ulterior epicure

Chef Patternotte, who runs Vin in Baltimore is now opening a second restaurant in my hometown, Kansas City. The new restaurant, younger sibling to Vin, is appropriately named Vinino. It will be opening in our new Power & Light District next Friday, November 16. Although there is a sample menu up for Vinino, and I've looked at Vin's menu online as well, I really can't get a sense of whether this is a serious(ly good) Italian restaurant to be excited about, or just another average semi-commercialized trendy spot with decent food. I'd love to hear about Vin, if anyone in your neck of the woods would like to share. Thanks! Notes to Admins: There may be an existing Vin thread. However, I have yet to learn how to conduct an eGullet search with words consisting of only three letters or less. Please merge as you see fit.

Right. That is why I was not the one who ordered either of those two dishes - I opted for the ones with veg (pork and duck confit) in them already. All I simply meant to say is that I'd be much more apt to order fish & chips, shrimp & grits, short ribs, or steak frites if there were side veggies as an accompaniment. I'm sure Chef Garrelts would have accommodated a request; I just didn't want to bother them, as they were awfully busy, and we were running late for a show. It was more of a leisurely drive by, rather than a sit-and-enjoy.

Mother of *PEARL*, that is cheap. Three of you? I mean, yes, granted, the appetizers aren't there, but entrees, dessert, salad, non-alcoholic beverages, etc., and the tab was under $50 before gratuity? I'm not sure that you could find this kind of pricing structure had you "dined" at stinking Applebee's. Guess they're looking to build their client base. Sounds like they're doing a bang-up job of it. I'd be there in spades if I had any reason at all to visit KC. I kid you not: I'm literally shaking my head at how inexpensive that is. ← But the appetizers are - we had three salads and shared a cheese plate. Even if we had ordered a wagyu tartare and a smoked salmon plate, that would only have added a total of $7 more to the bill! You can't find this kind of a deal at KFC let alone Applebee's!!

I've been into the Lounge to eat twice now since my last post. I've had chance to sample five of their bar "main courses." The best part is that I've had the benefit of trying the dishes half price. Yes, you heard that correctly. I was informed a couple of weeks ago that through the holidays, bluestem's entire Lounge menu - Appetizers, "Entrees," and Desserts - is half-off during Happy Hour (5-7pm) Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I've taken advantage of the deal already. In addition to the Appetizer selections like Butter Lettuce Salad, Smoked Salmon, Assorted Cheese Plate, Assorted La Quercia Charcuterie Plate, and Wagyu Tartare, I've also tasted the following main courses: Fish & Chips, Flight of Sauces ($12) Braised Chicken, Bacon, San Marzano, Fall Herbs, Rigotoncini and Parmesan ($12) La Belle Duck Confit, Brussels Sprouts and Dijon Jus ($14) Pork Tenderloin with Root Vegetables ($14) Guinness-braised Short Ribs, White ($15) You can see all of my pictures of my two meals thus far here and here. I was in last night, and they had switched out the Fish & Chips for Shrimp & Grits. The only other "Entree" I haven't tried is the Steak Frites - a 10 oz. behemoth for $16 (or $8 during M-W Happy Hour). While I hope to try their Shrimp & Grits soon, I do hope they bring back the Fish & Chips. I'll dispense with a discussion about the appetizers - you can find their descriptions on one of my many bluestem photo sets on flickr. The Fish & Chips and Guinness-Braised Short Ribs are probably my favorite of the "Entrees" I've tried. The Fish & Chips was a truly stunning plate of perfectly fried cod - the gigantic fillets, all three, were immensely moist and clean-tasting inside a light crispy yeasty batter crust. The flight of sauces was basically a duo of cocktail sauce and tartar sauce. The tartar sauce - something which I usually dislike immensely - was wonderful, no doubt thanks to lots of Worcestershire. The Guinness-Braised Short Ribs were meltingly soft and flavorful and came on a thick, cheesy bed of white cheddar grits. It's the kind of food that you want to be tucked into bed with. My only problem with these two dishes (and steak frites) is that they come with no vegetables. For some, that may be a dream. For me, this is not good - I need the veg with my meat and starch. I wished they offered a side dish bowl of brussels sprouts or cauliflower, or something other than just the Butter Lettuce; something warm, to go along with these veg-less "Entrees." It'd up their bar tab, to boot. For this reason, I liked the La Belle Duck Confit and the Pork Tenderloin - both came with roasted brussels sprouts, baby turnips, and thumbalina carrots. The duck confit was extremely flavorful and moist inside, although I found the sauce to be a bit heavy and much. The pork dish was my least favorite. The medallions were tad dry, and there were a good 5 or 6 large chunks of bacon fat that I had to pick out of the bowl. The bowl brings up another point - I found the pork difficult to cut sitting atop an uneven bed of nobby root vegetables in a bowl full of sauce. But, hey, for $7, I'll deal. The desserts haven't changed much since my last visit. In fact, I don't think they've changed at all. The pumpkin brioche bread pudding still remains my favorite dessert - although I've been finding just as much enjoyment out of the ice cream sampler. Last night I had two scoops of the salted caramel (which normally comes with the "Chocolate Consomme" dessert) and a scoop of lavender ice cream. Both were great. Three of us had three salads, a cheese plate to share, three main courses, two desserts, an ice tea and cappucino and the tab came to $49 + change after tax. The secret is definitely out on the best deal in town. The Lounge was packed to the gills last night.

