Here's to ya... a handy guide

Be careful what you say with your hands while abroad.

I loves me some beef jerky

Some time ago I ordered some beef jerky from this place. Man, it was fantastic! The place is based in Le Roy, Kansas. You can always get some jerky from McGonigle's here in town. It isn't nearly as good, but it is home-made.

Q & A with Karrin Allyson

Here is the interview. She has a new album coming out too.

What is your favorite chain restaurant that no longer exists?

View the answers here. My favorite chain restaurant that no longer exists in K.C. is Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips.

Rapidly Dying 47-Year-Old Professor Gives Exuberant ‘Last Lecture’

This is sad but inspiring. You can find the entire lecture here. And a nice article here.

I pledge allegiance, to the hydrant

This is good... they should paint a #7 on it and make it look like Mike Vick.

Whew.... now I can go back to the Plaza. Not.

It started early this month. Here is the latest.

Actually, I went down to the Capitol Grill Monday night with Teddy. We had smoked salmon, calamari and rare grilled tuna (not on the menu). The food was pretty good, for the price it should be. Then over to reVerse for a couple nightcaps. The Plaza, Capitol Grill and reVerse are not really my style, but we had fun.

Real Thai

I've been reading this blog for quite some time. It makes me so hungry.

*

I found this kind of funny.

But I don't understand this.

"Matt Murphy, a 21-year-old student and construction supervisor from New York, emerged from a scuffle holding the ball. He said he decided to sell it because he couldn't afford to pay the taxes required to keep it."

I thought it wasn't worth anything until you sold it. If anyone can explain this, feel free.

Area restaurants are cited for code violations

These restaurants will not be receiving their James Beard awards anytime soon. Here is a full listing of local joints you want to avoid.

Culinary world celebrates excellence at James Beard Awards

Congratulations to Charlie Trotter. And Celina Tio of the American Restaurant.

Tony may mince garlic, but he never minces words

Anthony Bourdain is cool. Check this out. Here are some quotes from him.

Buying Food Is A Chore In Urban Core

"One of the biggest problems most shopping centers and stores have in the central city is the element of crime." Ric Romero reporting.

Good article here.

You can't go buy milk at the place you robbed yesterday.

There is no justice in this world if white, middle-class families can't get a fair deal on Sprint Center tickets

I don't agree with a lot of what this guy says... but this article cracks me up."When middle-to-upper-class white people are unhappy about something: It's important."

http://www.tonyskansascity.com/

I was busy last night

Damn, I'm tired. Last night was laundry night. I put my clothes in the washer at my neighborhood laundromat. Then I went a couple blocks west to the Thai Place for a beer. While I was there I was lucky enough to encounter Chu Jit, my favorite local Chef. We talked for a while, mainly about the girlfriend I no longer have. Then back to the laundromat to put my clothes in the dryer. While they were drying I went a couple blocks south to meet my folks at Jardines. Carol Comer was playing. She was a very odd yet entertaining old woman. Mike Metheny interviewed her in '94, you can find the transcript here. Back to the laundromat to fold my clothes. After folding my clothes I headed downtown to Anthony's to meet my Mom and Dean for dinner.

What can I say, Anthony's is cool. As my mom pointed out, it was odd being there without one Spino in the place. The folks had the catfish which I'm sure was great. Anthony's has some of the best catfish in town. I had the scampi. It was a little tart from too much lemon. I also had a side of anglehair OBG (oil, butter and garlic). After asking the waiter to make sure it came out al dente, of course it came out over-cooked. Anyway, Anthony's is more about the place than it is about the food.

For a nightcap I stopped by the Bulldog to catch a couple of tunes from Vince Cook. If you haven't experienced Vince you should. A true character, we chatted for a while, it was nice to see him again. It was a busy night. I'm tired today.

Tonight is Friday Night Fun League on the disc golf course. Tomorrow I bartend all night and Sunday I'm going to the Chiefs game. Busy weekend again.

Parker's gravesite celebration audio

I just found this really cool audio account of the gravesite celebration held at Lincoln Cemetery. Click on the mp3 icon for the audio. Reported by Lee Ingalls of KCUR.

Thanks again for the great event Dean. I hope you will post some of your plans for next years event on here. I hear you have some special things planned.

For those of you who have never been to this thing, you must attend next year.

Aaarrrgh Pirates!

