[E]lemental KC

For the past week or so, KC had the Kansas City Restaurant Week (which ends today) which featured 40+ restaurants in the KC Metro area. This event was special because it allowed visitors to dine at higher end restaurants for a modest price of $15 for lunch and $30 dinner. What was even better was their commitment to donate 10% of the proceeds to Harvester of Kansas City.

I managed to participate in this awesome event by going to Michael Smith near downtown KC. The restaurant is located on the corner of 19th and Main, next to the chef and owner, Michael Smith’s other restaurant, Extra Virgin.

The food was AMAZING!! For starters, I enjoyed a roasted rabbit with gnocchi, the main course course was 8-hour roasted pork over rizzotto,  followed by a coconut and raisin cake with ice cream. My dinner date enjoyed a deliciously tender fillet mignon with cream mash potatoes, followed by a flour-less chocolate cake.  I may not be giving the menu justice in my description but it was truly a culinary experience.

Well….to have such an experience, you’re going to have to drop a pretty penny to eat there. This is the kind of place where appetizers start out at $15, but I will say you get your money’s worth.

With everything made to order, it’s important to give yourself a couple hours to taste this gastronomic event while sipping on a glass of wine or nice cocktail (I had a Maker’s Mark Old Fashioned)

Even though the event ends today, it doesn’t mean you can save up and splurge once in a while at one of these fine restaurants. Check out the Kansas City Restaurant Week website for all the restaurants that participated and definitely check out Michael Smith.

Peace.

Michael Smith – http://www.michaelsmithkc.com/

1900 Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri (64108)

Fax: 816.842.2206

Kansas City Restaurant Week – http://kansascityrestaurantweek.com/

(Image Source: Playboy.com)

PLAYBOY: You have spiky bleached hair, tats, bling, money, millions of fans and serious attitude. When did chefs become the new rock stars?
FIERI: All I know is we all gotta eat, and not everybody knows how to cook. So if you’re the guy who can rock the kitchen, people go crazy for you. People such as Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Tom Colicchio, the Iron Chefs—they’ve turned food making into a kind of arena spectator sport with their TV shows and competitions, and their restaurants, cookbooks and products have made them rich. Me? I’m just a dude who always loved to cook. At a certain point I got to the reality I wasn’t going to be Evel Knievel or a pro football player, which were my childhood dreams. So I thought, Hey, why not be just as frickin’ cool with a frying pan in my hand?

Q2

PLAYBOY: Gone are the days of “A woman’s place is in the kitchen.” But what exactly is a guy’s place in the kitchen right now?
FIERI: Men have always been cooks. Since the first saber-toothed­-tiger burger, guys have been grilling and thrilling. My dad was always my role model. He could make anything in the kitchen, even when we were basically living out of a van in California. I remember once he traded a pair of cowboy boots for salmon. He liked to cook healthy, vegetarian mostly, with a little fish and stuff like bulgur. Yuck. One night we had eggplant parmigiana, and I said, “Why can’t we have chicken parmigiana like everybody else?” That was the fatal day.

Q3

PLAYBOY: Did he hit you with a piece of tofu?
FIERI: Actually, it was my mom who got mad. She said, “If you don’t like the food, you cook.” So being the confident 10-year-old I was, I rode my bike to the grocery store and told John the butcher to give me a bunch of red meat. He slapped down two big fat rib eyes, and somehow I managed to get dinner on the table that night. I remember watching my dad. He took one bite, put down his fork and glared at me. It’s as clear today as it was 30 years ago. “You know what, Guy?” he said. “This might be the best steak I’ve ever had.” Total relief! And on top of that, my sister had to do the dishes. I was hooked, man.

Q4

PLAYBOY: You never went to cooking school?
FIERI: I left home when I was 16 to go to Europe as an exchange student. Before that, I cooked for my parents a lot. Their friends would come over, and I’d put on a whole Asian dinner—chopped the stuff, made my version of wonton soup and all those things. If I didn’t know a recipe, I’d make it up, trial and error. France really opened my eyes to great cooking. Then I came back, majored in hospitality management and lived with a bunch of college students, who were my guinea pigs. I had a skill nobody else had. You get away with a lot in college if you can feed people.

