Posts Tagged ‘travels’

We all have dreams. Big or small, short term or long.. but they’re there.  Many of my current dreams reside on a list of places I long to eat before I die. And although they span the world, from Napa to New York to Paris to the Costa Brava… one of them is also right here in my hometown of Kansas City: a little restaurant called “bluestem.”

bluestem has become a nationally recognized restaurant esteemed for its progressive American cuisine, superb desserts, meticulous plating, and overall impressive food. Tons of amazing reviews, James Beard awards and the like, it’s reputation is pretty damn perfect. And every sample menu I’ve ever read and picture I’ve ever seen has had me salivating with hope. But timing and budget never worked in my favor in the ability to finally dine there.

Thankfully this past Tuesday, through the amazing generosity of one of my closest friends, I was finally able to go. And it was everything I thought it would be.

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When I flew out to see my friend Travis in California a few years ago, he picked me up from the airport with his girlfriend and told me flat out: “Okay, we have to stop at In-N-Out before we head home. You need to experience it.” I honestly had no idea what In-N-Out was at the time… and then I was enlightened. And addicted. And lived in the Midwest. If you haven’t heard of the cult of In-N-Out yet, it’s pretty simple: perfect, simple burgers, fries and shakes, done really, really well. I mean… really well.  Like the best fast food burger you’ll ever have well.

I know a lot of people knock fast food and the evils of it and blah blah blah McDonalds breakfast will kill you. But I stand firm when I say it’s all about the production of the product which causes the bad rap. If every restaurant did what In-N-Out does, I think we’d all be singing a different tune. Yes, it’s high in calories and fat because they’re still burgers and fries, but guess what, that organic pizza or locally raised beef you’re eating? Probably has the same calories.

No freezers, no heat lamps, freshly ground beef from their own cattle, hand leafed lettuce, freshly baked buns … I mean the list goes on and on of why this place rocks. And although I now live in Colorado and only get In-N-Out when I’m lucky (oddly enough today is Friday the 13th – go figure), I still make sure to grab an Animal style cheeseburger, fries, and Neapolitan shake whenever I can.

I’ll be out of town the rest of the week to spend some time in Tucson, AZ for a publisher’s conference until Sunday. The thing I’m looking forward to most? This masterpiece will be less than 5 blocks from where we’re staying:

Oh In-N-Out, how I’ve missed you.

I’ll post pics of places we eat while there (as usual) and although I imagine most things will be “animal style,” I’m sure we’ll have some other things along the way.

See you guys Sunday!

This past weekend I went home to celebrate my mother’s birthday and have a mini vacation to celebrate autumn in Kansas City, one of my favorite things in the entire world.  I went to the Andy Warhol exhibit at Union Station, Pierpont’s for lunch, the KC Renaissance Festival (in full garb as my sisters and I used to work there), Vaughn’s Apple Orchard, Weston Red Barn Farm, and made butternut squash soup plus baked apples with vanilla ice cream for dessert. A whirlwind weekend, but perfect from beginning to end.

Each time I visit Chicago it always gets easier to navigate, and harder to leave.  This time around I felt like I breezed through the city, rarely needing to look at street signs, instead merely following familiar paths and my gut.  I’d like to say if I lived there it would lose its novelty, but well, I have lived there and can categorically say it’s my favorite city in the US and my heart aches a little every time I leave.

I spent my first night with my aunt in Geneva, a western suburb where we had tacos and margaritas at Bien Trucha, a new hot spot in her town.  Then it was off to downtown with Melissa where we stayed in the theatre district, got to attend “An Evening With Kevin Smith” after pining for it for over 5 years, have one of the best hamburgers in my life at David Burke’s Primehouse, and once again have some of my favorite French-Vietnamese food at Le Colonial, an old favorite 2 blocks from where I used to live.