A friend who knows that I am crazy about pirates sent this link to me. It's a cool article in National Geographic about modern-day piracy in the Malacca Strait.

Councilwoman Sharon Sanders Brooks needs to zip it

The 3rd district is doing more to hurt itself than help itself.... again.
Love this comment!
"Sharon Sanders Brooks shows the same amount of class and maturity as her predecessors, Sandra McFadden Weaver and Carol Coe."

Michael McGraw’s Kansas City Boulevard Big Band has a new release

Details are here.
It looks like one of my favorites, Hal Melia, appears on the album. What a guy.

What's Hot With Jazz Guitar: Danny Embrey

Check out this nice article about Danny Embrey.
If you haven't heard this guy play.... you need to.

Friday Happy Hour

For a GREAT happy hour time on Fridays, I'd like to suggest the new gig at the Mutual Musician's Foundation, now operating legally with a booze license for the first time in over 77 years! Starts at 4:30 and goes on for at least several hours. Starting mid October, the MMF will be back to the all night Sat/Sun jam sessions because the City Council finally passed new rules allowing essentially round the clock booze sales.

No La Raza for you!

Semler vows not to resign.

The Best Calamari?

I went to Arun last night with Teddy the owner. We ordered the calamari. It was good, but not good enough for Teddy who immediately went to the kitchen to make another batch. The second batch was even better. I'm not sure what he did different but it was fantastic.

Although the Asian influenced calamari was great, I think the best in town can be found at the Bulldog. They serve not only the "ring" type but you also get plenty of baby squids with the tentacles and all. (pictured)

Goat cheese ravioli with bell peppers and brown butter

I think I'll make this Sunday.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/239796

K.C. this weekend

Here is some of what is going on in K.C. this weekend.

I'm going to be here friday:

Friday and Saturday
•Great Grillers Blues & Barbeque Contest goes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Old Shawnee Town, 57th and Cody, in Shawnee. Call 913-631-5200 or go to www.greatgrillers.com for more info.

In the black corner - weighing in at 476lbs. it's the Komodo Kamado

This thing looks bad-ass. But is it worth $2500?

Tiny djs cut it up

DJ Sarah is going to famous someday. Check out her other videos on Youtube.
These kids are pretty talented.

The Plan for Electric Avenue looks a lot like the strategy that failed with Kemper Arena

Most Kansas City reporters won't remember it because they were living somewhere else at the time but a big part of the plan behind the Power & Light District is the gamble that Electric Avenue will provide tourists, residents and other visitors a place to congregate before and after events at The Sprint Center and this is the same strategy that failed when KC first built Kemper Arena.

Not only is this assumption completely wrong but it also represents a step backward by using the same tactics that didn't pan out previously.

Again, you might not remember this but when Kemper Arena was first constructed there were restaurants, clubs, bars and other "attractions" which developers (mistakenly) believed would cater to the convention and/or sports crowd housed in the arena. Turns out that concept was a complete failure because folks going to see any event at an arena (for the most part) only want to go home afterwards.

Already, the delay in construction of the P&L District has brought so many doubts to the surface but a proven fact of this kind of close relationship between an entertainment district and a large stadium is that the "spillover" won't sustain any neighboring property. In this instance, The P&L District will have to survive on its own merits which includes very little connection to KC proper.

And while Kansas City has bet so much on Electric Avenue it's a shame that the opening of the place is going to coincide with what many people believe will be an economic downturn during which shopping, eating out (he-he) and luxury living space might not be in such high demand.

I stole this post directly from: http://www.tonyskansascity.com/

KC's Best Crab Cakes

Where are KC's best crab cakes? I mean REAL crab cakes with real crab meat and not over loaded with filler.

What's your favorite website which no longer exists?

There are some good ones listed here.

I personally miss hearmeseeme.com.

When in Seattle, be sure to ride the S.L.U.T.

This kills me.