Q5

PLAYBOY: It sounds as though that came in handy with women.
FIERI: I saw some possibilities, definitely. When I was 18 or 19 I got a job as flambé captain at a hotel, cooking table-side with the brown polyester outfit, the dickey, the whole getup. I realized success is all about your style. I’d meet these families having dinner and would always find the older daughter who looked bored. “Hey, you want to see an extra-big flame on your scampi?”

Q6

PLAYBOY: Was it a winning pickup line?
FIERI: Sometimes, but I effed up on that job. They taught us this technique of opening and closing the jar of Grey Poupon mustard with one hand for the steak Diane presentation. [rolls eyes] One time my cart got stuck, so I yanked it, and ch-ch-ch, the Grey Poupon fell, hit the side of the cart, the lid clicked off and a globule of mustard flew through the air and ­shhhpwakked this grandma on the forehead. Her beehive hairdo flopped down, and there was mustard everywhere. It was the couple’s 50th anniversary, and I was thinking, I’m a dead man. But her old man thought it was the funniest damn thing he’d ever seen. Dude tipped me 40 bucks!

Q7

PLAYBOY: Do you separate fancy food from the food in your book and on your Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?
FIERI: I don’t separate fancy food from the rest. Good food is good food, though there’s definitely way too much fussing and phoniness out there in the food world, with people talking about ingredients you need an advanced degree to pronounce. That’s not to say I don’t like five-star dining. But costwise, I don’t know. Even with flavor. If you prepare it right, a burger can taste better.

Q8

PLAYBOY: How can a burger taste better than filet mignon?
FIERI: The core fundamental is great meat. Go to a good butcher and ask them to grind a great piece of chuck right there. With chuck, you don’t need to add a lot of ingredients at home. It’s quintessentially great as it is. Cook it medium rare. Some people like a charbroiled or wood-fired taste, but I use a flat metal grill top or a big flat pan. That way you get a little bit of fat, and with fat comes the crust. Crust is key. We’re a culture of crust, and that crunchy outside is what makes a crowd go crazy for a burger.

Q9

PLAYBOY: Speaking of crowds, what is the secret to a memorable Super Bowl party?
FIERI: It’s the greatest sporting event in the world, so do it up a little. It doesn’t have to be expensive. At my house I’ve got my buddy Kleetus at the stove, cutting fresh tortillas into wedges and frying them into tortilla chips. It’s so much better than out of the bag. Then my buddy Opossum makes fresh salsa. Chicken wings are great, but bake them, then panfry them in a nonstick pan to get a little more crust on top. Oh, and ice. Nothing’s worse than a party where you have to dig around the beer cans for ice. It makes my hair stand on end. [laughs]

Q10

PLAYBOY: What’s the deal with your hair anyway?
FIERI: About 10 years ago I was in Vegas with a bunch of buddies. It was my buddy Reno’s birthday, and we were shaving his head. My buddies and I are a little bit on the wild side. But it gave me the idea to try something new. Next thing I know, I’m telling my hairdresser, “Do whatever you want.” She sits me down and puts a plastic bag on my head. When she takes it off, my hair is Colonel Sanders white! And I go, “Oh no! Man!” I used to dye it blackish purple in the winter, but now it just stays white.

Read the rest at Playboy.com

Peace.

(Image Source: Bill Amberg.com)

There’s a certain lifestyle I hope to lead one day. A lifestyle I hope to achieve with hard-work and determination. On that day, I want the bag, including the carrying case WITH the bottle of Johnny Walker Blue Label, nicely packaged being presented to me by a beautiful woman.

According to the Bill Amberg Studio, there are only 350 BAGS!! being made. Give me a quick second while I check my credit limit on my credit card. I’m a big fan of men’s accessories and an even greater fan of Johnny Walker. This cosmic union of leather goods and aged spirits is sure to boost the personal stock of any man. Unfortunately, it might run you a couple G’s to buy in. If you have a coupon, let me know….

