Kansas City Star: Food

Cutting-edge cuisine finds home in KC

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:15 CDT

Jenny Vergara recalls the day she stopped apologizing for Kansas City’s restaurant scene. The Lenexa blogger, who dishes about the local food scene at www.makingafoodie.com, was sipping cocktails with Marshall Roth on the patio of Le Fou Frog, the funky French bistro just east of the River Market.

The search for KC's top (hot) dog

Wed, 13 May 2009 13:15 CDT

Chicago is the capital of the Wiener Republic, and you really can’t get a bad dog in the city. But where in Kansas City can you find a hot dog that's worthy of the Windy City?

Where is Kansas City's best barbecue? Fans aren't reluctant to voice opinions

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:15 CST

There's an old saying that in polite social circles one should never discuss religion, politics or sex. In Kansas City you might add barbecue to the list. Almost nothing gets barbecue fanatics riled up as a discussion of Kansas City's best.

Chefs know where the good values are for eating on the cheap

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:15 CDT

There are no white tablecloths in Swagger. There are no sautéed veal sweetbread appetizers or thyme roasted diver scallop entrees. The most exotic menu item is the Suribachi burger — tempura Angus beef with wasabi coleslaw ($9.95).

These KC restaurants offer an authentic taste of Mexico

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:15 CST

Everyone knows Kansas City is a great town for hearty, sit-down Tex-Mex fare. But if you’re short on time or don’t feel like a heavy meal under a blanket of bubbling cheese, a lot of snack shops, drive-throughs and quick-service destinations offer up a different, and often much more authentic, taste of Mexico.

The search for KC's best breakfast joints

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:15 CST

To Michael Kizzee, this was the most important thing about enjoying the most important meal of the day: Breakfast is a cool way to have a date with your wife.

Reduced-fat dairy products are the key to trimming fat and calories in Au Gratin Potato Casserole

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

The box of instant au gratin potatoes from the supermarket advertises a dish “made with 100 percent real cheese and potatoes.” But the potatoes are dehydrated and the cheese sauce is powdered.

Soup has a bit of everything and a whole lot of taste

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Jay Sollenberger is skilled at improvising both his meals and his music. A professional trumpeter for 40 years, Sollenberger plays jazz, symphony, brass ensemble and musical theater venues. When it comes to trumpeting his culinary skills, Sollenberger says nothing replaces time spent in preparation. Patrice, his wife of 30 years, and their grown son, Brandon, enjoy Sollenberger’s variations on a tasty theme.

Eating for Life | Spicy Mexican Meatballs

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Long before the meatball rolled off of spaghetti, the plump little darling had become a globetrotter. Various food encyclopedias list the Danish fikadeller, the German Klopse, the Greek kéftedes and the Spanish albóndiga as prime examples of meatball cuisine.

Japanese steakhouse Sumo by Nambara scores well with diners looking for an evening of food and fun

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

Japanese steakhouses in Kansas City were few and far between when I was growing up. They weren’t just restaurants — they were destinations, usually reserved for birthdays, proms and other celebrations.

Our brave amateur attempts homemade Halloween treats � and barely survives

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

An editor suggested it might be “fun” if I took a new little book called “Field Guide to Candy” and wrote about whipping up some homemade sweets for Halloween. As it turned out it would have been more fun to take the book and hack it to pieces with my father’s World War II machete.

No tricks, just healthy treats for raw food enthusiast

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

It’s easy for Shannon Yates to scare up some good food. A raw food enthusiast, Yates always has fresh fruits and vegetables on hand and ready to eat.

Call it Twine? Twitter makes wine for charity

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

The people at Twitter — the social media site on which users post messages no longer than 140 characters — are getting into the wine business, putting together an ambitious project aimed at raising money for literacy.

Pine nuts leave a bad taste in some people's mouths

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

Andrew Telzak got a great deal on pine nuts at an Asian market and whipped up a batch of pesto for friends. It tasted great. But for days afterward, nothing else did.

Food calendar | Oct. 28-Nov. 3

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

Classes DIVINE DINING: Chef Gary Hild and cuisine with Oktoberfest theme. 6:30 p.m. Oct. 30, Capital Federal Conference Center (Regnier Center, JCCC), 12345 College, Overland Park. $59. www.jccc.edu/home/depts.php/001400/site/Divine Dining (913-469-2323)

Ethnic veggies bring urban farmers and daring eaters to the table

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

Michele Craig is eager to donate her taste buds to potluck science. The Kansas City woman twirls cold soba noodles on her fork and keeps a steady eye on the volunteer cooks as they dart back and forth from the Bad Seed Market kitchen carrying platters heaped with neat tangles of sweet potato greens.

At 26, celebrity chef Curtis Aikens finally learned to read

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

Even if you’ve never met Curtis Aikens, all it takes to get a sense of his personality is the command on the front of his chef’s jacket: “Give me a hug!!” When he graduated from high school, though, he would have had trouble reading those four words.

