Chicken & biscuit with a craft beer: A perfect pairing at this Kansas City restaurant

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My changing restaurant preferences mark the passing of time.

Fast food burgers and tacos for youth on a budget. Casual dining for the family, preferably with a dessert bar. Sports bars or wine dives. Upscale choices to celebrate occasions. Until, finally, you reach an age when you just want what you want.

On this day, I wanted fried chicken and biscuits and a nice craft beer.

My spot for this pairing is The Belfry.

Celina Tio opened this 1,100 square-foot gem in 2014 in part of a building at 1532 Grand Blvd.

The neighborhood was changing, and the restaurant benefited. Folks were moving to downtown and the Crossroads. I found the Belfry by driving past it on my way to work, past the Kauffman Center and over the streetcar tracks on 16th Street. There it was on the left, with a sign on the side saying “Beer,” and an arrow pointing to the front door.

That was enough to get me through the door, so my wife, Karen, and I checked it out. We were taken by the cozy atmosphere and menu featuring comfort food from the the kitchen of a James Beard Foundation Award-winning chef.

Karen prefers the griddled polenta, with tomato-mushroom ragu, Gorgonzola and a sunny egg. And the cheddar bread pudding with bourbon caramel for dessert. Entree and dessert: $19.

I splurge with fried chicken and biscuit with honey sriracha and an egg for $16. The chicken is coated and seasoned to perfection, and the honey sriracha adds just the right amount of sweet and heat.

It’s a variation of chicken and waffles, a dish with multiple stories of origin. I like the one about the dish being served to jazz musicians in Harlem in the 1930s. As they played into the night, chicken and waffles served as the ideal dish between sets to straddle dinner and breakfast.

Waffles, biscuit, it makes no difference to me as long as the bird is well seasoned, the syrup or sauce is tasty and you can get some of everything on the fork.

And the beer. As you enter the Belfry, the day’s rotation is listed on the chalkboard to the right. Tio said that when she opened, other spots featured 50 or more taps. “I wouldn’t know how to manage that,” Tio said. “I went with 20 at a time.”

OK, there is a subtle sports bar sense to the Belfry. Bobbleheads adorn shelves above the bar in between televisions that showed U.S. World Cup games in watch party fashion. Chelsea of the English Premier League is shown because it’s the favorite team of pastry chef Darius.

But on our most recent visit, “The Twilight Zone”played on TV, and we didn’t pick up on any Chiefs conversation.

Another reason The Belfry became our favorite: Like all restaurant owners during the pandemic, Tio was forced to close the door. But the meals didn’t stop. They were made to order, prepared at the Belfry and driven by Tio to pickup points throughout the metro.

“We took the show on the road because people weren’t allowed to come here,” Tio said.

Tio has had an amazing run in Kansas City. She was executive chef at The American restaurant, then opened Julian in Brookside, which ended an eight-year run in 2017. While at Julian, Tio competed on Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters” and the Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef” and “Iron Chefs America.”

The latest Belfry creations: a pool hall on the east side of the restaurant facing Grand, known as Gerard’s at The Belfry. Five competition pool tables and a dartboard were all being used during our most recent visit.

Also new, a line of liquors branded under ANNX Spirits Co. Tio has created her own gin, vodka, bourbon and rye that’s on sale at the restaurant and other locations in the Crossroads with plans to expand.

“I’ve got to stay busy,” Tio said. “I don’t like stopping with just one thing.”

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