope ours stands up to all the burgers that came before us,” explains Chef Jacob Kruger. “There are plenty of other choices under the sun. The belief is to do more with less and excel at what we do.”
Great ingredients are melded with carefully honed technique in every burger and drink.
“The real approach comes down to the build of the burger. All a burger needs is a soft bun, cheese, sauce, onion and pickle. Make it a double for the real deal, and add bacon and chilis if you’re feeling spicy. And personally, I would say it would be best to wash it down with an Old Fashioned.”
“We serve up one of the best Old Fashioneds in the city from our bar, and we keg all our craft cocktails. We take the same level of time and effort into our craft cocktails, and you’ll have to taste it to believe it!”
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Red Kitchen KC
Pork verde, carne asada, tacos, birria – Chef/Owner Alejandra de la Fuente said each dish takes her back home to Mexico City. Everything she serves is fresh and made using her favorite ingredients.
Red Kitchen’s menu is always exciting and dynamic. Stop by to see what delicious dishes are being served that day, and you may discover a new favorite.
Variety and quality keep a steady stream of regulars coming to enjoy the savory street foods and a chat with the welcoming owner. Alejandra describes Red Kitchen as a place where she’s bringing her home and hospitality into the public. “I cook and serve foods that I want to eat in my home, foods I grew up eating.”
Alejandra strives to be loyal to the traditional cooking methods of Mexico, and you’ll taste the difference in her food. Her attention to detail is seen in each dish – like tamale ingredients weighed to achieve the perfect dough-to meat ratio. Diners enjoy authentic techniques like adding rice to the savory meat filling inside a corn tortilla. “That is a taco at its best,” she said.
More about Red Kitchen KC
Topp’d Pizza + Salads
Owner/chef Chad Talbott’s Market mainstay has served up the freshest pizzas and salads since the Market opened in 2017. Quick and high-quality have proven to be a winning combination.
“Our pizza and salads are hand-made to order, in less than five minutes, from scratch,” said owner/chef Chad Talbott. “We also have a full bar with a focus on local Johnson County and Kansas craft beers, and gelato for dessert.”
“We make all of our dough, sauces and salad dressings in-house from scratch. All of our pizza and salad toppings are cooked and prepared on-site, and we don’t use any frozen ingredients.”
You can go with the classic pepperoni or Margherita pizza and relish in their fresh flavors. Chad’s recommendation? Pick one of the unique specialty pies.
“My personal favorite is our Thai peanut pizza with marinated grilled chicken, scratch-made peanut sauce, basil, carrots and onion. It’s the perfect mix of spicy, sweet and umami flavors all in one. Nobody else makes one quite like it!”
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Published June 16, 2023