Ameristar’s holiday afternoon tea; new Parkville eatery & pub; KC’s award-winning cocktails

Ameristar Casino Hotel Kansas City has decorated its 1898 Pullman dining car as a setting for a holiday afternoon tea.

It will take $20 donations for reservations per party to dine inside the car, with 100 percent of the donations going to “Giving the Basics,” which helps to provide essential necessities for Kansas City residents in need.

Customers can reserve a table or book the entire car for holiday gatherings and parties. Then they pay $20 per person for the traditional afternoon tea prix fixe menu. It was created by Ameristar’s executive chef John Johnson and executive pastry chef Victoria Swanson and includes six tea sandwiches, six hand-crafted desserts, specialty coffee, drinking chocolate and tea.

Afternoon Tea in the Train Car will be served at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, through Dec. 22 at 3200 Ameristar Drive. Each tea runs about 60 minutes.

Parties renting out the entire train and the adjoining Depot #9 can purchase food from buffet-style menus in price levels from light hors d’oeuvres to four-course meals for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Ameristar also will donate $1 from every dessert purchased in Great Plains Cattle Co. and Amerisports Brew Pub through Dec. 22 to Giving the Basics.

New Parkville venue

New owners have been renovating the 8,000-square-foot former Power Plant Brewery & Restaurant in downtown Parkville. They plan to open The Local Eatery & Pub there by mid-January.

The Local Eatery & Pub, at 2 Main St., will feature live music Friday and Saturday nights.

Power Plant closed in 2008.

Isle of Capri’s winning cocktail

Isle of Capri Casino’s Coco Lada cocktail has made Restaurant Hospitality’s list of the “2016 Best Cocktails in America” list. It was one of only 14 cocktails that made the list out of hundreds submitted, according to the publication.

Amber Bennett, food and beverage supervisor for Isle of Capri at 1800 Front St., created the cocktail for The Lone Wolf bar and grill. Coco Lada is made with Malibu Rum, Godiva Chocolate Liqueur, Baileys Irish Cream, coconut milk, pineapple juice, simple syrup, chocolate syrup and a chocolate bar garnish.

The judges said: “Well, of course a chocolate Pina Colada would be delicious.....chocolate and fruit, particularly acidic fruit like raspberry or orange - or pineapple - that adds extra zing and lifts up the palate.”

The Lone Wolf also received an honorable mention in the agave category for Chile Mango Bitten Rita with mango-infused tequila, triple sec, simple syrup, jalapenos, cilantro, lime juice, sour mix, fresh mango and Tajin.

Another Bennett concoction was on the 2015 list, too — a Rainbow Sherbet Punch.

Other “Honorable Mentions” were:

▪ Q39 barbecue in the whiskey category for Everybody’s Girl with scotch, cream sherry, Averna, house-made cherry cordial and bitters.

▪ Gram & Dun in the vodka category for Betty Childs with Hanger One Kaffir Lime Vodka, strawberry-ginger shrub, rhubarb, jalapeno and white creme de cacao. But the Betty Childs cocktail is no longer on the menu at Gram & Dun.

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Ameristar’s holiday afternoon tea; new Parkville eatery & pub; KC’s award-winning cocktails."