Tim Doolittle's next adventure-KC

[moosnsqrl]

Since I mentioned this in my "Best of" picks I thought I would follow-up with the best currently available information. For those not familiar with him, Tim Doolittle made a name for himself on the KC dining scene in the tiny kitchen of the Stolen Grille. He followed-up with a turn at the City Tavern and has most recently been cooking at Le Fou Frog.

There is a new restaurant in the works in Briarcliff Village, a Tuscan-themed mixed retail/office/residential development just north of downtown KCMO. The current ETA is for June of this year.

I hope/wish that Chef Doolittle will chime-in here and discuss the concept, potential menu, decor, etc and keep us posted on the progress. Please join me in encouraging him to do so. C'mon Tim, don't be shy.

[ulterior epicure]

ditto - doolittle needs to show!! very curious, indeed!

u.e.

[Tim Doolittle]

ditto - doolittle needs to show!!  very curious, indeed!

u.e.

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Here i am, evidently i had an account this whole time......who knew?

[bobzemuda]

ditto - doolittle needs to show!!  very curious, indeed!

u.e.

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Here i am, evidently i had an account this whole time......who knew?

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Glad to see you here. In I guess 1998 when I was the pastry chef on a jr culinary olympic team I set up a dinner with my team and a couple other random teams members we'd picked up at competition. We were crammed in the front of the ever tiny Stolen Grill as a last minute favor, and I was served one of the most memorable meals I'd eaten to this day. I can still remember you finishing all your sauces to order in 1/2 quart pans, and I recall a cook in the back of your tiny kitchen cleaning proteins in the middle of service.

It was a great night, and within the next two months I drove to KC with my girlfriend to show her what all my fussing was about with another fantastic meal.

I do monthly searches for your name hoping that I'll come up with where you've landed so that I can make whatever trek is necessary to show my wife what it is I've been fussing about all these years.

Sad or not, I'm no longer a cook but I now have a job that has given me the luxury of afforind seats in some of the best restaurants in the country. Still, when thinking of all my memorable meals, I always come back to the Stolen Grill when I think of a meal that was simply put, perfect.

So...where are you anyway?

[ulterior epicure]

ditto - doolittle needs to show!!  very curious, indeed!

u.e.

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Here i am, evidently i had an account this whole time......who knew?

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Hi Tim!! Thanks for speaking up! So, give us the 411 on your new place. I've been by Briarcliff Village a few times but haven't noticed any new restaurants except Piropos and Trezo Mare.

u.e.

[JWest]

Here's a website.... if you haven't seen it already.

Sounds like another promising addition to my long list of new restaurants to dine at!

[moosnsqrl]

ditto - doolittle needs to show!!  very curious, indeed!

u.e.

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Here i am, evidently i had an account this whole time......who knew?

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Glad you came out. I had forgotten I started this thread to be honest. As long as it's been we could have rivaled the Alinea pre-opening thread and really worked up some buzz by now

The website is obviously a work in progress but damn that salad looks good and I don't generally start craving raw vegetables until 8:15! I have been vague about the concept, though, so this does provide some insight into that. Didn't realize the take-out emphasis and set-up but that's probably a great idea given the location and the growing popularity of grab-and-go - if it keeps one misguided soul out of Applebee's it will all be worthwhile.

Keep us posted on what's going on now that you know you can.

[Tim Doolittle]

ditto - doolittle needs to show!!  very curious, indeed!

u.e.

←

Here i am, evidently i had an account this whole time......who knew?

←

Glad to see you here. In I guess 1998 when I was the pastry chef on a jr culinary olympic team I set up a dinner with my team and a couple other random teams members we'd picked up at competition. We were crammed in the front of the ever tiny Stolen Grill as a last minute favor, and I was served one of the most memorable meals I'd eaten to this day. I can still remember you finishing all your sauces to order in 1/2 quart pans, and I recall a cook in the back of your tiny kitchen cleaning proteins in the middle of service.

It was a great night, and within the next two months I drove to KC with my girlfriend to show her what all my fussing was about with another fantastic meal.

I do monthly searches for your name hoping that I'll come up with where you've landed so that I can make whatever trek is necessary to show my wife what it is I've been fussing about all these years.

Sad or not, I'm no longer a cook but I now have a job that has given me the luxury of afforind seats in some of the best restaurants in the country. Still, when thinking of all my memorable meals, I always come back to the Stolen Grill when I think of a meal that was simply put, perfect.

So...where are you anyway?

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thanks for remembering me, has been a while since those days. i am working on a bistro to open in january in briarcliff, just over the broadway bridge. american and european food, very reasonable priced, high quality food with from source who share my love for the ingredients. lately i am all about preserving the integrity of the foods and old world methods that are the basis for what so many chefs do today. kind of a return to my culinary roots i guess. rustic peasant food with refinments and upgrades have been very exciting to me as of late. and these foods lend themselves well to the concept we have designed. expect things like cassoulet, beef bourguignonne, crepes, omlets, fritattas, handmade pastries, pate, sausages, charcuterie plates, fresh pastas, braised meats, oxtail.....i could go on all day.

so, that is what i am up to.

btw the name is 'the cafe at briarcliff village' thank you for the interest and if anyone has any menu suggestions feel free to let me know. classic peasant recipes, lost breads, old world methods, whatever.....let me know.