Things you know if you are from KC

>
> ...you know that Kansas City is actually two cities in two states, Kansas
> and Missouri , and you make sure people know which one you're from.
>
> ... you still call it Sandstone.
>
> ... you see a KU sticker with Johnson County tags and you know the ego of
> the person inside is even more over-inflated than the tires of the SUV they
> are driving.
>
> ... your airport is known as KCI ( Kansas City International Airport ) yet,
> the airport code is MCI.
>
> ... you've given the following answers: "Yes, we have tornados." and "No, I
> don't know Dorothy."
>
> ... you set off enough fireworks to blow up small countries every year on
> the fourth of July, even though all the news stations remind you "they're
> cracking down this year."
>
> ... you've barhopped in Westport .
>
> ...you know who Johnny Dare is and you wonder what happened between him and
> Murphy.
>
> ... one of your guilty pleasures is Go Chicken Go, despite how disgusting it
> really is. Mmm..Gizzards
>
> ... you whined through the 90's about Marty Ball and now wish he was back so
> the Chiefs could at least make it to the playoffs.
>
> ... you know who Belly Boy is.
>
> ... you know better than to try and drive through "the triangle" at rush
> hour.
>
> ... you know Leawood sucks.
>
> ... you've said "but we were in Missouri , so the cops will just let us go"
>
> ... you have had some of the best bbq in your life... at a gas station.
>
> ... you know who Tech N9ne is, and freak out during "We reppin KCMO, the
> fellas and the ladies know"
>
> ... the term "the Dot" itself has made you laugh.
>
> ... you brag you're from the Missouri side.
>
> ... you keep the fact that you're from KCK a secret.
>
> ... Wyandotte County confuses the hell out of you.
>
> ... the words Kin Lin and you suddenly crave Chinese food
>
> ... you've eaten a meal that was delivered to you by a model train.
>
> ... you and your friends have been talking about stealing a 69 South sign
> for years.
>
> ... you are wary of "Flush Creek" I mean Brush Creek.
>
> ... you know the following numbers: 648-8888 and 321-2277 (and can sing the
> accompanying songs).
>
> ... you spent a full day learning how life works at Exchange City or got
> your "teamwork" on at Adventure Woods.
>
> ... you've stood in line for hours to buy a dual pass for The Edge of Hell
> and The Beast and complained about how bad the Beast sucked afterwards
>
> ... you've been to Kaleidoscope (and still want to go back).
>
> ... you've ridiculed the giant shuttlecock sculptures on the lawn of the
> Nelson Atkins Museum of Art to your local friends, but defended them to
> out-of-towners.
>
> ... you've bragged to others how close you live to the Meth capital of the
> world, but thank God its still far away enough to not make you feel like
> white trash.
>
> ... you're mad because Nebraska Furniture Mart used to delivery to Kansas
> City for free, all the way from Omaha, but now that they have a big new NFM
> store right here in KC, you have to pay for delivery.
>
> ...you know the Royals suck, but you refuse to let any Cardinals fan forget
> about the 1985 world series.
>
> ... you know that KC has a Jazz District down at 18th and Vine, even if
> you've never been there.
>
> ... you can't find a steak worthy of your pallette outside of KC.
>
> ... you know that if you don't get to Suicide Hill by 8 AM, you're gonna get
> nothing but dirt.
>
> ... you know the name Buck O'Neil needs to be in the Baseball Hall of
> Fame....NOW.
>
> ... you know that Union Station wasn't always so lame.
>
> ...you've had Brian Busby come to your school to talk about Weather.
>
> ... you've played football on the median of Ward Parkway .
>
> ... you think Winsteads craps all over Steak and Shake in Quality and Taste.
>
> ... you've celebrated the turning on of christmas lights with about 100,000
> other drunk people... every year.
>
> ... you take the back way to Kauffman/Arrowhead by passing by LC's Barbeque.
>
> ... you've drank at Loose Park at night.
>
> ... on nights when you feel like being classy, you drink Boulevard Wheat
> with a lemon.
>
> ... it can take you up to 45 minutes to get to a friends house, without
> traffic.
>
> ... you remember Bob "The Hammer" Hamlin.
>
> ... one word: Comets.
>
> ... you know who the "Nigerian Nightmare" is.
>
> ... you went to Waldo Pizza/Imo's/Minsky's/Uno's before a dance.
>
> ... you tell visitors that your city is the "City of Fountains " and they
> look at you blankly because no one outside of the city has EVER heard it
> called that, even though we do have over 200 fountains sprinkled throughout
> the city.
>
> ... you think Johnson County folks are a bit pretentious (even if you are
> one).
>
> ...if you live on the Kansas side, you think Missouri drivers are pokey and
> frustrating. If you live on the Missouri side, you think Kansas drivers are
> crazy and erratic.