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1 | One sweet concept
Last fall Julie Rossi and Jennifer Sherwood created Grandma’s House (www.ilovegrandmashouse.com), a take-and-bake pie, cookie and cake shop.
At 18 N. Main St. on Liberty’s town square, the two create baked goods one at a time. Traditional bakeries require more staff and longer hours because the baking is done on-site. At Grandma’s House, customers carry the baked goods home in a tin baking pan with cooking instructions taped to the plastic lid.
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2 | Best old-school meat market
Stepping into The Store, 6624 Raytown Road in Raytown, is like walking into a time warp. The Store, www.thestoremeatmarket.com, is a meat market in the original sense of the word. It has pork, veal, chicken, frog legs and a whole lot of beef.
Chalkboards list the price and cuts you get in bulk assortments. It’s a good alternative to buying a side of beef.
The Store is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
3 | She wins bragging rights for best buns
Head for the Mission Road Antique Mall, 4101 W. 83rd St., on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m., and you’ll find Jane Stewart popping her homemade cinnamon buns into the ovens at Bloomsbury Bistro. The marvelous smell of cinnamon — standard cassia, not the more in-vogue Vietnamese cinnamon — wafts throughout the mall.
A half-dozen are $10, or dozen are $20. www.janesyummybuns.com
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4 | An overnight (granola) sensation
Valerie Jennings, 29, began making her own granola and things got groovy from there. Jennings' Hippie Chow debuted last year at the Overland Park Farmers Market, and within weeks it was picked up for national distribution by Dean & Deluca. Go to www.hippiechowgranola.com to find a store or order online for $6 per 10-ounce bag.
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5 | The buttah creatah
Kornelle Kirke is not your average kid with lemonade-stand ambitions.
The 12-year-old Overland Trail Middle School student is the brains behind Bettah Buttah, a gourmet compound butter sold at specialty stores.
Because she didn’t like breakfast food, she created concoctions to mix with her morning bowl of noodles.
The line currently includes seven flavors, including Lemon Peppah Bluecheese, Cinnamon Sugah and Cilantro Lime.
Her buttah retails for about $6 per 4 ounces. For a complete list of stores, go to www.bettahbuttah.com.
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6 | Best 'wine receiver'
Fans of former Chiefs wide receiver Eddie Kennison switched from drinking beer to wine when he played for former Chiefs coach and winery owner Dick Vermeil.
“Coach Vermeil looks great and all he does is drink wine,” Kennison says. “I figured he must be on to something.”
Kennison co-owns Cellar & Loft wine shop with Bill and Maggie Dane. The River Market shop at 525 Walnut St. is a playground for wine lovers.
Cellar & Loft’s beer club, wine club and scotch club count more than 1,200 members. Every Friday and Saturday, member-only tastings are from 6 to 8 p.m.
The shop is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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7 | Amazin' bacon
True story: An intrepid Star food scout cooked up half a pound of Burgers’ Smokehouse Original Country Bacon to test on BLTs, planning to go to the store for the “L” and the “T” after frying the “B.”
But the aroma of the pepper-crusted, hickory-smoked sticks proved much too tempting, and the crunchy strips got gobbled up alone.
The California, Mo., Burgers’ has been making slow-cured, hickory-smoked country hams since 1952 and has gained a national reputation. Apple Market in Westwood has Burgers’ bacon for $5.99 for a pound.
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8 | Where to find OMG doughnuts
At Holt’s Do-Nuts, 1325 Main St. in downtown Grandview, regulars know it’s foolish to think you’ll get a doughnut after 9 a.m. — unless you order ahead. Oh, and bring cash. No credit cards accepted. The shop is open every day but Monday from 5:30 to 10 a.m., or until sellout. To order ahead, call 816-763-9334.
9 | Tiny chutney company
Tripti’s Chutneys is Debjani Bhaduri’s hobby. But not many hobbyists can say they have won shelf space at Whole Foods.
Bhaduri does not use preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup or applesauce as a filler. Her chutneys, which retail for $3.69 to $4.69, also stand out because they do not contain onions or garlic.
Recipes at triptichutneys.com includes panini with pineapple-raisin chutney and a decadent chocolate pie with cranberry chutney.
