Kansas City's Julian Restaurant

The cuisine at Julian is made up of soul-satisfying comfort foods using fresh, seasonal, and local ingredients that are refined with a signature twist by chef, owner, and James Beard Best Chef Midwest 2007 recipient Celina Tio. In addition to cooking, you will find her bringing out plates and refilling water glasses as she mingles with guests.

One of the restaurant's most popular dishes is Tio's crispy pork shoulder. Depending on the season, it is served with various seasonal ingredients, such as sweet potatoes and house-made marshmallows or succotash and bacon vinaigrette.

To stay true to the concept of using local and seasonal ingredients, Tio works with dozens of farmers in the metro area and uses only naturally raised meats.

On Sundays Tio offers "Sunday Family Meal," which is a dinner that includes one of her signature dishes, or highlights a "Diner Designed Dinner," a dinner that a guest will submit and then have the opportunity to work with Tio to create.

Tio's dream to have a place where she could serve gourmet, chef-driven food in a casual environment has come to fruition with Julian.

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