I'll toast to that!

Today, my all-time blog views eclipsed 20,000. I know that this is not a lot of views compared to big-time established bloggers, but I am still going to celebrate it anyways. Hopefully this number will one day look small to me too (like the celebratory blog post that I did for a whole 100 twitter followers, hahaha)!

This post's celebration takes us to Bier Station. Bier Station is a friendly little neighborhood tap house located in Waldo. It is part liquor store, part tap house, and part restaurant. Despite being a friendly spot, and "the greatest place ever" to some of the regulars, it can be a little intimidating to a first timer. When you walk into Bier station you see the beer cases off to the right, taps & scrolling beer list straight ahead, and a literal hole in the wall that the food comes out of to the left. Hopefully I can help to guide you a little bit so that your first trip to Bier Station is as enjoyable as mine was.

As far as the beer cases go, just like a liquor store, you can buy any of them to go. But the ones that have a red sticker on them, you can also enjoy in house. *DISCLAIMER: There are two prices on each red sticker beer, the "to-go" price and the "drink here" price.* You can give the beers a try and then take a couple more of them home, if you like them. If you want to start your night with a beer from the refrigerated section, simply walk over and grab the beer you want, then take it to the bar and they will put it on your tab.

If you wish to forgo the bottled beers and go straight to the draught beers, walk up to the bar (taking a possible detour to go see the screen that is displaying all of the beers on tap at that moment). *Quick note about the tap list screen: There are two pages of beers; if the beer you were not done looking at disappears, don't worry, it will come back around. The pages are flipped a whole page at a time (book style), not scrolled (movie credit style). Also from left to right: The beer's brewery & name, the type of beer that it is, alcohol content, size of beer glass that it is served it, the price of said beer glass, then the price of a 4oz sample of the beer are listed.* The beer list is great and you will definitely find something for everyone on tap (and in the fridges for that matter). The hop heads will be hoppy (bad pun intended) with the IPA selection and us Belgian lovers can sip slightly sour beers to our hearts' content. You will also place your order at this time and they will give you a funny greeting card to put on your table (as seen above) to identify you as the person that ordered said item.

The food menu is much more limited than the beer menu, but you could have guessed that you may run into that kind of a situation at a place named Bier Station. The few menu items that they do offer are very good. You can get cheese plates, cheese sandwiches, Farm to Market pretzels, or Brats that are hand crafted by James Beard Award winning chef, and owner of Affare (downtown), then stuffed inside a FTM pretzel bun (and we all know how good FTM bread is!). I went with the Fujisan brat, which is a Japanese inspired Pork brat, topped with a red cabbage slaw and wasabi mayo. The Fujisan was very good, but I felt out ordered after seeing my buddy's Saint Marcel. The Saint Marcel is a cranberry-turkey brat, topped with sliced green apple and melted brie, man it looked incredible! Each brat is supposed to come with a side of pretzel dipping sauce of your choice, however if you don't know that ahead of time and do not ask for a specific sauce, you may not get one (as they may assume that you do not want one). This happened to me until I was clued in by a friend that was with me, at which time they were more than happy to bring me one out. The cheese sauce is good, but the Dusseldorf Mustard is out of this world good! The house mustard sounds good as well, but I cannot vouch for it.

This is probably just the first of many celebrations that will take place at Bier Station.

Back On My Food Truck Game

With another Food Truck Friday just hours away, I had to let you know about some of the food trucks that I have recently checked out for the first time.

Chorizo & Pulled Pork Arepas

Eat Arepas is a brand new food truck that has one simple message: "Eat arepas!". "What are arepas?", you ask? Made of white corn grits, Arepas are a starchy vehicle to Awesomeville. They are to Colombians what bread is to Americans, what tortillas are to Mexicans, and what Pita is to Mediterraneans. These things are really killer and taste like a grits cake (so if you love grits like I love grits, you will love these too). In Colombia, arepas are typically buttered, salted, and topped with Colombian cheese (that is most similar to queso fresco, only not quite as dry). However, Al and Amy had a bigger vision for them when they decided to bring these Colombian treats to the streets of Kansas City. 

At Eat Arepas you can get: pulled pork, chorizo, steak, roasted peppers, or "solo queso" on your arepa. You can also buy packs of arepas at the truck to take home and accessorize as you please (ideas include: PB&J, Nutella & banana, burnt ends, avocado, or any of the options served at the truck).