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10 | Orange you glad?
Talk about an impressive catering pedigree.
Bonnie Hensley honed her skills some of KC’s top food and beverage venues. More recently, she opened her own catering/event space at 1815 Grand Boulevard. Hensley planned to use the space as her catering kitchen only, but everyone who saw it lobbied for her to book it as an event space. Her 18-year-old daughter helped name the space, Orange
To contact Hensley, call 913-498-8889.
11 | He eats with his eyes
Pro food photographer Bill Krzyzanowski’s biggest client? The National Beef Packing Co. National Beef hires Krzyzanowski to shoot every aspect of its beef and cattle production — from “on the hoof to on the plate” — including point-of-purchase displays and the glamorous prepared food shots for slick advertisements. Krzyzanowski partners with food stylist Anne Fisher (www.kcfoodstylist.com). See more of his photos at www.krzyzphoto.com.
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12 | Bye-bye, high-fructose corn syrup
Hillsdale Bank Bar B. Q. serves up pizza baked over a wood fire and, of course, barbecue, Hillsdale, Kan., just south of Spring Hill on U.S. 169. They sell their bottled sauces at specialty grocers and barbecue shops. Hillsdale added new versions of the sauces that are “82 percent organic” and feature organic tomatoes instead of ketchup and organic cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup.Look for the sauces, $4.29 for an 18-ounce bottle, at McGonigle’s Market, 1307 W. 79th St.
13 | Come along for a caffeinated ride
Airlines offer rewards to loyal fans, and the Roasterie’s Pilots Club comes with its own caffeinated perks. Text “copilot” to 72727 or scan the black-and-white QR code to auto-send a text. About once a month members et a text alerting them to promotions on reserve lines and microlots, special events or invitation-only tastings.
14 | Urban agriculture
The “Planning for Urban Agriculture” class at University of Missouri-Kansas City is aimed at students pursuing degrees in architecture and city planning. The class deals with health policy and land-use issues related to farming in the city. Contact UMKC’s Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design at 816-235-1725 or aupd@umkc.edu.
15 | A picture (of Great Gran) is worth 10 cases
When Jack Williams of Olathe walked into Dean & Deluca in Leawood, hoping to convince them to sell his Great Gran’s Home Style Pickles, the buyer took one look at the label photo of Williams’ Italian-immigrant great-grandmother, Angeline Buzzetti, and said, “I’ll take 10 cases,” without even tasting them.
Great Gran’s pickles are sold at Dean & Deluca, McGonigle’s Market, Bichelmeyer Meats and eight other stores at prices starting around $8 per quart. See www.greatgranspicklecompany.com for locations
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16 | Best baguette
Le Monde, 308 Armour Road, is a small French bakery in North Kansas City that draws crowds during its hours of 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Owner Jef Dover makes real deal, flaky pain au chocolat (chocolate-filled flaky pastry), dense raisin-pecan cinnamon rolls and buttery fruit Danishes for walk-in customers. But the biggest part of his business is providing restaurants with seriously Gallic croissants, baguettes and hard rolls.
17 | Making their mark on meat
Thomas Mergel, a welder at BBQ Fans, 312 E. U.S. Highway 69 in Claycomo, works to keep up with the demand for barbecue branding irons. BBQ Fans started out as an online enterprise at www.bbqfans.com. The branding irons leave their sizzling mark on a steak or any other grilled meat — in hundreds of designs and go for $20 to $40. Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
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18 | A day in the life of a 1920s truck farm
Shawnee Town, www.shawneetown.org, is being reinvented and next year you’ll be able to taste the fruits of that ambitious project.
While the collection of old-style buildings at 11501 W. 57th St. in Shawnee always has been a popular attraction, it represented a Western town that was not specific to Shawnee or to a certain period.
But thanks to an ambitious plan eight years in the making, the site is evolving into a living history re-creation of a single day in the life of a truck farm and smokehouse from 1929.
Shawnee Town is open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays from March through October.
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19 | Sweetest grab bag ever
If you like the Community Supported Agriculture concept of getting a grab bag of stuff for a set price, Natasha’s Mulberry & Mott has a dreamy alternative.
