Cheese Anyone?

Looking at the masthead of our site got me thinking about one of my favorite meal experiences: The Cheese Platter. Many years ago I discovered the best cheese plate experience in the world (it is the best... Trust Me!) at 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia. Located just outside of D.C. this place had the best post-dinner cheese options. (www.2941.com).
From Italian Brunet to Spanish Roncal you could pick and choose which cheeses you wanted to sample. As if that wasn't enough, they then brought you a heap of home-made cotton candy to fully finish the meal. (Who knew that cotton candy could be associated with fine dining?)
My point is not to fondly look back at one of my favorites in another place I lived, but rather to get some feedback from the savvy foodies who check out this site for suggestions on where to go in KC for a good cheese plate. I know that in recent years the beloved cheese plate has often fell out of favor in fancy meal spots, but surely it remains somewhere. So to all four readers of this site... hook me up with some options!

Creative Video..... Western Spaghetti.

Very cool video......... just watch it already!

I found it here. sageofdiscovery.com I really like this blog. Found it today.

Food·i·ot

You I know who you I are am.

Food·i·ot (noun): An overzealous gastronome whose exhibitionistic affection for food is an annoyance to his or her peers.

Keith Floyd Gets Real About "Celebrity Chefs"

I love this guy!

"No one can make a paella, all they can do is assemble gastronomic lego."

"The final interview with recently departed culinary legend Keith Floyd made its way onto the air, and what he had to say about the idea of "celebrity chefs" was both surprising and amusing. He lambasts TV chefs for preferring the attention of the spotlight to actually being in the kitchen, and points out the distinction between being a chef and being a cook. Never one to mince words, his light hearted tirade contains some choice language, but hearing Keith's brutally honest assessment of what irritates him about the celeb chef culture makes us miss him all the more."

Who needs real food?

Who needs to actually eat food when you can get your fill of tasty pizza in beer? Check out www.mammamiapizzabeer.com for a yummy pizza beer. Actually, I have no idea if this stuff is any good as the nearest it gets to KC is East St. Louis, but it sounds unique. Or gross when you read that they literally stuff pizza into the beer vats:
"The Margarita pizza is put into the mash & steeped like a tea bag." He said "tea bag".

Gaining Wisdom

Go on...... get ya some!

Foods in Season

This place is nifty. Need some Shimeji Brown Caps? No? How about some Fiddlehead Ferns? I want two of everything!

Best restaurants in Kansas City.... Not!

WTF is going on over at Urban Spoon? Blanc Burgers is ranked the #1 restaurant in the city??? Justus Drugstore got in at #100? Who's doing the ranking over there..... 7 year olds? This list is a joke.

Houston's... Best Fine Dining?
Mi Ranchito... Best Mexican?
Houston's... Best Steakhouse?

I'm down with the West Bottoms looking up

The word is that Todd Schulte, the guy behind Happy Gillis, is going to open a spot in the West Bottoms.

"Schulte hasn't signed a lease on the space. He's still thinking about the deal. "I'm 99 percent sure I'd like to open a restaurant there," he said. "There's a lot of daytime business in the Bottoms, but not a lot of dining options. What I wouldn't do is put another Happy Gillis in the space. It's too close to our original location."

Another high note for the "Bottoms" is the opening of R Bar in the old Sutera's space right across from my favorite steakhouse, the Ox.

Thanks Fat City.... I love you.

The Coming Currency Revolution

Got Ven? How about Serios? Here is a very interesting video addressing new types of currency.

Not Your Average Cooking Show

Tony is a funny man. Some quotes.... "The first time you make this dish, you will fuck it up!" "The more you pay for a meal, the more hands have been on it."

Celebrity chef, author, TV star and restaurant owner Anthony Bourdain cooks Duck a l'orange for fans in Atlantic City, October, 2008.

New York Restaurant Loses Its Appetite for Cash

 Tony says it best....

"If you don't have a credit card, you can use a debit card," said the restaurant's co-owner, Tony Zazula. "If you don't have a debit card, you probably don't have a checking account. And if you don't have a checking account, you probably shouldn't be eating at Commerce to begin with."

Irish Fest Beer Wrap-up

So I made a little noise with my beers of the Irish Fest post. I'm just getting around to posting the recap (not due to the excessive amounts of Pale Ale I consumed there!).

