Chicken Wings & BLTs

Just like most of you, I have a rotation of a few restaurants that I frequent more often than others. These are the restaurants that I go to just because its Tuesday; not necessarily to try a new menu, meet a new chef, or anything like that. Every once in a while I will realize that I have not blogged about one of these places simply because its almost like second nature to go there, it is so good, yet so familiar at the same time. This post is about one of those places.

The Peanut is one of those places that seems like almost everyone knows about it (which probably subliminally contributes to the fact I have not blogged about it until now). Radio show hosts, KC Star columnists, and even ESPN beat reporters talk about The Peanut's wings. This post is not for the 90% of you that regularly read my blog, you are the type of people that have already been to The Peanut (probably more times than you can count). This post is for the 10% that have not partaken in the gloriously unsophisticated, yet culinarily accomplished, dive bar that is The Peanut. 

One of these 10 percenters (as we will call them today) was my mother, who just so happens to LOVE bacon. She loves hard, crispy, crunchy bacon. If it is a limp soggy piece of bacon, don't even bother, she is not having any of that. 

My mother travels all the time, and is often subject to hotel breakfasts, so she stays at Embassy Suites as often as possible (because they always have crispy bacon). So this is where we stayed on the night before catching our flight back from our recent trip to Puerto Rico (as it was right by the airport). Don't get me wrong, I love Embassy Suites just as much as the next guy (I stay at Hilton brand hotels whenever I can), but this bacon was beyond crispy. This bacon was so over-done, it was like it had just come out of the crematory. I was ready to hold a remembrance service for this bacon right there at the breakfast table.

When we got back, I knew I had to take her somewhere and get her some good, crispy, not burnt bacon. So for her birthday, I took her to The Peanut. This is a far cry from the party we threw her last year at Tasso's (that you can go back and read about, if you have not), but she said that she could only handle a party like that "once every 60 years", so we obliged and kept this one low key.

We ordered her the best BLT in KC, the double version. The crispy, peppery, Kansas raised bacon on perfectly toasted whole wheat bread. Top that off with fresh lettuce, tomato, and mayo does indeed yield the best BLT in KC.

Not only does The Peanut have the best BLT in KC, but they also have the best wings in KC. However, all good things take time, The Peanut's wings are no exception. The menu warns of the minimum wait that accompanies the wings, but don't let that scare you off (the wait is well worth it). The tenderness of the wings leads me to believe that the time that it takes to get the wings is used by the cook to slaughter the gigantic pterodactyl-sized chickens, soak the wings in buttermilk, then flash fry them to get the outside crispy but not dry out the inside. Cover them in spicy buffalo sauce and dip them  in bleu cheese and you have an addiction that is rivaled only by hardcore street drugs.

My wife and I usually split a dozen wings, which would be enough food to stuff a normal human stomach. However, once I have eaten about 6 or 7 of those bad boys, that is when the addiction sets in. I cannot ever stop there, I usually order another half dozen for myself.

If you need something to wash down those wings (or that BLT), The Peanut has plenty of beers on tap, or in the bottle. They have all of your standard domestics, year-round & seasonal Boulevard beers, and year-round & seasonal New Belgium beers, just to name a few. Sam Mellinger will tell you how well Tank 7 goes with the wings. My wings pairing recommendation varies by the season, but its hard to beat a New Belgium Dig in the spring.

If you were wondering how my mom liked her BLT; she finished it and even had room for half of a wing.

And if you are one of the 10 percenters that have yet to try The Peanut, there is one in almost every area of town: Downtown, Main Street (South of the Plaza), Lee's Summit, and JoCo. My personal Peanut is the Downtown version, but Main Street is the original.

A Different Way of Thinking

I recently attended a wine tasting at Boozefish Wine Bar, for a friend's birthday. We drank good wine, we ate hors d'oeuvres, and we had a good time. Though the wine was good and the hors d'oeuvres were full of flavour, this post is about a conversation that I had with the sommelier. I left with a new look on language that will hopefully be reflected in my coming posts.

We tasted a flight of Single Vineyard wines from Lamadrid, an Argentinian vineyard. Lamadrid owns vineyards all over Argentina, the Single Vineyard designation simply states that all of the grapes in that particular bottle came from a "single vineyard" (similar to single barrel whiskey). The flight consisted of a Torrontes, a Malbec, and a Cabernet Sauvignon, of which all were great, but I gravitated toward the Malbec. This initially came as a surprise to me, as (in general) I prefer Cabs to Malbecs. However, this did not surprise the sommelier, as Malbecs are the pride of Argentina.

