Quick Bite: QuikTrip’s Blueberry Pancake Roller

Hey, Violet Beauregarde — rise and shine!

It’s well established that we here at LunchBlogKC are big fans of QuikTrip. And we get more than a little excited when there’s a new rolling food to be had. So when I spotted the Blueberry Pancake Roller sign on the way to work the other morning, I had to stop and try one.

I may have actually tried this new item three times over the past few weeks — and I’ll warn that it may not be for everybody. It depends on your affinity for bready breakfasts. The Blueberry Pancake Roller is pretty dense, and while it’s tempting to get the “2 for $2.22*” roller food deal, you likely won’t need the second.

Flavor-wise, it’s a nice balance of salty and sweet, meat and bread. I didn’t even run into any of the gristle bits typically found in this kind of sausage link. Gristle bits are the worst.

I couldn’t tell if there was any built-in maple flavor to the pancake part. While it's good by itself, more sweet-toothed patrons might want to add extra syrup. Maybe look around and see if QT has any complimentary syrup tubs at the condiment bar.

Overall, the Blueberry Pancake Roller is a fine addition to the morning lineup — probably my favorite of the rolling breakfast options. And I’m so happy to live in a world where it’s possible to eat blueberry pancakes while driving.

Rating: 3 sporks out of 5
$1.39 for one, $2.22 for two (the 99¢ price in the pic above was an introductory deal)

Quick Bite: Pub Nachos at Barrel 31

Who wants their nachos Irish?

Why does whiskey bar Barrel 31 put tomatoes and scallions on their pub nachos? Because otherwise this would simply be a pile of everything that’s good about the world — and such a thing may be too beautiful to exist.

The pub nachos are an artful arrangement of house-made kettle chips* topped with fondue, bourbon brat crumbles, bacon, jalapeno sour cream and blue cheese. In fact, there’s enough blue cheese that you won’t even have to stab your tablemates to get your fair share. (What, just us?)

The chips are cut thick to hold their crunch even as we scooped up every last bit of the fondue. There was also some jalapeno sour cream left at the bottom, but we weren’t as into that due to it tasting pretty much like regular sour cream. We sure do like the idea, though.

Of course, this isn’t nachos, per se. It’s a plate of chips. And if Barrel 31 thinks we’re smashed enough to let it slide if they load ‘em up with two kinds of pork — well, they’re absolutely right.

*A note on kettle chips — they’re pretty in right now. But what we really want are house-made Funyuns. Somebody hook us up.

Rating: 4 sporks out of 5

Pub nachos are $8.50, or $6 during happy hour.

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400 East 31st Street | Kansas City, MO 64108