The Making of a Foodie

1900 Barker Bakery & Café in Lawrence, KS is a labor of love for two brothers

Taylor Petrehn is a talented baker, and his brother Reagan is an expert barista. They’d been pursuing separate careers in hospitality halfway around the world from each other, before an old laundromat in Lawrence, Kansas, brought them back together.

It’s on that site that they expect to open their bakery and coffee shop, 1900 Barker Bakery & Café, in May. Construction delays related to retrofitting the laundromat have cost them more than a year, but they’re excited about the possibilities: light wood, white walls, and a comfortable place to start your day with a pastry and coffee -- or just stop by to pick up a hot loaf of bread on your way home from work.

“The space will be an intimate and comfortable spot to land,” Reagan Petrehn promises. “We estimate about 14 seats inside, plus our front porch, which will also have seating.”

The shop takes its name from Lawrence’s Barker neighborhood. “We want the neighborhood to tell us what purpose they want us to serve in their lives,” he adds. “We will be defined by the neighborhood, not the other way around.”

On the bakery side of things, Taylor Petrehn is planning his schedule so that at least five different types of bread will be fresh out of the oven around dinner time, allowing customers to swing by for hot bread on the way home from work. “This way people can experience bread when it is at its best,” he says.

He also plans to make a handful of pastries to go with morning coffee and perhaps open-faced sandwiches for lunchtime treat.

The Petrehns are known in local food circles as “The Fabulous Barker Boys,” and the name fits. Both men are handsome, articulate and humble. It’s impossible not to like them.

Raised on a family farm in Paola, Kansas, the brothers were home-schooled, each eventually leaving the farm at 16 to attend Johnson County Community College. At 19, Taylor graduated with honors from the JCCC culinary program, the youngest person to ever complete the program. Reagan pursued a business degree, with a minor in coffee, and worked as a barista for Parisi’s Coffee to put himself through school.

While Taylor built a 10,000 pound pizza oven, “The Ashery,” in the backyard of the family farm and began hosting pizza parties for friends and family, Reagan found his calling as a barista, realizing he loved teaching others about coffee.

After JCCC, Taylor went to work for the pizza station at Chef Colby and Megan Garrelts’ TrezoVino in the Park Place Shopping Center. Meanwhile, Reagan was approached by a group of U.S. entrepreneurs who had decided to open a chain of retail coffee shops in China. He sold his possessions and took off for China.

Several years passed. Then Taylor, who’d moved to the Barker neighborhood in Lawrence, noticed the little laundromat on the corner.

“I had worked in several fine dining restaurants by this point and I knew I wanted to have a place of my own to bake fresh bread,” he says. “The laundromat seemed like best place in Lawrence to open a bakery."

After a phone call to the owner of the property, Taylor learned the laundromat had closed years ago after a bad water main break. Around Christmas 2013 his offer for the building was accepted.

What followed was a slow remodeling process. It took several months just to get the proper permitting, as the space had been zoned for residential use. But he’s been able to do it with his brother by his side.

In early 2014, while the two were Skyping, Taylor asked him to come home and help him with the project.

“I had to really think about whether I was ready to come home, and if this was really what I wanted my future to be,” Reagan says, “but the importance of having a place that Taylor and I would share was too great, and I packed up and moved back to Lawrence to help with the remodeling.” 

With their contractor, the Barker Boys have slowly been working from the bottom of the space up. They replaced the floor joists and reinforced an addition. As of last week they had to block off the street to tear down one whole wall to move in Taylor’s new toy, a 4,500-pound Italian stone-hearth deck oven.

Eventually, the brothers hope to grow the business so they can mill their own flour and roast their own coffee beans, but right now they are just focused on getting 1900 Barker Bakery & Café open and ready for business.

They plan to be open 7am – 7pm Monday through Saturday.

Coming Soon:

1900 Barker Bakery & Café

1900 Barker Avenue

Lawrence, KS

www.1900barker.com

 

Il Lazzarone Now Open in Kansas City’s River Market

Il Lazzarone, Erik Borger’s much-anticipated pizzeria, is finally open in Kansas City’s historic River Market.

“There were a lot of late nights getting this place open, but it was all worth it,” Borger said. He even rented a small studio apartment above the shop to use as a crash pad while he worked to get the location open.

The new Il Lazzarone shares décor elements with its big sister in St. Joseph, Missouri, with exposed brick walls, handsome reclaimed wood tables and chairs, and shiny red stools around the pizza kitchen and in the bar area.

But the Kansas City location boasts a 6,000-pound Acunto Mario Forni wood-fired pizza oven, twice as large as the one in St. Joe. The oven can cook 10 pizzas in 90 seconds flat.

