the tunnel

FOR THE LOVE OF KANSAS CITY

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Where are we?

It was my first time to this spot, but it wasn't a secret by any means. We saw plenty of pedestrians, 

cyclists and city workers when were there that day. Love all the different patinas and geometry.

Leave your answer in the comments section below or

send us a message via facebook or twitter @ELoungeKC.

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This is The Town of Kansas Bridge. Everyone was super close, answering in the near vicinity.

David of The Hospitality Formula Network was exact, but since he won last time, we're spreading the love. We'd like to thank David for giving us a short history of the importance of the bridge. You can see more photos and read about it here. Erin Root answered first on facebook and beat streeturchin by five minutes. Erin, don't forget to send us your address. Thanks for playing everyone!

photos by Linh Trieu

pig roast

Julian

Kansas City, Missouri

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We were burning some time on twitter a few weeks ago when we saw chef Celina Tio tweet about a pig roast. So we ditched our plans and headed to Brookside to check out this whole delicious piggy instead. It takes a couple of strong men to unload this hot sucker out of the roasting box and it smelled amazing. Thanks Chef for giving us a taste, it was utterly moist, heavenly goodness. You can find out about more pig roasts and other Celina Tio news here, here or here. 

jorge t.

Jorge T. | Server

Carmen's Cafe

Years of Industry Service: 15

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Jorge has one of those deep, intriguing voices that make you bend your head a bit and just listen. But that wasn't always so. "When I was younger, they thought I was a girl on the phone, my voice changed in high school." Born in Mexico City, Jorge emigrated to the United State 20 years ago. He has always worked for independent restaurants and throughout, he has also put his distinctive voice to good use as a radio deejay. Jorge is the host of Breaking Thru Darkness, a Spanish broadcast, on local community station KKFI 90.1 FM (Tuesday nights from 9:30-midnight). "It's a great business," he says. "I love being on the radio, it's one of the best jobs I've ever had." It's a bi-lingual show; he chooses the music and the program and puts together a lineup showcasing a lot of different countries. Jorge is very involved in the Latin community.

  Make KC Better » Generally, KC is good. I would like to see more events for the Latino community, to get more involved. It's a big city. 

koji

Koji | Sushi Chef

Nara

Years of Industry Service: 23

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Koji's entrée into the kitchen was as a dishwasher, but he had always wanted to be a chef. His grandmother was a chef. His father and aunt were chefs. And now his son wants to be a chef. "My grandmother taught me that I should always do something with my hands, a skill."

Koji was born in Los Angeles but raised in Japan by his grandparents, from the time he was eight-years-old until he turned eighteen.  He met his bartender wife, Nina, at Kabuki in Crown Center; they've been married for 18 years and have four children. At home, he cooks Japanese home food. His time off is spent sleeping, drinking, chasing the kids and watching movies.

Koji and the entire sushi staff at Nara have some of the most beautiful food presentation you will ever see. He says owner Casey Adams gives them the freedom to be artists. "He lets me do what I want to do, to be creative and he gives us the stage to perform. A lot of guys like to work here for that reason."

  Make KC Better » More local stuff. 

Link Love for the Weekend

Images and cocktails by Anvil bartender/photographer Alex Gregg. See more of his
cocktail photos here. All images used with permission from Alex. Thank you!

A super cool summer cocktail menu inspired by the South. Love the

design and illustrations too. You can read the story behind the menu here.
Kerry Grubb, you're the closest. Go tell us how it is!
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A thoughtful, poignant look at the end of life.
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Can you share a pillow with someone like this?
Or do you need your own space? via Bloesem
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Watermelon-Strawberry Gazpacho Soup??? Whoa.
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These vintage mugshots from the 1960s are so great,
but unfortunately completely sold out.

