The Making of a Foodie

A Fish Tale

I am a Pisces. Two fish swimming in opposite directions. Now that you know this about me, it should come as no surprise that I have always had a love of all things from the sea. I firmly believe in mermaids and an octopus was the first thing I ever drew as a child. I make jewelry from sea shells I collect and I adore spending vacations near the water. When visiting tropical places, I spend the majority of my meals eating the freshest seafood I can find. Seafood, that I simply cannot find back in my land-locked cowtown of Kansas City, until now . . .

I have always been on the hunt for a real fish monger in Kansas City. I think most of us have. We complain about it on Chowhound, ask other foodies when we are a dinner parties where they shop for fish and we even quiz our favorite Chefs about where we can find fresh seafood at retail in Kansas City. (Hopefully, someplace that does not decorate it's fish counter like something from Sponge Bob Squarepants, or plays a sound track of seagulls circling overhead when I am placing my order.)

After much debate, we all seem to give each other the same recommendation. Whole Foods or Costco are always named as the two places to buy seafood in Kansas City. Both, of course, are mentioned because they do have a decent selection of seafood that most of us have bought and enjoyed at some point. Whole Foods has some pretty knowledgeable guys behind their fish counter than can answer most of your questions, and Costco has bulk seafood that looks fresh. It's what we don't know, that I wonder about. We really don't know how long the fish had to travel to reach either of these national chain stores, and we have no idea how long the fish have been sitting in the case waiting to be sold either.

I can't explain it, but there is something missing from the experience of buying fish at these places. You always walk away from the counter with a little nagging doubt in your mind. I think that is when the passion of a true fish monger would really aid in your seafood buying experience. Someone who really knows where the fish came from, wild or farm-raised, sustainable or not, how long it's been out and perhaps even tips on how to cook it. I am looking for someone who really loves fish and could talk about fish to me for hours.

And call me crazy, but unless you speak fluent Chinese, I would not recommend buying fish from our Asian markets in town. There is a reason those markets smell the way they do. I love to shop them for everything, but seafood. I don't think that those markets are buying their seafood from local suppliers. Nor do I think they do enough volume or have the right clientele to merit getting in the highest quality fish. You want to be able to ask some questions when buying fish, impossible to do if you do not speak the language.

On my quest for good seafood in town, Chefs had told me that many of our local grocery stores and restaurants get their fish locally from supplier, Seattle Fish Company. Headquartered in Denver, they opened a regional office here in Kansas City in 2003, right next to Knuckleheads Saloon on the east side of town. The Seattle Fish Company is a family run, third generation business that is over 90 years old. They obviously have history and experience with fish, thus meeting a major criteria for me. I know I personally have seen their trucks all over town making deliveries. 

So, I was tickled pink to meet Adam Martin, Sales Representative at Seattle Fish Company, at one of my Test Kitchen events. He offered to give me a tour of Seattle Fish Company. I jumped at the chance when he emailed me a couple of weeks later and we began searching for a day when we could both make the date work.

The day of my scheduled visit, I went with Chef Erin Reynolds Brown who owns Dolce Baking Co. She is the second biggest seafood lover I know, and she had an interest in making the fish connection for her future consumption needs. Clever girl. We got lost a couple of times with all of the construction down there, but eventually found ourselves in the right spot.

We were told by Adam that the room they store and do all the fish processing would be cold and that we should wear closed-toe shoes and bring a coat, hat and gloves. Upon arriving, we were also given white lab coats and ball caps to wear to protect our heads and once we were suited up and looking about as stylish as you might imagine, the tour began. (I was just happy to see no hairnets were produced.)

As Adam displays this Mahi-mahi in this video you get a sense of a large room filled with box after box of ice with fresh fish buried in it waiting to be processed. It was freezing cold in this room, so the ice does not melt from the fish. I can't tell you how glad I was to have had on every layer of clothing I did.

Jacquie Brockhoff, Regional Sales Manager, joined Adam on our tour, and they both added much to my knowledge about how Kansas City can actually get fresh not flash frozen, but fresh fish shipped to us from all over the world daily. 

The fish come to the Seattle Fish Company facility in Kansas City after a short pit stop in one of the 4 major cities that are considered to be the "fish hubs" for the US: Los Angeles, Miami, Boston and Seattle. All the fish that is shipped for US consumption from elsewhere in the world typically comes to us through one of these major seafood cities. To give you an idea of the timeline of how this all works, here's how Scott Godke, GM of Seattle Fish Company, explained it to me.

In Hawaii, in the wee hours of the morning, the tuna fishermen bring their boats to dock and begin unloading their haul to be sold or auctioned off at the Hawaii fish market. Scott has a sales broker he works with who is on the ground at the fish market in Hawaii. He checks out the fish available, looks at the order of what Scott is ready to buy, calls and confirms if he personally has found the tuna needed to fulfill the order or not. The fresh fish is then packed in boxes with frozen gel pads and put on the first commercial airplane headed for the mainland. After, a brief stop in Los Angeles, the fish then continues on to KCI where they land at 9:00 pm our time. Seattle Fish Company has a crew that collects all of the fish that were expected from the airport and races it back to their facility for processing and to fulfill their orders. They process the fish through the night and are delivering the fish to the Chef's specifications by 9:00 am the next morning when he opens his doors to prep for the day. This fish has never been frozen through this process. It is fresh fish.

Most independent restaurants in town prefer their fish to arrive at their restaurant whole, (based on some of Adam's measurements in the video, these are not small fish) sometimes they get them minus the head, while many chain restaurants prefer to have their fish prepped to their corporate specs and delivered as fillets. Seattle Fish Company is happy to deliver the fish any way the restaurants or stores need it. It is this service that sets them apart from some of the other companies in this business.

They use commercial airlines to ship the fish because of the good price they get, and most of the fish Seattle Fish Company gets comes to us on Southwest Airlines. He said the only time they really get into trouble flying their fish commercially is around Valentine's Day, when all of the fresh flowers are shipped as gifts to loved ones. Apparently, the rules are fresh flowers trump fresh fish only around Valentine's Day because of the tremendous volume they do during that time.

Also, Lobsters are the only seafood that comes into the airport that never sees the inside of their processing facility. It goes straight from the airport to the restaurant to ensure freshness and quality. Afterall, there is no prep work involved in live lobsters. 

So, who tends to be the pickiest buyers of fish in Kansas City? Well, I am sure all the restaurants are looking for the best quality in their fish, but Sushi Chefs take the cake. Their deep knowledge of, and needs for, certain kinds of sushi grade quality fish, make them a difficult account for an American-based fish company to land. Seattle Fish Company is proud to serve many Sushi Chefs in the Kansas City area. Listen below to Adam talking about the different kinds of salmon and which ones the sushi Chefs in town prefer.

Our tour ended with a very brief stop in their dry good area and then we headed back inside to ask a few more questions while Adam was to select and prepare some of the fish we had just seen on the floor. Over a hot plate in their break room, I have to imagine, Adam managed to cook up a nice piece of flounder and a piece of the striped bass, that Jonathan Justus buys from them to serve in his restaurant, Justus Drugstore, in a little butter, salt and pepper. It was a delightful well earned treat after thinking about nothing but seafood for the last two hours.

Scallops both wet and dry were cooked and presented to us to try, and the dry scallops that had not been treated with preservatives was so much sweeter. I quickly made a note to always eat "dry" scallops. They even provided a nice sample of their own branded smoked salmon, which was delicious and very easy on the salt and the smokey flavor. I loved it.

It wasn't until Erin and I left Seattle Fish Company, that we realized we smelled "fishy". Everything from our hair to our clothing was bathed in a smell that we had not noticed while we were there, but was shockingly noticeable in the light of day we walked back out into. A heady new perfume we nick-named "essence de la mer."