Opening night, you could hear the din of the dining room from the parking lot, as Borger’s restaurant filled with hungry well-wishers and pizza lovers. Inside, young families gathered around massive communal tables to catch up over Borger’s traditional Neapolitan-style pizza and a glass of beer, wine or a bottle of Coca-Cola.

To stave off our hunger, we ordered the Fritto Insalata, a pretty platter with lightly fried pizza dough, arugula, cherry tomatoes, balsamic glaze, lemon juice, sea salt, extra virgin olive oil and fresh mozzarella for $9.

We ordered the classic Margherita pizza, which Il Lazzarone has been famously certified by the Italian authorities to make, and, at $12, found it to be just as satisfying as the first time we tried it. The crust was chewy with charred bits giving it that wood-fired flavor. A thin layer of sweet San Marzano tomatoes covered the pie, which was then topped with slices of fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh shredded basil.

While the patio furniture has yet to arrive, that didn’t stop some guests from simply picking up their tables and moving them outside to soak up the last few rays of what proved to be one of the prettiest days of the year to date. The patio, which could easily seat 50 or more people once properly set, will be the place to see and been seen this summer in the City Market.

Oh, and did we mention the bar? The layout of the restaurant is a bit unusual, and the bar is located all the way in the back of the space. Once there, you’ll see bar manager Dominic Petrucci, hard at work behind a beautifully appointed bar with shiny red stools all in a row.

Taking your pie to-go? Pop in the back door, directly into the bar area. There you can place your order with the bar staff, plus a glass of wine, beer or a cocktail as you wait for your pizza. In and out, plus a cocktail. Genius.

Il Lazzarone

412 Delaware St.

River Market

Kansas City, MO

illazzarone.org

Kusshi, a new Kansas City pop-up restaurant by Chef Joe West, launches

Chef Joe West quietly announced on his Facebook page that he would be launching his new pop-up restaurant called Kusshi this Spring in Kansas City. His first dinner was held in early May at The Rieger Grill & Exchange and by all accounts, Chef Joe wowed the foodies that flocked to sample his multi-coursed dinner.

West is a talented and familiar face on the Kansas City food scene. He started his career at the age of 16 in kitchen of 40 Sardines with Chef Michael Smith and Chef Debbie Gold as his teachers. West left Kansas City after a few years spent some time in Las Vegas, starting as a sous chef of Stratta at Wynn Las Vegas, then moving to the chef de partie position of Michelin 2 star, Alex of Wynn Las Vegas.

Moving back home to Kansas City, he accepted a prominent position as chef de cuisine at Bluestem restaurant with husband and wife owners Chef Colby Garrelts and Chef Megan Garrelts. West was glad to be home, working for one of the best restaurants in town, in a city that he loved.

“It was working for Colby at Bluestem, that I began to learn the importance of restraint and honoring simplicity in my cooking. I was the chef who was always trying to show you, as the guest, everything I was capable of on every plate,” said West.

West elaborates, “Colby taught me while I was working for him to slow down and see the beauty in each individual ingredient in a dish, and it was that revelation that has informed my cooking since and inspired my pop-up, Kusshi.”

After several years at bluestem, honing his craft under Garrelts watchful eye, he decided the time was right. With a plan in place, West gave notice at bluestem to pursue his dream of opening up his first restaurant in Kansas City he planned to call “Kusshi.” After several months of searching for financial backers and the right space for the concept, West was frustrated and decided to shelve the dream until he could figure out a way to finance it and still make a living for himself.

Looking for a fresh start and a chance to run his own kitchen, West then moved to Cincinnati, OH to accept a position as Executive Chef and Director of Food & Beverage of The Cincinnatian Hotel. While he was in Cincinnati, West put his head down and went to work, but all the while he was trying to figure out how to get back to Kansas City and get Kusshi financed and back on the front burner.

It was in Cincinnati, West met another young chef named Ryan Santos, and the two chefs did two dinners together as part of Santos successful Cincinnati pop-up restaurant called Please. Seeing how Please was allowing Santos to do his own food, West watched Santos, after 4 years in the pop-up restaurant business, use a combination of private investors and Kickstarter to crowdfund his new brick and mortar restaurant that he plans to open this Fall in Cincinnati.

If all goes well for West with Kusshi, he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Santos and use these pop-up’s as a stepping stone to opening his own brick and mortar in Kansas City.

With that ultimate goal in mind, West is furiously planning multiple first 7-course menus which he plans to roll out every 2-3 weeks with new dinners.

“I’m planning to do dinners about every 2 weeks once I get rolling,” said West who knows the enormity task that lies ahead of him.

People can expect a 7-course fixed menu, and he plans to charge $100 per person, but he explains he really has no rules or regulations on what his dinners might look like going forward. He might play with the format or different cuisines at whim.