He went on to state that while "new world" wines are named after the grapes that make them up, while "old world" wines (namely those from France's wine regions) are named after the city or region in which they are produced. Pourquoi? Because the wine is not supposed to taste like the grape that it is made with, but the region in which it was produced. The Malbecs of Argentina are said to be the same, Malbecs just taste like Argentina.

Similarly, the French language (a Romantic Language) allows French wine writers to describe wines in ways that the English language just does not allow (but take what I say about the English language with a grain of salt, as I am no English major, which I am sure is grossly apparent in my writing). Where English wine writers describe wines as "buttery" or "with hints of citrus" or whatever, which may be true (and distinguishable by the trained tongue), but are also often used to confuse and belittle those not trained in all things wine. The French prefer to personify the wine and describe it as "playful" or "fickle" or other adjectives. 

Having said all of that: I started this blog because I wanted to let the everyman know about awesome food in a non-pretentious, food critic-y way. I wanted to "cut the crap" (if you will), get down to what is important, and un-complicate good food. Apparently the French agree with me!

Boozefish provides flavourful hummus, cheeses, and cured meats to pair with the wines. The sommeliers  provide an education to pair with their pouring. I am just going to do my best to bring it to the people.

Head to Boozefish if you want an education of your own. They also have a good selection of craft beer, for those non-winos. And if that is not enough to convince you, you may even run into a girl that your friend had an awkward physical encounter with in college.. who is there with her husband (it happened to us, and it was still awesomely awkward). More than anything, I would describe Boozefish as sophisticated, but not stiff. Sante!

Tasso's

The setting: my mother's 60th birthday party. My wife and I decided that we had to throw her a big party for her 60th birthday, because she does so much for us and we couldn't remember the last time she had a birthday party. My wife had heard good things about parties at Tasso's in Waldo, she had heard that there was plate breaking, music, and even a belly dancer. That sounded right up my mom's alley. My mom loves dancing and used to even dress up as a belly dancer on rare occasions. So, we called a made reservations for our group. We even got one of her closest friends to fly in from Denver for the surprise festivities. When we took my mom to the airport to pick up her friend, we told her that we were going to the airport for frozen yogurt (as her visitor was a surprise), and it was a believable fib (as she knows my affinity for finding food in strange places).

Tasso's is a Greek restaurant (more Mediterranean food, I know), which makes it a perfect venue for a party. The Greeks have wonderful food, love to be loud, dance, and party, and are never in a hurry to kick you out (so you're encouraged to stay as long as you like).

We were shown to our table that was big enough for our party of 8. The Maitre D was welcoming us and discussing all things Greece with my mother, letting us know how often the owners went back to Greece, telling us about their farm there, etc. (he was quite a funny guy). Then our waiter takes our drink orders, we ordered two bottles of wine (a house white and a house red), they were both quite good for being relatively inexpensive (considering the setting). Then he brings us a few orders of the Saganaki (flaming cheese), which had been built up quite a bit by everyone telling us to order it, and it did not disappoint. Our house salads were great, we even purchased a bottle of Tasso's Greek dressing to take home with us ($6 at the door).

Then came the main dishes. Most attendees ordered the Arnaki Tasso (leg of lamb), as it is a traditional Greek dish and it came highly recommended. It is hard to get good lamb in KC, at least an affordable plate of lamb. The lamb was very tender and had great flavour, the Mousaka and Swordfish Steak (ordered by other members of our party) were very good as well. For dessert, they even brought the birthday girl a Baklava sundae with a candle in it. It sounded so good that everyone else at the table got one too. they were delicious! I know that it kind of stabs a traditional Greek dish like Baklava in the heart and Americanizes it, but I dont care, it was wonderful, I would go back just for the sundae. Everything about the food was an A+ experience.

My mother had a wonderful birthday. She drank her share of wine, had her first ever shot of Ouzo, kissed strange men, ate, danced, and even challanged the belly dancer to a dance batte (the below videos will tell the story better than I ever could with words). When she awoke the next morning and called us to thank us for her night out, she told us that she "could handle a night out like that about once every 60 years". I recommend Tasso's to anyone who has the time to go and take it all in.