Peace.

]

I think would rather die than do this. This is absolutely ridiculous. I’ll take my chances with elements before grabbing a steaming pile of elephant dung and squeezing it’s contents in my mouth.

Hey all! I know it’s been kind of quiet lately on [E]lemental KC but it’s because I’ve been in Chicago living it up. I’m in the Windy on business and I had to take the opportunity this weekend to see and do things “Chicago-style.”

So, in the last 48 hours, I’ve had the pleasure of eating at a great restaurant. I went to Portillo’s (which is really called Barnelli’s Pasta Bowl) and had some Italian beef. Mmmm….mmm. For people that know me well or have just been around me enough, I have a tendency to describe incredible tasting food or dishes as pornographic. In the case of Portillo’s Italian beef sandwich WITH garadinara, it was a full on Roman orgy!! If the Food Network had a late-night adult movie it would feature this Italian beef sandwich.

Oh and that’s not the end of it.  My old friend, Lamon and his wife, were there with me and we decided to sample some of their desserts. Above is a picture of (seriously) the best tasting chocolate cake I’ve ever had and I’m not a big fan of chocolate cakes. Every cake that I’ve had up until this day was “too” something. Too dry, too sweet, too much frosting, too little frosting….stuff like that. Anyway, this delectible treat was just right and on the same pornographic level as the sandwich. You remember that scene in Matrix Reloaded when the Merovingian sent a cake to woman during his speech about cause and effect?

Anyway, if you are ever in the Chicago-area, stop by Portillo’s and get an Italian beef sandwich and piece of cake. Just make sure no one 18 and younger is around.

Peace.

So, if you haven’t heard yet, Public House is “closed for renovations.” Really, the pub lost it’s liquor license or “didn’t get it renewed.” What kind of establishment forgets to renew a liquor license?? Probably a place that has a problem with underage drinking…

Damn…now where am I going to kick it on Wednesday nights with a good happy hour special??  Suggestions?

Last night, Koncise and I did our usual Wednesday night happy hour at KC Public House. The spot was formerly W.J. McBrides but changed hands about year ago this March. Public House has a nice and comfortable atmosphere that’s complimented with a good wait staff. The front half of the pub has many high top tables and a hand full of big booths to relax in. A couple nights a week (Wednesday being one of them) Public House brings in a band to play music, or in my opinion, “Irish-flavored” music. Have you ever heard California Love played with an electric violin??

The back half of Public house is like any typical bar: pool tables, dart board, Golden Tee & Buck Shot, and a few TVs all around. One other unique thing Public House has is a small sitting room. Probably a little bigger than a college dorm room. This heated room has a table, a few chairs, and  large flat screen on the wall. I’ve seen people play XBox in there a couple times or the occasional couple that’s trying to get away and talk privately.

One of the reasons why KC Public House is the spot for us is because of the food and drink specials. Wednesday night they have $1 wells,  $1 PBR’s (which I’m not a fan of), and $2 domestic bottles. Not bad right? For less than $10 bucks, you can get pretty hammered. Everyday they have a great special, especially on Sunday where all drinks and appetizers are half off.

Check out KC Public House at

(913) 327-7717

www.kcpublic-house.com (I tried today and it seems they’re having troubles with the site)

Bosses!! I just came back from Blue Moose Mountain Grill in Leawood, KS. It’s a new, yet small bar and grill that DJ Koncise and I just visited. Between the two of us, we spent nearly $100.  The atmosphere is casual and comfortable. The spot seems to bring an older, desperate housewives type of crowd but can still be fun for the young, college aged crowd.

The Blue Moose in Leawood is owned by KC Hopps, LTD.  which also owns the Blue Moose in Prairie Village, 810 Zone, and few others. The food and drink specials are reasonable and the staff is very helpful.

Check it out! Blue Moose

[E]lemental KC is a new and forthcoming entertainment journal of all things happening in the Midwest.

The [E]lements:

[A] – Art

[Fs] – Fashion

[Fd] – Food

[M] – Music

[Pt] – Politics

[Sx] – Sex