It felt like a prank call. Nervously dialing the number for a local liquor store, hoping the clerk who answered could settle a bar bet simply by saying the store's name. Ostensibly calling to find out the hours, my dinner companion was hoping to discover the correct pronunciation of Berbiglia.
"Burr-big-lia," answered the clerk at 4500 Belleview Road. "Burr-buhh-hmmm," said the counter guy hurriedly at 1215 Westport Road. "Ber-Bee-Lia," said the clerk at 21 West 63rd Street. So after a blind sampling of three stores, we were no closer to settling the bet. As such, consider this my ask the audience lifeline.
What's the correct pronunciation for Berbiglia?survey software
Chef Art Smith would tell that you food is love. Eat Me Daily contends that food is culture. But can food be art?
Chef Grant Achatz sat down with Life magazine last week to explain the process behind molecular gastronomy and the inspiration for dishs at his restaurant Alinea in Chicago. In a series of stunning photographs (food is porn), he talks through a dish from inception to plating -- and unintentionally raises the very real question of whether cooking is an art form that just happens to use food as the medium.
There is an unwritten rule that by simply purchasing a coffee you are entitled to sit for an indeterminate amount of time inside of a coffee shop. But how long is too long? When do you go from regular morning customer to approaching the legal definition of squatter.
The idea of coffee campers is not a new one, but the ways in which coffee shops are handling customers who view their local java joint as a second home is all over the map. Some places cut Internet, others have taken away wall plugs. But nobody has quite decided exactly how long customers are entitled to set up camp.
I once had a top shelf long island iced tea. It was the end of a night of wedding drinking and a friend had agreed to an exorbitant minimum at a bar for the after party. He was well short of the mark and began to seek out the most expensive drink -- sadly this was a bar without aged whiskey (hence the difficulty in racking up the minimum charges).
As to whether the $18 price tag or the quality of liquors (or the previous wedding drinks) influence my memory, I can't say. But I do know that long island iced tea remains the finest iteration of that drink I've ever had.
And so when I read this morning on Twitter about the potato skins (smoked pork cheeks, cheddar and goat cheese) on R Bar's new summer menu, I began to wonder if pub food could transcend the fry-o-lator. So, how about it Fat City readers?
Do top shelf ingredients belong in pub classics?survey software
Recently, the J.M. Smucker Co. announced plans to shutter its downtown Folgers plant in 2012. This made us wonder whether Kansas City coffee drinkers might begin filling their cups with another brand. In St. Louis, when Anheuser-Busch was sold to InBev, Schlafly beer enjoyed a bump in sales because it was suddenly made by the hometown brewery.
So while the smell of roasting coffee is the smell of downtown for many (the Please Don't Close The Kansas City Folgers Plant! Facebook page has more than 6,900 fans), will kitchen pantries still be lined with cans of Folgers after the plant closes? Were they ever?
Is it still Folgers in your cup?online surveys
Image from Five Theengs.
A new trolley system connecting bars and restaurants from Waldo to 18th and Vine is to have its test run this Friday, according to yesterday's piece in The Kansas City Star. The KC Strip Trolley will cost $15 for a night pass or $35 for a monthly pass and run on an 11-mile route from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The trolley -- the brainchild of Bill George and Bill Nigro -- will make stops in Brookside, the Plaza, Martini Corner and the Power & Light District.
Will you ride the new KC Strip Trolley once it's up and running?survey
The Kansas House approved a statewide smoking ban on Thursday -- voting 68-54 to send the measure to Gov. Mark Parkinson's desk. The ban, which includes bars, restaurants, and workplaces, has several exceptions -- tobacco shops, private clubs, designated smoking rooms in hotels and the gambling floors of state-run casinos.
While Parkinson has not yet signed the bill into law, he has stated his intention to sign it. If signed, the bill would go into effect on July 1.
Should Gov. Mark Parkinson sign the statewide smoking ban into law?trends
Voltaire - the saloon, not the philosopher - opens tonight
Big Rip Brewing Co. expands the Northland's beer universe
Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper are headed to Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
KC Pride Festival 2013? Yes, it's still on
Rob Zombie is coming to Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
WWE's Monday Night Raw returns to Kansas City October 14
Shawn Ratigan and Bishop Robert Finn face two new civil lawsuits
A consultant tells KC that big retail could save Citadel Plaza