“I named my pop-up Kusshi, which means “precious” in Japanese, because no matter what I am cooking, I want to make meals that honor each ingredient, treating them like they are precious,” said West.

The next Kusshi dinner will be on May 31^st at the Prairie Birthday Farm. To learn more, or purchase your seats now go to: www.kusshikc.com.

J. Rieger & Co. Whiskey-Filled Cordials Are a Hit for Andre’s Chocolates

When René Bollier stepped up to take over operations at Kansas City’s oldest and most beloved chocolate shop, Andre’s Chocolates Confiserie Suisse, he knew that he wanted to play a more active role in the local food community.

A 39-year old father of three, Bollier wanted his time at the wheel of the third-generation family company to involve more calculated risk-taking, innovation and collaboration with other food-centered businesses.

That promise inspired his decision to make a dark-chocolate-covered cordial made with local J. Rieger & Co. Kansas City Whiskey, instead of the more traditional German liqueur called kirsch or kirschwasser.

“We’ve always made the traditional European cordials with kirsch in our shop,” said Bollier, “but they never sold very well, and they are very time-consuming to make, taking up to three days, and thus are expensive to buy, as well.”

Inspiration struck when Bollier began drawing up ideas for a Feb. 12 event at the WW1 Museum, Operation Indulgence: Whiskey & Chocolate. As he contemplated bringing the two wartime luxuries together into one indulgent bite, the idea for Kansas City Whiskey Cordials was born.

When he contacted J. Rieger & Co. co-owner Ryan Maybee, the response was quick – and enthusiastic. Maybee and his partner Andy Rieger even provided Bollier with an image of the J. Rieger & Co. logo, so that Bollier could make an edible transfer to mark the top of each cordial.

The cordials were an instant hit at the event, with people stopping by repeatedly to sample them during the night.

And that might have been that.

“It didn’t occur to me to make them to sell in our chocolate shop,” Bollier says. “I just looked at it as a grand experiment, that worked.”

But the people who had tasted the cordials at the event told their friends, who told their friends. The shop started getting phone calls and requests for boxes of the whiskey-filled cordials. “If I could have predicted the word of mouth for those cordials, I could have sold boxes and boxes of them for Valentine’s Day,” Bollier says.

Lesson learned. Bollier and his team are now in production to make the whiskey cordials to sell year-round.

They start the 3-day production process by shooting one ounce of the whiskey mixed with a little simple syrup into corn starch molds. They dust the tops with more corn starch before letting them rest and harden overnight.

The next day, the delicate cordials have formed a sugar shell holding the whiskey inside. At this point, the candies are very delicate, so to get all the excess corn starch off of them they use a light hand and make-up brushes. The cordials are then left to cure and dry for one more night.

On the third day they are sent through the machine that pours liquid dark chocolate over the hard candy shell. They’re left to rest and harden before edible J. Rieger & Co. transfers are placed on top of each cordial. They’re then wrapped in gold foil and placed inside the candy counter to sell for $1.50 each.

Even Bollier is blown away by the taste.

“I knew the cordials would be good, but I didn’t know they would be THIS good,” he says. “It is the hint of sweetness from the Spanish sherry that they put in their whiskey that makes it taste so delicious when it is covered in dark chocolate.”

The executive chef/owner offers a piece of advice for anyone who wants to come in and try one.

“Make sure to eat the chocolate in one bite, because a quarter-ounce of whiskey will come pouring out all over you if you don’t,” he says.

Andre’s Chocolates Confiserie Suisse

5018 Main Street

Kansas City, MO

816.561.3440

andreschocolates.com

 

 

 

 

Blvd Tavern opens in the Kansas City Crossroads

Chef Derek Nacey and his wife, Meghan, proudly opened the doors this Spring to their new gastropub, Blvd Tavern, located at 320 Southwest Boulevard in the Crossroads.

“My food at Blvd Tavern is an adventuresome collection of influences from all over the world,” said Nacey, “it allows me a lot of freedom to cook across the various cuisines and influences.”       

Although most of the dishes on his menu look as American as apple pie, a closer look reveals that each dish offers a subtle international twist. Take his best selling appetizer, called the KFC, which stands for Korean Fried Chicken, served with house-made napa cabbage kimchi. It looks like basic fried chicken, but this chicken has been breaded and fried, not once, but twice, in a nicely spiced batter.

Other standouts on the entrée side of the menu, is the British classic fish and chips. Crispy beer-battered cod is served with salt and vinegar fries and mushy peas. Exactly the type of food you would expect from your neighborhood pub.

