chileheadmike

It's on Johnson Drive, about 3 or 4 miles west of I-35

Keep in mind that the People's Choice is a separate competiton and only includes brisket and pork. Still as Jerry points out, it's a good deal to try some competion Q.

Yeah, last week I came down with serious case of the gout. Right before BBQ time. Nice. So I can cook it but I can't eat it. No Q, No Beer ARRRG. And my interpretive dance will be falling on the ground writhing in pain. Should be easy to do while listening to that. So come on out and have some fun! Back to enjoying a nice healthy spinach salad.

Yeah if you don't lead with the giant burritos.

Thanks for the kind words. She hasn't eaten since. Lots of frozen stuff, but that was only the second stop on the tour.

El Taconazo- 624 Kansas Avenue Like Jerry said, we had set up to meet at Roberto's, but it was no longer there. The obvious place was the purple and yellow building across the street from Art's Mexican Products. We got out of the car and I told Brianne that it was going to be good, the smell of spent beer filled the air. When we walked in I felt a little like the guys who walked into the black bar in "Animal House". It got quiet and everyone was looking at us, but the super frendly waitress smiled and showed us to our seats while all around us the locals watched us over their tables of empty budweisers. Chips were thick and crunchy, only one salsa was offered. A thick green salsa with lots of great green chile flavor and plenty of heat. Great salsa. I had tacos with carne asada, Brianne had al pasor. The small thick corn tortillas were steamy hot and delicious. Oh man. Paleteria Chihuahua- 1103 Kansas Avenue While waiting for our food I said something like, I don't think this will be as good. Well, I was wrong. I got carnitas tacos. Tortillas were the same as El Taconazo, which is to say effing great. Carnitas were shredded and fried crisp. Man they were good. The shredded cabbage was a little different, but I did like the crunchy veggies. Hot sauce was red and thin and while not quite as hot as El Tac it still had noticable heat. I'm not much for sweets at all but the chocolate filled churro ruled. Hot, crunchy cinnamon-y on the out side, soft and steamy on the inside and then all the chocolate oozing out. Casa de Hernandez- 1817 Park Dr. Not faulting Jerry for going here but, eh. This would go over well in JoCo. Our waitress was nice and took very good care of us but the food just wasn't there. Thin crispy chips, host salsa that wasn't. I had pork tamale and chicken flautas. The tamale sauce (served on the side) had a spagettios flavor going on, like it was canned tomato sauce or something that I didn't want to know about. The masa was decent, the pork was way overcooked and dry. Chicken flautas were ok, crisp corn tortillas filled with dry white chicken. Brianne said her fideo tasted like spagetti-o's too. Jerrys Mexican Pork Chile looked tasty. Laura’s Restaurant- 1304 Central Avenue Brianne had the shredded beef taco and proclaimed it best of the trip. I didn't get a taste but I'll have to believe her. I had a lengue (tongue) and an al pastor taco. Lengue was soft and had a beefy flavor with just a hint of ogan undertones. Kudos to Brianne for giving it a shot, although she didn't care for it. Al pastor was as good as anything we'd previous had. I don't know if I was on food burn out or what, but I did not care for the salsa. It had little heat and tasted somehow off. Not bad, just not right. The bakery was great. You walk in, grab a pizza tin and a pair of tongs and go for it. One of the restaurants I used to work at had their own bakery. This was like stepping back in time. Brianne kept complaining about the heat and steam. I was in heaven. We got a couple of giant cookies and a muffin along with a package of corn tortillas that had just come off the press. Oh man those were good. They had bins full of the bread used for tortas, it may be worth heading down there just for that. We got in the car and headed back to JoCo, full and happy.

I didn't mean to imply we got poor service. Our server took very good care of us. She brought everything we needed and she was very friendly. It just seemed odd to watch food looking for a home. And no head cold, and hopefully I can taste. Maybe it was dulce.

