I can still remember walking by a white bucket outside a summer cottage on Lake Michigan and hoping it was the day my grandmother's half-sour pickles would be ready. Crisp and salty, those pickles formed the underpinnings of my adolescent diet alongside fat chunks of sweet watermelon.
For me, summer is about pickling and trying to find a use for a gardenful of cucumbers. But even if you don't have your own white bucket, you can still find a number of other delicious pickled dishes around Kansas City. Here are five that might entice you.
I have long made fun of my father for watching plates travel to other tables as part of his decision-making process at a restaurant. He'll stare for far too long, waiting to see what someone's reaction is to the first bite of a dish -- and the second and the third. But even as I gently admonish him for joining another table, I'm also asking him for his take, wanting to know exactly what he sees. Because I've experienced what's it like to see a dish being brought to an adjacent table and wish that it were coming to mine.
We're in a golden age of food photography, wherein the technology possessed by the average person means that even I can take beautiful food shots on occasion. We eat with our eyes (tell me this shot from Lauren Fairweather doesn't make you want a plate of Blanc's fries) but have yet to figure out how to use our newfound photographic prowess to help us make decisions at restaurants. Is there any way to get classy photos on printed menus (I hear there is this thing called an iPad being used in some restaurants), something that doesn't look like the sign board at a sub shop?
The Kansas City Chiefs will hold the first practice of training camp this afternoon in St. Joseph. The work begins without veteran offensive lineman Brian Waters. The Chiefs released the five-time Pro Bowler on Thursday.
Organization and player are calling the separation a mutual decision. "There's no ill will," Waters, 34, told The Kansas City Star. "There's no bad blood."
Brad Norman, former bassist for the Sex Offenders, recently launched a website and Facebook page for a new project of his. Entitled The Outhouse: The Film 1985 - 1998, the forthcoming documentary looks to interview "the bands, the people who attended the shows, the neighbors, the cops, all involved" with the punk venue in a cornfield outside of Lawrence (which is now a BYOB strip club). If you're one of those people, you can find out how to submit fliers or footage via the movie's website or Facebook page.
Real rockers drink beer and wine and everything in between.
is holding its Summer Bash Rock Concert on Saturday.
Sip on
complimentary beer or water while listening to Nobody's Fool. The gates
open at 6 p.m., and the band takes the stage at 7 p.m. Wine (including a limited-release Summer Breeze citrus wine) and catered
barbecue sandwiches will be sold separately. Tickets cost $10 in advance
or $12 at the door. You can bring your own lawn chair for the party in
the backyard.
With the punch of several buttons, the Kansas City Police Department made a little history on Tuesday morning. At 7:44 a.m., a woman driving 20 miles an hour over the posted speed limit on U.S. Highway 71 near Truman Road received the first department-issued e-ticket.
Four traffic officers are testing hand-held devices that print receiptlike citations. The department is moving away from the handwritten, everything-in-triplicate system that makes Municipal Court feel like the 1970s never ended.
Surely I don't have to tell you that all print media -- alt-weeklies included -- have been having a hell of a time finding new ways to bring in revenue as a dollar's worth of print advertising moves to a nickel's worth on the Web. So it pains me to report that the Star's parent company, McClatchy, has announced a 32 percent drop in second-quarter revenue as advertising sales declined.
The company's CEO, Gary Pruitt, has said he'll keep cutting costs to offset another anticipated revenue decline for the third quarter, ending this September. That's about as ominous as corporate-speak gets.
Police are on the hunt for the former boyfriend of Naushay Riley, who they believe may have killed Riley, as well as her mother, Jackie M. Riley, inside their home on East 40th Terrace early this morning.
Police say Naushay, 35, took shelter in the home after a fight with the man at her own house, bringing her 2-year-old and 9-year-old children with her. Whoever shot the Rileys broke into the house and killed them while the children were present. The former boyfriend allegedly called a family member of the victims earlier today, admitting he had shot both women.
Here's another good reason to run your next Match.com date's name through the Missouri online court system. KC's Tonya M. Green, 44, is probably newly single now that she's been hit with three felony charges -- including two counts of assault in the first degree and one count of armed criminal action -- because she lit her boyfriend of four years on fire during an argument.
Before you submit a fire-related pun to the comments section, remember that this poor guy sustained burns over 60 percent of his body. According to Slate, that gives off an odor of charcoal and musky sweetness along with being extremely, horribly painful. So your fire joke better be really fucking funny. Dick.
Jerry Rapp, CinemaKC president, answers The Pitch's questionnaire
Phoenix will headline Buzz Beach Ball in September
Aixois Brasserie celebrates first birthday in a spirited fashion
Which Wich is now making sandwiches in Westport
Jewish Family Services' food pantry now offers pet food
Boulevard and Sierra Nevada join forces for Terra Incognita, which hits shelves Wednesday
McDonald's sued by employee who wants a check, not a debit card
Rob Zombie is coming to Cricket Wireless Amphitheater