Sandbox — Restaurant in Kansas City

I’ve been going to this place for almost a year for our volleyball league. Even though the roof wasn’t open at the time, it started off great. Food, service, and atmosphere were wonderful and it kept us around after our games to hang out and order some food and drinks. However, I’ve noticed a steady decline since the spring of 2018. Service has become slower and unprofessional. Examples: 1) Waiting in line at the crowded bar to order a drink, the bartender made her way down the line of patrons. We are next in line and I prepare to give her my drink order when she turns to the other bartender and tells her she’s going on a smoke break and leaves us waiting another 5 minutes to place a drink order. 2) Last time we stayed to eat after a night game we were 1 of 3 occupied tables in the main area. There was a fourth table occupied by 4 or 5 waitresses standing around talking. We waited at our table for a while and had to flag someone down just to get our drinks in. Cleanliness has become an issue outside around the volleyball courts. Small pieces of trash and cigarette butts litter the sidewalk and sand courts. There was also a small grease puddle last time along the north sidewalk that gathered there from the kitchen. Our volleyball ended up landing in it which was disgusting. The bean bag toss games are inconveniently located, one outside each the north and south main exits from the bar to the volleyball courts/rooftop access. The games are placed in two areas that see a large volume of foot traffic and are disruptive to both the patrons playing the game and people walking through. It seems many of these issues can be settled by more attentive management and a more professional wait staff. Though we’ve decided to spend our money elsewhere after our games, I still hope this place starts turning it around so we can once again enjoy spending time there for...

So, I decided to give a new to me place a try tonight, that's not normally my cup of tea. It's called The Sandbox. It's up on Barry Road across from the old Metro-North in the same area where the best buy used to be. A good part of this place has a lot of outdoor activities. Including ping pong tables and sandlot volleyball courts and a gigantic chess board. So, I knew it was going to be a little bit on the rowdy and loud side but that's okay, I can use a little excitement in my life these days

So, I stroll up to the bar, find a bar stool and sit down and order up a beer. Giving the menu a good hard look, I make my decision. Tonight, it's going to be The Farmhouse Burger. They take a half pound patty put it on a nice fresh bun, cover that with egg, bacon, smoked gouda, and a Chipotle aioli.

Incredibly simple ingredients cooked to perfection. The burger itself was ordered medium and it came out perfectly pink, juicy, and succulent. The egg was prepared properly with a lot of runny yolk left in it. Bacon crispy and crunchy and you know now, the way bacon is supposed to be. The cheese was smooth and creamy, and they aioli had just a little bit of bite of chipotle. For a side I substituted onion rings for the fries.

The onion rings were really fresh, and the breading wasn't like most onion rings. This breading fried up a little bit more on the crunchy side then say a batter that was like a beer batter. The onion rings themselves were thick cut and delicious.

I cut that burger and half and watched all that yummy egg yolk run down the sides. Picking it up and starting in there was the freshness of the bread, followed by the crunch of bacon and the rich taste of runny yoke, then came that rich smooth cheese and chipotle aioli. And, then tender, red, juicy, and savory hamburger. It was a seriously...

Kind of disappointed to write this review. We were very excited to eat with our kids and watch some football, so super surprised to have such a flat experience. So, two adults andi three kids. I left my email to contact me when i paid the bill as well.

The Good: atmosphere was cool, nice and breezy, and plenty of space to enjoy several games.

The Bad: service. 1 hour from order to eating. This kind of ruined our other plans. 1 hour to make two burgers, two salads, two kids meals. When we asked the server, just kind of a non chalant, it will be soon.

The Ugly: here is where it gets interesting. The food:

French fries. On one of the burgers, the side was French fries: we counted 11 fries. There must be a potato shortage? I asked the server and the response was an odd smile. So I ordered a side of fries. This was consistent generally across the plates. When we ate the fries, they were lukewarm. Nothing diminishes a French fry like sitting around cooling off. The side of fries that were hot, were perfect. I am not used to ordering a side to make of for the lackluster, same side.

The burgers, that looked juicy and marvelous were just blah. Indeed juicy, and hot, but what a difference a little salt and pepper would have made. Ground beef with no seasoning is just ground beef.

The bill was over $100, so based on this experience, the restaurant is well over priced and worse, what appears to be an...