Restaurant Review: bluestem

Feeling rather harried with work and home, and a bit blah in the creative writing area right now (probably also because of my oven-less home, which makes cooking and posting oh so much harder than usual), so I'm posting my review on our meal at Kansas City's bluestem, back in mid-February. Pics kinda suck (it's intimidating to whip out your camera in a place like that!), so apologies now. And luckily I wrote down this review a few days after our meal, otherwise I'd have serious trouble whipping this up from scratch right now!

First off, a few things about bluestem itself. Cody and Megan Garrelts, the co-owner chefs, come from Tru in Chicago. Their restaurant bluestem has garnered attention from several biggies – Food and Wine, James Beard Foundation, Wine Spectator. Some national newspapers (such as the Washington Post, San Francisco Gate, and NY Times) have taken note as well. Cody was named one of the best new chefs of 2005 by Food and Wine magazine, and then they honored Megan for her pastries in late 2006. That adorable food writer at the KC Star only gave it 3.5 stars, but then again… well, now is not the time to get into her misguided tastes (if bluestem put BBQ sauce on everything, it'd be automatic 5 star).

Bluestem has tons of accolades, and yet the place is so laid back. The sommelier and Megan take turns running the floor. Everyone there is excited to explain things on the menu. They treat every customer in their tiny, 14-table establishment as if they were the only customer in the place. And that alone is a reason for splurging on a meal here.

So, we make a reservation. We go to bluestem. They have this miniscule parking area behind the restaurant, we were lucky enough to get a spot there. We gave ourselves plenty of time to get to Westport, not sure on traffic, and ended up getting there 40 minutes before our reservation. Oopie. Lucky for us, the restaurant has a wine lounge. We checked in with the host/sommelier and made our way to the cooshy chairs and sofas in the bar area. Scott ordered a dirty martini and I got a Manhattan – my cocktail was dressed with imported Italian cherries rather than maraschinos. They were a dark ink-red, way way sweet and seriously tart. Already a good sign.

We finished our drinks and then were seated in the dining room. Immediately an amuse bouche was sent out - pineapple juice with strawberry foam(?). Yup, a shooter. I don't like pineapple juice, at all. This was good though, and the strawberry foam on top was insane – it tasted just like fresh strawberries, I swear you could even taste the seeds.

We ordered the five-course meal, which consisted of two "openers" and two entrees, plus dessert. We also sprang for the wine tasting menu - very glad we did this, not only cheaper than ordering a few glasses ourselves but also it didn't hurt to have the sommelier hand-choosing wines to match our courses. Scott got the wagyu tartare for his first course. I ordered the seafood chowder: crispy rock shrimp with fingerlings and pearl onions. They poured seafood puree over the shrimp et al. tableside, so the shrimp was still crispy in the soup. I've never had chowder like this before. Even though there was only shrimp in it, I tasted a million different kinds of seafood. The sommelier came with our wines, Scott had champagne and my chowder was paired with an Austrian Veltliner that was crisp and almost lemony.

Second course: Scott had the oxtail torchio, I had the foie gras. The foie gras was served torchon-style, with brioche French toast, kumquat jam, burnt honey drizzle, and sprinkled with pink peppercorns. Oh! The foie gras was cold and firm but melted in your mouth, and the sweet garnishes were perfect. The sommelier served a wine that I can't remember, embarrassingly enough – it wasn't the usual sauternes, but was similar. Sweet and tart and it complemented the foie gras well. That's the best I can remember. That foie gras was good, man. Scott's pasta was paired with an Argentinian Syrah.

Third course. I had Ahi tuna, with a ragout of winter veggies and a rock shrimp verjus fume. They poured the broth over my tuna tableside, and it turned into a creamy broth. Like magic! The tuna was just seared, my favorite way to have it. The tuna dish was very clean and fresh, the ragout and verjus did not take over the flavor of the meat which was awesome. The sommelier paired it with a nice pinot noir from Oregon, plum-y and thick and a good contrast to the freshness of the tuna.

Scott got the scallop dish – a big fat caramelized scallop sided by chanterelle mushrooms, cauliflower and huge chunks of braised bacon. He took his first bite and looked at me, all incredulous, and asked me why in the world I did not love scallops. Um, actually I'm allergic, I truly like the taste, but thanks for rubbing it in, my Darling. He said the smokey bacon and mushrooms were perfect with the shellfish. I'll take his word for it. It was paired with a Sonoma Chardonnay.

Fourth Course. I ordered the veal short ribs – the chef kept one small bone, and wrapped the meat around and around it. It was sided with turnips, fingerlings, and a horseradish devonshire. The meat was sooo good – rich and tender, like a huge veal cinnamon roll. Scott had the wagyu again, this time a striploin with smoked potato puree, tomato jam, and spinach croquettes.

We both were served the same wine, Hartwell cabernet sauvignon from Napa Valley. The sommelier left the bottle on the table for us. This sucker was almost pure Cab and very, very good - earthy, dark ruby color, strong berries. And soft tannins, which I enjoyed (not a fan of those rich-tannin wines, I'm a total red wine weenie). We looked this one up online later, because we loved it and wanted to buy some for home. Alas, it retails at about 100 bucks a bottle. Yeah, probably not buying that. Ever.

On to the wonderful desserts! There were so many choices – fruit flan with coconut shortbread? Banana fritter with graham cracker pound cake? Chocolate toffee tart? After much careful thought (obviously the most important part of the meal) I went with the chestnut cake and poached pears. It was served with a frozen chestnut rum parfait as well. The chestnut cake was hefty and moist with chunks of dried orange and cranberry. Yum. But Scott won out with dessert, as usual – he ordered the baked caramel apple, which came with gingerbread cake and pistachio ice cream. The gingerbread was to die for! I was insanely jealous. He had moscato with his dessert, I had port. We can't remember the names of them either, too much fancy schmancy wine at that point. Sorry! But both were sweet and went well with our desserts.

