Happy Hour Review: Paulo & Bill Restaurant

  I must admit that Italian restaurants are not usually our first choice for dining. When I was picking a location for our recent date night, I was trying to stay in a specific area of the city, which happened to be Shawnee Mission, Kansas. This definitely limits the Happy Hour selections, but it is still manageable. After perusing the options, I finally decided upon Paulo & Bill, which is located at 16501 Midland Drive, just east of I-435. 

  When I looked at their Happy Hour menu online I didn't think the prices were super low, but in many cases the prices reflect the quality of the offerings. I decided that there were a couple of specific items I wanted to try, so I locked in the decision. We arrived around 5:00, which is half way through their two hour Happy Hour time frame. The bar area was not crowded at all, but it could have been the rainy weather. We also discussed the possibility that the location is not conducive to a big bar rush crowd, as there is a lack of office buildings in the area.

  One of my favorite finger foods is calamari, so I ordered some to get us started. It comes with two dipping sauces, a spicy romesco and a slightly sweet lemon oregano sioli. While I wasn't knocked out of my chair by this dish, it was still good enough to finish the plate. While my wife stuck with water, I decided to try one of their cocktails. I ordered a Sweetart, which has a little tart, but quite a bit sweet. While the sweetness can border on overbearing, I still found myself being drawn back to the flavor.

  For our main course we ordered up a Pizza Classica, which ended up being a full size pizza. At $9.00 it ended up being a pretty good deal after all. The crust is super thin except for the edges, and the pepperoni has a good spicy bite to it. Overall we both seemed very pleased with this selection. I noticed a few of our fellow patrons enjoying plates of the bowtie pasta with chicken, but I didn't dare tell Crystal, since it was here favorite menu item at the recently closed Carrino's Restaurant. When the final bill came it was under $30, which included tax and tip, so I was pleasantly surprised at this selection. Good food, an interesting drink, and not overcrowded. Now if only we can try it again on a night that doesn't included  pouring rain.