The Making of a Foodie

HopCat Founder Launches TikiCat, Kansas City’s First Tiki Bar in Westport

Mark Sellers, the founder and chairman, of HopCat, who opened his first Kansas City location in Westport in February, has a secret passion for all things tiki.

Working in secret with a team of tiki experts and artists for months, Sellers is now proudly ready to unveil TikiCat, his new underground tiki bar located in the basement of HopCat, which opens to the public tonight.

“Over the last 10 years, as I traveled for work, I’ve been to tiki bars across the country, in the hopes of one day opening my own, and when we took this space in Westport for HopCat, it came with this basement space that was perfect for this project,” says Sellers.

The basement bar at TikiCat can seat 55 people and is an absolute feast for the eyes, oozing with Polynesian-themed art, tropical water fountain, a collection of antique tiki mugs, thatched roof rooms filled with comfy retro furnishings, a bamboo covered bar and bartenders ready to serve over 20 different tiki cocktails.

Sellers sought out experts in the world of tiki to help him make sure he nailed all of the important parts of a tiki bar experience. He brought in “Bamboo Ben" Bassham, a world-renowned tiki woodworking expert, who did much of the work in the space, and was the gatekeeper to several other tiki artists that were brought in to help bring TikiCat to life.

Bassham is the grandson of Eli Hedley, who was doing tiki before there was a word for it. Tiki exploded in America after World War II, and when the military men came home craving a piece of the island life they left behind in the South Pacific, Hedley found himself in high demand for his tiki creations.

Although, tiki is considered influenced by the South Pacific, the culture, art, music and design that came from it is considered strictly an American phenomenon.

From the 1930’s -1970’s tiki bars, like Don the Beachcomer and Trader Vic’s were catering to America’s love of tiki, then in the 1980’s when the bars fell out of favor, many of them closed and their pieces of memorabilia were scattered to the wind.

Even here in Kansas City, we had several well-known tiki bars that had opened back in the day, including Castaways, Kona Kai and Kon-Tiki, each imprinting their own version of tiki culture on our Midwestern town.  

Then in the mid-1990’s tiki experienced a real revival in the U.S. with people creating tiki oasis in their own basements or backyards, and new tiki bars began to open across the country.

Tiki bar owner, author and expert, Martin Cate, who was also brought in by Sellers to teach tiki history and culture to the bar staff and to help train them on making the drinks that tiki made so popular, says it is important to understand the philosophy of tiki culture.

“Tiki is at its core a $10 cocktail vacation,” Cate says, “it is an escape from your everyday worries or cares, and it is one of the reasons that tiki bars don’t have windows, but are packed with things to look at that you notice each time you visit – you are meant to lose yourself in the experience.”

That is surely delivered with the unbelievable décor at TikiCat and continues into the menu of their mostly rum-based tropical drinks, with favorites like the mai tai, zombie, fog cutter, painkiller and a classic daiquiri to four brand new drinks listed under “house flavors” on the menu that by this summer will be served in their own unique TikiCat mugs.

Looking to share a drink with your friends, then slide up to the bar and order The Luau, a tiki-style punch made with aged Jamaican rum, fresh lime juice, demera syrup, allspice dram and a couple of dashes of bitters. The drink serves 2-4 people and comes to the table in beautiful bowl that is set on fire, tableside. The squeals of delight from those around you, is almost worth ordering one just for yourself.

They offer three beers on tap at TikiCat, but not 103 like they offer upstairs at HopCat. There is also no food served in the tiki bar, but they are happy to seat you upstairs in the restaurant should hunger strikes.

If TikiCat does well here, Sellers says he would consider opening another one somewhere else, but for right now, Kansas City is home to TikiCat.

TikiCat is open Wednesday – Saturday evenings, and reservations are suggested and are being taken online at the TikiCat website via OpenTable.

If you are planning to try to walk-in, simply head for the basement and look for the green and red lights on the outside of the door of TikiCat. If the green light is on it means they are accepting walk-in’s, but if the light is red, it means they are full.

TikiCat, located in the basement of HopCat at 401 Westport Road, Kansas City, Missouri, tikicatkc.com

 

Buckner, MO Chef Wins Top Awards At International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas

Joey Neidel, a local pizzaioli, representing Tuscono’s Woodfired Pizza & Pasta from Buckner, Missouri returned to Las Vegas last month to nab his second win at the International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas.

Neidel’s pizza placed first in the traditional pizza category for the Midwest region, and third in the world at the annual competition that features over 200 competitors that come from all over the world to compete for the cash prize.

His winning pie, that he entered in both the regional, and overall competition, featured sweet Italian sausage he purchased from Carollo’s Italian Grocery in the City Market, roasted peppers, mozzarella and homemade ricotta cheese and a unique braided crust he made that featured activated charcoal made from vegetable ash.

With Neidel’s second win, he has demonstrated that he is on a quest to try to grab the number one spot at the largest pizza-making competition in North America that is part of the annual International Pizza Expo held annually in Las Vegas.  

