123580 Thu Dec 16 09:47:04 -0800 2004 7 8 Midwest 0 671295 Hello Hounds, My company is in the process of planning a VIP event in Kansas City in early January. I'm trying to get a grip on the local food scene...that is, what's REALLY good, what places people really like, and also any regional specialties and where to get them. I've read some past posts, and have come up with some places that keep coming up (American, Zin, Pierpont's, Bluestem, Lidia's,) but realize I don't have an exhaustive list. Also, other than barbecue (LC and Arthur Bryant's keep coming up...what about Gates?) are there any other local specialties to be aware of? How about local beers? Any input would be greatly appreciated...it's harder than one would think to really figure out a city's food scene without spending some time there. thanks so much! micah Thu Dec 16 09:47:04 -0800 2004 0 micah 1 671296 Quick response: 1. Fried Chicken / Stroud's 2. Steak / Jess & Jim's 3. Beer / Boulevard Brewing Thu Dec 16 10:52:16 -0800 2004 671295 0 BChow 1 671297 While I don't have a link to a specific post handy, if you do a search on a lot of what KC-Jane has posted on the board, you'll find some pretty detailed and comprehensive lists of KC restaurants. That should cover a lot of what you need for regional/BBQ and ethnic cuisines. As far as planning a VIP event next month, I think most of your top tier restaurants have space to accomodate private parties. Two that I have very positive recent experience with would be Capital Grille and Lidia's. While it's not a true KC restaurant, and it's what I consider pretty expensive, I've had a GREAT time in their private dining rooms. They are good about working with you. The upstairs loft at Lidia's is a great place with a wonderful view, and can be rented for private parties as well. I believe they have set menus to choose from for those events, but I'm sure they'd work with you on any special requests. A couple of places to inquire about parties that just pop into my mind for some reason are Starker's Reserve and Savoy Grill. Haven't checked out Starker's yet, but in the past six months or so it has gotten some good feedback on here. And the Savoy is just a classic, with plenty of dining rooms to accomodate larger parties. I can't think of a place that's more "Kansas City". Jerry Thu Dec 16 11:14:13 -0800 2004 671295 0 Zeemanb 1 671298 Strouds up north is a unique place to entertain. Old country atmosphere and the food is served family style. Fried chicken is their specialty but the pork chops and giant fried shrimp are outstanding. They have rooms to accomidate groups of people. It is just different than the high end places. More of a fun atmosphere. When I have entertained out of town clients there I always get long lasting positive feedback. Thu Dec 16 13:22:09 -0800 2004 671295 0 gbillyl 1 671299 Hi, Micah - It might be helpful to know which days of the week your group will be in Kansas City, how many people are expected, and where the group will be staying. Also, will you be arranging private bus transportation to various venues or will people rely on taxis and rental cars to get there? Zeemanb and BChow have already given some good suggestions, but I can't resist the opportunity to jump in, too. :) Boulevard Brewery used to have Saturday tours and tastings. I believe they still do and may be able to make arrangements for other days of the week, too. Also, they've been known to allow groups to have private parties in their plant in the evening in the past. Don't know about their policies now, but I've been to a few in the past. Caterers bring in food. It's best suited for finger foods and appetizers as there's really no sit-down tables available. Don't know if they can be brought in or not. 75th Street Brewery (75th Street, west of Wornall Rd) is a brewpub with beer made on site. They have an upstairs private dining area overlooking the dining room. Sit-down service can accommodate maybe 30-40 while standup appetizer buffet can handle maybe up to 70-80. LC's is generally regarded as nearly the best barbecue in town, but the venue is very small and isn't really suitable to a large group coming in. There's certainly no private room. Don't know if they cater or not. I'm just not particularly a fan of Gates nor Arthur Bryant's myself. Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue has a private room on the east end of their venue near Union Station. They also have two rooms that can be used for private parties at their location at 135th & Holmes. Their 135th Street location is more rustic while their Freight House location is more sophisticated. Jess & Jim's Steak House is also way south at 135th & Holmes area. They do a good job for groups. But if you want to remain closer to the heart of the city, try Golden Ox in the historic stockyards area (please note, there is no longer an active stockyard there). They have several private rooms upstairs and the place is a kick. For fine dining, I second the recommendations of The Savoy (downtown), The American (Crown Center) and Starker's Private Reserve (on the Plaza). I'll also add in JJ's (just west of the Plaza). They have a private room that can accommodate maybe 25-40. Both JJ's and Starker's are on Wine Spectator's list of top 100 wine restaurants in the world so the wine is exquisite. Jimmy Frantze, the owner of JJ's, also owns Frondizi's (Italian) on Main Street just east of the Plaza. Frondizi's has a private room upstairs and also has a fine wine selection. For other Italian, Jasper's (103rd & State Line) has a small private dining area, perhaps accommodating up to 16-20 people and superb food. Jasper Jr. has been guest chef at the James Beard House several times. I'm not sure if Garozzo's Ristorante (Italian) has room for private groups or not, but it certainly is a Kansas City classic (at least the one down by 5th & Harrison is!). Stroud's is a must for homey fried chicken and lots of it. The 85th & Troost location may be a little small for a big group but it's the one most folks think of when they think Stroud's -- funky old shanty. Their northland location feels larger and I know they've had private parties there in the past. The views out over a pond and rolling hills is nice. Pity you aren't coming during warm weather months as they have a terrific screened-in patio next to the pond for private parties. I'd tend to avoid Capital Grille and Lidia's only because they aren't homegrown restaurants, though Lidia's does have the appeal of Lidia's celebrity status and they certainly do a good job. If this is a fun times junket and time can be afforded, it might be pleasant to arrange late afternoon tours at the Jazz Museum and Negro League Baseball Museum, followed by dinner at The Peach Tree (soul food), and then an evening of live jazz at the Blue Room (a smoke-free room). All are within walking distance of each other in the historic 18th & Vine area. Oh, and if you're putting together gift bags of Kansas City memorabilia for the attendees, you might contact The Best of Kansas City for gift baskets or bags. Certainly there are many things native to KC that will make terrific mementos for your group: a selection of barbecue sauces from various joints around town, The Kansas City Barbecue Society Cookbook (or other barbecue cookbooks specific to KC from KC's own Pig Out Publications), chocolate from Annedore's Fine Chocolates and Andre's Suiss Confisserie, povatica (fabulous Croatian nut bread) from Strawberry Hill, Velvet Creme popcorn, sampler bags of coffee from The Roasterie, Hallmark items, and more. Let us know if we can be of any further help to you. And you know, you're now obligated to give us a full report of your dining experiences once the event is over. :) Thu Dec 16 14:02:44 -0800 2004 671295 0 KC-Jane 2 671300 Wow...thanks for all of the responses! We're actually doing the event at a hotel, but we're looking to do catering, and possibly demos by celebrity chefs. We may be hosting an "upscale tailgate party" as well, where we'll bring in the beer and barbecue. You all have given me some GREAT places to start...one other thing...anyone know who the best caterer in town is, if we need someone to do breakfasts and other things like that that the restaurants may not want to deal with? Thanks again...you all are the best! micah Thu Dec 16 14:24:08 -0800 2004 671299 0 micah 3 671301 I tend to generally avoid stating something is “the best blah blah blah” ‘cause everyone has his/her own opinion. There certainly are many good caterers in town but I’m currently kind of out of the loop about who’s who. Lou Jane Temple used to do a lot of catering but I don’t know if she is any more. She ran a trendy funky cutting-edge café (Café Lulu) for several years and then went on to writing and catering. She wrote culinary mysteries and contributed to many quality cookbooks and culinary magazines. Her new cookbook – The Big Platter Cookbook : Cooking and Entertaining Family Style – was just released this fall. That might be a fun theme for a celebrity cooking demo AND a meal! And Lou Jane is a real hoot, too! Very comfortable with people, draws them out, and teaches a lot of neat things. As far as a venue for such an event, you might look into the Culinary Center of Kansas City in Overland Park. A bus trip there might be fun for your group. It’s not a restaurant but a fabulous demo/teaching facility that offers private events and team building experiences. They even have a private area where your VIPs can convene for a brief meeting while their spouses/partners take in a cooking demo. Then there’s a great huge dining table where the feast can be consumed. The Culinary Center folks would know how to get a hold of Lou Jane and if they don’t, try the folks at Pig Out Publications. Paul Kirk (Paul Kirk's Championship Barbecue Sauces: 175 Make-Your-Own Sauces, Marinades, Dry Rubs, Wet Rubs, Mops and Salsas) has also done events at the Culinary Center. He’s one of Kansas City’s barbecue treasures and a very funny guy. The Culinary Center has a state of the art barbecue facility. If you’d be using him at the Culinary Center, they would contact him for you. Otherwise, you might be able to track him down through Bichelmeyer Meats. He’d be fun for a tailgate party. So would the KC ‘Que Queens (contact Karen Adler at Pig Out Publications). They’re a riot and have so much fun doing demos. We’ve also got some barbecue competitors who are active on this forum. They may have ideas for you, too, for the tailgate party. Jasper Mirabile from Jasper’s (Italian) has done events at the Culinary Center, too, and I think he’s also done them at his own restaurant. Arcadian Event Site & Catering in Overland Park might also be of some help to you. Thu Dec 16 16:02:52 -0800 2004 671300 0 KC-Jane 3 671332 Fiorella's Jack Stack has catered tailgates for my company and they do a good job. The Central Exchange also caters but I don't think of them as being "tailgate" kind of catering. In any case, they might be a good contact for you (URL attached) Paul Kirk's website is www.baron-of-bbq.com Boulevard Brewery is a local treasure and they try hard to work with groups around scheduling. While KCJane's "sit down" comment was true, they do have a tasting room that overlooks the actual production floor and they sell some fun logo merchandise that would also be good for gift bags/take aways. I typically go for local-only as well, but Lidia's is a beautiful space, the food is great and reasonable, they have a cozy loft area for parties. The Exec Chef and Chef de Cuisine are local/regional (rather than coming from NYC) so I give them partial credit for that. One other note...40 Sardines has a lovely multi-media teaching and demo kitchen adjacent to the restaurant. That would certainly fulfill your celeb chef demo wish, as Michael & Debbie are James Beard winners but quite humble and personable. Their manager and "wine freak" (as they call him...he's not really freaky), Ryan Sciara, is very gracious and accomodating as well. www.40sardines.com Link: http://www.centralexchange.org/catering.html Sat Dec 18 17:23:12 -0800 2004 671300 0 squirrel