But the menu item that will win raving fans is the Grilled Rochester White Hot. This is a throwback dish to Chef Nacey’s childhood in New York. A White Hot is a house-made sausage of finely ground pork and veal. It is served on a soft bun topped with pickled onion, cucumber and mustard seed and a nice potato salad.

“This is the dream. This is what I have always wanted to do,” he said his chest swelling with pride as he speaks about Blvd Tavern.

“I knew I wanted to have a place one day where I could use my classical culinary training to elevate comfort food in a casual, come-as-you-are kind of place.”

That is exactly the vibe the couple delivers at Blvd Tavern with the décor, as well. Big windows where you can sit and watch the world go by, a cozy outdoor patio, a long bar with a little less than half of the 65 seats in the restaurant snuggled up at it.

The Nacey’s opened up the front windows to let some much needed light into the space, and they repainted the entire space with homey shade of blue. Weathered wood around windows and doorways come from an old family farm, Edison lights and a mishmosh assortment of farm chairs and custom made benches warm up the space nicely against the exposed brick walls. The overall effect is cozy and casual, just like the couple themselves. 

The new bar manager at Blvd Tavern is Valdez Campos, whose laid back demeanor makes his bar a welcome port for anyone looking for a place to land for a quiet drink or a meal. Campos is a talented and popular craft cocktail bartender in town, and his bar will soon be hopping for those looking for an expertly prepared craft cocktail. Highly recommended is the “Picador” made with Tito’s Vodka, Rothman & Winter Cherry Liqueur, house ginger beer and Topo Chico and the “Old Thymer” with J. Reiger Whiskey and thyme syrup. The restaurant also carries a fine selection of craft beer and wines.   

Blvd Tavern has been several years in the making for this married couple, both of which have been working in the hospitality business for many years. Nacey is a Hyde Park CIA graduate, and in Kansas City has worked at Fedora’s, Zin and Café Allegro before settling into a corporate job as director of culinary for Houlihan’s for the past 7 years.

Three years ago, they were looking at the space where Melbee’s restaurant used to be located in Mission on Johnson Drive, but they knew the space and the timing wasn’t right, so they waited until the economy improved a bit more before deciding to take over the lease on this restaurant from Bryan Merker, the former owner of Nica's Lagniappe which used to be in this space in the Crossroads.

The restaurant is now open 7 days a week for dinner only, and the bar stays open two hours later than the kitchen. Walk-in’s only, no reservations needed.

Blvd Tavern

320 Southwest Blvd

Kansas City, MO 64108

http://www.blvdtavernkc.com

 

 

 

 

 

Chipotle’s 2015 Cultivate Festival Comes to Kansas City in July

Chipotle Mexican Grill has announced the preliminary lineup for its 2015 Cultivate Festival, which will be coming to Kansas City for the first time in festival history.

This is the fifth iteration of Chipotle’s Cultivate Festival, which started in Chicago in 2011. The Cultivate Festival was established by Chipotle to encourage attendees to think and talk about food and the issues surrounding it in a fun and engaging environment.

Cultivate Kansas City will be held on Saturday, July 18, 2015 in Penn Valley Park.

Each Cultivate event will feature performances by popular bands, cooking demonstrations by renowned chefs (both national and local), and interactive experiences for festival-goers of all ages. Admission for all events is free.

Appearing at Kansas City’s Cultivate Festival will be Chef Tim Love (CNBC’s “Restaurant Startup,” Lonesome Dove Western Bistro, The Woodshed Smokehouse and White Elephant Saloon in Dallas/Fort Worth), Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson (Frasca Food and Wine, Pizzeria Locale in Boulder, Colo.), Graham Elliot (“MasterChef,” Graham Elliot Bistro in Chicago), and Kansas City’s own Colby Garrelts (Rye in Leawood, Kan. and Bluestem in Kansas City, Mo.).

“Such an honor to be involved with this cool event! I love that Chipotle is a restaurant that believes in commitment to the community,” said Garrelts.

The interactive experiences at the festival will focus on sustainable food practices, including an exhibit explaining how to make Chipotle’s guacamole, the reality of processed foods and a Kids’ Zone with snacks and fun activities.

Chipotle’s culinary team has also created a special menu available for purchase exclusively at each stop along the festival route. All signature dishes will be made using fresh, sustainable ingredients.

Attendees will also get a chance to sample ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, Chipotle’s Asian concept, which is not yet in the Kansas City market.

An Artisan Hall will offer food from locals who fit the definition, and a selection of local craft beer, wine, and ciders will be available in the Tasting Hall.

Each festival will feature a Cultivate Farmhouse Ale, a Saison-style beer exclusively brewed from a local brewery. No word yet on which Kansas City brewery may be tapped for this partnership opportunity.

For more information about Cultivate, please visit chipotlecultivate.com.