An off-the-beaten-path café in Assaria pairs Old World charm with locally rooted Italian flavors
For a taste of Italy in rural Kansas, visit the Renaissance Café in Assaria, population 400. Located 6 miles north of Lindsborg and 6 miles south of Salina, this hidden gem is the small town’s only restaurant. Having just marked its 25th year, Renaissance Café, 210 N. Center Ave., offers a small but delectable menu of quality food along with a great selection of craft cocktails and wine.
Housed in a former high school built in 1919, the beautifully renovated restaurant exudes Old World charm. Vintage books and framed art fill the walls, and varnished hardwood tables welcome guests. Lace curtains and lamps on the windowsills cast a warm, inviting light throughout the dining space, which surrounds the former high school’s sunken gymnasium.
Chef Adrienne Lynn supports local businesses by cooking from scratch whenever possible. “Home is always better,” she says. “Most of our food is from local farms. The seafood we fly in fresh, but we work a lot with local farmers. Because we only [offer] three meals a week, we only need a little bit of quantity, not huge bulk.”
Renaissance Café—open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays—frequently changes its menu but always offers gourmet Italian-inspired cuisine. Start off with a crunchy, grilled Caesar salad with creamy dressing and fresh bread, or an amuse-bouche of buttery Castelvetrano olives and a small cheese wedge. Pair that with an antipasto platter such as prosciutto asparagus or caponata burrata.
Lynn emphasizes that the menu is always changing. It’s part of Renaissance Café’s charm—a dish that delighted customers a month ago may not be available on a return visit, but there will always be something new to savor.
The menu caters to a variety of tastes with hearty entrees such as an extravagant duck breast in a blood orange reduction served with polenta, or a simpler but still impressive penne pasta with artichoke, spinach and cherry tomatoes drizzled with a wine cream sauce. Steak lovers can also savor grilled ribeye or tenderloin paired with crispy shallots or a rich blackberry merlot sauce.
End the evening by indulging in a small scoop of the restaurant’s rotating selection of sorbet or a memorable dessert like a generous slice of three-chocolate cheesecake. Enjoy it in the restaurant or packaged in a take-home container.
While the menu may shift from visit to visit, one thing guests can always count on is good food. Lynn strongly recommends making a reservation, especially for guests traveling long distances, as sell-out evenings are common.
renaissancecafeassaria.com 785.667.5535
Viona’s Italian Bistro
Overland Park
Nestled in downtown Overland Park, Viona’s Italian Bistro is resilience personified. The restaurant dedicated to fresh Italian fare opened mere months before the pandemic. Thanks to plentiful outdoor seating, efficient takeout service and loyal customers, Viona’s not only survived but thrived. An extensive lunch menu offers generous portions of specialty pasta dishes, including spinach-and-cheese-stuffed ravioli and penne Bolognese with a bacon sauce. Entrees feature house favorites like fettuccine alfredo, baked ziti and homemade lasagna. Seafood lovers can savor shrimp and scallops alfredo or linguini with clams, while meat lovers can opt for stromboli or customized pizza. The perfect finish to any meal is a slice of tiramisu or a cannoli.
vionasitalianbistro.com / 913.232.8818
Martinelli’s Little Italy
Salina
For 25 years, Martinelli’s Little Italy has delighted visitors with authentic, family-style Italian cuisine. Begin the meal with an appetizer—garlic bread, toasted ravioli with beef, bruschetta layered with olive tapenade, tomato and capers, or a vegetable side dish to pair with the main course. Chicken parmesan, salmon piccata and the ribeye are great options, but pasta is the restaurant’s specialty—penne, fettuccini, linguine or tortellini. End the evening with a decadent molten chocolate cake or crème brûlée cheesecake. Alternatively, for parties of four or more, meals can be ordered family-style. Rather than limiting taste buds to one main dish, choose several appetizers, entrees and desserts to share.
martinellisonline.com / 785.826.9190