As we offered our thank you's to our new friends at The Seattle Fish Company, I asked Jacquie to please tell me where, in her opinion, the good people of Kansas City could find the best seafood selection. Without hesitation, she said to go see Paul at Cosentino's Market in Brookside. She says he is the most passionate man in town about his fish, and he gets his shipments daily from Seattle Fish Company because of the volume and the large selection he sells. I stopped by there the other night to see what I thought of the seafood counter and hoping for a chance to meet, Paul, who I had missed that night. The fish counter looked amazing, with at least 6 kinds of fish, some whole fish, mussels, clams, local caviar, squid and whole fresh sardines.

No worries, now that I know where to find the best fish in town and the best fish guy, I'll be back.

Ingredients, the Movie!

Robert Bates, is a film writer/director from Portland, OR. He emailed me about a month ago, looking for foodie friends to help him get the word out about his new documentary called Ingredients, that tells the story of the local food movement in America.

Robert is going to be screening this movie in Kansas City on Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 1:30 pm at the Glenwoods Arts Theater on Metcalf, as part of the Kansas International Film Festival. Tickets to see "Ingredients" are $6.50 a piece and can be purchased online from the Glenwood Arts Theater  HERE.

After speaking with Robert by phone, I had no reservations about him or his movie, he is the real deal. In fact, I even invited him to my Test Kitchen event on Saturday called "Down on the Farm" with Chef David Crum, and he accepted. He was nice enough to send me a rough cut to review, and the movie is really, really good. This falls right into the likes of Food Inc., only friendlier, with more heart and soul in it. 

I will also say this . . .the images in this film are stunningly beautiful. If you love food, like I love food, you will be blown away by the cinematography in this movie.

The movie takes you from understanding why farming is a dying art in America, to how important it is to know the people that grow your food and to support them on their journey, so they in turn can support your quest for eating the freshest and best foods in season. A quote from the movie: "You can pay your Doctor, or pay your farmer."

From the farm . . . to the Farmer's Market, to the restaurant Chef, to Alice Waters, to the schools and finally to the table, Ingredients is not just a gloom and doom documentary about how poisoned our food supply has become, instead it focuses more on the positive and upbeat angle of how we can help make it different and better going forward. It's about being educated on the choices we have when buying our food.

The film focuses on how farmers are just now realizing that there is a growing demand for meats and vegetables that have been grown or raised to have the most flavor. We will support them, and they will, in turn, support us. It's about treating everything you raise or grow with care and a reverence for the fact that it will be used to feed human beings.

One farmer in the movie says: "As farmers, we forgot we were growing food, we thought we were growing commodities for sale."

If you already are on the "eat local" bandwagon, and are a part of a CSA or shop your local farmer's market each week or even buy local products found in our grocery stores when they are available, then I stand up and throw my hat in the air Mary Tyler Moore style in celebration of your effort.

Now, how about your friends, do they know the importance of eating local? Your family? Your co-workers?

My point is this, this movie may seem like old news to those of us who have already seen the light and drank the kool-aid, but there are many other people that you know and I know, that don't know. It doesn't make them bad, it's just something they aren't aware of . . .just like we, at some point were not aware of the importance of eating local.

So, go see this movie on Sunday, and take a friend with you. Practice what you preach, share something of your self with another . . .and be the ball . . .I mean, be the change you want to see in this world.

Future of Food

When I was taken to Disney World for the first time as a kid, my absolutely favorite thing we saw was "The Carousel of Progress", sponsored by General Electric in the Tomorrowland part of the park. It was a stage show that Walt Disney designed along with help from the people at GE, that he eventually took to the World's Fair in the 1960's. After the World's Fair, Walt brought it back to the park and instead of using live actors, he created animatronic actors to perform the show every hour on the hour.

It was a story that took one family from the early 1900's and brought them all the way to the year 2000 so that you could see the changes in their lives and how much technology had changed their lives for the better. Ha! See above the video clip of the final act of the show where the family is celebrating Christmas in the year 2000. Notice all of the "space age" technology they imagined we would have in this day and age. Some of it we certainly have, some of it not so much. Some of it, why would we want it? (This show is no longer playing at Disney World, as we are now living in 2009!)

I loved this show. It fed the fantasy we all grew up with . . .thinking we would all be living like The Jetson's by now, pushing a button to have our dinner made, and pushing another button for the table to clear itself. Or, like in "The Carousel of Progress", programming your voice-activated oven to cook turn itself on and cook your Christmas Day turkey all by itself. 

As an adult, I look at where technology in our food chain has left us today. Industrialized food that doesn't even really taste like food anymore. We have stores full of perfect looking produce that tastes like nothing when we put it into our mouths. We smother it with processed ranch dressing in a squeeze bottle container and sprinkle Bac-O's on it until it tastes like something else all together. We eat more fabricated or processed foods, that are created with chemicals to "have that real cheese flavor" or "taste like real butter". We stuff our cows full of corn, because of the marbling and flavor we have grow to prize, but give little thought to how those cows are treated and what impact that industrialized meat has on us when we indulge in large quantities of it. We eat more food, and exercise too little. Our jobs are more sedentary, and the snack machines at our offices give us food and drink filled with more caffeine, salt, sugar and fat.

(As someone who absolutely indulges in food every day, I realize this sounds a little preachy. But I do strive everyday to keep it all in balance, just like most of you do, I suspect.)

Technology in our food supply, has given us the convenience we crave in our lives and we have grown out of touch with our food, our bodies and our health. Progress, yes, but at what price?

The good news is the awareness of eating local is on the rise, and more and more people are joining CSA's and learning about the ways they can eat fresher and healthier. Some of us are actually growing our own food in our own backyards to feed our families. Right now, we are learning the balance. How to eat healthy, well-balanced meals means getting back to the basics and eating things the come from the ground or animals that are fed things that grown in the ground, like natural grasses.

So, where will technology fit into this new awareness of balance? What are the ways we can get back to the basics and still enjoy the conveniences of eating great food that feeds our body, mind & spirit?

The September 2009 issue of Wallpaper* magazine features this look at the future of food from the view of the engineers at Phillips. At a time when this country has more obesity than it ever has in it's history and when more and more people are becoming aware of the importance of understanding what they put in their bodies and how it affects them, I think these videos are interesting food for thought.

I think this could be a very good application of how technology could assist us in monitoring our own bodies and what they need to be in balance. Ultimately, it would make us active participants in our own healthcare. Pro-active healthcare, versus reactive.

Okay, this video feels more like fantasy to me. I know I do not want to eat clear cubes of food made to taste like real food that comes from a machine. However, perhaps if you were someone who had special dietary needs, or for some other health reason you needed to keep to a strict diet, this could be a good tool. I love the idea they are toying with . . .that someone like say, Chef Grant Achatz from Alinea in Chicago, as someone who has mastered the art and science molecular gastronomy, could be considered a Doctor or Shaman in this future view of food. Foodie likes the idea of Chef's as doctors. "Yes, Doctor, it hurts right . . .here," she said pointing to her stomach.  

Growing your own garden or food indoors, like a bookshelf in your living room . . .awesome! I want one of these now. Of course, the folks at Phillips who created these "future views of food", were trying to figure out how Phillips products could play a part in our future. However, understanding what they see as the future of food reminded me how I felt watching "The Carousel of Progress" at Disney World. I think we are headed towards a major awakening. A time when many of us will be reconnecting with the earth and our food supply in a way we haven't for a long time. But, I also think in terms of our health care there could be a place for technology too. I think it's time to get back to the future . . .with regards to our food.

How about you? Where do you think technology will have a place in the future of our food?

What's next, er . . .or what's now?

I know it is completely unfair of me to whip out my list of Kansas City's 2009 Food Trends and spring them on you when the year is almost half over. It's cheating, in fact. I admit it. However, and I do have a witness that can confirm my story, I did write this up earlier this year and emailed it to a friend who was needing some content ideas for a video project about food trends in Kansas City.