Newly popular naan tastes like a dream

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

A sandwich is a sandwich. But a naanwich, well, that's a phenomenon that has popped up all over the nation as Americans warmly embrace the South Asian clay oven bread known as naan.

Recipes for hip kids — and their parents

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

“The Gastrokid Cookbook” by Hugh Garvey and Matthew Yeomans (Wiley, $22.95) What it is: It’s hip, witty, sophisticated — the perfect cookbook for parents who fear their gastronomic adventuring is doomed to drive-through fare. Subtitled “Feeding a Foodie Family in a Fast-Food World,” the slim volume with lovely pictures and a cute chalkboard design theme is from Gastrokid.com bloggers Garvey and Yeomans. They promise foodie parents an “essential guide to raising passionate, adventurous eaters.”

My Dinner At | The Drop Bar and Bistro

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

I'd been hoping to check out the Drop: Bar and Bistro for a while now. A friend recently told me, “I never expected such fancy food on Martini Corner. It's a lot more than bar food.” So four of us gathered to put that high praise to the test.

We go to the experts with our budding questions about taste

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

Everybody talks about the taste of great food. But hardly anyone talks about the tongue and the nose that make the tasting possible.

Store fresh herbs for a taste of summer all year through

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

Wondering what to do with that abundance of garden-fresh herbs you’ve carefully tended all summer long? No worries. You can enjoy fresh herbs year-round by drying or freezing. They won’t have quite the quality of fresh-picked ones, but they can still bring a kiss of sunshine to many dishes — even in the doldrums of winter.

My Dinner At | Cafe Casbah

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

Judging only by the name, I had envisioned Café Casbah as a sassy, Clash kind of “Rock the Casbah” Mediterranean restaurant, but the menu is more of a Muzak playlist of classic Continental cuisine with showy, old-fashioned preparations rarely seen anymore.

Books for cooks: ‘Gourmet Today,' gone tomorrow

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

OK, I admit I’m feeling nostalgic about Gourmet magazine, in light of last week’s announcement that the November issue will be its last. I’m guessing those annual “Best Of” Gourmet hardback compilations published each year will soon be clamored for, so hang onto what you’ve got. With timing that is either advantageous or slightly cruel — depending on how you see things — the new “Gourmet Today” cookbook (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $40) has just been published, edited by Ruth Reichl.

What's not to like? Plenty

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

When it comes to taste, we wanted to know what made some Kansas Citians go yum and yuck, and why. We hit the bricks and asked people to use either of those two words in a food-related sentence. Here’s what they said.

Amid magazine heartbreak, food personality Ruth Reichl visits KC

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

Even after Condé Nast Publications on Monday shuttered Gourmet magazine, where she had been editor in chief, Ruth Reichl came to Kansas City on Wednesday to promote the magazine's latest cookbook, “Gourmet Today.”

Eating for Life | Penne With Smoked Turkey Sausage

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

When my daughter was a toddler I created an edible masterpiece — a throw-it-together-I’m-exhausted-from-work pasta dish featuring refrigerator staples: cubes of ham, frozen peas and crumbles of feta cheese. The dish pleased her picky little palate and was officially dubbed Bella Pasta, a nod to her nickname and her love of any noodle. So when The Star’s Penne With Smoked Turkey Sausage crossed my desk, I was eager for her to taste it and give me her verdict.

My Dinner At | Oak 63

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:15 CDT

Corner cafes at every turn, haricot verts atop my salad and a shared bottle of Côtes du Rhône: little aspects of everyday life in France that bring big smiles. This summer I was lucky enough to spend a week in Paris (where I could live on pastries, bread and cheese alone).

Gourmet or greasy, there's a burger joint perfect for you

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:15 CDT

I'm not sure a hamburger needs to go gourmet. A carelessly tended yard burger, charred and flavored with grill gunk, can come as close to culinary heaven in my book as seared foie gras in Calvados.

Owner, chef bring sophistication to beer and burgers at the Westside Local

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:15 CDT

The Westside Local is one of those places that feels special and comfortably neighborhood at the same time. With its exposed brick, salvaged-wood tabletops and a beer garden out back, it has a friendly, workmanlike demeanor.

New Orleans making a culinary comeback

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

NEW ORLEANS | Just two days after Hurricane Katrina barreled into New Orleans, chef John Besh, an ex-Marine who served in Kuwait and fought in Desert Storm, was already tapping his national network of military buddies to marshal resources — from propane tanks to red beans and rice — to feed workers, refugees and evacuees.

My dinner at Bleu Tomato: Fancy food, De Soto prices

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

When a jogger tells you the restaurant you’re looking for is “right next to the Dollar General,” it’s hard to keep your culinary hopes aloft. But Bleu Tomato turns out to be a cozy oasis of solid, value-priced food and bohemian decor in De Soto, halfway between Lawrence and Kansas City in western Johnson County.