Please pass the organic salt

The kind folks at Pizza Fusion invited us out for a tasting the other day. Pizza Fusion is all about everything organic, sustained, green, humane, hormone free, recycled and LEED certified. Even their website says that it is "Powered by renewable energy", how in the hell do they pull that off? Read much more than you wanted to know about it here.

These folks are very serious about the "green" scene. To bad they are not as serious about the flavor of their ingredients. We sampled a salad, appetizer, and four pizzas (Pepperoni, Sausage and Tricolor Peppers, Veggie and BBQ Chicken) with three different crusts (Original Organic White Crust, Multigrain Crust, and gluten-free).

Everything we ate was good and very, very fresh. It had a hands-off taste, but it was too hands-off. I was dying for an organic salt shaker. The sauce on the pizza appeared to be simply crushed tomatoes. Don't they make organic garlic or oregano? Organic doesn't have to mean bland, which is, except for the sausage, what I found almost everything to be.

I'm a big fan of meaty, greasy, salty foods but I can also appreciate healthy food with bold flavor. With a few simple, flavor-adding steps Pizza Fusion could be fabulous. All of the crusts were very good and crispy but I really liked the impossibly thin and crisp, gluten-free crust. I also had the best diet soda on earth, Boylan’s All-Natural Soda. This stuff is awesome!

So go get your healthy on but bring a salt shaker or some garlic with you. Check them out on facebook.

Spring Quick Bites

It's time for some Spring "Quick Bites". Fun, festive and short or the complete opposite of a visit to Grinders, here are some quick food thoughts:

1) Pizza Bella has a new owner but the same great menu remains. The Beer list is expanding and the pizza seems to have a little more toppings.

2) Cookies and ice cream at McCoy's is an awesome summer treat. If you sit on the deck you can even watch people swill 86 ounce Bud Lights from the new Kelly's rooftop patio.

3) Spring should be the time that places think about adding to or revamping their menus. I'm looking at you Tower Tavern (one of my favorites, but as I've had everything on the menu I need something new).

4) Genghis Khan Mongolian Grill off of 39th Street is my new favorite location. Great food at a great price. And don't forget to check out the super awesome pizza thrower at Da Bronx next door for some post-meal entertainment. Seriously, this guy could compete on The Food Network today with his pizza making skills.

5) Why can't I get good seafood in Midtown without resorting to buying the six-family size portion at Costco. I feel like I'm killing off half of Nemo's fish school when I buy it there. Un-Fresh just doesn't cut it.

6) Why is Conan coming back to TBS of all places? Was his potential deal with Fox that jacked up?

7) The Well in Waldo has pretty good food and the roof top deck is sweet, but why is the beer selection, once so promising, now so boring.

8) Strouds is now at the "K" and I will consume mass amounts of it this summer. If I can stomach watching the team on the field.

9) It's Pizza 51 time. The outdoor seating area and the well priced slices of pie help me to forget the 500 bucks I dropped on that place for car repairs when it was a service station. Sorta...

10) If you are a restaurant in KC and you still don't have a liquor license, get one. If I eat a ham and cheese crepe I'd like a glass of good red wine. You know who you are...

11) Will this post come out looking as good as it looks when I created it or will KC Food Guy have to come back and re-format it?

Please make her/it go away!

I'm talking about Chopped on Food Network. The show's premise is ok, I guess (although a Top Chef ripoff), but the host and judges must go. Ted Allen and Alex Guarnaschelli should start a snobby asshole camp to train under-assholed folks.

Diggin the Pig!

I finally made it out to Belton for some BBQ. A couple friends opened The Little Pig (103 S. Scott Ave. Belton, MO 64012) Formally known as Mick's, The Little Pig has some great food. The menu is quite extensive, offering  a bit more then the usual BBQ fair. I especially enjoyed the pulled pork, BBQ beans and the awesome Carolina slaw. Even my buddy Huff liked it, and he's a BBQ slob snob.

I suggest you take a little trip down to friendly Belton and try some. After you eat, walk over to the nearby Belton Railroad, check out all the trains and take a ride on one. It's a fun, short little ride.

Fernet Branca

I tried this for the first time about a year ago. It's very complex and takes some getting used to. I drink it with coke. Here is an article about it.