There was a time in my life when I thought I wanted to be a trend-tracker (okay, secretly I still do). You know, one of those people that jet-sets into ever corner of the globe, traveling for inspiration, looking at the people, what they are wearing, what they are saying and what they are eating and drinking and where they are doing it and compiling it into a global "IT LIST" that would create a sensation and companies would pay big bucks to get their hands on. Yeah, you know what I mean.

Back in my real life, I stumbled across my own humble version of my Kansas City food trend "IT LIST" in my trusty, ever-faithful, always with me, notebook . . .mindlessly flipping through the pages and looking at the things I had written down and wondered why I had written them down. There it was, the list of food trends that if we weren't seeing yet, we would be in KC in 2009.

Looking at it now, I have to say . . .it's a pretty good little list. It's a blend of trends I have been watching and reading about on the coasts and it's having the inside track with the people who make great food in this town that allowed me to get this close right. My list is relevant, pointing to current trends with traction in this city so I thought I would go ahead and share it with you.

1. Hand-crafted cocktails (think Manifesto or Justus Drugstore) We aren't just talking about places that make a great cocktail. We have lots of those in town too. I am talking about places that know their liquor, infuse their liquor with other flavors, make their own bitters and syrups flavored with fresh herbs, fruit or veggies. These are places that construct a cocktail from the ground up in front of your eyes. Much like a Chef prepares a dish, it's about the combining of many parts to make a whole, drinkable cocktail. P.S. They also have to know their ice.
2. Communal Tables or Family style meals (like The Westside Local) Look, I know there is a time and a place to sit and enjoy a meal with a single important person, either for personal or business reasons. I get it. But there is also something wonderful about having the opportunity to sit with strangers, together, at one long communal table and break bread together. To pass dishes around the table like you used to do at home. I'm not talking about bringing enough friends with you to take up a whole table, either. That's a private party. Dining together with strangers is a wonderful ice breaker, it's not nearly as awkward as many believe it to be. We have all come to eat, right? We all need to eat, we just need to do it together in public, in restaurants. I think it might be the answer to world peace, tolerance and understanding. I love this idea. (Can you tell?)
3. Farm to Table Restaurants & Farm dinners – Farm to Table restaurants are where local Chefs work with local farmers, exclusively, to get much of the food they serve. This ensures their menus will switch with the seasons and that they are getting the locally grown food at the their peak. Local meats, cheeses and breads are also locally sourced. The Farmhouse Restaurant is the newest restaurant that is working with this kind of model, but many, many of our wonderful local restaurants have made it a point to get the food they are serving right from the source, the farmer. Such as Room 39, Jasper's, Justus Drugstore and many others.  Farm dinners are another way to call attention to locally raised products. This is the same idea but in reverse, where Farmers ask restaurant Chefs to come to the farm and cook dinners highlighting their bounty and products they produce for their guests. (like Outstanding in the Field and locally Green Dirt Farms.)
4. Pig, Pork, Bacon & Pig Roasts – This is the year of the pig. We are seeing pork in everything from cupcakes, cookies & breads to salads, sides and certainly, as an entree. Pulled, shredded, sauteed, fried, roasted, braised . . . we are eating pork. We are also eating parts of this animal we would have never dreamed of eating several years ago. Chicharrón, or fried pork skin, is made and sold at Bichelmeyer Meats in KCK, Cafe Europa in Brookside hosted a private dinner earlier this year where they cooked an entire pig and then served a different part of the pig with each course. I heard it was amazing. A group of my friends and I called the BBQ Shack in Paola, KS after seeing him on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives and asked if we brought 10 people in could he cook and entire pig for us to eat. He did manage to find one small enough to feed our tiny group and we feasted on every piece of that animal. Like a bunch of kids on Christmas Day, we gleefully attacked that pig like it was a present.
5. Secret dining & drinking (like The Test Kitchen, Manifesto) Secret speakeasies, dinner clubs, dinners held in restaurants after hours, drinking holes where you have to say a password to get in, secret menus or wine lists you have to specifically ask for . . .we are all about enjoying a "secret" of some sort right now. As the Founder of The Test Kitchen, you would be amazed the ideas that people get in their heads about what an underground supperclub is really like, and what we really do there. Once I get a live one on the hook, that's  when I whip out my ball-gag and leather mask and ask them to try it on . . .you know, just for size. Seriously, it is fun to feel a part of something cool, fun and unusual . . .to be "in" on the secret.
6. Gourmet burgers (like Blanc Burgers + Bottles & Dean & Deluca's Burger Bar) Everyone has one on their menu now, they are popping up almost as much as the Slider. My definition of a gourmet burger, is a thick patty of some sort of quality protein (beef, pork, turkey, chicken, fish) that is sitting on a fantastic bun and topped with unusual gourmet sauces, condiments or ingredients. House-made french fries or sweet potato fries are a must for a side dish.
7. Sous Vide Cooking. A year or so ago, there was only one immersion circulator, a piece of equipment used in sous vide style cooking, making it's way around town. Sous vide is a very popular method of cooking, where food is vacuum-sealed in plastic bags and slow cooked at low temperatures in a water bath. The food once cooked can also be held at that same temperature for long periods of time without over cooking it. It suspends the cooking process until you are ready to plate and serve. It makes meat, melt in your mouth tender. I know I personally saw the same immersion circulator show up to my Test Kitchen at least three times by three different Chefs. It is a very expensive piece of equipment to buy, which is why Chefs are borrowing this particular piece of equipment from each other. There are three that I know about now in KC - Chef Nate Feldmiller, Executive Chef, Cafe Europa, Todd Schulte, Owner/Chef, of Happy Gillis and Kyle Baker, Chef de Cuisine, Steve Robson, interim Executive Chef and Justin Woo, Garde Manger Sous Chef for The Oak Room at The InterContinental Hotel. When you see something prepared sous vide style on a menu, order it. Let's not let that fancy equipment go to waste.
8. Housemade Charcuterie – restaurants are making their own sausage and cured meats in house. (The American & Jasper’s.) This is about learning the craft of salting, smoking and curing your own meats and sausages for your guests to enjoy. Every Chef, whether professional or home cook, is being inspired, right now, by butchers. Men and Women that know their cuts and how deep to make them. They are also the people that know how to cure meats in delightful and flavorful ways. Instead of purchasing your cured meats for your charcuterie plate, consider making your own flavorful take on it.
9. Knowing where your food comes from - Omnivores Dilemma, Food Inc. . . .as our interest in what we put in our bodies to nourish us increases, so has popular culture responded in the form of books and movies on the growing obesity rate in this country and the importance of eating fresh healthy foods.  More shopping at farmers markets, and joining of CSA's to get the freshest locally ingredients delivered right to your door.
10. Cooking at home in 4 ingredients or less - because people now have access to and interest in better local fruits, veggies and meats they are realizing it takes less ingredients to put together healthy delicious meals at home. Fantastic tasting dishes can be made using 4 ingredients or less, when you use the freshest, best quality ingredients. When there are only 4 ingredient, the flavor and freshness of every single one counts. It's why we love going to Italy and eating, then coming home to tell all of our friends, "the food was the best we'd ever tasted . . .everything was prepared so fresh and simply, but tasted so divine." (I am sorry you know who you are.) My advice, "then cook like they do in Italy at home."
11. Urban Homesteading - This is a trend where we are having to relearn things our grandmother's taught us all, a long time ago. Waste not, want not. Classes in canning and pickling, how to make bread, curing your own meats at home in your basement, make and pull your own cheese, learn to cook on a wood stove or oven or even over an open flame outside. These are all things that foodies are experimenting with right here in KC. This is the Heartland of America, people, if we can't learn to keep the food arts alive in our own homes, then all is lost. Pick one you are most interested in and just try it. Consider it my personal challenge to you.
12. Making your own booze - Beer or wine are the most common ones that many foodies are now beginning to experiment with making at home. Just this year, I have met people who make their own pomegranate wine and rhubarb wine. Lemoncello and Orangecello are other wonderful things you can easily make at home. How about infused vodka's? Easy to make. Home-brewing is also a popular past-time . . .and I am looking forward to the day that someone brings me some moonshine that they made in their backyard. I insist though that it be delivered to me in a Pa Kettle jug that has 3 X's on it and a cork stopper in the top or I won't enjoy drinking it nearly as much.
13. Donuts – Bite sized fried dough is the dessert du jour right now. Everyone is buzzing about donuts. Room 39 had a fantastic dessert on their menu earlier this Spring with donuts, Skillet Licker's little donut machine has put them on the map, let's not forget Louisburg Cider Mill famous, cider donuts. Heck, there is even a terrific local blog dedicated to donuts, that my friend Johnna writes called 52 Donuts. We heart fried bread.
14. Mobile Food Carts - I am going to will this one into existence just by continuing to talk about this idea. Someone needs to take this and run with it. We need street food culture in KC, and with people like Lindsay Laricks and her Fresher than Fresh Snowcone stand and Lupe's Taco Stand on Southwest Boulevard we could easily see this happen. I think it should start with First Fridays in the Crossroads. A deserted parking lot, have all the trucks down there, and create a spontaneous food cart "happening". Hmmm, maybe I could . . .maybe I should figure out how to make that happen.
15. Crêpes - We need more crêperies in this town. Crêpes are coming . . .Aixois in Brookside has savory crepes at lunch, Cafe de Amis in Parkville made me Crêpes Suzette for dessert, there is a new coffee and crêperie that is supposed to be opening across the street from Fervere bread on Summit. Be looking to fall in love with a crêpe before the year is over.