Fantastic, thanks for that report, Chris. Quartino's menu is very attractive to me... good salume selections are hard to find here in Kansas City.

Strange...just the other day I was thinking that space would be good for a BBQ joint (at least I think it would go over better than the pricey, sub-par seafood restaurant). I wonder if the folks down the sidewalk at Backyard Bash (BBQ supply shop) have anything to do with it. I've noticed that they do a ton of cooking for Parkville events and even host some of their own. I'll have to investigate, they are super nice people and that would be a cool way to keep the space "in the family". ← Did you ever get a chance to eat in that seafood concept? I never did stop in... ... and now that you mention it, I think you're right: if I'm not mistaken, the sign did say something like Backyard Bash BBQ... so maybe they are opening up a food outlet. In other news, the Power & Light District restaurants are opening one by one starting with McFadden's Sports Saloon tomorrow night. Next Friday, November 16, Vinino a second venture for Chef Christopher Paternotte, who's home, until now, has been in the kitchen at Vin in Baltimore.

Yes, thanks - you articulated the difference better than I. Knowing that difference is why I'm hesitant. I know that sweet potato greens are commonly used in Chinese cooking - I've had them... and so it makes sense to assume these are sweet potato greens. It may just be mislabeled as "Potato Greens."

Today, at an Asian market, I encountered a bag of "Potato Greens" - they looked like potato plants. I had always thought that potato greens (ie. stems and leaves) were poisonous. A Google search yielded numerous links to information about the edibility of sweet potato plants. But, I found nothing about the greens of a regular potato. I have no idea what kind of potato these "potato greens" are, but I imagine they are edible if sold in an Asian market. I have a bag on my counter - eat or discard?

News from the Northlands: That shopping strip that's popped up at the junction of Highway 9 and 64th Street used to house some kind of a shrimp and crab shack (it's tucked away on the southern face of the mall)... it closed mysteriously a few months ago, but there's a new banner indicating that a bar-b-que joint is going in... ... also, in that same shopping district (if one can call it that) River Rock Cafe, which used to be in Parkville, has replaced what once was Higher Grounds. I wonder what happened to the owner of Higher Grounds - he seemed to be somewhat of a vet in the food industry (imported from the South, as I recall).

One night stand at the Venetian (interpret that on the "G" side of the rating scale). Need a top-rate sushi recommendation. I am more than willing to go outside the hotel. Budget isn't much of a concern. N.B. Won't have wheels, prefer to walk.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Woodberry Kitchen. ← Thanks for that suggestion. Any others? FYI, the couple for whom I'm buying the gift cert. is 40ish, but are more trendy than stuffy. I'm looking to spend around $150 total.

Needing to buy a gift certificate for friends in Baltimore. Can you suggest a couple/few nice restaurants. Restaurants with websites (where I can see the menu, etc...) would help. Thanks!

Well, I see I'm not alone in the love of Cru's poularde.