Click through to see all of them.
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Can't you see this bed hanging from your favorite porch?
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This looks like a healthy, filling, delicious salad.
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For the ladies, how to rag roll your hair for beautiful curls.
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Eat together more often? That's a great manifesto. Say hello to Kinfolk.
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Great ad copy for Avis. Being number two isn't so bad!

diego

Diego | Manager

Nara

Years of Industry Service: 18

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Diego was three years into his business administration degree in San Sebastienne, Spain when he decided to leave it all behind and begin his life adventure. He traveled around Europe for a while, then headed to South America (Argentina, Chile, Mexico) and finally to the United States. He went from the West Coast, San Francisco, to the East Coast, New York, and ended up smack dab in the middle. No matter where he went, he always found work in restaurants. "It was the only way to make money."

Now firmly established in Kansas City, Diego is married and has a 5-month-old son named Iker. It's a Basque name meaning "bringing good news." His wife, who we met when they worked together at the former Mi Cocina on the Plaza, is from Peru. In his free time, Diego likes to ride his motorcycle, go to the movies, and "I like to spend time with my baby boy."

Barcelona is the best place he's ever lived. In the future, he'd like to head back home.

He says, "It's hard without your family."

  Make KC Better » More restaurants need to recycle. 

Bastille Day

Bastille Day

Westport Café & Bar // Kansas City, Missouri

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Aaron at Westport Cafe & Bar really knows how to throw a party. There were tons of cute girls in the cutest dresses. The guys weren't so bad either, all impeccably dressed. Loved all the red, white and blue, the fun stripes and berets. Cocktails were perfect, every table was full, and the crowd was lively. We had a seat at the bar and just watched and watched, and drank and drank. It was a super great party.

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This server was adorable. He working and dancing and having a great time doing his job.

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Westport Café bartender Stan, off duty. With a friend on the left and a co-worker on the right.

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Hilary, Paul & Winifred. The girls are from The Rieger. Paul is a photographer.

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See what I mean about the cute girls?! Chelsea looking beautiful on the left and the girl on the right had a wonderful, exotic name I can't remember! I thought she looked like a gorgeous, young Brooke Shields.

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The boys behind the bar: Joel & Bronson.

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Major Brands liquor rep Adrian with Westport Café owner Aaron. I met Adrian for the first time and he was hilarious. He was playfully flirting with one of the girls but I think he scared the daylights out of her. 

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Just a group of hotties. The blond in the middle had on the best outfit, a wide striped red and white shirt with light blue trousers. Chic and fabulous.

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Just a closeup of all the great details. Everyone seriously looked so good.

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Aviation, $8

Gin, Luxardo, Lemon Juice, Creme de Violette

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Mussels with Blue Cheese and Bacon, $11

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Champagne in coupe glasses. So what do you think? Breastacular?

Photos by Linh Trieu

raymond c.

Raymond C. | Bartender

Carmen's Cafe

Years of Industry Service: 5

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Raymond, a transplant from Dallas, Texas, didn't start his service industry career until he came to Kansas City. He actually moved north for college, first arriving Atchison, Kansas to attend Benedictine College. But coming from big city Dallas to itty bitty city Atchison was a tough transition for Raymond, so he hightailed it to Kansas City. Now, a resident of Waldo and recent graduate of the University of Missouri, Kansas City, he is getting ready for grad school. "I'm not ready for a real job," he says. 

Raymond just started bartending a year ago. "I was serving for four years and drinking heavily in between and that's what got me into this." Now, he has a huge bar at home and he wants to enter this year's GKCBC. "I went last year and said, that's what I want to do." At Carmen's however, he doesn't have the luxury of making time-intensive cocktails. "I'm not in that industry. I gotta make them delicious and pump them out quick." Raymond's liquor of choice is bourbon, neat or on the rocks. 

School and eventually his "real job" will all be a means to an end for Raymond. One day, he'd like to own his own restaurant. "I'm a good cook and make even better cocktails," he says. Confidence and a clear goal for the future, that sounds like a good start to us.

