Ink

Three of this year’s buzz-worthy new restaurants — R Bar, Julian and Westside Local Restaurant & Beer Garden — have one thing in common: They all take notes from Grandma’s cookbook.

Suddenly, pot pie, mac and cheese and short ribs are the dishes du jour. In other words, comfort food is piping hot right now.

Alex Pope, executive chef at R Bar in the West Bottoms, said he aims for interesting, approachable food that, despite its familiarity, is far from boring. Pope, formerly of tony The American Restaurant, said he wanted R Bar’s prices to be even more approachable than its food. So lunch entrees hover around $8, and dinner entrees are around $20.

“That doesn’t mean we sacrifice anything,” Pope said. “You have to substitute creativity for higher-priced proteins.”

Take, for example, the fried baked potato ($8) on R Bar’s lunch menu. It has everything you crave in a baked potato —cheddar cheese, bacon, sour cream, green onions — but it’s deconstructed. To make it, Pope bakes a spud, smashes it, freezes it, fries it and loads it with all the fixings. The result is a mind-blowing marriage between french fry and baked potato you can’t order anywhere else in town.

Westside Local, which opened in July in Kansas City’s West Side, is similarly down-to-earth. There, you can order deviled eggs, burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches, and there’s a suggested beer pairing for each menu item.

Pope said he believes the comfort-food trend is a direct result of the recession.

This works two ways: Chefs need customers to eat at their restaurants more frequently, so they’re offering lower prices and smaller portions without sacrificing quality or creativity. And people want familiar — but good — food.

“People are feeling a little less adventurous than five years ago,” he said. “They don’t want to pay $100 for a dinner they don’t recognize.”

That could explain another ongoing food trend — gourmet burgers — that’s spawned three new restaurants in the past two years: Blanc Burgers & Bottles in Westport, Chef Burger in the Power & Light District and The Burger Stand at Dempsey’s in Lawrence.

The economy may not be the only factor behind the comfort-food trend. Our emotions also play a role in our cravings for classic dishes.

Sally Berry Brown, a registered dietitian and founder of Bodyfuel Inc., in Overland Park, said most comfort foods have two things in common: They remind us of our childhood, and they’re not good for us. Most typical comfort foods, she said, pack high levels of fat and sugar.

Brown said comfort-food cravings are ignited by environmental conditions such as cold, dark weather, as well as emotional conditions.

“When a person is stressed, slightly depressed or feeling deprived, there is a tendency to stuff down or numb with food,” Brown said.

In a year of recession, war, health care turmoil — not to mention heartbreaking Chiefs and Royals seasons — who isn’t stressed?

Julian, a Brookside eatery that opened 2 1/2 months ago, sells the kind of food that makes you forget, at least temporarily, about your nonexistent end-of-the-year bonus. Think short ribs, chocolate pudding and macaroni and cheese. The latter is made with Boulevard Pale Ale beer and gruyere cheese.

Owner Celina Tio, who also used to work at The American Restaurant, said the food at Julian is like what chefs make when they cook for themselves.

“I wanted to open a restaurant that I could eat at every day,” Tio said.

So she kept her prices trim (lunch costs around $8), the atmosphere casual, and decided to offer smaller portion sizes at reduced prices so calorie-counting customers could eat at Julian frequently. Tio said her small-portion entrees weigh in around 600 calories, and desserts at 400 calories.

It’s comfort food served in a comfortable environment at a comfortable price.

“This is chef-driven food that you can eat in your jeans,” Tio said.

Just don’t show up in a Snuggie — that’s taking things too far.

Here are six restaurants that should satisfy your comfort-food fix.