They were soft, a few crispy bits. But mostly soft. ← Thank goodness. I really hate it when they fry the heck out of brains. It just defeats the whole textural goodness of the product. ← Its head UE, cesos is brains. This was definately not brains. In fact, I did't see them on the menu. ← Sorry, mis-typed. Right, head. Actually, I don't like it when they fry the heck out of any offal, head, or otherwise - like tripe. Tripe gets jerky-like in the deep fryer. Thanks again for the report!

They were soft, a few crispy bits. But mostly soft. ← Thank goodness. I really hate it when they fry the heck out of brains. It just defeats the whole textural goodness of the product.

Were the chopped up pieces of cabeza soft or crispy?

Thanks for that informative post, Miami Danny. I'm assuming these prices are per pound? How many pounds of claws do you suppose comes on an average plate of "Selects" at a place like Joe's? That's seven claws, in case you don't know the average Joe's plating amount.

Piracicaba is a dark green vegetable, very similar to broccoli rabe/broccolini... you can see it on the picture I took of the chicken dish. By the way, the chicken was fantastic - supple, soft, and definitely had that sous vides quality about it. However, I must say that it was just shy the unforgettably silky buttermilk-poached poularde I had at Cru earlier this year. Of course, I don't know what type of poularde Cru was using; BH@SB served a Barred Silver Chicken - there's probably some intrinsic difference in the meat of the two types of chicken that accounted for the textural difference. I've heard that Humm's poularde (from Four Story Hill, IIRC) is also something of a wonder. The night I was at EMP, he switched out his poached poularde for a presentation of Four Story Hill poularde boudin blanc, which was truly outstanding. Of the other poularde's I've had in recent memory, Cory Lee's at TFL last year was by far the worst. I would go so far as saying it was probably the worst chicken preparation I've had at a restaurant (admittedly, I don't order it all that often) in a few years. I couldn't cut it with a knife - it made a dent. I took one bite of the dry grainy breast and sent the rest back. It was awful.

Oh geez, it's been nearly two months since my visit to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and I am just now getting to post about it. Well, per usual, you can see all of the photos on my flickr account. You can also read a more lengthy posting on my blog. Our dinner, a Farmer's Feast featured: Amuses Bouche - the highlight of which were miniature "Tomato Burgers." The tasting of flavored salts (the most interesting carrot salt) with warm toasted bread and butter was also very memorable. First Course: Heirloom Tomato Salad with grilled stone fruits, tomato sorbet, tomato foam, and sun-dried tomatoes. Second Course: Green Bean Salad with Hazelnut-Encrusted Farm Fresh Egg and "Garden Gazpacho." Third Course: Local Brook Trout with corn and chanterelles sauced with tomato sauce flecked with coriander and capers. Fourth Course: "Embronic Pasta" (egg yolk past) with shiitakes and tomato cream broth. Fifth Course: Stone Barns Barred Silver Chicken with corn and quinoa, zucchini puree, and piracicaba. Sixth Course: Blue Hill at Stone Barns: Berkshire Pork Belly and Loin, with cranberry beans and shell beans. Pre-Dessert: Watermeon soup with ricotta sorbet Dessert: Lemon cheesecake with blueberries and creme fraiche ice cream. Petite Fours: Not the least of which was a bowl of fraises du bois. Overall, an excellent meal. I disagreed with the beer (too acrid and hoppy for me - ruined the delicate flavor of the tomato salad, but faired ever so slightly better with green bean salad) and white wine (too sweet riesling with the pasta and fish) pairings, but thoroughly enjoyed the red we drank with the chicken and the pork - I believe it might have been a Beaujolais. Service was gracious, accomodating, and attentive. The setting is second to none. As I wrote on my blog: "Blue Hill at Stone Barns is one of the most novel and special restaurants I have ever visted. And, yet really, what makes the restaurant special are practices and elements that seem highly intuitive and familiar to me as product of the Midwest and an American consumer: eat what you grow. That, sadly, is easier said than done these days. The tenants of Blue Hill at Stone Barns (much like those of the mother ship, Chez Panisse, where I had a spectacular meal last year) require and restrict the restaurant to serving a certain subset of foods. Due to seasonal and regional limitations plus Chef Barber’s insistance that only the best of the garden is served, a number of the same items showed up repeatedly throughout our dinner. Tomatoes figured in somewhere on nearly all of our savory courses, as did mushrooms and beans to a lesser extent. Corn appeared on both our fish and pork dishes. While this may seem monotonous or reduntant, it really isn’t. It’s simply a matter of understanding, appreciating, and celebrating the abundance of that which is before us. Blue Hill at Stone Barns is very much a restaurant of the here and now - in terms of its situation vis-à-vis our nation’s restuarant trends, the current food culture in the world, and the food it serves every day. It captures the best of each day and serves it to its guests. In today’s world, this is tremendously exciting. I hope to return to Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Maybe in the spring, or the dead of winter. I trust the kitchen and the staff will feed and take care of us with as much passion as on this visit."

