chicagowench

Bump. In a former life, I must have kicked puppies and grandmas. That's the only karmic explanation I can come up with for having been invited to my child's best friend's birthday party... At Cheeseburger in Paradise AND T-Rex out by KC Speedway. T-Rex, it seems, could not guarantee they'd be able to accomodate a group this size for dining, so the meal will be at CiP. The entertainment will be at T-Rex. At least I have an excuse to have a digital camera with me and capture the horror to share with you all.

The copper flashing is on the roof of the new Plaza III steakhouse at 135th inbetween Nall and Roe (same area as- shudder- Cheeseburger in Paradise and Bonefish Grill, right near Church of the Resurrection) and the parking lot's been packed as they do employee training. No signs up with an opening date tho.

Bump. Colleagues and I will be in town for business. I have two dinners to arrange- one small one on a Friday night, one for a much larger (10 or so people) on a Sunday night. Not too formal, within walking distance of the convention area if possible. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated- thanks!

I was going to say ue, aka 'gelato freak'.....

I would kill to have a trader joe's nearby, I love their frozen stuff. Sigh. We have a ton of the Alexial frozen potatoes, several varieties, and the mozarella sticks at all times. Also potstickers. If all else fails, the kid will wolf down a dozen of those.

I don't have my menus to hand, but I have to chime in. I too blanched at the cost of the pairings, and opted not to- but largely due to needing to be bright eyed and bushy tailed in meetings the next morning. The pairings themselves are above and beyond any other I've seen at any other restaurant, including Alinea- truly wines and liquors I do not expect to see 'by the glass'. Once I sat there and thought about it, given what they were serving, the cost made perfect sense. The staff at Avenues is more than happy to recommend a couple of other glasses, if you don't want to do a full pairing.

Because Hellooooooo, chairs at tables are for sitting in and eating properly. Couches are for being made into forts which are not condusive to eating French toast in appropriate civil fashion in. Silly adult. As ue can attest, the li'l man does not want for exposure to good food, but it's great to hear that the brunchers and service are more laid back and we can possibly swing it. He's pretty good at 40, but that's 'home turf'.

Throwing this here instead of the impuslive collection thread. So, brunch at Bluestem on Sundays. Does one dare bring a younger child, or is this something best left to civilized adults?

A ridiculously rich vanilla, with some creme anglaise for good, goopy, bliss him out measure. This was after the server kindly informed me the 'trio of ice creams' tonight is all Boulevard beer based and...well. The kiddo might not appreciate a stout ice cream (I sure as heck would have)

Eeeeeeven teenier than enoki. It was spur of the moment; long day at work, the kid seemed to be in a decent frame of mind, I decided to go for the challenge round and take a 3 year old out to dinner at a place devoid of cartoon character branding. (the young master had their mac-n-cheese and a perfect little scoop of ice cream)

Sooo. Dinner tonight. Green bean salad (goat cheese, bacon, greens, fried onions). This was better than the first time I had it, when it was a bit tepid so the goat cheese was gooey and did it no favors. This time the green beans were ice cold, shockingly so, refreshing and bright. That paired much better against the creaminess of the goat cheese. Drum fish, with (some teeny and whose name I forget) Japanese mushrooms, bacon, and butternut squash gnocchi. Holy cow was this good- perfect sear on the fish, delicate and flaky inside but nice and crunchy on the exterior, and the mushrooms and bacon were rich and redolent of fall without being overwhelming to the fish.

Right, note to self- bring crazy straw to bluestem next time, not bottle. Aaron, to be honest, I just call ahead and ask- more often than not, I've confused places down by me when I ask, save for restaurants like 40 and Cassis.

It's allowed on the KS side, because 40 Sardines does a no-corkage fee on Thursday nights BYO.

They had El Rey as of a week ago.

Smoke him, GEB. You know you've got a group of KCers cheerin you on!

Ronnie, your son is a charmer and that is a brilliant idea on the part of the PGC team. I hope some KC area restaurants pick up on the concept!

moosnsqrl, I'd be all over that. I'm also really looking forward to getting the kid into the cooking class for runtlings next year.

JWest, you asked a while back about special dinners at 40. Everything's now confirmed- Michele Richard of Citronelle DC and Elyse winery are doing a dinner at 40 Nov 8- this is in conjunction with Rainy Day Books, re: his new cookbook. So far there's no menu posted, but as soon as it's up I'll post it here. Has anyone done any of the cooking classes lately? I'm debating signing up for one or two, I haven't been since the tomato class 2 summers ago- are they still run as 'observe as we cook' or are they more participatory now?

Pam, was the pic above (pardon me while I wipe away drool) done with your smear-foil-into oven technique? And do you separate the point and the flat, or keep it intact? (I am stuck home with a sick kiddo and oven seems more viable for tomorrow's brisketing than beloved smoking)

Yes. Which explains my reticence!

Colby. Please do not feel moved to take inspiration from Big Country's favorite stand at the KS State Fair, as you contemplate your fall menu changes. Note to self. Ask server ton of questions about food at Starkers!

Man, I'm cancelling my dinner plans and getting out to the competition right now! Have fun guys, and kick (pork) butt. (Moosnsqrl, the concept of 500 teams just makes my head- and liver- hurt. At that point, it's got to be a giant meat fuelled mob with a smoke and grease miasma hanging overhead)

Short ribs are hit and miss as to whether I can have them- are they doing the bully porter prep yet, or is it the ancho chile braise? Poor Ben knows I will whine and cry if it's the chile prep when I come in, this time of year. Oh the boar. Oh so good.

Jwest, how's the rest of the transitional fall menu looking? We haven't been in since the tomato dinner. The gnocchi look divine.

What are the categories? The website doesn't have an overview. And what categories are you guys entering?