That's the list. What have I missed or left off, friends? What food trends do you see in KC right now? Tell me, that's how we all learn . . .to eat better. Enjoy

Local Wines & Vines



The audio on this video for Jowler Creek Winery in Platte City, MO is a little wobbly, but you can hear the Colleen Gerkes, owner and winemaker clearly telling the story of how her little winery is practicing sustainable farming practices using babydoll sheep as lawn mowers. Oh, come on, say it with me folks: "Awwwwwww, they are so cute." Adorable, in fact.

I am currently on the hunt this summer, for some really great and unusual local wines to get behind. As a Foodie, I love local food . . .I want to love local wine as well. The vineyards I am enjoying learning more about right now are Jowler Creek, Inland Seas and Stone Pillar.

Jason and Colleen Gerkes, of Jowler Creek Winery & Vineyard are beginners compared to some in Missouri in the wine production business. They've been growing the grapes, but in 2005 began bottling their first wines. She is from wine country in California and he is from a farm family in Missouri, and together they have entered the brave new world of wine-making sustainably. I have to stand-up an applaud this young couple for looking into, getting funding for and testing sustainable growing practices. This is on the cutting edge of what Napa and Sonoma, CA are just now really starting to get into . . .it's about making your business green, saving the environment and as Colleen mentions in the video above . . .their house sits in the vineyard. They don't want to raise their family around all the chemicals that have traditionally been used to treat the pests that come with having a vineyard.

I have not made it to the tasting room at Jowler Creek, which is open on Saturday & Sundays from 11:00am - 5:00 pm to see the babydoll sheep in action, but I was lucky enough to locate most of their wines at GreenAcres Market located in the Shops at Briarcliff. This is the only place in town I was able to find them. In fact, I found a wonderful selection of many different local wines at GreenAcres, one-stop shopping.

The tops of the Jowler Creek wine bottles are dipped in wax that is heated up in a deep fat fryer. They look very pretty. I will be honest, anyone following my little Jowler Creek kitchen tasting on Twitter last week, knows I had a devil of a time getting the wax off to get to the cork . . .it chipped all over my kitchen and I managed to take a nice bloody hunk out of my thumb in the process.

That night, in preparation for my interview with Colleen on LIVE from Jasper's Kitchen radio show, I tasted their Critter Curvee, Vignoles, Butterfly Blush & Norton Red. I did not find, or sadly, get a chance to taste their Traminette, Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin or small batch dessert wines.

Critter Cuvee, Vignoles & Butterfly Blush are all considered semi-sweet. I thought the sweet, silky mouth-feel of the Critter Cuvee was like drinking honey. Rich and sweet. The Butterfly Blush with it's lovely pink hue was like liquid strawberries in a glass. The traditional red grape of Missouri, the Norton, is still not a favorite of mine. It smells promising, but perhaps because I have trained my palate for big, bold California reds . . .it's hard to get excited by Norton which is watery and bland to my tastebuds.

But, my favorite by far was their Vignoles (pronounced vee-knoll). This is a grape traditionally grown here in Missouri and on the east coast because it can stand up to our cold winters. It tasted complex had a distinctive golden color, and the taste . . .it reminded me of a Sauternes, a classic French dessert wine. Very unusual, perfect local wine to surprise your friends with as an after-dinner drink, or perhaps with a cheese and fruit try to start your meal.

Colleen of Jowler Creek followed my tastings of her wines on Twitter, noting my difficulty with the wax and was nice enough to email me and let me know they will soon be moving to capsules, or regular foil/plastic covers instead of the wax. Now that's being immediate and receptive to your customers needs! She also sent me this video of her hubby showing all of us how to properly open on their bottles with the wax. (Needless to say, I did not do it this way. I can't pare an apple much less a wine bottle using his simple technique. Hopefully, you are more skilled than I am, in that regard.)

To understand why most people think there are no local wines of any value to drink in Kansas or Missouri you have to understand one thing . . .based on where we live in the country, our weather, our soil etc. there are only certain kinds of grapes that will actually grow successfully in this part of the country. At least this has been the traditional thinking . . .

Doug Frost, our local and much respected national wine expert, wrote an informative article about the local wines of the Midwest. It sheds much light on common attitudes and the situations that have created them around our local Kansas & Missouri wines. Read this before you dismiss our local wines, it will change your opinion or a least educate you on why things are they way they are for our local wines.

Missouri and Kansas has not traditionally grown grapes that you have ever heard of before. They are not the grapes that are usually  grown in California or France. To illustrate the difference . . .they grow Chadonnay, we grow Chardonel. Kinda, but not really the same. By the way, a great site that tells you about traditional Missouri grapes and the winemakers that produce wines from them is Missouri Wine Country. Check it out.

Missouri has a long wine-making tradition. According to Wiki, before Prohibition, Missouri was the second-largest wine-producing state. Germans settled along the river in Hermann, MO because it was the perfect area for growing grapes. Italians grew vines in Rolla, MO and closer to the Ozarks. Missouri in the 1800's was rich, fertile farm land that many used to make a living making wine.

The new Prohibition amendment forced the shutdown or abandonment of all wineries in Missouri except that at St. Stanislaus Seminary, in Florissant, who were still permitted to make sacramental wines for religious reasons.

The revival of Missouri's wine industry started back up again in 1965 with the reopening of Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, followed soon by the opening of Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta. Soon winemakers began to reestablish Missouri vineyards and wineries throughout the state.

(Curious. Check out the quote on the home page of Mount Pleasant Winery website. It mentions Tipper Gore likes their Chardonnay and says she is the wife of the inventor of the internet? Former Vice President, Al Gore, invented the internet? Hmm, I am not sure if they are joking or serious, but if serious, I would think being the Former Vice President of the United States might be a bigger title to claim. Besides, I would credit Tipper for her own merits . . .the woman that invented profanity stickers that went on all heavy metal and rap music CD's ensuring they would sell 1 million copies even faster than projected. Rock on, Tipper.)

Another local winery that I was interested in learning more about bills itself as: Inland Sea: Kansas City's only urban winery. Owner and winemakers, Michael and Kerry Amigoni purchased their vineyard in Centerview, MO in 2000 and they had the first planting 2001. But, this video of Michael Amigoni shows him explaining that they actually started by growing grapes in their backyard in Leawood.