You're right, that would be 4 notes.

Dinner at Sardinia Ristorante/Enoteca posted here.

Two add-ons: 1. My negative observations about service was pretty limited to our server, who was really just absent. That being said, I have to commend the back wait staff. They were extremely graceful and efficient - it was like watching a (very loud) carefully choreographed ballet (or, rather, tango). 2. Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream on the dessert menu. I frowned. Everything else here was so good - especially the desserts... why would they bother with anything other than home-made ice creams??

There were also around 6 recipes in Gourmet. I haven't read this month's Bon Appetit yet. Were they the same recipes as in Gourmet? I have a few recipes from a cooking class that I took with him earlier in the year. There were also some recipes published over a year ago in the Times (in that Mark Bittman series on David Chang / Noodle Bar). Lots of recipes floating around... I'm wondering if a cookbook is underway. Now, that would make me super happy.... ← Thanks spaetzle for catching me. I thoroughly mis-spoke. It was Gourmet, not Bon Appetit.

I was pretty set on taking the family to Talula’s for dinner on my last night in Miami. The main reason for that decision was that my mom, who turned 60 (and for whom the trip to Miami was taken), greatly prefers gentle, quiet, and linen-serviced restaurants to those that are more boisterous and lively, though they may have better food. Talula seemed to be a slower pace than say, Sardinia Ristorante, where I really wanted to for my last dinner in Miami (I had not been to either, so this consideration was based on what I had heard and read from others). But, I, her food-nerdy son, was feeling a tad guilty dragging my parents all over Miami to the faster-paced places that I had wanted to visit. So, I thought I’d make our last night out together a little more peaceful. Talula was it. In a surprising twist of events, both of my parents, and especially my mother, were so thrilled by my restaurants selections thus far – Michy’s and Michael’s – that my mother turned to me after dinner at Michael’s Genuine and asked, eagerly, “what’s for dinner tomorrow night?” I told her about Talula. She asked me what the food was like. I said that I didn’t know, but I could show her the menu on their website. She took one look and turned to me and asked: “Is there anything more – well, like Michy’s and Michael’s? This reads a little too fussy.” Huh? Apparently, she had found a new love for family-style, communal, small-plates sampling type of fare. My dad chimed in – “I’d rather have robust and hearty than fancy and delicate.” Seizing the opportunity, I briefly sketched out Sardinia for them, giving my mom a warning that it was probably going to be dark, loud, crowded and sans white tablecloth. She said she didn’t care. She wanted good food, and my dad agreed. (I think my mom, in her autumn, has finally awakened to her gustatory senses. As long as I’ve known her, she’s been much more about ambience and convenience than actually good food. That is to say, either she gets dressed up for a quiet peaceful elegant setting with a view, otherwise, she’s happy with a hot dog from a street vendor between errands. Food has rarely been her number one priority.) Sardinia Ristorante does not accept reservations. This made me nervous. Thankfully, our “retirement dining schedule” for the late-night Miami Beach folks, landed us a half-empty restaurant around 7.30pm, when we walked in. The restaurant was dark. Very dark. The restaurant was loud. Very loud. The restaurant was crowded. Very crowded. The food was fantastic. Very fantastic. We were pleased. Very pleased… and left very full. I’ll spare the details on the location, décor, etc – information easily gleaned from their website. I’ll also skip detailed description of each dish – these can be read and the pictures of the food can be found on my flickr account. We ordered liberally from both sides of the menu. Minestrone Insalate Cabras Insalate Finochiaccia Insalate Sarda Animelle (Crispy Sweetbreads) Moscardini Salt-Baked Branzino Roasted Baby Suckling Pig Vegatali (Sides): Braised Fennel, Roasted Beets with Pancetta, and Broccolini Fromaggio: Robiola de langue, Belfiore Pecorino Stagionata, and Pecorino Tartufo Fresco de Mugello. Strawberry Tiramisu 1. Strike number one: The ONE thing I wanted to try at the restaurant – the specialty for which they are known – was their carasatu flatbread. They had none available the night we were in. Our server, who had a charmingly heavy Italian accent, tried to convey something about a party the night before and them not having enough time to make another batch. Apparently, it’s a rather involved and lengthy process. 