Well, its a Friday before a holiday, my bosses are out, and the weather is perfect. So, Zeemanb and I decided to get out for luch. Choices were Spin or Don Chilito's. We ended up saving our insides and went to Spin. Ordering is different but even we managed to get through it. We got there early and there weren't many people there yet. Zeeman got the prosciutto e spinaci and I ordered a salsiccia di pollo & gorgonzola. We sat down, got drinks, and were offered the food of several other tables while we waited for our. We watched while runners wandered the dining room with food looking for their lost owners. I'm guessing that's really entertaining when its busy. But we were there for pizza. Crust was thin and and crisp and the edges were brushed with olive oil. Not too much red sauce on mine. Sausage was sparse but flavorful. I didn't taste any gorgonzola. The pine nuts and carmelized onions were a flavorful touch. I had a piece of Zeeman's pizza, I've never had spinach I didn't like and this was pretty good. Same crisp crust with small burn marks to add flavor. I think he got more meat on his pizza than I did. But I liked mine better. Carmelized onions rule. We were treated to 3 small samples of the gelatto, cappucino, cookies and cream, and roasted pistachio. All were good i like the cappucino the best. Not too sweet with lots of coffee flavor. Zeeman got some pistachio to go so I'm thinking he liked that one best.

Never give me crap about Joe's Crab Shack again, ever. Not that I've been there more than once. I did go to our local PS, again once. My youngest liked their Chocolate Pudding Pizza. I didn't try that, and would hate to even try to describe it. Bluestem it ain't. As many here know, my wife is a fan of the chains. She grew up in small town Kansas where Dairy Queen was about the only restaurant choice. Applebee's would have been considered fine dining worthy of a major anniversary. We've discussed the chain thing ad nauseam. She just does not want to take a chance on a bad meal. She wants safety, a fried chicken salad with honey mustard dressing (on the side to make sure its good). I try and push the envelope here at home and then get her to try new things. We dated almost a year before I could get her to venture into a Chinese Restaurant. But she really enjoyed Tatsu's, so there's hope. She's just wired differetly and when she spends money on food it has to be safe.

Hey, it's one thing asking me to use the back door. . . and maybe even Mike, but I don't think his wife is going to tolerate that kind of treatment. It'll be another year before he gets her north of 119th again. ← 3:47 am and still snarky. Yes, I am working on getting her out of JoCo more often. Tatsu's experience really helped. Applebees just doesn't make sauce that good. And we'll definately stick our head in the back door at Bluestem next time down.

I got my wife out of JoCo on Friday and we headed down to Westport for lunch. Ended up at Tatsu's. They offer entrée and dessert with soft drink for 11.95. Not bad at all. Katrina had chicken with herbs served with rice, carrots and broccoli. Chicken was perfectly done, tender and juicy. The sauce was tart with lemon and wine, with a healthy amount of thyme in it. Absolutely delicious. For $1 more I had shrimp in pastry. Also served with carrots and broccoli. A generous portion of large shrimp in a course ground dijon mustard sauce. Another great dish, the man knows how to make a great sauce. For dessert she had chocolate mousse with fresh berries, I didn't get any of that but there wasn't any left so i assume she liked it. I had the tiramisu. It was light and fluffy and not too sweet. No lady fingers. We were there about 1:30 or so, and there were only 2 or 3 other tables occupied. Our server was friendly and professional, we never wanted for anything. Katrina really enjoyed it and I'm sure we'll be back. We stopped by Bluestem on the way out of Westport but it appeared closed. Probably doing something totally unimportant like prepping for Friday night.

I have an alarm clock, and it works. I also have 2 daughters that sleep through anything. Mustard habanero!?!?!? Never heard of that one, chocolate yes, lemon yes, but not Mustard. May have to get down there for that one. While I'm posting, the corn was great, grilled and basted with a mixture of butter, lime juice, chipotle powder, and smoked ancho powder.