Michael is considered part dreamer, part rebel but all passionate about the types of grapes that can be grown and wine that can be made in Missouri. He wants to grow the famously traditional grapes of the vinifera. He doesn't want to grow the traditional Missouri state grape, Norton, to make his red wine.

Michael believes that to be taken seriously in the wine-making world that we should be attempting to grow the more readily recognizable grapes of Europe. He started by planting Cabernet Franc, which is the hardiest red wine grape that can withstand the colder temps. He was successful. From that experiment, Inland Sea has planted more grapes and is now producing Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvedre, Petit Verdot, Chardonnay and Viognier. A rebel with a wine-making cause . . .Oooo, I can certainly get all about that and you will too once you taste his delicious results.

When I first heard about Inland Sea: Kansas City's first urban winery, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Does that mean they grow the grapes in the city they use to make the wines with? Do they buy grapes from somewhere else and just make the wine downtown? What it actually means is they grow their grapes out in the country in Missouri, but instead making you come out to the country to their tasting room to sample and buy their wines, they want to bring the tasting room to you. They want to provide you with a convenient place for you to take your friends for a tasting and still be able to catch dinner or a show.

It is one of the hottest trends in boutique and start-up wineries to have this approach of having a cool downtown location that you can come and sample to wine, hopefully buy some and not have to make it a day trip. The New York Times wrote a great article that mentions Michael Amigoni's approach about this emerging trend.

Inland Sea has a lovely urban tasting room down in the West Bottoms. In fact, that was where I met Michael and Kerry Amigoni for the first time. It was a tasting event hosted by AIWF in Kansas City. I had come late to the tasting and they were beginning to wrap things up, but I remember vividly Michael's passion as he spoke about his wine and reached into one of the barrels in his tasting room with a wine thief and poured me a quick sample of his Mourvedre, I believe. I remember thinking, this guy is serious, he wants to make the best wine in the Midwest.

Recently, Michael and I have been chatting over Facebook and I told him that when I started my research on local wines back in the Spring, that I had discovered that JP Wine Bar downtown was featuring their first full flight of local wines and they were all of Michael's Inland Sea wines. I happily ordered it, excited to be tasting his Chardonnay and Viognier for the first time. The waiter came over and asked me how I liked the local flight . . .I really, enjoyed it. Certainly on par with many of the other more traditional wine flights I had at JP's in the past. My favorites were the Viognier and his Cabernet Franc. The point was . . .Inland Sea wines do measure up. The manager came over later and told me I was the first person to order the local Inland Sea wine flight at JP's. What??!!! People please, get thee to JP's and order this local Inland Sea wine flight. Or better yet, go down to the Inland Sea urban tasting room, meet Michael and Kerry and sample some for yourself. Their tasting room is open on Fridays from 4:00 pm-7:00 pm.

Finally, the Stone Pillar Vineyard is a curiosity of mine at the moment because it is just down the street from me in Lenexa at the corner of Woodland Road and College Blvd. It is only considered a vineyard and not a winery at the moment because they are in the process of growing the grapes to make the wine. 

It takes a long time to grow enough grapes successfully to make wine. You have to have  a long-term plan and a vision for where you are going to go from being a grape farmer to a winemaker. Patience is more than key. It takes years of commitment and trial and error to get it right.

I don't know much about these brothers (I assume?) that own Stone Pillar, other than what is on their MySpace page, and the fact that they seem to be a very focused group of late twenty-early thirty somethings set on making a go of wine-making with land that has been in their family for years.

From their My Space page: "Stone Pillar Vineyard was started in 2007 by George, Frank & Tommy Hoff. It sits atop property that has been in our family for five generations predating the civil war. On a vacation to Niagra Falls, George was awestruck by the beauty of the vines and fell in love with the idea of a vineyard after tasting the delectible wines of Niagra On the lake. (Sorry, I must point out here that Niagra would have similar climates to ours, and therefore would be great wine-making inspiration for our young bucks.) After lots of research and planning we started our first planting in 2007 and are continuing the development of our operation. We hope to open our doors to the public by 2011. Recently George has been putting his winemaking skills to the test. At the KGGWA 22nd wine judging he won 1 gold medal for dry red (Cynthiana/Norton). 5 silver medals for Cabernet Sauvignon(dry red), Niagra (dry & sweet white), LaCrosse(dry white), and blackberry. Bronze for Vignoles (dry white), as well as 5 Silver medals at the 10th annual KC Cellarmasters Classic."

So, it looks like we have another one to watch. I love a good mystery . . .and you can bet that I will be standing in line in 2011 when my neighbors at Stone Pillar open the doors to their tasting room.

Finally, if traditional Missouri wines are, at the end of the day, still too sweet for your personal tastes. I say, don't fight it. Embrace it and use our sweet wines of Missouri to make delicious and refreshing sangria to enjoy by the pool or in your backyard. Everyone loves sangria and most of our local wines are surprisingly inexpensive as well.  Another local winery Holy-field Vineyard & Winery in Basehor, KS posted this recipe for their version of sangria on their Facebook fan page. I think it sounds good to me, see what you think.

Holy-Field's Sangria Recipe

1 Bottle Tailgate Red

1 liter Club Soda or Sprite

2 Limes squeezed and sliced

2 Lemons squeezed and sliced

2 Oranges squeezed and sliced

(I am adding 2 green apples, diced, for crunch!)

4oz Triple Sec

Mix, stir and enjoy!

Hint: Sangria can be made ahead; omit soda until ready to serve.

Now, if you will excuse me, it's time for a drink. Enjoy!

Foodie always gets her Chef

So, who is Chef Justin Wangler and why is he featured at the end of my Murphy-Goode application video? (Which you can still vote for until June 25! Just click the link above. Please! Seriously, I know that those of you that love me are tired of me asking for your votes. True story, I got a email from a friend wanting a restaurant recommendation in São Paulo, Brazil. Which, of course, I gave her promptly because I am fabulous like that. She started her email with: "Foodie, yes, yes, I've already voted for you.")

Please let me take the time to thank all of you, who have already cast your vote for me. You are the best and officially in my social media network. Don't be scared, it just means were friends.

So, back to the story, Chef Justin Wangler is the Executive Chef at the Kendall-Jackson Winery Estates. Jess Jackson, who owns Jackson Family Wines & founded the Kendall-Jackson winery purchased Murphy-Goode in 2006. The Murphy family still kept their original vineyard and Dave Ready Jr. also stayed on as Murphy-Goode's Winemaker. If you speak with anyone involved with either Murphy-Goode or Jackson Family Wines, they will make it very clear that Kendall-Jackson is a completely separate brand, with it's own team and unique marketing goals. But, what I found out in talking to Chef Justin, is what the brands do share, when the occasion arises, is one very talented Chef. Chef Justin to be exact. That means that Chef Justin is the official Murphy-Goode Executive Chef as he has cooked for them anytime they required his services. Jackpot, I thought. A Chef for Foodie to talk to . . .it doesn't get any better.

This whole crazy trip to wine country started because Test Kitchen, my underground supperclub, was turning 1 year old. I was thinking at the time that a Sonoma-based Test Kitchen dinner in wine country might be a great way to test taking Test Kitchen on the road. I had a friend out there with a house that we were going to use to host the event . . . all we needed was a Chef. This to my surprise turned out to be the most difficult part of the entire operation. Mostly because of the timing of when we wanted to do the event, July is their high tourist season. I also felt that some things just can't be done over the phone. To really impress someone, you need to go and look them in the eye and do it in person.

