Beignet & Coffee

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Beignet, the brain-child of the good people that brought you Nica's 320 (now Nica's Lagniappe). Beignet takes its namesake (the beloved dessert from Nica's) and makes it the main dish!

These stuffed, powder covered, doughnut-like fritters are the perfect morning-time (or any other time of the day, for that matter) treat! My wife and I split the Pumpkin Pie and Bananas Foster Beignets.

The Pumpkin Pie, because it is fall, and well, since when is Pumpkin Pie not delicious? Never! Stuffing a Pumpkin Pie into a fritter doesn't make it any worse either. This beignet literally tasted like a slice of homemade pumpkin pie had been stuffed inside a beignet.

The Bananas Foster was an obvious second choice, being the chosen flavour of New Orleans (the American headquarters of Cajun food). It was everything that you would hope for from a banana foster dessert: not overwhelmingly banana flavoured, sweet (but not too rich), and creamy.

I could honestly deal with about half as much stuffing in each beignet, but that is because I appreciate the the base pastry quite a bit.

These stuffed treats, being as delicious as they may be, are still based on the ever delicious (and ever simple) plain beignet. At risk of over simplifying the beignet, for someone whom has never experienced one (because it is an experience), it is a rich man's version of the powdered donut (not so much in price, but in quality).

Having two locations (one in the River Market, one on 39th Street) makes a beignet that much more accessible. My preferred location is the one in the River Market. You can enjoy a Beignet break while shopping for produce & local honey (if you aren't against bee enslavement, which is what vegans actually believe). The interior is as eclectic as that of Nica's on the Boulevard. New Orleans inspired paintings, finger painted tables, and a doll head sighting round out the usual suspects.

Beignet can also offer you some pretty spectacular drip coffee to enjoy with your beignet.

Just mentioning the word "coffee" beings to mind a situation that I read about in the news about the "quaint" Prairie Village Starbucks moving across the street to expand and add a drive though window. I could not believe this! 1) This is the epitome of what we call a Jo-Co problem. There are kids dying of cancer and this is what people are getting upset about. 2) This is the coffee bully Starbucks that we are talking about here, not some "Ma & Pop shop", the words "quaint" and "Starbucks" should NEVER be used in the same sentance! This being said, I write this hoping to help this gentleman (and others like him) realize that Starbucks is in fact the Walmart of coffee shops and in no way "quaint". This is like being mad at McDonald's for not using organic beef.

This city has plenty of great local coffee shops! I cannot even pretend to have been to half of them! On top of The Roasterie and Crossroads Coffee, that I have already written about, there are The Filling Station, City Market Coffee House, and Mildred's Coffeehosue (plus numerous others that I have yet to enjoy coffee in) that I also love. 

The Filling Station is a must-stop for any lover of good coffee or pastries. The Filling Station, like Beignet, also has 2 locations: one in Westport & one on Union Hill. The "Garage" location, on Union Hill, has a slightly larger menu that includes lunch items. This location is also done up with gears and license plates to resemble a garage (or a "Filling Station", if you will). The Westport location is in an old 1-hr Photo (or similar) hut and is decorated with nostalgic cameras and paraphernalia. Cameras that actually took pictures that looked like the filters that you use on Instagram today. The Westport location does have a drive-thru window, which despite what the a-hat Mr. Dehney (see above article link if you are skimming) would lead you to believe, does not ruin the quaintness of it at all!

The pastries are baked locally at SoHo Bakery and the beans are roasted by Broadway Roasting Company (who is said to have one of the best espressos around). This isn't pre-packaged stuff that is sent in from some factory in Seattle. Give Filling Station a try if you are looking for an awesome local coffee shop with uber talented baristas (every time you order a latte, it comes with a different design).

City Market Coffee House, located just steps from Beignet, in the River Market, is another great place to grab a cup of locally roasted coffee. The walls and customer side of the coffee bar are adorned with the burlap sacks that their coffee beans are shipped to them in. You will see bags from all four corners of the globe. I like to look around and see if I can find one from Puerto Rico.

