Yessssss – there’s no better way to kick off a Friday than a big ol’ board of deli meats and cheese, am I right?? In my book, that’s a pretty big win. Today, I’m happy to share with you my dining experience at Affäre, a modern German restaurant I visited last week. I must admit, my exposure to German cuisine is relatively limited – I visited Munich about ten years ago and had all the “beginner” types of food – pretzels (mmmm), bratwurst, and spätzle, and I confirmed that I don’t like sauerkraut. I also thought I was a fan of German desserts (and I might be) because I loooove German chocolate cake – but it turns out it’s not German in nature. Oops. ANYWAY, when I heard of a modern German restaurant right here in KC, I knew I had to give Affäre a try. Affäre focuses on local, farm-to-table fare with a menu that changes seasonally depending on what’s fresh. We had quite a few delicious options to choose from:
Did you know it is Spargel season??? Yeah, me neither, but apparently Spargel is white asparagus, and I LOVE white asparagus. Believe it or not, we actually didn’t order any this visit as there were SO many other things we wanted to try. But apparently, Spargel is in season through May, so if I find myself back at Affäre soon, I may partake.
We ordered our food, and then noshed on some fresh pretzel bread, pickled veggies and mustard while we waited:
I must admit that pretzel bread disappeared at an alarming rate, thanks to me. Yum!
We started with an Affäre to Shäre (har har) plate of the meat variety – charcuterie, German deli meats, assorted cheeses, house made pickles, condiments, and bread (first photo). Even though the plate was to shäre, we had no idea it would be so generous! It was a lot to share for two, but it was delicious! I especially liked the pate and a few cuts of the deli meats. My eating buddy liked the house made pickles. We nibbled over the charcuterie and would have filled ourselves up on it, but we needed to save room for our entrees! So, we wrapped up the plate to snack on at home.
That was definitely a good idea because the next dish that came out was *maybe* one of the best appetizers I’ve had in KC so far: 
I know, it looks like a dude with a fabulous foam side-sweep, right? What you see here is Pacific North West morels, flamed in brandy, with a pretzel dumpling and herb foam. Morels are so flavorful and intense when they’re available, and the creamy, decadent brandy sauce was to die for. The pretzel dumpling was perfect for sopping up the sauce, and the herb foam added a light, airy finish. My eating buddy and I were fighting over the last bites of this. You must try this dish!
For our mains, my eating buddy ordered the almond crusted golden trout with caper-butter, Yukon gold Potatoes, and spinach. The trout was flaky and perfectly cooked, and not overly fishy (one of my pet peeves when it comes to fish dishes!). This light entree was a perfect complement to the heavier charcuterie and morel starters.
On the contrary, I didn’t mind following deli meats and cream sauce with a heavy dish, as long as it was delicious. I didn’t go wrong with the Magret duck Affäre with blueberry gastrique, duck breast, confit croquette, sausage, and a liver medallion:
This dish was a study in different flavors (sweet, savory) and textures (the crispy duck breast versus the snap of the sausage, followed by the decadent liver). If, like me, you’re a duck fan, you will love all the different ways that duck is incorporated and presented in this menu selection. I was scraping up the sauce with the tines of my fork by the end of my meal – I was sad to see it end!
Our meal at Affäre was flawless from start to finish, with amazing food, excellent service, and a chic, industrial vibe. If you have a hankering of German food or would just like to explore what it’s all about, you can’t go wrong with this place!
Affäre 1911 Main Street Kansas City, MO 64108
816.298.6182
