Did This Really Just Happen In My House?

Food Fight Judges from left to right: Debbie Gold,
Katie Van Luchene, Doug Frost, and me.
(Debbie appears super interested in my story)

Apparently not all home-cooked meals are created equally. We regularly attend an annual fundraiser for the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired (CCVI). The event, known as Food Fight, includes an "Iron Chef-style" cooking competition between several local chefs. I have been fortunate enough to sit at the judges' table at this competition for the last two years. The fundraiser also includes a live auction of some really incredible experiences one of which this year was a dinner for eight cooked in your home by Chef Jennifer Maloney of Cafe Sebastienne at The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art here in Kansas City. Our good friends (and CCVI patrons) Bill & Laura agreed to team up with us to win this particular auction item. And win we did.

Chefs Linda Duerr and Jennifer Maloney showing me what's actually possible in mu suburban kitchen.

Start Your Sunday With Brunch at Story

Sometimes you find restaurants (even the obvious ones) the strangest ways. Last Saturday I had the pleasure of running the half-Marathon portion of the Waddell & Reed Kansas City Marathon and unexpectedly found myself in a pace group with my friends Andy and Laurie. We were cold (temperature at start was 34º F) but working hard, burning calories and talk eventually gravitated toward food in general and KC restaurants in particular. We compared favorites (too many to list), bemoaned the dogs (not going there) and tried to come up with a recommendation that one of us hadn't tried. Eventually Andy asked, "Have you tried brunch at Story?" I had not.

Six Reasons to Toast Duvel's Purchase of Boulevard Brewing Company

It's been less than one week since the big announcement that Boulevard Brewing Company was being sold to Belgian brewer Duvel Moortgat (the first part is pronounced DOO-Vell, in conversation I suggest just dropping that second bit). Much of the on-line reaction that immediately followed the news was decidedly negative with Facebook and Twitter flaring up with cries of "Sellout!", "You can't do this!", and varying versions of, "I'll never drink Boulevard again!". No one should be surprised by the knee-jerk reactions and the ensuing hyperbole. After all it's like your best friend walks into the room and announces, "Guess what? I'm getting married!" and you're all like, "Wut? I didn't even know you were dating!" But you know what? I think everything is going to be A-OK. I'm an optimist at heart anyway but having given the whole thing a lot of thought here are the reasons that I think everyone in Kansas City should embrace John McDonald's decision to sell his beloved brewery:

Beyond Cocktails: Beertails vs. Winetails

I recently posted about the Paris of the Plains Cocktail Festival held in Kansas City a couple of weeks ago. One of the highlights of this five-day event was a very special dinner held at The American Restaurant. The theme was "Beertails vs. Winetails" and I was pretty intrigued by the invite (see below).

First of all, I had been looking for a good excuse to visit The American and try out new Executive Chef Michael Corvino's craftwork. Corvino is the latest in an impressive list of executive chef's at this storied Kansas City icon that includes James Beard Award winners Debbie Gold, Michael Smith, and Celina Tio. Corvino's menu for this event was a hybrid of items from his new dinner menu as well as a few courses designed specifically for this meal. Seeing items from the standard dinner menu was a nice surprise as it's not unusual for restaurants to simplify menu items when hosting a banquet-style event. A copy of our menu is below. None of the courses disappointed and the Cold Poached Lobster and Slow Roasted Pig were (IMHO) stellar.

Paris of the Plains Cocktail Festival 2013 - Bartending Competition

True story: Back in college and on one of the many occasions I was short on cash I had the bright idea to place a classified ad in the local paper (people, this was pre-internet) offering my bartending services for private parties. My qualifications for this service? Less than zero. Not only was I underage, but I had never mixed anything more complicated than a Screwdriver in my life. The foibles of youth. Anyway, someone actually calls me and I get a gig at some random, newly minted dentist's birthday party. I tried to memorize some cocktail recipes beforehand but ultimately wound up winging it all night long. I learned many things that night. Among them:

First Impressions - Novel

Kansas City's Newest Restaurant, Novel located 
in the charming Westside neighborhood

The little intersection at 17th & Summit in Kansas City's Westside neighborhood just keeps getting better. Last week Novel opened in a charming century-old house that overlooks 17th Street from its perch atop a small hill there. It's clear that they have been busy getting this place ready. I have personally rehabbed a 100-year-old house before and it's a lot of work. This space used to be home to Lill's on 17th so chef/owner Ryan Brazeal and team had a head start but they undertook some serious renovations all the same. The kitchen is significantly larger (no small feat) and they have added a cozy little bar tucked just off the entrance (a bit like the bar at The Westside Local just around the corner). This place oozes charm and feels like the neighborhood restaurant that it is.

July Amuse Bouche - Recent Dining Highlights

Let me start with apologies to my regular readers (all six of you) for my lack of posts recently. My real job (the one that pays for all these meals) has kept me pretty busy lately.

So, I'm taking the easy way out and doing an Amuse Bouche post - little bite-size treats to keep you busy until the main course is ready.

Here are some of my dining highlights in and around Kansas City recently: