City Lites

Carol ordered one of the best things on the menu — a flaky filet of tilapia, lightly pan-blackened and smothered in a deftly seasoned roasted-red-pepper cream sauce. She insisted that we all take a taste, and I liked it a lot better than my fire-roasted tenderloin salad, a heap of greens scattered with artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and half a dozen small slices of cold beef tenderloin. Once I ate the beef and the artichokes, the salad was all over.

Bob, unfortunately, was terribly disappointed in his big bowl of "Mom's Mac & Cheese." "I wish they would explain on the menu that it's a creative version of macaroni and cheese and not the real thing made with cheddar cheese," he said through a scowl. "This is a bunch of rotini with Alfredo sauce." He was right. It was a nice, rich Alfredo pasta, not good ol' American mac and cheese.

Before too long, our waiter was pushing s'mores, one of five dessert choices. "You build them yourself," he said. "We bring out graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows, and a little grill." I told him I would no longer experiment with do-it-yourself desserts, after a s'mores disaster at a Kansas restaurant required that I take the ingredients from my table and carry them outside to a decorative patio fire.

"We also have flameless bananas Foster," the server said. "We cook the bananas in rum back in the kitchen and bring them out on pound cake." That sounded worse than the s'mores. We finally settled on the "Brownie Explosion," which turned out to be a vaguely sexual title for a tasty but not particularly sensual plate of two brownie wedges with whipped cream and ice cream.

"Back when Kansas City's downtown was still alive, the Forum Cafeteria had the best desserts," Ned mused between bites of brownie.

Carol Ann nodded, recalling a couple of other restaurants that have vanished over the past few decades.

But let's face it. Downtown just isn't what it used to be — no matter where it is.