The bakery, 10573 Mission Road in Leawood, has created a dessert CSA. Natasha’s sacks are ready for pickup the second Saturday of the month year-round. Each month, $32 gets you five to seven goodies packed in a never-used 50-pound cake flour sack. Call 913-341-0300 to sign up; orders and payments are due the Monday before the second Saturday.
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20 | Kansas City’s hottest clearance rack
Original Juan’s clearance rack is to foodies what Filene’s Basement is to fashionistas. Push through the green door at 111 Southwest Blvd. in Kansas City, Kan., and make a beeline for the $1.99 sauces and condiments in various stages of product development — from test batch to ready for prime time.
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21 | A butcher shop with a woman’s touch
Donna Pittman owns Curt’s Famous Meats, a butcher shop at 10101 E. Truman Road, Independence, open since 1947. A few of Pittman’s favorite things: frog’s legs, pepper bacon and the ham salad, a recipe that dates back more than 60 years. Hours: 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. www.curtsfamousmeats.com
22 | The right way to eat a tamale
Hilda Cruz of Merriam not only makes delicious, moist tamales for Clock Tower Bakery & Café at 7911 Santa Fe Drive in Overland Park, she can tell you how to eat them properly, too. In Mexico, Cruz says, tamales are eaten with the hands, as shown. Cruz makes three versions of tamales, beef, pork and chicken, that can be bought hot or frozen for $2 each. Clock Tower Bakery & Café is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
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23 | Next generation lunch lady
Jackie Habiger, whose husband Ted is chef/owner of Room 39, wants to make one thing clear about her gig making lunches for students at Notre Dame de Sion school, 3823 Locust St. “Parents get excited and say, ‘We have Room 39 cooking at Sion.’ I say, ‘No. You don’t have Room 39 cooking at Sion. I can cook for children,’ ” says Habiger, a Sion alum. She uses only healthy ingredients, and dishes up yummy delights such as rainbow rotini pasta in a veggie sauce with a side of garlic bread. And always fresh fruit. Habiger’s meals cost $3.75 and between 150 and 250 of the school’s 350 students typically sign up for the lunches.
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24 | Bo Ling’s takes the cake
Kansas City’s favorite location for dim sum and authentic Chinese cuisine, Bo Ling’s, is branching out into American layer cakes for weddings, birthdays and parties. The cakes look like classic Western creations and are made with real butter and natural ingredients, but beneath the fondant icing, they are airier and less sweet than standard American cakes. Cakes come in many flavors, including lemon, strawberry and mocha and start at $19 for a 6-inch round cake. Call 913-608-3175 or email cakes@bolings.com for more information.
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25 | She knows where the wild things are
Michael Foust and Linda Hezel have formed a seed-to-plate relationship. Foust is the chef at the Farmhouse (www.eatatthefarmhouse), a farm-to-table, tip-to-tail home-style restaurant at 300 Delaware St. in the River Market. Hezel is a wild edibles expert and the owner of Prairie Birthday Farm ( www.prairiebirthdayfarm.com) in Kearney. Foust created a rabbit salad on a bed of wild greens with radish shoots and garlic scapes. Next on her list of unusual ingredients: fruits grown in bottles so mixologists can create their own essences. Meet Hezel on Aug. 2 when she’ll host a farmer’s table, $65 per person, 816-569-6032.
26 | Best use of a cocoa nib
Patric Chocolate’s In-NIB-itable Bar won a prestigious 2011 Good Food Award. Patric was founded by Alan McClure and is based in Columbia. The 70 percent dark chocolate bar — handcrafted only from cacao, cane sugar and cocoa butter — is sprinkled with the nibs of the Madagascar cocoa bean to create crunch and nutty bursts of flavor. The bars are available in bulk on www.patric-chocolate.comand retail for between $7 and $8, available locally at Dean & Deluca and Better Cheddar stores.