Kirk and Renee Kellough, the husband-and-wife team behind Tuscono’s Woodfired Pizza & Pasta, have taken Neidel, who works for them, to Las Vegas to participate in this competition since they opened their restaurant 2 years ago, to learn more from the pizza experts, and to see where their skills rank against others in their field.

Kirk also entered the competition in the non-traditional pizza category this year with a peanut butter and jelly pizza that had bacon and cheddar cheese along with a lattice crust on top.

“I didn’t mind not placing, once I saw who did,” says Kirk smiling. “Neidel and I start planning our competition pizzas as soon as we get back from Las Vegas, within the month we have something we are working on for next year.”

This passion for pizza competition started when Kellough built the pizza oven located inside of his popular restaurant located in Buckner, Missouri. It is a wood-fired pizza oven with gas assist that features a cook surface made from refractory brick, which rotates inside of the oven for quick and even cooking. The oven gets to around 750 degrees; at that temperature, a pizza cooks in about two minutes.

The menu at Tuscono’s features a host of tempting Italian appetizers, soups/salads, sandwiches, entrées, pastas, pizzas and desserts. His local customers seem to enjoy the home-cooked specials – like prime rib night on Mondays and meatloaf and mashed potatoes – but their best-selling items next to their pastas is their pizza.

“Now, that we are back from Las Vegas, we are offering Joey’s award winning pizza for $22 at Tuscono’s Woodfired Pizza & Pasta, for those who would like to taste what the judges tasted in Las Vegas,” says Kirk.

Tuscono’s Woodfired Pizza & Pasta, 312 S. Hudson St., Buckner, Missouri, 816.650.8284, tusconos.com

Chef Chance Hurst Consults This Summer, With Plans To A Place This Fall

After re-entering the culinary world last year as the new executive chef for Journeyman Café, Chance Hurst, realized his interests lay in restaurant consulting more than that of a day-to-day of running a full-service restaurant kitchen.

Hurst left Journeyman Café in February, leaving the kitchen in the capable hands of Chef Emily Stranimier, who is now the new executive chef, to take on a fun new project for the summer with a good friend from Kansas City.

 “I am consulting for Dustin Racen, the owner of The Tank Room in the Crossroads,” says Hurst. “I am going to help him get his new restaurant off the ground called Lake House 13, located at mile marker 13, down at the Lake of the Ozarks.”

Lake House 13 will be located right on the water, next to The Point Oasis gas dock, with room for around 35 boat docks and a large parking lot for cars. The restaurant will sport a retro vibe, and look like a 1970’s themed Lake House.

“Our good friend and local Kansas City artist Thomas Richmond, from Sabertooth Thomas Artwork & Design, is in the process of painting murals of beautiful lake scenes all over the restaurant inside and out,” Hurst explains saying that they plan for this restaurant to be family friendly.

This new hot spot at the lake will offer music on the weekends under their covered outdoor stage and tiki bar patio area. They will also offer yard games, old school arcade games and seating for around 250 people with plenty of room to dance in front of the stage.

The food will not stray too far away from the American classics like burgers, fries and pizza, but Hurst definitely wants to put his own spin on the menu.

“The menu that I've put together is a take on the traditional bar and grill food that you will find at a lot of places on the lake, but I’ve tweaked tradition to have a few healthier appetizers and salads and fun and unique options,” he says.

There will be loaded fries will be covered with smoked gouda, applewood bacon, green onions, and crema, and another specialty is the buffalo-style frog legs and a Creole pizza that’s topped with crawfish, andouille sausage, onions, green peppers and creole seasoning. 

Hurst says that Lake House 13 is slated to open early May, with plans to be in full swing by Memorial Day weekend.

After a summer in the sun at the lake, he said he plans to return to Kansas City where he has a few new plans of his own he would like to work on next.   

“I will be returning to Kansas City in the fall, to focus on getting my own place open,” he says with a wink. “I can't give away too many details, but my plan is to focus more on my baking, as I miss the warmth of the hearth and the smell and crackle of freshly baked bread.”

Lake House 13, 98 Oasis Circle, Sunrise Beach Missouri, Lake of the Ozarks, www.Lakehouse13.com. 

Chef Emily Stranimier Named New Executive Chef at Journeyman Café

When Journeyman’s executive chef, Chance Hurst, decided it was time to leave the restaurant that he helped open in February, he knew his sous chef, Emily Stanimier, was the right person to take his place.

“We knew when Chance joined the team that he was the right guy to help develop our menu and train our staff to get Journeyman Café up and running smoothly, and now that it is, we wish him well, as we welcome Emily as our new executive chef and hand-picked replacement,” says Kit Boje, owner of Journeyman Café.

The two recently rolled out the new Spring menu for Journeyman, which just celebrated its first year open in the West Plaza neighborhood.

“We lightened up the menu for Spring, but we also added more full-sized entrees to the menu,” says Boje. “The small plates just weren’t our vibe here, the customers wanted sharable plates, not small plates, so we decided to bump up our portion sizes to keep them happy.”