Taco Republic

Taco Republic (truck edition) is the latest offering from Bread & Butter Concepts (the geniuses behind such restaurants as BRGR, Urban Table, and Gram & Dun). The game plan was to open a brick and mortar version of this restaurant this past spring, but after some hiccups, they decided to send a truck to the streets in the interim. This taqueria reminds me a bit of a mash-up of Port Fonda (the truck) and Torchy's Tacos (in Dallas & Austin). The tacos are better than the ones that were served at the Port Fonda truck (IMO), not stuffed quite as full as a Torchy's Taco, and a tad more expensive than I am used to paying for street tacos (but not unfairly priced). The tacos are made with quality ingredients, those ingredients are cooked slowly, and you can taste that.

Cochinita Pibil & Tecate Barbacoa

I have tried the Tecate Barbacoa, Cochinita Pibil, Tinga, and Puerco Rojos from Taco Republic. My favorite (and my wife's) being the Cochinita Pibil, by a lot. All of the tacos were good, but after trying that taco, I have to say that it dwarfs the others. There is something about that Yucatan-style marinated pork that is going to keep me coming back. You can also get Mexican Coke and all of your favorite Jarritos flavours at the truck.

Boom Boom Tacos

Beauty of the Bistro is a relatively new truck that offers up classic American fare, with a twist: Sandwiches, Burgers, Tacos (although I know are not American), all the way to Mac & Cheese. I have only had the pleasure of partaking in the Boom Boom Tacos, which were phenomenal, and did not require a trip to The Hawk on Halloween (and also probably tasted a lot better) - link purposefully foregone. The Boom Boom Tacos are jam packed with pulled pork, broccoli slaw, homemade roasted salsa, and topped off with a jalapeno aioli. The pulled pork and the broccoli slaw complimented each other very well. I cannot wait to try more from BOTB; perhaps the Crawfish Mac&Cheese or the Boom Boom Burger!

Wilma's Real Good Food is run by a mad scientist by the name of Brett (Brettski as the guys call him). Brett's madness is right up there with that of Adrian (of Indios Carbonsitos), Brandon (of Jazzy B's), and David (of Prairie Fire Oven, he put beets on a pizza for goodness sake). Brettski is an OG in the KC food truck game, but for some reason, it took this long for our paths to cross.

Barnyard Bliss

When I say Brett is a mad scientist, here is what I mean: The two items that I have had from Wilma's are the Barnyard Bliss and the Hong Kong Cletus. If those names by themselves did not peak your interest, just wait to hear what each of those are. The Hong Kong Cletus looks like a pretty straight forward homemade crab rangoon (from the outside), but when you bite into it and taste the pickle and bacon that have replaced the imitation crab meat (that most restaurants try to hock you) in this rangoon, you know you are in heaven! Following up something like the Hong Kong Cletus will leave some big shoes to fill, but the Barnyard Bliss delivered (and then some). Barnyard Bliss is a hoagie roll filled with seared steak and provolone cheese that is then topped with two deep fried-soft boiled eggs. *My Barnyard Bliss was a Lance Armstrong version (only one egg) because I got the last one*. That melted provolone and copious amounts of red meat alone were worth the price of admission, but then you put that egg on top of there and you have a masterpiece! This thing will make an egg burger tuck its tail and run. You need to try this, like yesterday!

McGonigle's Meat Market

In this cow town that we call Kansas City, McGonigle's Market is revered for the high quality meat cuts that they sell. You will find meat that passes through McGonigle's on the menu at nearly all of the hottest eateries around town (Westport Flea Market, Beer Kitchen, even James Beard award winning Debbie Gold serves it at her Red Door Grill, and that is just the tip of the iceberg). However, in this same cow town (the land of Arthur Bryant's, Jack Stack, Gate's, and Oklahoma Joe's), McGonigle's is probably the most slept on established BBQ place around.

Sure, they are at a bit of a disadvantage because they don't have a typical dining room. They served their smoked meats out of a trailer, that sits in front of their store, before it was fashionable. And if that wasn't enough, there are really only enough parking spaces for about a dozen cars, before you have to get creative. Yet still, it baffles my mind that you do not hear the name McGonigle's on the Travel Channel or even in the heated arguments between friends about where to get the best burnt ends in KC.

As I recently stated in INK Magazine's Summer Dining Guide, McGonigle's is a must eat, especially when you have great weather outside! You walk inside the market, pay for your meal (I suggest to go with whatever the special of the day is). Then you walk outside to the trailer, hand them your receipt, and then they hand you a box/sack of  smoked awesomeness. There are tables set up in the adjacent strip of grass where you can eat beneath the shadows of umbrellas and shade trees. Admittedly, this system may seem a little convoluted to a first timer, but trust me, it's well worth the wait!