Al Samuleson who works for Majestic Wines and reps Murphy-Goode wines, when he heard I was looking for a Chef out there, he insisted that I go see about Chef Justin at the Kendall-Jackson Estates. Al set up my entire tasting room visit with some help from his friends at the Wine Center. It should be noted that Al Samuleson was also the person who posted a link on Twitter about the Murphy-Goode opportunity, and his tweet was the first I had heard about it. If fact, I did not know Al except through our Twitter conversations. I had never even met him in person until he sent me a DM and asked if I wanted to meet for lunch. Up until our lunch, Al had been the nice guy who retweeted my Forks & Corks announcements and told me how to fix my leaky toilet when I was trying to figure out why it was leaking. Seriously, he did. How appropriate I find out about this contest through a Twitter, a social media channel, right? I know. Crazy.

When I finally made it to the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, a gorgeous chateau sitting on 120 acres in Sonoma County, Chef Justin was waiting to take me on the tour of the famous Kendall-Jackson gardens. These gardens are special in that they plant and grow plants that have properties that can be tasted in a certain wine. Here I'll let Chef Justin explain it to you in his words:

Very cool tour! In the end, I was completely smitten with Chef Justin's soft-spoken, easy attitude. He is originally from North Carolina, which explains his love of okra and his accent. In this clip, I asked him how to prepare the Cardoon plants (also known as an artichoke thistle, which is what I had mistaken the plant for - an artichoke.) Chef admitted being from the south, so he had never seen or cooked with a Cardoon plant before and had made several failed attempts before he had an Italian tourist who was taking the tour with him explain to him the part of the plant that you used in cooking.

We discussed the challenges of being a Chef in a winery. I asked him point blank: "which comes first, your food or the wine?" Being a smart cookie, he answered "Oh, of course, the wines comes first, always. My job is to find food to pair with it, that highlights it and enhances it." What I loved about that answer was if someone were to ask me what my job as a Foodie is I would say the same thing as Chef Justin. Find good food, pair it with wine, highlighting & enhancing it.

Once the "official" tour was over, I asked Chef about winning the Chef's Challenge at Kendall-Jackson's Tomato Festival last year. Food & Wine hosts this Chef's Challenge event, inside the larger fundraiser known as The Tomato Festival, in which the Chefs compete by preparing dishes with tomatoes grown on property. When I asked him if they would be doing it again this year, he said, "We have already started getting the tomato plants ready, do you want to see them?" "Sure, Chef", I said, "lead the way."

Did you hear what David the groundskeeper said on the video? They have over 3,000 tomato plants they plant to produce the tomatoes needed for this annual food and wine festival. The Tomato Festival is open to the public, but is cheaper to attend if you are a Kendall-Jackson wine club member. This year the festival is happening in September 2009. If you happen to be in wine country, I highly recommend you pay a visit to the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center.

So, how did I end up with my Murphy-Goode Viking helmet? Well, I was standing in Chef Justin's office after the tour and I spotted it on the top of his bookshelf and asked where he got his. (See it in this picture? The viking hat is an important symbol in the Murphy-Goode brand, as Dave Ready Jr. and his family were originally from Minnesota . . .home of the Vikings NFL team. It could have been worse, I suppose. They could have been from Wisconsin and all of us competing would be running around wearing foam cheese on our heads. Good look for a Foodie, super funny for everyone else.) He said he had catered an event for Dave Ready Jr. and was given one. Then he said: "Here, I'll give you mine to take with you."  I said the Chef Justin, "so what is the story I need to tell Dave about where and how I got your viking hat." He smiled and said "I wouldn't tell him anything, act casual, and make him wonder where you got it." That tells me that Dave Ready Jr. is a prankster, and that Chef Justin is too. "Goode" to know.

Foodie went to wine country with the intent of looking for Chefs, and came back with the decision to run for a very goode job. As I was leaving, Chef wished me luck. I said: "well, if I am the lucky one that actually gets the gig, I look forward to working with you."  He looked at me, and smiled. Afterall, if selecting picnic spots are a part of my job description for a really goode job, I assume selecting the menu for the picnic will also be part of the job description.

Chef Justin and I have already started discussing possible picnic menus.

VOTE for Foodie

Listen, before you read any further, I need a big favor . . .if you haven't already voted for my video giving me an opportunity to become Murphy-Goode's next "Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent", then please click on the button above and do so right now.

I'll wait, go on.

No, I won't start without you. You are too important. Go on, now.

It just takes 30 seconds to vote. I promise. It's easy-peasy.

Come on, you'll get to see me in a video at a Test Kitchen event. (You know you want to see that, right?)

There is only one week left to vote in this race for "a really goode job", and I really could use your help. Every single vote makes a difference.

Now, would you mind asking someone else to vote for me? A spouse, a co-worker, the lady that cuts your hair, your postman, your children? Could you send out an email to your friends with a link to my blog where they can vote for me?

All done? Goode.

Thank you, so much for your vote. It really means the world to me.

Now just what is this all about, you ask?

In short, it's about me wanting to earn a place at the table in a PR and Marketing contest of sorts to find the one person in the world (me, I hope!), who for 6 months can and will help the MG winemaker, Dave Ready Jr. and the good people at Murphy-Goode Winery in Healdsburg, CA to share the story of Murphy-Goode wines with others and take their passion for wines and transfer it to others through what we have come to call "social media tools".  Basically, this person would blog, tweet on Twitter, post to your friends on Facebook and communicate with others in the food and wine industry through LinkedIn about your experiences and bring your story and the story of Murphy-Goode wines to life.

Did I mention that Murphy-Goode plans to pay their winning candidate $60,000? This kind of money coupled with the opportunity to get behind the scenes and learn the business of making, marketing and selling wines has brought out heavy-hitters from across the globe. There are social media stars with thousands of followers, there are interactive and technology experts that know how to build tools and measure the success of online campaigns, there are video production experts whose videos are really great, there is every type of wine industry person from distributors to retailers, wine bloggers and grape-heads of all sorts, standard issue PR/marketers, many with restaurant wine experience and then there are just the people who love to drink wine and party. Oh, and a few vikings and one lady who thought she was trying out for the Martha Stewart show, I think.

And, there is one Foodie . . .that's me. ;-)

Honestly, it's a big job for just one person. Which is why the smart folks at Murphy-Goode have cleverly designed the competition for this job to start the buzz about their wines and their brand long before any one candidate gets picked for the job. The video application submission and voting process is designed to cleverly encourage the thousands of candidates (myself included as evidenced by this blog post) to start a conversation about the Murphy-Goode wines with everyone in their network. Kinda like a pyramid scheme, only a good one. One where you don't have to do anything but listen to me, and try some of the excellent wines that Murphy-Goode makes. 

Murphy-Goode plans to cut the list of candidates to Top 50 and then to Top 10 and finally to a single candidate. That candidate will have already received the benefit of thousands of us who have been talking and tasting wines with our friends, learning more about the Murphy-Goode wines and the company in preparation for an interview and some of us have even done "in-the-field-research", like I did when I visited California wine country at the beginning of the contest.

I know that for me personally, I have convinced many people in my circle of influence to try Murphy-Goode wines, some for the first time. I know I have convinced at least one wine retailer in KC to start carrying Murphy-Goode wines due to my discussion around Murphy-Goode wines and I also know that I would not be even competing for this job had it not been for my connections and contacts gained through my social media network.

My drinking habits, as of late, are becoming more social . . .as I plan to share my stories of this journey with all of you.

I humbly ask for your vote for me for Murphy-Goode's Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent.

Secret + Special = Speakeasy

Remarkable service, knowledge and love of your craft should not be something that we are surprised by, but somehow in this day and age it does make a place stand out and, I don't know about you, but it makes me want to go back again and again. Support someone doing it right.

Eatie told me recently when we were deciding where to go for a drink that he has gotten to the point where he simply won't give a bar, drinking spot or restaurant his business if the total package isn't there. He wants to reward the good behavior and punish the bad and vote with his dollars. They don't even have to be ultra nice places. A dive bar with your favorite icy cold brew on tap served quickly and with a smile. Great! It's kinda like that old saying from your parents: "Doesn't matter what you want to be when you grow up, kid, just be the best."

