Spring is in the Aer

The year of the food truck... again. By this point in this blog's life my wild love affair with food trucks has to be painfully apparent! Food trucks are one of the closest things that I can find to the reason that I started this blog in the first place, in Kansas City. I have tried to make it to every food truck in KC (although I admit that I do have a few that I have not made it to yet), and even a few in other cities. I would love to place a link to every food truck post that I have ever made, but I feel that it may create some sort of cyclic black hole that would have a pull strong enough to crash Google's servers, so I will spare you... this time.

As it does every spring, the warmer weather peels back the blankets that Kansas Citians have taken shelter from the cold beneath and brings food truck rallies. Unfortunately, the inaugural rally each year is preceded  (and followed) by beautiful weather but often finds itself on the receiving end of a kick in the crotch from the cold winter witch holding onto that last cold breath. This was the case last year when the May First Friday was snowed out and it happened again this year. It did not snow on us this year (but I guess we still have May to look forward to - looks around for wood to knock on), but I do not feel like I should need a winter coat to walk around a First Friday event in April.

It actually worked out great for me, I gorged myself on tons of delicious food and got lots of face time with the amazing people that run these mobile eateries. However, that is pretty terrible for them, that means that they bought and prepared all of this great food for it to end up going to waste (which is always a terrible thought knowing that there are children going to bed without food in their bellies in this country and in others, but I'm sure it's also hard to get a food pantry to take prepared-perishable food at midnight). Now allow me to step down off of what I am sure some of you will think of as my "liberal, hippy, left-wing, bleeding-heart" soap box and go around the horn to tell you why you should come out the next time there is a rally so that this doesn't happen again.

Prairie Fire Oven - As I have documented before, David and Nancy White (and usually David's parents too) bring you some of the best pizza you have ever had in your life. Neapolitan-inspired, wood fired, pliable thin crust pizza that is not to be confused with that thin crust mess that they serve in that city down the river. PFO uses the freshest ingredients that they can find and even locally made sausages. But do not think that the PFO menu stops at the standard sausage or pepperoni, I mean they have that too, but you can get things like truffle oil, beets, and (one time last summer) mango on your pizza.

Street Wings  - The newest truck on the KC streets, brought to you by the owners of Little Italy, has a menu that consists of chicken wings and the like. The all-star on the Street Wing menu is something that some of you have never even heard of before (I know I hadn't): Stuffed Chicken Wings. When you read that, you probably think like I did and think it is stuffed with mozzarella, bleu cheese, or something creamy. If you think that, you would be wrong, just like I was. These chicken wings are stuffed with brisket, like the chicken that the wings are from went HAM on some cooked beef.

Little Italy - Speaking of Little Italy, the purveyors of all things Italian (including pizza when they are not at the same event as PFO). If you only have one thing from Little Italy, make it the risotto ball! Creamy goodness inside of a shell of crisp breading, you will not regret it. As you can see, with menu items like risotto balls and stuffed wings, Little Italy and Street Wings really put the extra time in to get their menu items right.

Wilma's Real Good Food - What can I say about Brett that I haven't already said? I call him The Mad Scientist, Adrian from Indios Carbonsitos calls him Brainiac, but to put it in laymens terms: He is the only man crazy enough to cook with Tank 7 while still being smart enough to pull it off! I have had plenty of items made with Tank 7 (although I have yet to have the Ale House Tank 7 doughnuts), and none of them have been up to snuff. I am a firm believer that if you are using beer to cook with then you use cheap beer, unless it is an item that you know that the flavour of the beer is going to come through. Brett makes food like fancy vinegar makers make vinegar. It may be unnerving to pour a $150 bottle of pinot into a carboy to make red wine vinegar, but they do it knowing that the finished product will show the difference.

I bring up Tank 7 because Brett was tossing fried grits and cheesesteaks out of Wilma's window that came smothered in Tank 7 cheese sauce. Do not mistake this for cheese wiz! The dishes that the sauce came on were no slouches themselves. Then, as if fried cheese grits with Tank 7 cheese sauce wasn't enough, dude was serving up frog leg street tacos with candied bacon chopped up in there too. Yes, real frog legs! - This was my wife's first frog leg experience, which is kind of funny that frog legs took this long given all of the other stuff I have gotten her to eat.