You can get anything from ribs to half chickens, and everything in between: brisket sandwiches, burnt end sandwiches, burgers, and of course the best smoked sausage in KC. Despite what the above linked INK dining guide may tell you, I was misquoted in saying that they have the best Italian sausage, the best sausage in town is a casing-less smoked sausage (think long skinny meatloaf) that comes in many different varieties and levels of heat. The sandwiches are piled so high with meat that, no matter how skilled of a sandwich eater you are, you will be unable to fight off the forces of gravity that pry the meat from right between the two buns (so make sure you grab a fork when they hand you your food).

The meats have a great rub caked on them. A rub in which you can taste slight hints of each of the components that you find in a good rub: salty, peppery, garlicy, and a little bit of sweetness, but no one of them overpowers the others. They are served dry but I love to put a couple spoons of the Blues Hog BBQ sauce (that is essentially spiced molasses) on my sandwich, despite the fact that Blues Hog is made in Memphis, and top it off with a couple house made pickle slices. That is a sandwich my friends!

So swing by and enjoy the weather, or grab and go, but no matter what you do: You have to stop sleeping on McGonigle's!

"That sounds great, but where do I get my McGonigle's fix in the winter time?" you ask. Go inside and get it from the deli counter, of course.

Guadalajara Cafe

Photos on the wall

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you probably know the story of how my wife and I came to spend a few frantic (yet awesome) hours in Guadalajara, Mexico. That unplanned excursion turned out to be a life changing event. Guadalajara was the first place that I tried an authentic street taco (on the street), which in turn led to me starting this blog. And as they say, "the rest is history".

With all of that being said, a place called Guadalajara Cafe seems like a logical place for me to check out. It is owned by one of the part owners of Frida's Contemporary Mexican Cuisine, so you know you are in for authentic Mexican food (it is more to the traditional side than Frida's). I actually think that Guadalajara Cafe is better than Frida's, despite the fact that GC has no atole ice cream.

When you walk into Guadalajara (the cafe, not the city), you are greeted by the smell of an authentic Mexican kitchen and photos of small tortillerias. The homemade chips and salsa are phenomenal, although (for the millionth time) is never a reason to choose/not choose a Mexican restaurant.

Enchiladas en Mole

Every time that I have been to GC, I have been nearly incapable of ordering anything but the Enchiladas en Mole. The lunch version of this entree is two traditional chicken enchiladas (made with corn tortillas, as they should be) smothered in the most delicious mole that has a light, but distinct essence of cocoa. - To those of you who are unfamiliar with moles: A mole is a traditional Mexican sauce, there are all different varieties of moles (spicy moles, sweet moles, more moles than you can shake a stick at). This one is a savory mole that has a hint of chocolate in it. - If you have never tried a mole before, you are in for a treat. If you are a seasoned mole veteran, you will agree with me that GC has the real deal. The beans and rice that accompany the enchiladas, that I would normally just toss aside at most Mexican restaurants, are quite enjoyable at GC. These beans, like the mole, have been slow cooked and tended to with love (you can tell when you taste them).

Steak Picado

The last time I was there for lunch, however, I did stray from my unequivocal favorite and tried out the Steak Picado. This is a dish of slow cooked carne asada steak and sauteed mushrooms, served in a mushroom sauce, with tortillas on the side. (The tortillas that come with this particular dish are of the flour variety, but corn tortillas are available by request.) The steak picado was a delicious change of pace, especially if you enjoy a good mushroom sauce. I got so overzealous and overloaded my first two tortillas so badly that I almost didn't have enough steak left for my third tortilla. The beans and rice were still delicious as well.

I have never been for dinner, but have only heard great things about any dinner entree that friends have here. This is one of my favorite lunch spots and I can only imagine that they turn it up at dinner time. I recommend GC to anyone that loves authentic home-style Mexican food!

Anton's Taproom

I run by Anton's all the time, as it is on my regular running route. I have been saying (since before they opened) that I really wanted to go there, but for some reason I had yet to try it, until my beautiful wife gathered a group of friends and took me there for my birthday (plus she probably wanted me to stop saying "I really need to try that place"). Admittedly, I had built Anton's up quite a bit, and it still lived up to everything that I had hoped that it would be!

As soon as we sat down, I started to to work my way through the list of saisons that are on tap at Anton's.

We started off with smoked barbecue chicken wings and fried pickles. The wings were so tender that they almost fell off of the bones, I am sure that the only thing holding the meat to the bones was the skin. The wings came with a really nice, house-made bleu cheese dipping sauce (for you bleu cheese heads, like myself). The fried pickles were equally awesome; the batter on the pickles almost tasted like a funnel cake batter (which was surprisingly good). The dipping sauce for the pickles was even better than the bleu cheese, it was a cucumber buttermilk.

