A Brasserie to Call Our Own
Please note: DOWNTOWN LOCATION CLOSED, now Charisse, a French-American restaurant
When one of Kansas City’s most beloved French restaurants, Aixois Bistro, decided to open another location at 10th and Walnut streets, it confirmed the burgeoning downtown Kansas City, Mo.,food revival. That’s how much sway chef and owner, Emmanuel Langlade, and his wife and business partner, Megan, have in the community. If this couple is willing to take the financial gamble of opening a restaurant downtown, then maybe restaurants outside of the Power and Light[1] district really do have a chance of thriving. “Someone has to be the pioneer,” Charles Ferruzza writes in the Pitch Weekly about Aixois Brasserie opening downtown.
Opened in late June 2012, Aixois resides in the Commerce Bank Building[2] at 1000 Walnut St., and is the anchor tenant in the building’s two-story retail arcade that occupies the lower level. With 16 floors of hungry workers above Aixois and the workforce toiling away in adjacent skyscrapers dreaming of fresh food and a cold beer, this French restaurant fills up at lunchtime.
In France, brasseries[3] started out as small restaurants run by local breweries in order to exclusively sell their beer, and over the years the concept has transformed into small restaurants with relaxed, upscale settings, locally produced food and good beer. The Langlades have created that exact description in their brasserie. You’ll be struck by the simple elegance in design, atmosphere, and food. Dolphin Gallery [4] owner, John O’Brien, used antiques found in the basement of the Commerce Bank Building for the doors. Pendant light fixtures hang from staggered white tiles set against the pitch-black ceiling. The modest wooden tables and chairs harken to the tradition of brewery brasseries, while the marble bar top and 4-tiered bar shelf speaks to the modern elegance the brasserie concept has become.
The soundtrack at this laid-back eatery immediately uproots the customer to a feeling of obscene happiness. The beats-per-minute to these juicy French cuts sound so smooth your mood can’t help but syncopate itself to the music. If the music isn’t enough to guarantee a relaxed lunch or dinner service then reading the menu will put you completely at ease.
Aixois Bistro’s culinary reputation is impeccable and fans of their food will walk away from this brasserie with the same smug look of satisfaction one gains from a delightful meal at its Brookside location. Think about this and try not to be happy: The Croque Monsieur, served with French ham, a creamy and nutty Gruyere cheese, béchamel sauce[5], and a runny fried egg (for an extra buck,) on delicious Farm-to-Market sourdough. Do your appetite a solid and order this French classic. It’s even tastier than it looks and it looks godamn amazing.
No brasserie is complete without precious craft beer and a selection of top-shelf liquors. At Aixois you can choose from Boulevard Tank 7, the Boulevard seasonal selection, Stella Artois, Moose Drool, and Rolle Bolle from New Belgium Brewery. And for you after-work cheapskates out there, Aixois offers one of the best happy hours in town[6].
Finish your visit to Aixois by taking a peek in the Commerce Tower arcade. The brightly lit 2-story retail arcade has a number of amenities and a few large historic Kansas City photos attached to a storefront window, including the swankiest drug store mine eyes have ever embraced: the Owl Drug Store in 1914 at 9th and 10th streets and Main Street.