The beer stands seemed promising at first on Saturday as their beer inventory included Coors Light, Boulevard Wheat, Boulevard Pale Ale, and Boulevard Stout along with an Irish Cream Liquor. Still no traditional Irish brands, but at least a start. Unfortuntately, the Irish Cream was "kicked" by early afternoon on Saturday and when I returned on Sunday, the Stout had likewise been "crossed off" of the beer offerings.

In my previous post on this issue, a very informed poster informed me that loyalty to Boulevard is what determined the beer selections. I appreciate that. I want the Irish Fest to flourish and grow so if it makes sense to include only Boulevard taps then go for it. I still don't get how that explains that none of the other Boulevard brands were included. It also doesn't explain why the Stout couldn't have been easily replaced.

Rather than just complain I'd like to offer a solution. How about one of the beer tents being designated as the micro-brew tent with all Boulevard brands on draft and maybe a cider along with some traditional Irish related brews. (I was also chided by a commenter that all of my suggestions were actually owned by British controlled interests which confused me because a) I know I see the Boulevard brewery in downtown KC not downtown Dublin and b) and didn't realize such anti-British animosity revealed itself in a local family based event. I mean even Ragland Road and O'Dowds include the so called British brands I suggested.)

Anyway, great music, great fun, great food and a great time at the KC Irish Fest. I went two days and I will probably volunteer at the event next year. I just don't get the beer decision.

Check, Please back in action!

Just a week or so behind on this notice, but Check, Please is back for a new season. For anyone who hasn't seen this KCPT local production, it's a great look at local food establishments. Each week three regular "Joe's" review their favorite KC area food joints and then each of the other two people have to go to that selected place as well.

It's a pretty quick and concise view at a variety of local restaurants. I'm anxiously awaiting the review on October 8th of U-Gene's Deli & Pizza in Riverside so that I can interject my own comments on that dump... I mean culinary destination.

Link to the show's site: http://www.kcpt.org/checkplease/index.php

The Best Meals Ever!

Damn.... this site will make you very hungry.

Weird the Stripper

This is some funny stuff!

Outstanding!

Note to self........ do not play poker with this guy!

What They Brought to the Table

I don't know if you knew, Frank Bruni, New York Times food critic is on his way out. This article is about his dining companions over the years. 

" People are as strange about eating as they are about love. They want what they want."

Hot steamy food porn

Facebook fans of Bordain post their pictures of food around the world. Warning! Very graphic food porn ahead.

Chewing the fat with Bordain

Yeah... he's cool.

"The threshold for celebrity is so low these days. Those people on The Hills make a f***ing living off it. So I don't think I should be patting myself on the back about anything."

Seasonal Ingredient Map

Look kids.... Here's a seasonal ingredients food map thingy. Just in case your too stupid to figure it out on your own.Also, check out Locavore I-phone app.

"It tells you which foods are in season and available locally, and also helps you find farmers' markets where you can pick them up. It also links to information and recipes for each of the ingredients in its database."

But It’s So Nice Inside

Apparently David Chang ain't doing shit on Sundays.

David Chang, 31, is a noted chef and the owner of four establishments in the East Village: Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ko, Momofuku Ssam Bar, and Momofuku Bakery and Milk Bar. He lives alone in Chelsea, hates cooking at home and tries to do nothing on Sundays.

Will we be able to drink Irish beer at the Irish Fest?

It's not my purpose to piss anyone off this soon after posting. But I may have no choice when I post about the much revered KC Irish Fest. First of all, I will be there. I love the Irish Fest. Always have. Always will.

BUT... When will the mighty grip of the event's beer distributors be lifted for the sake of the visitors. More specifically, will the Irish Fest have any Irish Beer. I'm not picky. Smithwick's will do. Or what about some tasy Harp? I looked on the web site for the event and they don't mention specific brews that will be served.

In years past, Coors Light and Boulevard Wheat were about it. There is no question that the now defunct... I mean suspended KC Oktoberfest boasted the best selection of authentic brews. You could even get a fancy boot to imbibe from. But the Irish Fest remains beholden to certain distributors that unfortunately don't include fine Irish beers.

I hope I'm wrong. I'll gladly post a delightful blurb next Tuesday detailing how very wrong I was. In this case I honestly hope I'm wrong. Please... can we have an Irish beer at an Irish Fest?