Indios Carbonsitos - Adrian brought the heat with a special that he has normally brought out for private parties: Camarones Divorciados (or Divorced Shrimp for our non Spanish speakers). Two skewers of shrimp, seasoned with a light chile rub and a little butter, one topped with Mike's Hot Honey that PFO introduced us all to and the other topped with Adrian's Mex-IQ version of a chimichurri sauce. Both of them plopped on top of some of the best cilantro lime rice I have ever tasted. Make sure that you taste the rice before the camarones or ask for some on the side because it is easy for the camarones to overpower the rice and the rice really deserves respect of its own.

You all should also know, with my love for food truckers, that I believe their hustle to be much harder than a brick and mortar restaurant. Brick and mortars believe that food trucks have an unfair advantage, but I believe that to be reversed. You can fit 3, maybe 4 workers on a food truck and they turn out way more orders than your average kitchen will during a dinner service. I do not take kindly to brick and mortars trying to encroach on the food truck game. I get it from a catering perspective. If you are going to use it solely for catering, cool. But if you are trying to capitalize on a trend, shame on you. I am a food truck purist, sue me. All of that being said, I had completely misjudged the Moose Truck!

Moose Truck  - As you can probably guess is a truck that is put on the streets by good folks from KCHopps. When I first heard that the Blue Moose was putting a truck on the street, I expected it to serve something like deep fried, previously frozen, chicken strips from Sysco foods. Boy was I wrong, not only is this truck NOT a glorified concession stand, but the KC Hopps executive chef (Chef Ryan) cruses around with the truck. When I got a chance to talk to him about it, he said that it was probably his favorite part of his job (cruising around in the food truck), because he actually gets to cook on the truck. Chef brings his "A" game too! The Moose Truck had menu items like shrimp and grits (and you know I love shrimp and grits) and sandwiches covered in blue cheese (on Farm to Market bread). The shrimp and grits were legit too! Buttery, cheesy grits with slaw between the shrimp and grits (Where have you ever seen this? Let me answer that for you, nowhere!).

Food truck season is upon us. Get hungry!

James Beard Award Winners in the Southland (Pt. 1)

You may know the names Megan & Colby Garrelts from their critically acclaimed (and award winning) restaurant Bluestem; They recently (less than a year ago) decided that only one awesome local restaurant was not enough, enter Rye. Rye is a trendy, locally-sourced, Midwestern focused restaurant with a large number of meat based dishes (i.e. fried chicken, pulled pork, burnt ends, roast beef) that you would expect to see at any restaurant that can truly call themselves "Kansas Citian". You will, however, also find some surprises on the menu too (but I am getting ahead of myself).

Taking its "locally sourced" theme to another level, Rye grows a lot of the herbs that they use right outside of the restaurant in planters that you can see when you drive up. But one thing that you will not find, naturally occuring, in Kansas City is the menu item that I chose to indulge in (the Southern favorite, Shrimp & Grits). It is incredibly hard to find good S&G (no, not "poops" & giggles, Shrimp & Grits) in the Midwest, so I had to give it a try. Fye knocked it out of the park! The grits were nice and creamy, with cheddar cheese and only a few of the tiny pieces of hominy were crunchy (forgivable). The shrimp were seasoned well, with a hint of smoke. The S&G were garnished with a few pieces of very good, smokey, tender, pulled pork (yes, meat as a garnish, it was wonderful). The creaminess of the grits and the smokiness of the shrimp/pork were tied together with the dark, smoky sauce that you see in the picture. Which brings me to my next point: Rye must employ the best restaurant ventilation system ever, because despite the smokiness of the dishes, you will not go back to work smelling of smoke (no need to dry clean those pants). The Leawood neighbors probably appreciate the lack of smoke coming out of the building as well.

Rye has a huge patio, overlooking their herb gardens and a pond, that you can enjoy your meals (or drinks) on while the weather is still warm enough for it.

Speaking of knocking things out of the park: Another fun aspect of my trip to Rye was a Billy Butler sighting. He appeared to be dining with family and friends, so most of the crowd left him alone. Although I did observe that his "Hit it a Ton" BBQ sauce was unmistakably absent, coincidentally (or maybe not) Billy did not "Hit it a Ton" in that night's game. So... let that be a lesson to anyone of you that is not superstitious.

One thing to note about Rye, it is very good food, and as with anywhere that has really good food, they are very popular and you may experience a wait. They even take lunch reservations, and it is not unnecessary to make them either.

Not Just Meat and Potatoes!

Providence New American Kitchen is the new contemporary American restaurant that resides inside the President Hilton, in the space that the old Drum Room dining room used to occupy. The old Drum Room has been separated into what is now Providence New American Kitchen and the new Drum Room bar. The Drum Room bar has been transformed into a modern mixology bar that doubles as an amazing place to watch a game, with 4 big TVs encircling the bar area.