Ryan Maybee has always impressed me. He very consistently manages to blow away my expectations around cocktails and wine, and his new place, Manifesto, located in the basement of 1924 Main, is no exception.  

Ryan and I have something in common. You see, he has a secretive underground speakeasy, called Manifesto. One where you have to go to the back door of 1924 Main, push the silver buzzer next to the door and tell the person answering how many is in your party. If they have room to serve you, you get buzzed in. If they don't, you can always text Ryan Maybee at 816.536.1325 to reserve your seats in advance for next time.

I, have an underground supperclub, called The Test Kitchen. With my concept, you have to be handed a card or be told about the website and then you have to go and sign up to hear about and attend secret dinners with awesome chefs in interesting locations.

Ryan came to one of my early Test Kitchen events, back when I was basically standing at the backdoor at each of our locations and accepting cash in exchange for the dining event of a lifetime. It was like a drug deal made in the alley, only the drug was food and wine. Can you imagine? When Ryan showed up to pay for his seat, said to me: "I am surprised to see you . . so. . .so out in front. I thought as the Founder you would be more behind the scenes at Test Kitchen."

I said to him: "Well, it's my club, and my business. First rule of Test Kitchen, no one touches the money but me. Second rule, I figure if you are a member of my club and brave enough to find your way to here to pay money to eat, it's only right you get to meet the person who is hosting this event for you."

Ryan got a thoughtful look on his face. I knew he was in the process of working out the details of his speakeasy and how to make it the authentic, true speakeasy experience and yet not turn people off with any sense of excluding anyone from partaking in the process that wanted to. And partake in Manifesto, you must . . .it's that good, really. Go. Now. What are you waiting for?

I always thought this quote from Michael Hebberoy said it best. (He helped revive the underground supperclub trend in the U.S. He started cooking dinner parties for friends in his Portland, Ore., living room seven years ago, after growing tired of formulaic restaurants.)

"At the end of the day, when you want to define yourself by your craft, you have to engage with consumer culture," he says.

Which means to me: "You can be a secret, just don't be stupid. Stand up and take credit for your work and your craft, as a means of engaging the people you serve to create fans for life and as a way to make a little money too."

Most people yearn for the more excitement and mystery in their lives. Something a little out of the norm, something special, something just for them.

That is what makes both Manifesto and Test Kitchen so much fun, because both Ryan and I deal in that trade. We sell fantasy, fun and excitement. 

If we are doing  our jobs correctly then we should be delivering that magic to each and every one of our guests. In the case of Manifesto, Ryan delivers on his promise in spades, and I can say that because I have taken numerous friends to the basement. I have sat at the bar, which I much prefer to a booth, as a way to get up close and personal with the bartenders and to watch them make these cocktails by hand.

The history of the speakeasy of course, came from the days of prohibition. A time when many places did not allow alcohol to be served, much less consumed. But the mother of invention is necessity, and that only spawned the idea of making secret places where people could gather together and commune with a spirit in their hand.

That spirit lives on at Manifesto, but with a much more modern twist to an old-fashion idea. Ryan's takes the same amount of care in choosing the quality of his ingredients as a Chef takes in choosing his to create a dish for you to eat and enjoy. A hand-crafted cocktail should use only the finest ingredients and might take some time to create, if done properly. A perfectly executed dish is absolutely no different. 

Watching Ryan, or one of his superbly talented bartenders (Beau, Brandon, Vic and Jen), actually making one of these cocktails in front of your eyes, will indeed give you a whole new appreciation for the craft of cocktails.

I am a gin girl, so one of my favorite drinks on his menu is The Brothers Perryman which contains Junipero, St. Germain Elderflower, Campari and Flamed Orange Zest for $11.

I am also a big fan of the Smokin' Choke under the Whiskey section. It has Applewood Smoked Jim Beam, Cynar (a liqueur made from artichokes, get it? It's the choke that's smokin') Maple Syrup, Lemon and Orange Zest for $11.

Finally, when one of Ryan's mentors and pals Doug Frost went to Manifesto he was tweeting about his love for a tequila. (Doug Frost is a huge fan of premium tequila.) He recommended a drink called Old Oaxacan. It has Del Maguey Mezcal, Agave Nectar, Peychaud's Bitters and Water for $11.

So, if you haven't made it down to Manifesto, you are missing one of the best cocktails in your life. As the menu says: Drink Early. Drink Often. Speak Easy.

On the Cutting Edge

Okay, I'll admit it. I was the girl who was using only her serrated knife to cut everything up until about 3 weeks ago when I made my first pilgrimage to Ambrosi Brothers. I am proud of the knives I have, but you couldn't tell it because of the level of absolute dullness I had let them lapse into. Embarrassing, really, that I let it get as bad as it did before I did something about it.

I own a set of Thiers-Issard 4 star Elephant Sabatier knives from France that I inherited from my Grandmother Betty mixed with what I have purchased, which is mostly Wusthof knives from Germany. (I just could not justify the cost of a set of Global knives I coveted for everyday use in my kitchen home.)

And when I thought I could take it no longer, I purchased one of those horrid "pretend" knife sharpeners that you open like a clamshell and run your knife over the teeth which supposedly sharpens your knife blades like new again. Guess again, my friend. It never returned my knives to a "like new" sharpened state . . .never ever.

So, a few weeks ago I decided to spend a Saturday afternoon meeting the nice folks behind the AIWF - American Institute of Wine & Food Kansas City Chapter as they all gathered together at Ambrosi Brothers for a cutlery class.

I received the information from Chef Jasper Mirabile Jr. who was nice enough to forward the invitation to me, even though I am not a member. It read:

Ambrosi Bros. Cutlery Co.
3023 Main Street, Kansas City, Missouri
Saturday, April 18, 2009
3:00 pm  Reception &  3:30pm Seminar (approx. 1 hr)
$10 AIWF Member Discount    $17.50 Non-Member

Join us and “hone” your kitchen cutlery knowledge and sharpening skills. Listen to Alfred Ambrosi guide us through our cutlery seminar. You’ll be much “keener” after this class. We know it’s going to “whet” your appetite for culinary creativity. Your “acute” sense of curiosity will demand that you be with us, because you’re so “astute”. Be on the “cutting” “edge” and be there. In addition, included in your cost, you can bring one knife to be sharpened by Ambrosi. It’s a deal you can’t let slip by. Be there and be sharp! Space is limited to 20. Make your reservation NOW!

Aside from the "punny" humor, this was a class I had longed to take and I honestly couldn't think of a better place than Ambrosi Brothers to take it. The company that serves as the official knife sharpeners to every Chef in Kansas City . . .and with my bad case of "Chefetish" I have been known to stalk the Ambrosi knife truck all over the city as it picks up and drops off knives at all of the best restaurants. A dream job in my book, but then I am a little weird that way.

The funny thing was, I knew they sharpened knives for Chefs (By the way, most KC Chefs do not keep a nice set of knives in their restaurant for fear of theft or having them "walk off" with someone else, so they use rented ones from Ambrosi. If they do keep a nice set at work, they typically have them engraved with a letter or marking to indicate ownership.), but it never occurred to me that they sharpened knives for regular folks like me.  So, when I realized I could get one knife sharpened for free as part of this class, I signed myself and Eatie up, right away.

When I got ready to select "a" knife to bring to the class to have them sharpen it, I was perplexed. I wanted all of them sharpened. I needed all of them sharpened. My boning or utility knife also had it's tip broken off. I assumed there was nothing that could be done for it, but thought I would stick it in with the others and buy a replacement for it at Ambrosi's. I had about 10 knives that needed to get from my house to Ambrosi's on Main Street, but how was I gonna transport them and not get arrested for weapon concealment?