" Made up of over 40 different kinds of herbs and spices, the drink is often consumed as a digestif -- to help aid digestion after a large meal -- or as a hangover cure."

Here is a link to their website.

The Plaza?

I haven't been to the Plaza for anything in a long time. I'm thinking about going over there for dinner soon. Any suggestions? M&S Grill, Plaza Three, Figlio, Capitol Grill, Hibachi, Fogo de Chao, The Melting Pot, Fiorella's, or maybe Kona?

Maybe some nice PR people could influence my decision on where to eat?

This is pretty sad

Willie sings for the bell in 1991 to pay "The Man".

Huff got it wrong

The PR people from Backfire BBQ bought lunch for us today and it was fantastic! My buddy Huff ate out there a few weeks ago and said it was shit one of the worst meals he has ever had in his life. He couldn't have been more wrong. The best parts of the meal were the corn bread, pulled pork and the brisket. The meat was super moist and very flavorful. Some of the best brisket and pork I've had. I wanted to dislike this place on the premise alone, but I couldn't. It's good stuff. Now go get ya some!

They knew we were coming.

Thank you Chris and Terry!

Eat me Daily Interviews Shut Up, Foodies

Read it here.

"Since its debut a mere three weeks ago, the blog Shut Up, Foodies has received a lot of attention from those in the food world who can laugh at themselves. At once satirical and serious, Shut Up, Foodies seeks to point out the areas in which food snobs are hypocritical, self-righteous, and just plain ridiculous. We interview the three anonymous authors, Julia Childless, Snacktime, and Meatball, below."

Shut up, Foodies is cool. Find them here.

Yummy in my tummy

Yu Um Chon needs her own show. Maybe she should take over for Ina Garten?

It's food writer Bingo!

I think "redolent" isn't used enough.

FOH at Momofuku

Momofuku Mo-Fos.

"-Don’t cluster fuck passage ways, always say behind, stepping in, corner" Funny.

He's doing this for your own good.

Clean up on aisle three! "he thought if he could save one chubby girl, he's done his job."

Columbia Critic Defends Colicchio & Sons Review

Go Jason go! I've always thought Tom Colicchio was an elitist dick.

"Yet, I smile at Tom Colicchio’s tweets, at his immature ravings, because they help me understand why Colicchio & Sons is such a horrendous restaurant. In effect, the bitter taste of Colicchio’s entitled, elitist attitude spills over into his food and infects the ethos of his restaurant. When I went to Colicchio & Sons, I felt like an outsider, isolated and denied access to the true possibilities of Colicchio’s skill."

Tee Hee.

The Edison LA

Wow this place looks totally sick. I'm definitely going to hit this place up while I'm in LA this summer. Be sure to check out the virtual tour.

"Eater Los Angeles gets word that the Edison, a popular cocktail lounge and restaurant located in a former power plant in downtown LA, has their sights set on New York City."

R&I's Top 100 Independent Restaurants 2010: The Rankings

Hot Damn. That's a lot of dough.

"The highest-grossing independent restaurants in the United States had combined food-and-beverage sales of $1.37 billion last year, significantly off from the previous year's aggregate of $1.52 billion."

Here is a list of the top 400 restaurant chains.

It's good

I feel I owe it to Smash Burger to review their new restaurant. After all they did buy lunch for me and a co-worker today.

It was a damn good burger! Go get one.

It's Chocolate Covered Raisin Day!

Look kids, it's the American Food Holidays Calender. August 3rd is "Grab Some Nuts" day!

So eat up! It's national something day! Here's an article, read it.

KC food section fail

Need a great Super Sunday recipe? Oh... wait... it's the end of March. Maybe the post will still be up next year.

Trendy enough already!

Everyone knows burgers are frickin delicious but enough is enough. We have Local Burger, Smash Burger, Chef Burger, Hamburger Mary's, Big Burger, Wolf Burgers, Grandstand Burgers, Five Guys Burgers, Blanc Burgers (try the $21 variety) and countless others popping up every week.

I hope the next food trend that sweeps the nation is a little more exciting like a Picadillo invasion or a Gyulai infestation.