Continued my way down the list of saisons.

Entree choices were easy given Anton's adjacent butcher shop and lengthy selections of steaks; we did  what was essentially a tour of steaks. Anton's has filets, strips, and both bone-in & bone-out ribeyes, all of which are available in grain fed or grass fed and 14 or 28 day dry-aged versions (think they have enough steak choices?). *For those that don't know the difference between grain fed and grass fed beef, I will explain that (to the best of my ability) in the below note* The grain fed, dry-aged filet was without a doubt the best steak that I have ever had. The grass fed, dry aged KC strip had a stronger beefier taste, but was not near as tender. Finally, the grain fed, dry-aged bone-out ribeye was also some sort of fantastic. To go with our steaks, we had the seasonal roasted root vegetables (carrots and beets), they were just as good as everything else (I have no idea why people sleep on beets).

Enjoyed some neat whiskey (if it's not good enough to drink neat, its not good enough to drink, IMO) and switched from saisons to a dubbel (before beginning a long explanation about grass fed beef).

*Above referenced note (grass fed vs grain fed beef, in laymen's terms): Once upon a time, cows roamed free and ate grass & hay. Then, somewhere along the line, some beef farmer got the great idea to feed them grain to fatten them up (so that they would sell for more at the market). This industry tactic to add cheap weight to their cattle had the happy side effect of adding fat marbling to the meat, which adds tenderness to the texture and richness to the flavour. This is partially why we chose the grass fed strip, because that cut naturally has a slightly higher fat content, since grass fed beef is lower fat than grain fed beef. Grass fed beef is more natural, lower fat, and has a stronger beefy flavour. Grass fed is favored by many for dietary reasons, including higher omega 3 fatty acids and lower saturated fat levels, but also takes a lot more careful preparation (as the lower fat content makes it a lot less forgiving). Paleo dieters also love the grass fed beef, but the thing that I don't get about these Paleo people is how they have no problem with cell phones, tv, or air conditioning (cavemen didn't have those things either, why just pick on the food? </rant>). Long story short: I see both sides, therefore will continue to eat both types of beef.*

We wrapped up an awesome birthday with a chocolate mousse dessert, which was as good as you could ask it to be!

Anton's also has organically raised tilapia (raised in their basement) that they use in the fish & chips and fish tacos. They are very proud of this and love to give tours, all you have to do is ask.

P.S. I have no idea what kind of crack Urbanspoon voters are smoking, but 72%?!? No way this place is 72%, it's incredible!

Toro's

Oldest nephew playing Army

When we went to go visit my other brother in Colorado Springs, after the birth of his second child, you know we had to check out the local flavour! I got a little nervous when he suggested Mexican, as I was sure it was going to be Tex-Mex, but I tried not to down his taste and kept my mouth shut. Then when we got there, I was glad that I did not question him.

Toro's is owned by an ex-Senor Frogs executive, who wanted to branch out and do his own thing. He describes his job at Senor Frogs as "making sure that everyone had a good time while they were there". When Senor Toro moved to Colorado, he wanted to serve the most authentic Mexican food in town and continue to make sure that everyone had a good time (much like many Latin restaurants, please keep this in mind if you are looking to be in and out).

Tacos, Beans, Pacifico

The drink menu at Toro's is somewhat reminiscent of what you would see at Senor Frogs (although they did not bring around a tequila bottle and pour shots down your throat). They have the party-girl favorite, the Corona-Rita, which is when you bury the neck of a Corona bottle beneath a margarita. Most impressively, however, they have Pacifico... ... on tap! Pacifico on tap is tough to find anywhere, so you know what I ordered!

The food menu was full of more awesomeness. Of course I have to try the street tacos at any restaurant that offers them. At Toro's they come with an order of soupy beans, which are actually not half bad and have a surprising kick to them. My wife and I ordered the carnitas and carne asada tacos, respectively, and shared. Both tacos that we tried were quite good. The tortillas at Toro's are home made, the meat was tender, and we were quite full. 

Sopas

But then when we were offered Toro's version of a sopapilla, we couldn't say no to that. This sopa is not your standard sopa, this is a fried pastry (puffed, not crunchy), topped with powdered sugar, served with a dipping sauce made in house with local honey and cinnamon. This dessert was seriously out of this world! I wish I could make it at home, but then I suppose I would be Prince Fielder's size.

I have it on good authority that Toro's tortas are also where it is at, so I believe that we will be back to Toro's for more the next time we are in town.

Mountains in Colorado Springs

We had a great (albeit short) visit to Colorado, but when it was time to go, we grabbed some Bristol Beer and headed back down to "sea level".

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.