I did the best I could . . . I laid down tea towels and spaced my knives down the towel, then topped those with another thicker towel and began at one end rolling the knives inside the towels into a nice little bundle. Then I took plastic wrap and wrapped them over and over end to end with plastic wrap, taking care to bunch up the extra fabric around the sharp knife tips. Then I packed them in the car and thought to myself I would purchase a cheap knife bag from them to transport them back and forth easily and professionally. The nice man at Ambrosi Brother's did not laugh when I handed him my wad of tea towels and plastic wrap, he smiled a knowing smile and went to work sharpening them in the back.

After a lovely glass of wine and some of Chef Jasper's delicious sausage as a snack it was time to get down to the business of learning more about our knives and how to keep them sharp.  The short answer is keep it simple and pay Ambosi $3 per knife to keep them in the best condition, just like the professional Chefs in this town do. Then you need to purchase a steel and learn the right way to keep your knives sharpened, once they are professionally done. Your knives should be professionally sharpened about every 6 months or so, then you can use a steel on it at home to keep them in their best condition. Here is Spencer Lutz again from Ambrosi showing us how to use a steel at home in between sharpenings.

When I went to pay the bill for my sharpened knives at the end of class, I purchased just enough of a knife bag to be able to transport my knives in safety and style. I also bought a Chinese meat and veggie cleaver for Eatie for his birthday which is another nice addition to our collection of knives. But it was only when I got home and realized that Ambrosi was able to re-work my utility knife to give it a new tip that I gain a new appreciation for what a professional knife sharpener can really do for you and your knives. I can tell you I've had to be a whole lot more careful around my knives. They are completely sharp which makes them weapons I had not had in my kitchen in a long time. The experience is one of those that will keep you wondering why you didn't start living on the cutting edge a whole lot sooner.

A Wing and a Prayer

When I met my husband, Eatie, I was 22 years old. I had finished college in Oklahoma and secured my first "corporate" job at Payless Cashways office downtown on Main. I was hired as a full time Design Contractor for the Marketing Department at Payless Cashways.

(Get this . . .) In 1991, I was hired to sit in a closet in the Marketing Department, and scan line art of building materials into the computer. This line art was used by graphic designers and copywriters to create weekly tabloids that ran in the Sunday newspaper. If there was a piece of clip art they wanted to use, or if the wholesaler had a line drawing in a catalog we thought we needed to use, it was my job to scan in the artwork and COB it, if needed. Ha, to think they actually paid me to do this grunt job by today's technology standards is laughable. Many things were laughable back then, including my palate. Ah, yes, the good old days. When my lunch hour was spent eating mystery meat in the corporate lunch room or bringing my lunch to work to save money. Can you say Ramen? I sure could, back in those days.

In terms of me wanting to be a Foodie, back then I had no idea what that even was. I was just at the beginning of my experimental food phase. I was fortunate, in that, I had a completely open mind to new foods and was more than willing to try new things when presented with them. It helped that I've always loved going out to eat as well. The only thing that made me nervous was I just didn't want to show my lack of sophistication about food and wine and embarrass myself in public. So, I developed an intelligent way to compensate for my weakness. I would listen to what someone else ordered, and if it sounded interesting, then I would say: "I'll have the same". Smart, no? I tried Mussels, Lox & Cream Cheese on a Toasted Bagel, Steak Diane, Calamari and Spumoni ice cream using that little trick. Clever girl.

Once, I was introduced to something, tried it, and liked it, then I felt confident ordering it on my own next time. There was nothing I did not enjoy eating, that I can remember. I was blown away by Thai food and Vietnamese food the first time I tasted it. I remember taking a wine class for business executives to learn more about the basics of wine and how to order it in a restaurant. The teacher discussed the over-exposed popularity of Merlot and Chardonnay, and with audible enthusiasm had us all repeat after him in class one day, "Don't be a slave to Chardonnay." I still use that line today.

Eatie and I met while working in the Marketing Department at Payless Cashways. He was a copywriter there, I was a closeted graphics grunt. He thought my pants were too fancy for him, I thought he was too frat boy for me. We drank with the same group of friends after work, and while I thought he was attractive, he seemed to have little substance to him. I could not have been more wrong. Then there was the morning I saw him on the news, being interviewed by a TV newscaster about being a CASA voluteer and how much he loved helping children have a voice in the court system. That was all I needed to know about his character and his heart. I was hooked. He changed my mind about him.

About one month after I saw Eatie on TV, we went on our first real date. (There were some interesting events leading up to this, but for purposes of this post let's just say, he didn't stand a chance. Foodie always gets her man, always.) He was from St. Louis, and loved the St. Louis style Italian Hill Food at Garozzo's Ristorante at 526 Harrison Street in Columbus Park. "It is the original location," he told me proudly as we pulled in and parked in the mostly Italian neighborhood. The place was small and dark, but I remember thinking it had a really close, quaint, romantic quality to it. Could have been the company, however. :-) 

When we sat down at the table, Eatie leaned over and told me he was starving. That's when I realized I was feeling just a little nervous. The waitress came over, and after we each ordered a glass of wine, Eatie said, "You like stuffed artichokes, right?" I fell silent and my eyes dropped to my menu nervously. I did not have the slightest idea what he was talking about. Stuffed Artichokes? I honestly, did not know people ate them, much less stuffed them.

I wanted to be honest and tell him I had never had one before, but the waitress was standing there expectantly waiting for my response, so I managed a quick nod of my head and mumbled, "sure". Once, the waitress left the table . . .that's when I started to panic. How was I ever going to be able to tell this lovely man, who is on his first date with me, that I have never had an artichoke before, and that I had no idea how to even eat one? I would be branded a bimbo redneck forever in his mind, I just knew it.

I managed to make small talk while we waited for the impending doom of the dreaded artichoke to arrive at the table. My plan was to wait until it had been served, then go to the bathroom and tell him not to wait for me. By the time I got back, I could watch him eating it and then I could join in the fun. I pulled my stunt, and was horrified to get back to the table to find him and the artichoke both waiting patiently for my return. He thought it would be rude to start eating it without me. Oh no, and he has manners, too! Foiled.

When Eatie told me to "dig in" to the artichoke . . .I finally blurted out that I had never had stuffed artichokes before and had no idea how to eat them. With calm, grace and poise he laughed in a relaxed, no worries, kind of way and said, "Really, well, it's easy,  just pull a leaf off the artichoke, place it in your mouth, and scrape it across your top teeth taking the flesh of the artichoke and the stuffing into your mouth at the same time, then you discard the remainder of the leaf." It was a little tricky to master the technique, but well worth the work. It was delicious. But the real experience was getting down to and then watching him clean the heart of the artichoke and cut it in half, one half for him and one for me. Eating the heart was when I really understood the true flavor and texture of an artichoke.

The rest of our meal went by quickly with Toasted Ravioli's, which were invented on "The Hill" in St. Louis, followed by their famous Chicken Spiedini. Garozzo's invented Chicken Spiedini as a healthier alternative to beef or pork. (I had a girlfriend who lived in Leawood who would never host a party in her home without catering in panfuls of Garozzo's Chicken Spiedini. When I asked her why she served it at all of her parties, she shrugged and said "It's easy, and everyone loves Chicken Spiedini.")

The date went well with Eatie. It was memorable, obviously, because all these years later . . .after a dog, a kid, a car and mortgage payment .  . .I still remember that dinner at Garozzo's and the night I learned to eat Artichokes.

On Monday, April 6, 2009, Garozzo's original location at 526 Harrison in Columbus Park will turn 20 years old and Owner, Michael Garrozzo is celebrating. On April 6, dine at any of their four locations and order from the original menu from 1989 sold at 1989 prices. Then on Tuesday, April 7, they will be hosting a special Wine Event Celebration with two seatings at 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm featuring classic dishes and wine pairings. For more information visit their website.

Michael Garozzo said, "we opened 20 years ago on a wing and a prayer." Eatie and I will have been married 14 years this May . . a wing and a prayer . . .indeed.