  Make KC Better » I would like to see a light rail here. 

Congrats Lindsay!

June Employee of the Month

Lindsay L. // Fresher than Fresh Snow Cones

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It was a closer race this month. Lindsay always had the lead, but Emily was right behind her. Jess K. and her fans brought in a lot of votes towards the second half of the week. Unfortunately for Jess C., I think she was on vacation watching her beloved U2 during the contest. Congratulations Lindsay and good job on getting your peeps to vote! A big, big, big thank you to the restaurants providing gift certificates to our June Employee of the Month. Lindsay will be receiving four $25 gift certificates, one from each of the following restaurants:

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Visit Extra Virgin 

Visit The Rieger

Visit Westport Café and Bar

Visit Tannin Wine Bar & Kitchen 

beau w.

Beau W. | General Manager/Lead Bartender

Manifesto

Years of Industry Service: 14

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Beau is a smart ass. He is kinda funny, but he has also pushed people's digital buttons the wrong way, and those people, they don't think he's funny at all. Beau writes many of the posts for Manifesto's facebook page; every once in a while, someone out there will not get his sense of humor. "I'm a cheese dick. I learned it all from my little brother. My dad's the worst." And he means that in a good way, because no matter who else is laughing along with you, your family can be cheesy and totally hilarious at the same time. "When people get pissed, it's usually me," he says. "We take ourselves pretty lightly."

Some days, Beau often ends up spending more time in the prep kitchen than behind the bar. When he's out front, he'll be in his vested bartender finery, but prepping all those ingredients for Manifesto's intense cocktail menu requires more casual gear. He has to keep dry cleaning costs in mind when he's doing the grunt work of course.

An award-winning cocktail whiz, he has also been instrumental in growing Kansas City's cocktail scene. This year, he will be one of the judges at the Fifth Annual Greater Kansas City Bartending Competition and he's part of the team coordinating the event. A recent semi-finalist at the Domaine de Canton cocktail competition, Beau said he competed on a 6-foot table and even had to bring his own booze. "We spoil the contestants here in KC," he said. "We do a really good job of staying organized and putting it together." They also take the audience into account, adding entertainment, tasting tables and voting by text message to create an interactive experience. Find out more about the GKCBC here.

Recently, Beau went to Westport Cafe & Bar and asked for a Martinez. "The bartender knew exactly how to make it and it was fucking awesome," he says. But for all the cocktail passion, at the end of the day, it's about having fun and enjoying yourself. "Who gives a shit if you're not having a good time?"

More wedding bells to add to the blog: Beau asked his girlfriend Keely to marry him a few weeks ago. Congratulations!

  Make KC Better » I wish it was more condensed. We have the unique opportunity to make this city really cool. Less red tape for regulated industries. Improved infrastructure. 

Beef (and Fish), It's for Lunch!

Starker's

Kansas City, Missouri

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My friend texted me the other day and said, please tell me you are free for lunch tomorrow. And you know what, I work from home, so yeah, I can be free from time to time. She was having a bad day, or from her perspective, a bad year altogether, and she needed a time out. So I suggested we have lunch at Starker's. We sat by the window, I shared my most memorable poop story to make her laugh and we had a nice lunch together as we people-watched, peering down at all the hot, sweaty people walking around the Plaza while we were nice and cold upstairs. 

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Steak Tartare, $10

This French classic is a favorite of mine. How perfect is that egg?

Chopped filet mignon with shallot, caper, extra virgin olive oil,

Campo Lindo egg, and fingerling potato chips.

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Bookbinder Soup, $6

Our server added the sherry tableside!

Starker's classic soup with steamed fish in rich sherry broth.

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Burger, $9

Do not order this burger medium-well or well...or else it will be over for the cheese curds.

Freshly ground burger stuffed with brown sugar bacon and Shatto Dairy

cheddar cheese curds, housemade pickles, lettuce, onion and fries.

Photos by Linh Trieu