Dec
26
More Mediterranean for West 39th
December 26, 2007 | 10 Comments
Westport’s popular Jerusalem cafe is opening a second restaurant in Kansas City’s “restaurant row” on West 39th Street in the Volker neighborhood. This will be the third Mediterranean restaurant in the neighborhood. The location between Wyoming and Genessee is across from Alladin’s Cafe, which is owned by the folks that bought Jerusalem’s old Lawrence, KS location. Jerusalem Cafe also runs a popular bakery and late night wraps shop at the southern edge of Volker, on Westport Road.
- KC Star: Jerusalem Cafe opening 39th Street location
- Jerusalem Cafe and Bakery
- West 39th Street business district
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It may do okay because of their reputation, but Alladin Cafe (not Alladin’s) seems to never have any business, so I don’t see that one lasting. The new Jerusalem Cafe is awfully close to the bakery they have on Westport Road, which has that incredibly good buffet, and the Golden Wraps side makes some killer grilled wrap sandwiches. We’ll just have to see what happens, but that 39th street location seems to be jinxed, just like the Alladin location.
I’m a huge fan of the late night offerings at Golden Wraps. I work nights, so finding decent food is pretty hard to do. Ponchos just plain sucks. Jimmy Johns used to be a favorite, but they can’t seem to get my order right, ever. Sometimes I go in there only to find that I’m the only person not stoned out of my gourd in the place. I’ll order the exact same thing every night, and get different food at a different price each time.
So Golden Wraps, being just across the street, caught my eye. I gave it a shot one night. Damn solid stuff. Easily the best Gyro in the city, and the Kifta stuff they sell is awesome. The two dudes who are in there are always very nice.
I still like Jimmy Johns, but Golden Wraps is pretty solid.
I think Jimmy John’s uses low quality ingredients. The tuna salad is pretty telling…it looks and smells like cat food, and there’s no reason to believe they go for higher quality with the other ingredients if they use low-grade tuna. Golden Wraps rocks, and it’s hot food, not a cold sandwich you could easily make at home.
The worst part about Jimmy Johns is the way they train their staff. Yes they have a university. Every JJ’s I’ve visited has some grinning jokester behind the register and this totally invented sense of casual fun-ness among the staff. It’s like a freaking mountain dew commercial in there.
I don’t understand the deal with Jimmy John’s. It is some of the blandest food I’ve ever tasted. There is less flavor than Subway. Their popularity must be due to the fact that they locate in college towns and get people indoctrinated when they are too poor to go anywhere else.
Pretty much all of the national sub shop chains are bad. Subway…”Eat fresh”? Everything comes pre-sliced and pre-packaged. What’s fresh about that? It’s the subliminal “Doctor’s Associates” corporate name at the bottom of the screen that makes people think it’s good for you. If you want a good, fresh sub, Cupini’s is great.
Jesus. Sorry I ever mentioned liking a restaurant that the KC hipsters don’t bless with their presence.
For the record, several times I’ve gotten Jimmy Johns (from the Westport location) late at night and the meat has tasted like ASS. I stopped eating there.
P.S. I’m not a hipster.
We love Alladins’ Cafe on 39th. It has more Turkish and Moroccan options than Jerusalem Cafe. The curry chicken is great – salads are all wonderful. The owner is the brother of the Alladin’s in Lawrence, KS which is great.
Looking forward to trying Golden Wraps.
Here here with Beth… The Alladin Cafe is so much better on so many levels than Jerusalem. I moved here a few years ago and people wouldnt shut up about how great The Jerusalem Cafe was… and i couldnt disagree more. Theyre pita is never fresh… The soup is bland and tasteless… The silly decor is garish and annoying at best. No wonder why so many silly white people with no taste and too much money go there. Shame.