Grits and jerk chicken wings: Caribbean soul food coming to Kansas City’s Westport

For years, Brandon Gibson whipped up brown stewed chicken, shrimp curry and jerk wings, seemingly for “everyone,” he said, but mostly for friends and family.

He was a head sales manager at Sprint and when it merged with T-Mobile and offered him a buyout, he decided to really make meals for everyone at his own restaurant.

Taste Restaurant Bar and Lounge plans a March opening at 3959 Broadway Blvd. in Westport.

Menu items will include starters and small plates such as egg rolls, nachos, crab cakes with marmalade, wings and lamb chops.

For entrees, look for brown stewed chicken, Caribbean turkey chops, chicken or shrimp curry, salmon (stuffed, blackened, jerk or loaded), Caribbean rib-eye steaks, and grits with a choice of shrimp, catfish or loaded seafood.

It will have a “Morning After Brunch” with such items as grits with lobster, catfish, lamb chops, turkey chops, pork chops or shrimp (jerk or regular); chicken and waffles (sweet potato or red velvet) with strawberry cream, vanilla almond cream, sweet whiskey cream or maple pecan smear; and a variety of wings including pineapple mango jerk, coconut rum and orange pepper.

Hours will be 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays; and 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays.

Brunch will be from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and feature a live DJ.

The space had previously been home to Huddle House and then Beignet.

Another Caribbean restaurant on Broadway, Taste Island Grill, which opened in August, is not connected to the new restaurant and is under a different owner.

This story was originally published February 18, 2022 at 12:08 PM.