I tried Paul Rudd’s favorite Kansas City dish. I’ll ‘totes magotes’ be having it again

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I’ll admit it: I’m no Kansas City restaurant connoisseur.

Having moved here from Nebraska last fall, I have much to learn about the city of fountains, jazz and barbecue. But like many young women everywhere, I know plenty about KC-raised actor and heartthrob Paul Rudd.

I could rave about him in past films like “Clueless” (easily the best adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Emma”), and I’m confident his movie opening next week, “Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” will be just as praiseworthy.

So when I heard the movie star’s favorite dish in KC was the chicken Parmesan from Jasper’s Italian Restaurant, I was intrigued. I thought, if their food is good enough for People’s 2021 “sexiest man alive,” surely it is for me, too.

Co-owner Jasper Mirabile Jr. has only good things to say about his longtime family friend and frequent customer. Mirabile told me he’d known Rudd since the actor was 6 or 7 years old, and Rudd stops by for his signature order when he’s home.

Rudd had just been to the restaurant, at 1201 W. 103rd St., the weekend of Jan. 29, when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cincinnati Bengals.

“There was chicken Parmesan at his table, but also he ordered linguine with pesto sauce,” Mirabile said. “I was quite surprised. It’s not on the menu, but I was honored to make it for him.”

On my recent visit, Mirabile and his crew were welcoming hosts, proudly showing off their dining room with a view overlooking Indian Creek while savory aromas of bruschetta and marinara wafted from the kitchen.

“You could be the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, the mayor — it doesn’t matter. When you’re here, we treat you like royalty,” Mirabile said.

Mirabile showed me how he cooked the famous dish, dipping the chicken breast in egg wash and coating it in bread crumbs before letting it sizzle and bathing it in tomato sauce and cheese. A side of steamy, fresh penne finishes off the plate.

With a legacy stretching back to 1954, Jasper’s has served a variety of stars, including KCK native Eric Stonestreet. In 2012, Mirabile served Michelle Obama lobster mac and cheese at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and left a lasting impression.

“She picked up her fork, tasted it, and said, ‘I want to take that home with me,’” Mirabile said. “My wife wrapped it all up in a foil container, and she took it on the plane back with her.”

In a sea of Midwestern barbecue and steaks, Mirabile hopes to provide a uniquely authentic Italian dining experience. One food writer, he said, called the restaurant “an oasis in the desert.”

I was eager to taste my Pollo Parmigiano ($24), which a server paired with a sweet red wine. Each bite better than the last, I tried to pace myself and savor the rich sauce and tender chicken. With the breading just the right crispness, the chicken and tomato flavors mingled lovingly. I finished my plate craving more.

The dish certainly lived up to its fame — a meal fit for movie stars and Kansas Citians alike.

Friendly wait staff offered me a cannoli ($7.75), strawberry cheesecake-flavored in honor of KC’s Super Bowl-bound Chiefs.

Finishing my lunch sent me into mourning. Even as I write this, I can close my eyes and taste the best meal I’ve had in KC. Unsurprisingly, Rudd was right about Jasper’s.

Thanks for the recommendation, Paul.

So, will I be back? To find the answer, I turn to the wise words of Rudd’s Peter Klaven from “I Love You, Man.”

“Totes magotes.”