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.

The place is small and cozy, but not suffocating. The swanky and comfortable lounge out front played Yeah Yeah Yeahs and serves tasty bar snacks and small plates. You pass through a door to enter the more posh and white table-cloth lined formal dining room. Servers in all black moved quietly and gracefully from table to table like dark swans, and the general manager would join the troupe once every few minutes to replace a water bottle or refill a wine glass (a lovely touch).

(please pardon the blurriness of most of the photos – I refused to use the flash so they’re not the best)

We went for the 5 course menu, and started with cocktails. I ordered a Pimm’s cup, which I was delighted to see served with a cucumber garnish – the correct way to make it, which rarely happens. John Lund went for a “le provence” – a bubbly and citrusy champagne-based house cocktail. And then, the food began.

One of the best (and smallest) bites of the night was the amouse bouche, a gumdrop-sized smoked salmon panna cotta with 3 pearls of salmon roe and a microscopic piece of chervil served on a polished silver Chinese soup spoon. It was so smooth, so concentrated in smoked salmon flavor, I was in heaven.

Then came the first course. I’ll only detail my own because I didn’t try all of my dining partner’s. I had the foie gras, which was a small, but luscious disk of fois, served alongside warm toast points, a preserve of cherries and figs, and a tiny square of chardonnay gelee (jell-o). It was rich and yet light, and the cherries and figs with the fois was so perfectly classical and winterish, it set the entire mood for the dinner perfectly.

Next was my pasta. Al ceppo (long, tubular pasta, not unlike a cinnamon stick shape) with homemade berkshire pork sausage and fried sundried tomatoes. I am drooling just typing that. The sausage was so pungent, so amazingly aromatic, I cannot begin to describe it. I felt like I was eating perfect anise perfume as I devoured it, with the delicious homemade pasta and wonderfully texturally contrasting “garlic crumbles” (sort of like very fine garlic breadcrumbs). Fantastic.

And then arrived the single best dish I have ever had in my entire life. No, I’m not joking. I almost didn’t order it because scallops can be so touch and go, but it sounded so good I couldn’t resist. A plump, perfectly cooked scallop on top of a melt-in-your-mouth perfect piece of braised bacon. Nestled in a brown butter sauce alongside caramelized cauliflower and pickled red cabbage… if only you could understand the unbelievable balance of the fatty scallop and bacon with the bitter cabbage and rich butter… every bite went back and forth and finally completed in the most perfect balance of salty, sweet, rich, pungent, smooth, slightly crunchy… it just hit every base. Perfectly. I could have died and gone to heaven with that plate.

My final main was delicious, but frankly overshadowed by visions of scallops and bacon in my head. Still, perfectly cooked med-rare duck breast, duck red wine jus, heirloom beans, white radishes and parsnips… it was so reminiscent of a delicious English roast, and alongside some fabulous red wine, it was a delightful wrap-up for the savory section of the meal.

So, sitting there, so happy I wore a skirt with and elastic waist… along comes dessert, which I always save room for. And ohh my goodness, am I glad I did.

A small peppermint panna cotta topped with milk chocolate ice cream, sitting in a pool of warm cocoa with homemade tiny square vanilla marshmallows, and cocoa nibs. The smell was intoxicating and every bite was like eating a peppermint bark square melted in a cup of the most perfect hot chocolate ever. I wanted to literally tip the bowl and drink it towards the end, but I resisted.

And it never ends… after our dessert plates were cleared and I was sipping my coffee (a custom roast from The Roasterie – natch!), our server came by with a 3-tiered tray of after dinner truffles and treats. I opted for the dark chocolate in cocoa and chocolate-caramel in raw sugar. The latter of the two was the second best bite of the entire evening. My eyes rolled back and everything went silent in my head as it dissolved on my tongue. Just. pure. bliss. And it was simple as that.

Grinning ear to ear as we left, I thanked my friend over and over for making my dream come true, and then thanked the manager for doing the same. Now I can happily cross it off my list and honestly say it’s the best meal of my life… so far.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: travels

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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.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: burger, favorite, indulge, travels

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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!

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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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.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: apples, autumn, dessert, savory, seafood, soup, travels

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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.

© Jessica J. for jonesing for..., 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: travels

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