President Hotel

New Drum Room Lounge

Old Drum Room Dining Room (Photo stolen from Hilton.com)

Providence New American Kitchen

The President Hilton is owned by Ron Jury, a native Nebraskan, who felt that his hotel needed an American restaurant that serves dishes made with locally sourced ingredients. I know what you are thinking right now, "I see salmon, scallops, and shrimp on the menu. How is all of that locally sourced?", as I thought as well. Everything that can be locally sourced, is (even the wood that you see adorning the new dining room). Everything that cannot be locally sourced is single sourced to a local farmer/purveyor near the area that the product is indigenous to. This is also the reason that the restaurant does not open until 11am daily: Chef Eric is at the markets, personally selecting ingredients.

Providence takes its name from the Secret Service's code name for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, not from the city in Rhode Island. The dining area is enriched with vintage Americana pieces, such as the tattered flag on the wall and the filament light bulbs in the vintage light fixtures. The menu is also full of classic American favorites, but is not just your grandfather's steak and potatoes. Steak and potatoes are on the menu, but there is also so much more!

Vintage Light Fixture

My wife and I were taken care of by a tag-team duo of Sirish and Jeff. They were both extremely knowledgeable of the menu (both able to explain everything on the menu), helpful, and pleasant. We could not have asked for a better experience! We sampled the lion's share of Providence's menu items, and there were no weak links. Below I have included a photo of each item that we tried, followed by a brief description. I will try to do each dish its due justice. Do keep in mind that we requested sampling sizes of each dish and that the actual dish sizes may be much larger than pictured.

The Vino:

Immortal Zinfandel

The Immortal Zinfandel is an amazing mate for any of the red meat dishes at Providence. The full bodiness of this wine pairs wonderfully with the complex flavours of the dishes that we sampled. You also cannot go wrong with the Pedroncelli Cabernet Sauvignon, especially if you like a more oaky flavoured vino. Also of note: The Parducci Pinot Noir has been so immensely popular that they have already sold out of it (a week and a half after opening).

The Starters:

Buffalo Carpaccio

The Buffalo Carpaccio: extremely thinly sliced buffalo, arugula salad, pieces of shaved hard cheese, and some aioli dressing plated with crustini to eat it all with. The buffalo was so thinly sliced that Jeff told me it was a secret how it was even sliced.

Dungeness Crab Cake

Dungeness Crab Cake: Probably 90% crab and 10% cake. There were just enough bread crumbs in the cake to keep it from crumbling into pieces and to give it a little colour, not any more. The lump Dungeness Crab meat with just a dab of the Sriracha Mayonnaise was incredible! Possibly the best crab cake you will find outside of the Northeast.

Loaded Potato Pierogi

Loaded Potato Pierogi: American twist on this Polish classic. What's better than a crispy pierogi with that creamy potato center? Only a crispy pierogi with a creamy potato center that has been loaded with cheese, bacon, chives, and sour cream. This thing was gigantic too!

Grilled Shrimp Bruschetta

Grilled Shrimp Bruschetta: Wonderful bruschetta that is topped with fresh (never frozen) shrimp, roasted pepper salad, and tomato vinaigrette. I love bruschetta anyways, but you put grilled shrimp that tastes as fresh as the second it came out of the water on top of it, and you have a masterpiece. The shrimp tasted just as fresh as the shrimp that we get on the coast.

BBQ Glazed Pork Belly

BBQ Glazed Pork Belly: This was my favorite of the starters that we tried. Borderline bite sized pieces of pork belly (I say that because chomping the whole skewer will yield a very full mouth, something I found out the hard way), covered in a maple chili glaze and Japanese Seven-Spice, on a skewer with a piece of tart Granny Smith apple to balance out the spice. Perfecto!

The Salads:

Blue Note (left) and House Salad (right)

The Blue Note salad was incredible! I would have never thought that mixing blueberries and bleu cheese would yield such an awesome combination, but it does! The House Salad did not punch me in the mouth like I had hoped and expected when we were told that it is served with a Tank 7 vinaigrette, but is a solid option when you want something with a lighter taste.

The Entrees:

Pan Seared Rainbow Trout

Pan Seared Rainbow Trout: A very light piece of fish served with a thin piece of lobster sausage and baby potatoes. Great for anyone trying to add some Omega-3 to the diet, yet doesn't like a strong fish taste. The house made lobster sausage was probably my favorite part of this dish.

Smoked Chicken Ravioli

Smoked Chicken Ravioli: Sort of like a ravioli deconstructed. Delicious tender smoked chicken thigh and baby spinach served with a ravioli that is lightly filled with a ricotta filling.