After all that, we were full, tired, and ready to take off. But oh no! Megan, the pastry chef, sent out champagne floats for us before we left for the evening. Loved it – they were fizzy and sweet. So simple and perfect. How we found room to gulp them down is beyond me.

We ran into Megan at the hostess desk when we were leaving, and thanked her profusely (foodie nerds). And off we went, back to Lawrence and straight to bed. But man – best meal evah. That bluestem knows what it's doing. Scott and I have decided – if we cut back on spending, don't eat out as often as we're used to, we can swing this kind of outing about once every few months. Pretty tempting.

Review: Free State Beer Banquet 2007

Ya know, it's just one of those weeks. I feel like I'm going a million miles an hour and pulled in eighteen different directions. Not like that's necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean I'm light on blog updates. No time to cook new and exciting recipes, let alone post them on the blog!

So instead, you get a recap. Last night we attended the Left Hand Brewery Beer Dinner at the Eldridge Hotel (held in the same ballroom where Hubs and I got married, how sweet!). No I didn't get any pics, although I wish I had because whew, those were some great beers paired with awesome food. The Eldridge staff never disappoints, that's for sure. The third course was a sticky braised short rib with roasted baby porcinis and a Maytag cream sauce. Mmmmmm.

Anyhoo, if I was just going to rehash an old post from my old blog, I thought this Restaurant Review would be perfect. Without further ado, my review of the 2007 Free State Beer Banquet.

Oh and P.S.: sorry for the crappy shots, my camera was dying and the flash was a nightmare in that place...


Free State Beer Banquet, 2007


First, a little background. Free State Brewery in Lawrence has an annual Beer Banquet to celebrate the brewery's birthday, and we've been lucky enough to attend for 6 years. Free State is a consistently good restaurant anyway, but they bring it all out for the annual banquet: Four courses plus an intermezzo, with all courses matched to hard-to-find brews. They throw a few of their own special brews in there as well; it's three hours of wonderful beer, great food, and lots of fun. Tickets sell out in a day: People come in from all over (JoCo, KC, Hays, we even met a retired couple from GA who RVs here in the winter for the Beer Banquet) and there's only 40 people allowed per night (over 3 evenings), so you need to be quick to get a seat.

This year it was all Belgian beers, a repeat theme from a few years ago but with different brews. Each table seats about six, and when seated you find a bin of ice filled with your beers for the evening (and pitchers for the Free State originals). There are generally 1-2 beers with a matching course, about 8 beers total. We tried to sit with friends this year but were separated, instead sat with two retired Air Traffic Controllers and their wives. A very fun bunch! You always meet the most interesting people at this thing.

On to the Banquet! First off: Dulle Teve and Pomme Lambic beers, the first a tart/sour Tripel-style beer and the second tasting EXACTLY like green apple cider . They were paired with a chicken liver mousse, served with microgreens, smokey bacon, toasted country wheat bread, and a molasses malt reduction. Very yummy! A bit of a secret: I absolutely adore liver and onions. My dad used to make it occasionally for me and Beah when we were younger and still living at home, we'd gobble it up. This liver was just as good, and the beers delicious too. Great match.

Second course was the salad: Frisse and arugula with coriander oil, tamari shitake relish, dried fruit, and smoked pistachios. Not bad, but my goodness: Salty! I think it was the tamari. Anyhoo, served with Duvel. I've had this before and forgot how good it was, a perfume-y light brew, very crisp. Didn't really cut through the salt though. Gah, that salad was salty.

Time for two more beers, La Chouffe and Free State's own Double Gold (a special batch of Wheat fermented with Belgian yeast, aged since 2005). I had the La Chouffe at my first beer banquet and it's yummy, a hint of coriander and very light. The Double Gold was strong (wooooo!) and also very good. Both beers were followed by the intermezzo, a peach-ginger sorbet with rosemary and black pepper. Hubs thought it was odd but I liked it, except the black pepper was fresh-ground so there were some big chunks. If you skipped them though you were fine. It was refreshing and spicy. Loved it.

On to the entrée and beer! The beer was McChouffe, the dark counterpart to La Chouffe. You could taste molasses and fruit. The entrée was pork tenderloin with a porcini/ancho crust and Mexican cocoa demi-glace. Served with wilted greens and celery root custard (like mashed potatoes), all with organic orange coulis. Oh, yum. The pork was tender but crispy outside; the sauces were both perfect with it. I absolutely loved the celery root, so much flavor. My second-favorite of the night (see dessert below).

And finally, on to the dessert course. Two beers, Gouden Carolus Classic and Free State's Chocolate Porter. The Gouden was a strong Belgian, hints of raisins. The Chocolate Porter was very nutty with a chocolate base (it's brewed with cocoa nibs). Mmmmm, my favorite kind of beer. The dessert, my goodness: Tart cherry bread pudding with a pilsner crème anglaise, mascarpone ice cream, and green tea syrup. Sprinkled with "vanilla caviar". I gobbled this down, even on a diet but man I demolished it. I love fresh cherries and this was soooo good with whole tart cherries and the right bread pudding consistency and the cold creamy mascarpone. The green tea syrup was a surprise but worked well with the dish. If Free State added this to the menu, I'd order it every time we went there (which is often).

What an awesome meal. We left and met back up with friends, for a nightcap at The Bourgeois Pig. Then off to bed for us, as it was late. Again: if you ever come across the Beer Banquet, you must go.