Haus- Causal German Dining at its Beery Finest

Haus pretty much had me at beer. I love craft beer. Haus has a fantastic German and Belgian beer selection. They also have sausage and homemade kraut.  I knew I was going to love Haus. I was not wrong.

When we got there, we were starving. We started with the appetizer plate. We were so hungry that we had pretty much devoured it before I remembered to take a picture. So you get a picture of a mostly eaten appetizer plate. We had a lovely pretzel dipped in beer cheese, homemade sauerkraut (which is incredible and makes me think about making my own), sausage (yummy!), fries (also dipped in the cheese), and deep fried mac n cheese (not our favorite).

Yep- pretty much gone

Now for the tough decision... beer. They have 20 glorious beer on tap (all craft beers). I was torn until our server told us they have beer flights. I love places with beer flights. I get to try new beers without committing to a full glass. Not that there are many craft beers I don't like but it has happened. We had to from between a German, Belgian, or craft beer flight. I chose the Belgian (which should be no surprise) and Steven chose the German beer flight.

My beer flight

I kind of cheated on this beer flight because I had had all of them except for Houblon Choufee. So I knew I loved these beers. I had no idea the surprise I was in for--- my favorite out of the group was Houblon Choufee. It was in a word spectacular. It paired perfectly with my sausage. Houblon Choufee is a Beligian IPA. I was surprised that I liked it so much because I tend to lean towards stouts. I don't like "uberhoppy" beers, but I do like beers that have some hoppiness without being over the top. Belgian IPAs fit that description. The best description I can come up with is they are a cross between an IPA and a tripel. I know it sounds strange but good. Trust me. They are deceptively smooth and that smoothness hides a really high alcohol content (the Houblon Choufee is 9%).  So it was a good thing that it was in a small glass.

Pork glorious pork

Let me tell you about the sausage. It is delicious. It is from the Local Pig which has incredible sausage and other meats as well (check them out). The meats are locally sourced. Haus had a wide selection of sausages from which to choose. I went with the classic bratwurst with sauerkraut and caramelized onions. I then dipped my sandwich in different mustards. Ahhh..... pork heaven.

At this point I am pretty much full. Katie however has her eyes on dessert. They only have one dessert choice but they only need one...... wait for it......It was a fried Belgian waffle sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce, and served with chocolate and vanilla ice cream. It was gone in less than three minutes.

Haus style Belgian waffles

My only regret- I did not get the Razberry Cho-co-lat Mash-up which is a combination of Dopplebock & Framboise. It sounds amazing. I am ready to go back and get one now.

Katie's View

Haus was really good! I loved the bratwurst and the fries dipped in cheese!!! I have to say my favorite thing was the Belgian Waffles. They were covered in caramel and chocolate and deep fried with ice cream. I loved it!!! When we go back there I will get the bratwurst and the waffle.

BobKorn Kettle Corn- A Delicious Little Popcorn Store in Excelsior Springs, Missouri

I love popcorn. I can't remember a time when I didn't eat large amounts of popcorn. My family also loves popcorn. We can go through a tub of popcorn in no time flat.  I used to love movie theatre popcorn but not so much anymore. I don't know when the change happened but it just isn't as appealing as it used to be.

BobKorn

I prefer homemade popcorn. Or better yet homemade caramel corn. My husband makes great caramel corn. He actually has the patience to stir it for what seems like an eternity until it reaches the correct temperature.  My favorite popcorn of all is kettle corn. I've tried and I can't seem to come up with an easy way to make this at home. Which is probably a good thing because once I start eating kettle corn it is hard for me to stop. Thankfully, there aren't that many places to get really good kettle corn.

Until now. About a year ago, a new popcorn store, BobKorn, opened in Excelsior Springs. Needless to say, I tried to avoid BobKorn like the plague. But it kept calling to me. I knew once I went in there I would be hooked. I was right. Wow.

First of all. Really nice people. The kind that take a bit of extra time to make sure you feel at home and that you get what you want.

Second, they had tasters. You get to try the different types of popcorn. Why? Because you are going to want them all.

My current favorites: lemon blast, caramel, and sour cream, cheddar and chive

Third, they have all kinds of popcorn. My current favorite is Lemon Blast. You are probably thinking, lemon popcorn? Really? I thought the same thing until I tried it. I love it. It is lemon flavored popcorn with lemon white chocolate drizzle with shortbread cookies. At least that is what I think it is. I guess I need to go back and get more popcorn to figure it out.

Cinnamon and sour cream, cheddar, and chive

We also get the caramel corn and the sour cream, cheddar and chive. I mix the two together. It is wonderful. We can't leave Katie alone with the popcorn because she will eat it all. We also get the cinnamon which I think is Steven's favorite. They also have watermelon, chocolate drizzle, English toffee, strawberry shortcake, sweet butter, cotton candy, and ... I know I am forgetting some.  Besides popcorn there are drinks and shaved ice. I've never made it past the popcorn.

Katie's View

BobKorn is heaven on earth in the form of a popcorn shop. The shop is amazing! They have popcorn of all colors of the rainbow and flavors of popcorn that sound gross but taste AMAZING! I love the cinnamon popcorn, the caramel popcorn, the cheese popcorn, actually I love all popcorn. I can't wait to go back and get more popcorn! It's amazing and it tastes wonderful.