Apple Wood Smoked Meatloaf

Apple Wood Smoked Meatloaf: My favorite entree! Meatloaf made with veal, pork, and beef (yes I know veal is a form of beef, but lets not split hairs here), slow smoked and then grilled. The sides that come with this entree are equally awesome: sour cream golden russet potatoes on top of wild mushroom gravy, grilled mushrooms, grilled seasonal veggie cubes (carrots, butternut squash, etc), crisp green beans, and lightly pickled onions (vinegary yet still crisp).

The Desserts:

Nothing goes with dessert like coffee

Ricotta Doughnuts

Ricotta Doughnuts: I never thought that doughnuts and key lime would go well together, but they do, deliciously. These doughnuts are fantastic: sweet doughnuts, tangy key lime dipping sauce, and a wonderfully light white chocolate mousse accompanying it all.

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake: The Carrot Cake is great. Served with orange sherbet and topped with candied roman carrots.

S’mores Flavors

S’mores Flavors: This is essentially a deconstructed S'more: graham cracker crumbles, graham cracker ice cream (yes you read that right, graham cracker ice cream), molten brownie (I couldn't think of a better descriptor for this brownie myself, it is indeed molten), and marshmallow fluff that has been hit with a torch. This has to be one of the best desserts I have ever had in my life! This dessert alone would be worth the drive for a South Kansas Citian! Just incredible! Words cannot describe it!

Hotel President at Night

Everything at Providence New American Kitchen was awesome! We will definitely be back for some of our favorites, as well as to try other dishes (such as the Bully Porter Braised Short Ribs). As we were walking home, discussing our favorite dishes (that we had just gorged ourselves with), and stopping for a couple photo ops, we were reminded that we live in a pretty sweet city!

Buenas Noches

Nica's 320

First off, I would like to apologize for not having any pictures of the awesome food from Nica's. It was dark in there and my phone doesn't have a flash on it (I know, I know, I know... lame! I know!).

When we walked into Nica's, it was rainy outside and very dark inside. There was a table of pseudo-hipsters at the table next to us. Clowns are being hanged from the ceiling. Then I started worrying that this may be one of THOSE places, where everyone there thinks they are too cool to be there and so on. But Nica's could not be more unlike that! The food was fantastic! The plates were huge! The wait staff could not have been nicer! And the clowns actually just add to the creole feel of the joint.

Nica's is a bit pricey, but you get a ton of food and it is actually a great value for what you get. My wife ordered "The Jerk" salad. The salad was huge and came with a large amount of jerk seasoned steak and chicken. It was drizzled with an awesome "Rasta-vinaigrette", but the best part of the salad was the banana chips.

As for me, the Dr. John had my name on it. This gigantic spicy-creamy risotto (or as it is written on the menu: rissoto. Which I believe is done this way to play up the "crazy" vibe of the restaurant, the menu actually is quite crazy, and the food is crazy good) is a very spicy dish, so beware if you can't handle much heat. The heat comes from candied jalapenos. It is filled with tons of meat (both in quantity and in variety), there is: andouille sausage, crawfish tails, shrimp, and chicken. All of the meats are incredibly seasoned and very spicy. The chicken was so tender that I was able to shred it with just my fork. The accents in this dish only pulled more flavour out of the main ingredients; the green onion, olives, and peanuts (I believe they were peanuts, but it was dark). I would have to say that my first scoop of the dish that had an olive in it was my favorite bite.

A small note about my the salad that came prior to my meal. It was a salad of spring greens with what tasted like a Thai inspired vinaigrette. But it was topped with the coolest little carrot curls. The presentation at Nica's is awesome!

Dessert: We were both super full after dinner, but when we had a dessert menu set in front of us and saw that a made-to-order beignet (pronounced: behn-yay, as our awesome waitress Torie helped me 3 times to get correct, and I am sure I still don't understand 100% how the "g" in there is pronounced) for just $3, we had to try one. We ordered the Cinnamon Apple Beignet, it was incredible, my wife put it on her dessert all-star list.

All in all, Nica's was amazing. There is a great, almost New York-esque, vibe and we will definitely be returning soon. Go check them out for some crazy Cajun fusion flavour.

Extra Virgin and Glace

Extra Virgin (or Michael Smith lite, as I like to call it) is the brain child of local chef Michael Smith. You may know Michael Smith from his restaurant namesake, that is located adjacent to EV, or as the savior of The American Restaurant. Or you may not know him at all, but if you did not know him before dining at EV, you will surely not forget him after you leave. He nailed the upmarket tapas restaurant concept and gave the space an industrial semblance, the place has a big city tapas spot feel with a gritty Kansas City twist.