Wow summer produce in full swing and this thread is on page 3?!?!?! Took my youngest daughter (6) to a couple of farmers' markets this morning. Parkville and the River Market downtown. Arrived at Parkville about 10, appeared to be too late, no corn, no peaches. I did pick up a giant canalope though and it smells great. Lots of tomatoes here. Some crazy lookin heirloom mater's. Lots of interesting looking chiles too. My garden is full of both so I didn't need to get any more. On to the River Market. First thing I notice is the old jalapenos and drying out corn in front of the Vietnamese restaurant. Fortunately, this was the only sub-par produce we saw all day here. Even more heirloom tomatoes. I asked one of the ladies selling these crazy ribbed tomatoes what kind they were. She said she didn't know, she just planted the seeds and that's what came up. She shrugged her shoulders as she showed me some other oddly shapped maters. We parted ways and Meghan and I headed off to the corn, $.25/ear not bad. Peaches are insane good and perfectly ripe. Lots of eggplant varieties including white ones that really do look like eggs, some very small purple, and more. Again, lots of chiles. This time the small super hot Thai chiles were amoung the offerings. And ripe jalapenos. No cayenne, whats up. My cayenne came up as something else, oh well hope they're hot. Enough rambling, the veggies and fruit are out there.

Brisket and Pork Butt... Went on @ 4:30 am this morning. During a hell of a thunderstorm here in KC. I can't think of a better way to spend a real early morning than firing up the smoker and dodgin lightning bolts. All clear now, just hot and humid. Lookin to pull about 5 this afternoon. Happy 4th everyone!

Hey chiliheadmike, That sounds really good! I have all the ingredients, so I believe it will go on the menu for tomorrow. I was going to do potato salad; but, this sounds more fun. Hmmm... With a little alteration, I bet you could do it in foil packets on the grill. I'm always up for a good succotash with Barbeque. ← Its a little "saucy" for the grill, you could make packets out of everything but flour and stock. hmmmm.....

Andouille and Potatoes In medium hot Dutch oven add olive oil 1 onion diced 2 stalks celery 1/2 bell pepper (Yes its the Trinity) Saute until onions are translucent Add chopped garlic Add rib rub (see above) Add sausage Cook until you smell garlic add a little flour Cook some more Add 1/2 can diced tomatoes Add chicken stock Stir/ Check for salt Add thyme, worchesteshire, hot sauce Add potatoes that have been peeled, quarted lengthwise, and sliced about 1/2" thick. Cook till spuds are done

Beans: We place high in competitions with this, hope no one we compete against is reading.. Dice and fry about 5 slices bacon till crisp Add 1 diced onion, contionue to saute until onion is translucent. (don't drain bacon fat) Add rib rub (paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, red white and black pepper, and your favorite herbs) Toast unil you smell the rub add a handful of brown sugar and stir till melted add a couple glugs of molasas add a half bottle of BBQ sauce add wochestershire heat on low add 1 more onion sliced add drained canned beans put in the smoker under ribs or brisket for 3 hours

Not sure I'd try a smokebox indoors. Smoke alarms, cabon monoxide etc. I have read positive reviews on these things, but essentially, its a big crock pot with a rack. No smoke, but low and slow pork is still PDT.

I do smoked turkey every Thanksgiving. I try to find a non-enhanced bird and brine it. I use the following http://www.bbqsearch.com/turkey/22571.shtm If its been enhanced with a 3% solution, I think its ok to go ahead and brine. If it were 12% or more, i'd pass on the bird altogether. But if I already had it, I'd just dry rub and smoke.

I've truly enjoyed reading most of this thread. Geez its a big n. I will never again throw chorizo links on the grill. Who knew the casing was plastic and melts! All I had was some burnt up bits in the coals. My wife is still laughing.

Why would one have to take one for the team if I've already said the Manhattan location is good? Just curious! ← I work with someone who says this is her favorite restaurant, and we generally agree on places we like. But, this place serves "Thai BBQ", Texas BBQ, Caribean BBQ, Cajun BBQ, Mexican etc. I'm skeptical that anyplace can pull off all of these well. Except for maybe Cheesecake Factory or TGI Friday's of course. That said I am looking forward to seeing how evil the Evil Desert Chicken can be.

Bumping. This has been open for a couple weeks now. Has anyone taken a bullet for the team? If so, please post a review. If not, I'll try and get there sometime in the next week or so.

Has to have been the time when the manager asked me to clean out the grease trap after we were ticketed by the city because it had been overflowing into the sewer. We were open 2 years and didn't know we had one or that it needed to be cleaned out on a weekly basis. Oh yeah, since I was the only one who "knew" how to do it, it became my job once a week. Ugly enough but that first time was the worst smell I've ever encountered.

I used to love Chubby's. The last time I was there it was less than great. Well, less than good actually.