Whether or not you're observing Lent, there are some incredible seafood dishes to tempt you on Fridays. Maggie's Authentic Mexican Foods (100 S.E. Third St., in Lee's Summit) has shrimp specials every Friday during the Lenten season. The four-year-old restaurant offers $3 shrimp tostadas, $12 shrimp fajitas, and three shrimp tacos for $7. For those who can eat meat, grab a bowl of the nearly world-famous chicken mole, which comes with a side of rice and flour tortillas. Maggie's is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Perennial Artisan Ales has quickly made a name for itself in St. Louis. Discover why when the new import to Kansas City takes part in a four-beer, four-course dinner prepared by chef John Smith at the Jacobson (2050 Central) from 6 to 9 p.m. The dinner in the Crossroads costs $30 per person (or $35 at the door). Perennial brewer Andrew Hille will be in attendance to talk about the beers. Call 816-423-2888 to make a reservation. The full menu is after the jump.
A number of local artists and jewelers donated items to the silent auction at last night's benefit for JJ's employees.
The room in the back of the Uptown Theater featuring the silent-auction items - which ranged from original artwork to an elaborate barbecue grill - was elbow-to-elbow last night as more than 1,200 people gathered to raise funds for the staff of JJ's Restaurant. The Plaza fixture was destroyed after a gas line blew up February 19.
"The auction was a phenomenal success," says co-organizer Jim Ligon, who was a popular bartender at JJ's until the February 19 explosion. A portion of the fundraising profits will be donated to the recently established Megan Cramer Foundation for the Arts, in honor of the JJ's server killed in the blast.
Accurso's owner, Anthony Accurso, knew that he needed an edge to compete in The Pitch's Sugar Rush, held February 27 at the Guild. So he called in his secret weapon: his grandmother.
Angel Barelli opened her kitchen last week to the restaurant's two chefs, Michael Clough and Joseph Jackson, and showed them how to make her recipe for sour-cream-topped, New York-style cheesecake. Jackson added a Concord-grape reduction and a peanut-butter cream sauce (and put honey in the sour cream) for his new version of the dessert.
What Johnny Carson did for young comics, Mark Bittman can do for a fledgling farmer. So, sharpen up those fields, everybody. The New York Times columnist will be in Kansas City on Thursday, June 20, as the keynote speaker during a week of events surrounding the Urban Grown Farms & Garden Tour.
The fifth annual sojourn through KC's growers has swelled to 60 farms and gardens. Cultivate Kansas City will organize the tour, which is slated for Saturday, June 22, and Sunday, June 23, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"The event has grown far beyond a tour. It's now a full weeklong celebration of the good food, great farms and gardens, and wonderful community Kansas City has created through urban agriculture," said event coordinator Ami Freeberg in a release. "Our theme this year is 'Cultivate the Change,' and we hope all Urban Grown participants will go home inspired to dig in to urban agriculture in their own way."
Eat a lot, and you'll feel warmer. Winter Restaurant Week is back in the Power & Light District, through March 3, with lunch and dinner specials at 13 restaurants. There's a special $10 or $15 menu for lunch, and dinner ranges from $25 to $30.
The Bristol has a two-course lunch of lobster bisque and a flatiron steak salad; 801 Chophouse will serve you Caesar salad, Iowa Duroc pork chop and New York cheesecake for dinner. Lunch comes with a $5 gift card to use on your next visit to a restaurant, and dinner includes a $10 gift card.
Posted
by Scott Wilson
on Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 12:10 PM
The Pitch's Sugar Rush event, knocked off the calendar by last week's snowstorm, keeps its rescheduled date tonight. Give yourself a reward for all that shoveling (while benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters) from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Guild (1621 Locust). If you have a ticket, it's good tonight. See you there.
Chuck Magerl could probably use a beer right about now. The founder of the Free State Brewing Co. is in the midst of a whole lot of projects. The new bottling line (which will quadruple Free State's bottling speed) at the brewery's production facility is set to come online in the next few days. The sold-out Kansas Craft Brewers Expo (you might be able to find a ticket on Craigslist) is next Saturday, and this weekend is the 24th anniversary for his Lawrence brewpub at 636 Massachusetts.
"We'll be tapping some of our brewers' reserves," Magerl says of the anniversary party. "And anybody that shares our birthday gets a discount based on their age. So far, the oldest we've had is an 86-year-old. I keep telling people I want a 101-year-old person to come in, so I can pay them."
Canstructions in past years have included a water-bottle igloo.
Warhol may have immortalized Campbell's soup cans on canvas, but true pop art is on display this week at Ward Parkway Center (8600 Ward Parkway). Canstruction, the annual food drive and design-and-build competition to benefit Harvesters, kicks off today with a build day. Local architects, contractors and artists come together to design sculptures out of nonperishable canned goods that will be displayed through Thursday, March 21.
There's a VIP preview party with cocktails Saturday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 in advance or $20 at the door.
Due to concerns over tomorrow's impending storm, The Pitch's Sugar Rush event has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 27. The ode to sweets (and benefit for Big Brothers Big Sisters) will still be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Guild (1621 Locust). All purchased tickets will be honored on the new date.
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