The franchise Top Chef, is like a night out with chef Mario Batali; the next round just keeps coming long after you thought you were finished. Bravo has announced that the latest season in Seattle will be followed by another season in an as-yet-undetermined city. I think Kansas City is due.
We've had local chefs compete on Top Chefs Masters (Celina Tio and Debbie Gold), and Saveur's editor-in-chief James Oseland (and Top Chef Masters critic) suggested that KC would have its moment in 2012. Casting calls for the show's 11th season begin next week (the closest is on Sunday, February 24, at the Girl & the Goat in Chicago). Would you want to see cheftestants running around the City Market or engaging in Restaurant Wars in a warehouse space in the Crossroads?
If Rudd (left) and Rashida Jones were eating next to you, would you notice?
The only two city dining rooms in which I've seen celebrities effectively ignored are in Kansas City and New York City. In the Big Apple, I suspect that's because celebrities are as ubiquitous as people in Brooklyn with nebulous jobs, like artisan leather strap maker or pickling disciple, whereas in Kansas City, the animus is less clear.
Whether it's Midwest civility, genuine ignorance or the understanding that this person is just passing through, celebrities seem to be able to avoid the crush of humanity that is the price of fame. Case in point is MLB.com's Richard Justice's anecdote governing Alex Rodriquez's lunch at Houston's on the Plaza. I've seen the same thing - folks a lot more concerned with nailing down a plate of tacos than seeing if George Brett or Paul Rudd is enjoying his enchiladas.
Do Kansas Citians care about dining alongside celebrities?
Posted
by Scott Wilson
on Tue, Jan 29, 2013 at 11:11 AM
You know, Valentine's Day isn't far off. In just a few weeks, you'll try to cram a year's worth of romantic aspiration into a dinner reservation and a hastily selected greeting card.
We're not about to make fun of all that. Ritual has its place, after all, and we'll be right behind you in line at Target come 4 p.m. February 14.
But whether you're blissfully involved or bitterly sitting out love for a while, one way to get through that cards-and-candy day is to unburden yourself of the past. Old indiscretions, unhealed wounds, last Thursday's hickeys - talk 'em out.
Got a sad or weird or hot story (or one that's all three) about meeting, getting with or having to go without someone special? Send it to letters@pitch.com. No names necessary, privacy assured, all relationship stages encouraged. Especially if your story is funny.
Should we drink beer in the name of charity year-round?
There's no shortage of pub crawls for charitable causes, but Kansas City doesn't yet have a pub that is attached to a charity year-round. If you readThe New York Times, we might not have to wait that long for the next cocktail trend.
In a recent story, the Times introduced the idea of pubs attached to charitable causes. The Oregon Public House is set to open in, you guessed it, Portland, Oregon, next month. The Okra Charity Saloon in Houston lets patrons vote with their beer dollars which charity should receive its profits on a monthly basis, and at Shebeen in Australia, a beer's country of origin determines where the profits go. Should Kansas City have a "philanthropub," like Washington, D.C.'s Cause?
All diets come with limitations. A few come with lectures. In a good sendup of his ilk, BuzzFeed's Jack Shepherd documents the 19 Most Annoying Things About Being Vegan.
It gets at the preachy tenor or judgmental attitude that can, but doesn't necessarily, accompany veganism. Back in March of last year, The Pitch's Payton Hatfield attempted a vegan diet for a month as the vegan with a bacon tattoo (the comments section alone suggests that this is a diet that comes with some heavy emotions). So, let's employ MTV rules and start getting real, people. Do you know a cool vegan?
Burnt ends. Tomato-based sauce. Smoked meat for days. It's easy to wrap up Kansas City in the flame of barbecue. But what if you had to give someone a recommendation outside the barbecue category to represent Kansas City?
Let's say you were talking to a vegetarian or someone coming off a four-day barbecue bender. And you had to find that one place which could stand as the best of what the City of Fountains has to offer. That one stand or shack or white-tablecloth joint that you simply couldn't imagine existing in another city. Which non-barbecue eatery says "Kansas City" to you?
Now you can finally match your beer to your drapes.
I'll have the red. I'll have the weiss. Or maybe the brown. Beer drinkers may use the same lingo as wine drinkers (thankfully, we don't have brown wine), but while the color may be indicative of style, it's not likely to be the determining factor.
Beertone - a clever play on the Pantone color wheel - is a visual catalog of more than 200 Swiss beers [h/t Laughing Squid]. Here beers are defined by their tones and hues. Color wheels are in the works for German and Brazilian beers. Do you ever consciously pick your beer by color?
It's winter, and while I find the warmth of a stove comforting as I prepare dinner, I also discover that my motivation to fire up said stove declines alongside the temperature. And so like a bear that must devour salmon to pack on winter weight, my internal hunger clock has declared that soup be regularly on the menu for the next several weeks.
The best I've recently had was a bowl of chestnut, apple and parsnip from Uncommon Stock (which began selling frozen and refrigerated containers at McGonigle's last month, in addition to the Columbus Park location). But its three soups change weekly, so I'm in search of a new bowl of nirvana. Who has the best cup of soup (chili and stew are acceptable entries, as well) in town right now?
I've sat in morning meetings with people hoping to wake up with a large cup of coffee and next to someone slugging down a 20 oz. bottle of Diet Coke. I'm old enough to remember the days of Jolt Cola and have enough friends in the world of programming to understand that if Mountain Dew ever stopped existing, we'd have a serious IT problem on our hands.
Humans rely on a lot of different sources for caffeine. And, as NPRwrites, the market is only going to grow - think caffeinated jerky and Cracker Jack'd (the 'd' stands for extreme). I've tried caffeinated gum (a bit like chewing a metallic, wet sock) and a small piece of high-end dark chocolate (delicious but with unclear results). Where do you look besides coffee for caffeine?
These aren't just cookies. They're breakfast cookies.
It's National Cookie Day, and I'm sitting here typing with a plate of chocolate-chip cookies for breakfast. Only I know this plate will eventually be empty and there is lunch to think about...
Cookies are the engine that powers Fat City. We've written about the Upper Crust Bakery's banana cookie, the sugar cookies at Swoon, Dolce's contributions to the Shatto ice-cream sammiches, and we gave you a top 10 on this date back in 2009. Alas, Murray's is no longer on the table - the ice-cream and cookie shop had its last day of the season Sunday. With lots of contenders, who makes the best cookie in town, and what is it?
Aixois Brasserie celebrates first birthday in a spirited fashion
McDonald's sued by employee who wants a check, not a debit card
Jewish Family Services' food pantry now offers pet food
Phoenix will headline Buzz Beach Ball in September
Kiss' Rock & Brews will 'Shout It Out Loud' in Overland Park in early 2014
Boulevard and Sierra Nevada join forces for Terra Incognita, which hits shelves Wednesday
Aaron Sanchez and John Besh to collaborate on a restaurant named Johnny Sanchez?
Iron and Wine is coming to the Midland