They beans are roasted in house. If you are lucky, you might even walk in while the antique roaster is churning away in the corner, just to add to the appeal of the place. Every cup of single source or blended coffee that I have had in this place has been amazing!

Grab a cup, take a load off, and enjoy the atmosphere. Or grab a cup to-go, put some pep in your step, go pick out the freshest produce back beyond the doors to the Farmer's Market. You can even buy a bag of the artisan coffee beans  to take home with you. 

Finally, Mildred's Coffee House, which admittedly I have been to far fewer times (and know much less about) than the previous two coffee houses. However, that does not make it any less of a kickass place to get your caffeine fix before a night of art exhibits on First Fridays. Mildred's Crossroads location has the perfect location for First Fridays! The place always smells amazing and, although I have never been for anything other than a coffee, everyone always talks about how great the food is (especially for a coffee house). Needless to say, Mildred's too is a much better place to walk to get coffee than is a Starbucks, Chuck Dehner (again, see above).

My opinion on this whole Starbuck's "dilemma": get a local coffee shop to take the lease of the old Starbuck's location, or God forbid open one yourself, instead of using your energy to cry on the 6 o'clock news. Take all of Starbuck's clients and put them out of business. Then you will have something really quaint, instead of just the illusion of it. 

Be blessed, and until next time... Eat local!

Roasterie

The Roasterie Kansas City blend has long been one of my favorite coffee blends. My wife and I consume so much of it that we buy the large bulk bags of it at Costco. When The Roasterie factory was renovated, in the second half of last year, to expand and add a cafe (called the Bean Hanger), we knew that this would be a frequent stop for our Saturday morning coffee needs.

The exterior is impressive; the most stunning aspect being, of course, the full size DC-3 mounted atop the factory. The interior is modern with a bit of a retro flair that we have come to expect from The Roasterie.  They have even just added an event space between the cafe and the factory, it looks amazing! I snapped a quick photo of the coffee bar, but it does not do the space justice, Roasterie has a 360 degree Google view on their website (if you want a better look at it): http://www.theroasterie.com/about/tours 

The Bean Hanger has memorabilia and coffee paraphernalia for sale along with countless blends of Roasterie coffee.

Factory tours are offered daily (Mon-Sat) at 10am, with a second tour at 11am on Saturdays. We have yet to take one, but are very anxious to do so.

During one of our recent trips to The Roasterie Cafe, we tried the drink of the month (for February): The Sweetheart Mocha. It was a regular Roasterie mocha, however instead of regular steamed milk, it had steamed Shatto strawberry milk. This was probably my wife's favorite latte of all times! The barista even put a little heart on the top for bonus points.

The Roasterie is offering an Irish Cream latte, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, as the March drink of the month. Or you can stop by and pick up some of The Roasterie Irish blend to take home and make your own Irish Coffees (recipe to the right, click to enlarge). Aye, cheers!

This is an awesome place on the Westside to go meet up with friends, take a first date, read a book, learn about coffee, or just grab a dang good cup of coffee!

First Time for Everything

As it is said, there is a first time for everything. My first of the week: my first live TV appearance. 

I was asked to go on Fox 4 to talk about some of my favorite local brands and restaurants for St. Patrick's Day. I was given three and a half minutes to talk about as many different products/places as I could. I do want to apologize to any great KC brands/restaurants that had St. Patrick's Day items that I did not have a chance to discuss.

Admittedly, live TV can be a bit intimidating. There are [who knows how many people] watching and if you screw up, they all see it and are going to discount everything that you say. I tried to give good information, not be too corny, and still keep it all under three and a half minutes. I did feel a bit like Ricky Bobby in his first interview though, I did not know what to do with my hands.

I am no Anthony Bourdain, but you can judge for yourself how you think I did (link pasted below). Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Lets get my views up so that maybe they will have me back on again. Perhaps for Cinco de Mayo?

http://fox4kc.com/2013/03/09/irish-coffee/

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.