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27 | Best bucha on tap
Kombucha might be good for a body, but in its raw state it tastes like sparkling vinegar. “It’s real sour and real funky,” says Sean Henry, co-owner of Soda Vie soda company and Local Bucha ( www.localbucha.com). Health food enthusiasts endure the bitter beverage because it's a probiotic and is believed to aid digestion. Local Bucha has the same benefits but is more palatable thanks to the addition of fresh fruit juices and a bit of carbonation. Local Bucha is available on tap at the two Whole Foods stores in Overland Park. A 22-ounce bottle is $4.89 with a refill for $3.89, and 2-liter growler bottles are $13.99 with a refill for $10.99.
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28 | For appetites great and small
A traditional Austrian brunch menu usually offers but a single item: the stelze, a hulking, three-pound portion of roasted pork. But Nicholas Grünauer at Grünauer at 101 W. 22nd St., knew his American audience would need some lighter choices. Consider the kaiserschmarrn mit roster, a sweet, Austrian-style pancake. The batter is studded with rum-soaked raisins and poured into an iron skillet that caramelizes the exterior until “French toast-y.” It is served sliced, sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar. Brunch is served Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For more information, go to www.grunauerkc.com
29 | Grinding out an inspiration
Shawn Askinosie, creator of Askinosie Chocolate, stared at his melanger, a 100-year-old machine with granite grinding stones that turns chocolate nibs to chocolate liquor, and had a product epiphany. “It’s funny how equipment can drive your thought processes,” says Askinosie, a single source bean-to-bar artisan chocolate maker. Hey, Hey Hazelnut! ($13.99 at Whole Foods) is Askinosie’s Nutella-style spread.
30 | They’re vocal about local
Nearly every week, chef Mark Mollentine gets calls from folks interested in bottling their own super-duper, secret-recipe barbecue sauce. Mollentine has a signature line of sauce and seasoning products sold at area supermarket and retail stores. He’s happy to help, and he offers his “36” Plan: Figure 36 months and $36,000 to get a product to market. A year ago, Mollentine started Kansas City Food Artisans ( www.kcfoodartisans.com), a support group for small-batch, local food entrepreneurs who create shelf-stable products.
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31 | Lunch lost, then found
Debbie Gold has resurrected lunch at the American Restaurant, 200 E. 25th St. in Crown Center on First Fridays. It's a seasonal menus with a touch of whimsy. Lunch is served First Fridays only, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations are recommended. Call 816-545-8001
JIM BARCUS/The Kansas City Star
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32 | Best street food served indoors
Amid the counter jostle at Bichelmeyer’s Meats it is hard to pinpoint the tail-end of the Saturday taco line. The family-owned meat shop at 704 Cheyenne in Kansas City, Kan., sells tacos from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays only. Customers choose from five fillings — pork steak (red pastor), sirloin steak (carne asada), steamed beef (barbacoa), deep-fried pork (carnitas) and the diced pork stomach. The fillings are nestled in double-wrapped corn tortillas, and garnished with diced onion, chopped cilantro and a wedge of lime. Tacos are $2 each.
33 | Three things you didn’t know about pasta
Spaghetti is spaghetti, right? Wrong, according to Italian chef, cookbook author and PBS cooking star Lidia Bastianich. Bastianich, who owns Lidia’s restaurant, explains that there are three factors that separate the semolina from the chaff, if you will, when it comes to pasta.
•Protein content. The higher the percentages of gluten and protein, the nuttier the pasta will taste.
•Brass dies for cutting. Brass dies create a rough surface that grabs the sauce.
•Slow drying. If the noodles dry too quickly, they will be too sticky and chewy when cooked.
Lidia’s pasta is sold at select supermarkets.
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34 | the Best after-work wine tasting
Free wine-tastings are becoming harder to find as merchants try to figure out how to attract wine buyers without going broke providing free pours to tasting tourists. But Michael Holton, who created the wine department at Meiners Sun Fresh in Brookside (now Cosentino’s), has faith his free tastings combined with a large inventory of wines in the $10- to $20-range will build a regular customer base for his Wine Gallery, 1911 McGee St. www.thewinegalleryonline.com. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Free tastings are 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and 4 to 8 p.m. Friday
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35 | Food for the soul
Several years before the arrival of gluten-free breads on supermarket shelves, the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration based in Clyde, Mo., devised a recipe for a low-gluten Holy Communion wafer. The sisters are now the only suppliers of Vatican-approved low-gluten Communion wafers in the country.