The menu items range from traditional Spanish tapas to items that are so daring that the inspiration could be nothing short of an ingredient basket from Chopped. From the traditional sliced meat plates, sliced cheese plates, almonds and variations of Spanish chorizo to the more adventurous duck tongue tacos, crispy pig ear salad, and fried duck gizzards, there is something for every appetite.

We started off with a couple of house cocktails from the bar, the red sangria and the Bicycling Bohemian. Let me just say that EV doesn't just employ a couple bar tenders that will pour you a glass of wine or the occasional gin and tonic, EV employs some of the most creative mixologists in KC. They make their own bitters, infuse liquors, and age their own house cocktails in charred oak barrels in the basement (see the Aged Manhattan). Mallory chose the sangria and it was amazing, not too sweet (as is the problem with some sangrias), but was still light enough to enjoy on such a hot summer day. I went with the Bicycling Bohemian, mainly because Bohemia is the name given to the neighborhood of my favorite Broadway musical Rent, but secondly because I saw Absinthe on the drink's ingredient list. The drink was very strong (but delicious) and came with an infused cherry (seed-in, don't chip your tooth thinking that it is a maraschino) in the bottom of the flute. Despite what Manet, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Oscar Wilde would have you believe, I did not hallucinate at all after drinking the Absinthe containing cocktail, much to no one's surprise. Granted: do not know how much Absinthe was actually in the cocktail (probably not much), the recipe for Absinthe has changed over the years, and I am unaware if it was poured with the appropriate Absinthiana, but the fact remains still sane (or at least it appears to me that I am still sane, I could be typing gibberish and have no idea).

Round one of tapas: The tacos. For our first plate of tacos, we ordered the Tuna Ceviche Tacos. These tacos were served with cold contents and came in small fried taco shells. The flavours that came bursting through immediately were the tuna and the smashed avocado. They come in a rack of 4, so these are great for a group of 2 or 4 (or an odd group of 5 that has a member that does not enjoy tacos, or group of three that has one taco lover, but I digress...).

Our second plate of tacos, we ordered the duck tongue tacos. Right in my wheelhouse, I know, anything with some meat that isn't your standard chicken, steak, or pork in a taco has my name written all over it. These were delicious, the highlights were the: spicy duck tongue, spicy red onions, and queso fresco. These (like the tuna tacos) are served in fried taco shells. IMHO they would be better if they came in soft corn tortillas, but are still incredible as is.

Round two of tapas: The Protein. First we ordered the Smoked Paprika Shrimp and Peaches. Let it be known that I don't really care for shrimp. I always draw scoffs when I reveal this to people, but to me, shrimp just taste like nothing (really expensive nothing). This dish proves that shrimp can have flavour, people just choose not to put the flavour in the shrimp. The smokiness of the shrimp mixed with the big bold flavour of the grilled Missouri peaches, was nearly the perfect combination! This dish was Mallory's favorite.

Our second plate of protein, we ordered the fried duck gizzards with "crossroads hot sauce". The duck gizzards are again, right up my adventurous alley. The gizzards and sauce were both delicious. If you have never had gizzards before, it is the bit of meat that is roughly located on the bird where the neck meets the breastbone. Gizzards are popular street food fair in much of the world. When fried, a gizzard is slightly chewy on the outside and very meaty and tender on the inside (the meat is much like chicken meat).

While all of the dessert that we saw floating by to other tables looked incredible, and the churros were calling my name, I had already promised to take Mallory to Glace after dinner.

Glace is this awesome little artisan ice cream joint. This was our first time, so we tried a good number of samples, only to find out how unbelievably awesome all of the flavours are (which only made the decision that much more difficult). Far and away, the Roasterie Organic Coffee was both of our favorite flavour. After Mallory stole my combination of Roasterie Organic Coffee and Christopher Elbow Dark Chocolate (two KC legends), I was forced to rethink my selection (since we have this unwritten rule that we always have to order different options, so we can try more items). I ended up going with the ROC and Bananas Foster, per the recommendation of the girl behind the counter, boy was it incredible. Mallory even liked the Bananas Foster a lot, and she usually doesn't like banana flavours outside of real bananas. Would recommend this place to anyone that is looking for a great scoop (or two) of artisan ice cream. I honestly think that it is impossible to try a bad flavour here! Perhaps next time I will give Farmer Bob's Sweet Corn a shot.