2. Strike number two: Our server told us about a special of the night – a whole oven-roasted sea bream stuffed with herbs and served over a bed of salad greens. He did a hard sell (not that he needed to) – opining that it was the only thing better than the salt-baked branzino, a personal favorite and what I wanted to order. So the sea bream was ordered. Two minutes later, he comes back and apologizes – no more sea bream. It wasn’t his fault, but after the carasatu let-down, it elicited a slight inner groan. This being said, the salt-baked branzino was excellent. Our server was tremendously deft in plating the filleted fish. The meat, which was drizzled table-side with fruity extra virgin olive oil, was moist and fluffy. Yet, despite these two mis-fires at the beginning of our meal, we managed to settle in for a stellar experience: 3. I really do not object to their liberal use of very fruity and fresh extra virgin olive oil. 4. Their salads are wonderful – the Finochiaccia and Sarda are strikingly similar. Their greens are fresh, bright, and exceedingly flavorful. They are generous with the bottarga shaving on the Insalate Cabras – it was definitely worth the $14. 5. Roasting everything in a blazing hot wood oven really makes everything taste 100% better. 6. The sweetbreads were very good – better than most I’ve had. However, the crispy charred Brussels sprouts and cipollini (which had gone silky inside) were the real stars of the “Animelle.” 7. Portions are large – especially the antipasti, many of which could have easily made for a main course. But, the ones we ordered (Moscardini and Animelle) and the ones we spied at tables nearby were so heavy/rich that eating an entire one by oneself would have become a bit of a monotonous chore. They were perfect for sharing. The baby octopi were exquisite. 8. We ordered a trio of “vegetali” side dishes. All three were exceptional. The roasted beets were as sweet as candy. The braised fennel, however, were my favorite. 9. Dessert list looked a bit hackneyed – and pricey. Our strawberry tiramisu – served in an old-world tin gelato coppetta really didn’t deserve the $9 price tag. The other dessert options seemed rather boring, with the exception of the mille foglio. 10. Service was good and bad in an old-world sense: Good in that it was extremely informed, friendly, and – well, just gosh-darned Euro-charming. Bad in that the restaurant is so busy that it was often a little hard to flag them down. This is not a hoity-toity joint, so dishes were cleared somewhat haphazardly… utensils weren’t always replaced. We also got a non-English-speaking bus boy on his first night. The poor boy was so flustered, I wanted help him out. At one point, our server insisted on us not helping him, which I suppose, was in the boy’s best interest in the long run. The staff and management seemed to try their best to be patient with him, but at times, it was very clear that they were frustrated. 11. The Italian (strictly?) wine list was extraordinary. Pricing seemed a little high, but certainly acceptable for the local Miami going rate. 12. I wanted to eat the entire cheese selection. Alas, if only I had four stomachs. The three we sampled (two which I have had before) were great. I want to know where they get their honey. I want some. Can anyone help me out? It was loosely described as “Sardinian honey” on the description of one of the carasatu options – I’m guessing they use the same kind as an accompaniment to cheeses. My parents confirmed, in the car one the way back to the hotel that Sardinia, in all of our estimations, ended up being the highlight of our three dinners, and indeed, the crown of all of our meals in Miami on this trip. I left the restaurant plotting for my next visit to Miami. It’s the kind of food that makes you want to drop your day job and move to Sardinia. I’m sure someone will hire me out there… I can herd sheep, or something… Again, photos of all of our food and my food-nerdy thoughts can be seen and read on my flickr account.

Yes, I know. Me neither - and I think this is why it appeals to me. It looks like dark chocolate, which I can tolerate more than most.