[Zeemanb]

also, i love that screen name, bob zemuda.....anybody else know who (or what) that is??  i do.

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Me, you and Tony Clifton all know ol' Bob.

Cassoulet.....that would really hit the spot in this weather......

[moosnsqrl]

You should all be packed-off to the "home for obscure film references."

[ulterior epicure]

What is the current ETA for the opening?

[edited for an egregious grammatical error.]

Edited December 2, 2006 by ulterior epicure (log)

[moosnsqrl]

What is the current ETA for the opening?

[edited for an egregious grammatical error.]

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I was waiting for Tim to reply with more specific info but, as he has not, I will at least say that last week he confirmed they were still looking at a January opening (whether it's the 1st or the 31st, I do not know).

[moosnsqrl]

There is a charitable event (No More Homeless Pets - KC) scheduled for Sunday, January 28 at The Cafe.

I'm sure Tim is working his fingers to the bone in the rush to open, so thought I would give the latest info that I'm aware of.

[moosnsqrl]

Well, since I started this long, long ago, thought I'd let you know that the doors are open and the menus are online now.

The Cafe at Briarcliff

[moosnsqrl]

I made it to The Cafe for lunch yesterday and enjoyed it. I was pleasantly surprised by the decor - the carryout counter has its own door and is off to the west of the actual dining room, so it's much nicer than I had anticipated. The colors, styles and layout were aesthetically pleasing (IMHO, naturally).

We shared some lump crab cakes to start. They're served with some dressed greens and a bright dijon sauce. Good texture, not stringy and just crumbly enough you know they're not glued together with filler. There was some citrus going on somewhere - we had trouble figuring out if it was in the cakes themselves or the greens, having all inhaled a few bites of the combined flavors before slowing down to analyze.

I went really cutting edge and ordered The Cafe Burger (lame, I know). I had mine with gruyere (also available bleu or colby) and it was very tasty, served on an egg bun with fries that are hand cut and better than any non-frites that I can think of in town. I ordered it medium rare and it was a little past that but I was OK with it. It was still nice and juicy and benefitted more from the wood grill than it suffered from the difficulty in controlling it precisely.

I tried a couple of bites of the cassoulet and it was good - herbaceous and so rich I would have to make several meals of it. Just the thing for the weather we're experiencing. The Salade Nicoise was visually appealing but I did not try it.

I had a French chardonnay and it was startlingly good and a great value. Their list is interesting - not vast and mostly inexpensive except for maybe 10 premium bottles. They also had some interesting vodka infusions going, including one savory (celery, carrot, red pepper, garlic - that I could see from a distance - maybe other things) that merits Sunday brunch visit to try in a bloody mary.

The last bite I was able to manage was a white chocolate truffle with Gran Marnier before slipping silently into a midday food coma.

Edited for coherence

Edited February 2, 2007 by moosnsqrl (log)

[mamagotcha]

I made it to The Cafe for lunch yesterday and enjoyed it.  ...

The last bite I was able to manage was a white chocolate truffle with Gran Marnier before slipping silently into a midday food coma.

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I'm glad you were able to wake up enough to type this out for us... sounds like a winner! Thanks for the report. I've been thinking about indulging in Urban Arts, so perhaps a Cafe lunch is in my near future...

[moosnsqrl]

For those who haven't heard, we're losing Chef Doolittle to Sin City. Sad for us but a great opportunity for him. I hope they appreciate him in the desert and that he'll be back with a vengeance one day!

I have accepted a job with Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining in Las Vegas at 'Postrio' in the Venetian Hotel.  It is a big, busy ($12M/year) beautiful restaurant.

Here is a link to our website www.wolfgangpuck.com We are opening four more restaurants in Vegas this year and two others (Colorado & D.C.) so I may spend time at one of them, but Postrio will be my home base.

Good luck Tim - and put a $10 on 22 black for me, will ya?

[Tim Doolittle]

i am here in vegas now. based at the MGM Grand working at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill...i love it. Simple, high quality food in a stunning beach inspired setting. i love to see and feed people from K.C., so if you are in town come find me.

i will be checking in on the K.C. food scene constantly, so keep posting and let me know what is going on.

[moosnsqrl]

i am here in vegas now. based at the MGM Grand working at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill...i love it. Simple, high quality food in a stunning beach inspired setting.  i love to see and feed people from K.C., so if you are in town come find me. 

i will be checking in on the K.C. food scene constantly, so keep posting and let me know what is going on.

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Apparently business is falling off . . . if you have time to post 4 (count 'em four!) lines here! Slacker.

Moos has an op to attend a conference there near the anniversary of my crawling out from under a rock, so we may be darkening your door. I assume you're living in a 10-bedroom bordella-style house with grotto, spa and tennis courts? Let me know which suite of rooms is available early November.