Stranimier said she has enjoyed her new role at Journeyman, and confirms that although she is not classically trained, she has been working in restaurants since she was 15 years old, and has learned everything on the job.

Before taking the job working for Hurst at Journeyman Cafe, she was the back of the house lead at Nordstrom Cafe for two years, and before that she had worked on the line at various restaurants for 2 years.

“Chance and I have been friends since middle school, almost our whole lives,” said Stranimier. “I was brought to Journeyman by Chance as his sous chef, and just continued to learn about seasonal ingredients and menus.”

As for Stranimier’s culinary passion, she is really into what she refers to as "old school" style of cooking. She explains, “I like cooking dishes with the familiarity of something that your grandma or mom would cook for you at home.”

Look for her hand on the new Spring menu in the form of a hanger steak and a delicious new pork chop entrée that has a bit of Thai-inspired sauce on it.

“I have really enjoyed the freedom to make any style of food that I want based on the season and ingredients I have available,” she says.

 

Journeyman Café, 1121 W 47th St, Kansas City, Missouri, 816.844.9177, journeymankc.com

 

Attitude Is Now Open Serving Breakfast, Lunch and “Gobs”

For the owners of Attitude, the new breakfast and lunch spot now open at 31^st and Cherry, their favorite sign in their antique-filled restaurant is the one that says “Open,” that sits in their front window.

Their second favorite is the one they keep at the cash register that reads, “attitude is everything, pick a good one.”

It has taken every bit of two years for Patti Allen and her partner of three years, Greg Kormanik, to finally get the doors open on their 20-seat café. Between the time it took to install an entire commercial kitchen from scratch and get the parking variances they had to seek just to open their doors, the couple realized their original estimated opening date was just a pipe-dream.

“We are just so grateful to finally be in open for business and cooking in our own kitchen at this point,” says Allen. “I think we were naïve on what it was really going to take before we were ready to open.”

During this time, Allen sold her share of the West Bottoms antique shop, Bella Patina, to her children, so she and Kormanik could work full time on getting Attitude ready to open.

They opened their doors quietly the first week in April, wanting to make sure that the two of them, plus two employees they have hired would be enough to handle the traffic they hoped would be coming in for their comforting breakfast dishes and Italian-inspired lunch sandwiches.

“The first week, when we really had not told anyone we were open, we had some busy days and some quiet days,” Allen explains. “I was worried about crowd control because I had been used to seeing 10,000 people in one weekend come through the doors at my old antique shop, but I realize now that the scale of this is more slow and steady.” 

Allen and Kormanik both are quick to point out that the neighborhood has been incredibly supportive before and after they got their restaurant open, and some have been coming in almost every day to eat and bringing friends.

Drawing from Allen’s past selling antiques, Attitude features plenty of it. With glittering chandeliers that hang from the ceiling, along with old antique doors that are used to divide the spaces between the kitchen, dining room and bathrooms. The antiques in the restaurant are for sale and worth poking around before you leave.

Hungry? Then look for the green chalkboard that hangs from the ceiling to see the daily selections. It is divided between breakfast items and lunch, with breakfast being served from 7:00 am – 11:00 am only and lunch from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm.

If you are looking for a big breakfast, order “All That Attitude,” which is a plate that starts with house-made biscuits topped with sausage gravy, fried potatoes, bacon, sausage patties, scrambles eggs, grilled sweet peppers and cheddar cheese and more gravy for $12.

Kormanik makes the cinnamon bread from scratch that is used to make his cinnamon bread French toast, a great deal for only $6. A plate of two pancakes pass by and they are large, light and fluffy, hanging off the side of the plate they are resting on, served with hot maple syrup on the side which is also only $6.

At lunch, the menu seems to cater more to Allen’s Italian family roots with a dipped Italian beef sandwich topped with spicy giaradiniera for $8.50, and a popular meatball sub with provolone for $9.

There are several grilled paninis are on the menu including a vegetarian one, for around $8. The special that day was a Cuban pork panini. 

As the baker in the family, Kormanik says the recipes for many of his sweets come from his Polish grandmother. His talents are clearly highlighted at Attitude, as he fills the antique case every morning with his greatest baking hits from over the years, when he sold them at Bella Patina.  

“Here, I am making a from-scratch, traditional walnut povitica bread,” Kormanik says with pride.

He is also introducing Kansas City to “gobs” as he calls them, also known as whoopie pies, and they are as cute as they are delicious. They consist of two soft Polish sandwich cakes that are then filled with vanilla, chocolate, cherry or peanut butter cream. One taste, will remind you of your favorite chocolate childhood snack cake.

Other bakery hits are his homemade cookies which include a chocolate chip, a chewy oatmeal raisin cookie and his family's unbelievably good Snickerdoodle recipe.

It is time to start your day at Attitude, open Tuesday through Sunday 7:00 am – 2:00 pm.

Attitude, 600 E. 31st Street, Midtown, Kansas City, Missouri, instagram.com/attitudeinkc