Reading Nook

FOR THE LOVE OF KANSAS CITY

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Where are we?

What restaurant keeps a wonderful magazine collection in its dining room? 

 Don't forget to check here for last week's answer and winner.

Leave your answer in the comments section below or

send us a message via facebook or twitter @ELoungeKC.

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Josh goes to a lot of bars and he recognized this one immediately.

Aaron of Westport Cafe & Bar keeps an awesome magazine collection.

I've read some, "borrowed" some and brought some in to replace

the ones I took. Josh, I will be by First Friday to bring you something!

Photo by Linh Trieu

Peak Performance Update

Peak Performance for PDSA
I just wanted to share a quick news clip of Lance and Jacob talking about PDSA and ITP.
Our goal was to raise $50,000. I am proud to report that we met and exceeded that goal by
over $30,000. The amount below is what was donated to PDSA after expenses.
You can read our original post about Peak Performance here.

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$82,657.57
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I would once again like to thank our restaurant
and wine and liquor sponsors for their support:

La Bodega
Healthy Meals
The Capital Grille
Tannin Wine Bar & Kitchen
The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange
Major Brands
Cellar Selections

brenda e.

Brenda E. | Salon Coordinator

Chop Tops

Service Industry Detour

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Before Brenda stood behind the desk booking appointments at greeting guests at Chop Tops, a salon on 39th Street, she was sitting was sitting in one of the stylist chairs as a customer. They needed someone; she did it because she likes all the girls at the shop and "it's a sweet job." A student in x-ray technology, Brenda will be graduating in May. She says, "It's kinda nerdy and satisfies my need to not be broke, do something with people and makes me think."

Originally from Puerto Rico, Brenda lived in Florida for eight years before moving to Kansas City three years ago. She says she loves Kansas City. "It's really easy to make friends here. I think I'm going to stay a while." She likes going to shows when she's not studying or working: Adam Lee & the Dead Horse Sound Company, Whiskey Breath and other local honky tonk bands. Brenda's tattoos are the work of Cory Farago.

  Make KC Better » It would be good to see more people out to see shows. For people to support art and music. More person to person community building. 

jimmy s.

Jimmy S. | Manager

The Classic Cup

Years of Industry Service: 10+

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Since Jimmy became a father twice over in the last few years, going to "local, hip bars" has become a thing of the past. Although most nights he goes home after work to be with his family, he still tries to visit old favorites like McCoy's, The Union, Record Bar, Harry's and the now defunct Gusto and Ledger. Jimmy says he has a "pimp record collection" and plays the trumpet and guitar. He was once in a band called 30 Minute Recess and they played "shitty music from the 90s."

A former Volker resident, Jimmy and his family now live in Roeland Park, Kansas. He loves Kansas City, especially Midtown and says, "I used to have a lot of awesome parties." Before he became a manager at The Classic Cup, he was a breakfast/lunch server. He admitted that during the transition he was a little green. And he's also learned that managers are at the restaurant a lot longer than servers.

  Make KC Better » Better public transportation - a railway system. 

The Morning Room

Rm 39

Kansas City, Missouri » 39th Street

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Once in a blue moon, I get to enjoy a breakfast date with the husband. Like everyone else out there, we play a mad game of dashing out the door every morning to start our days and our jobs. So unexpected breakfast dates are a nice surprise. After a brisk walk to pick up our bikes from the Plaza and a short ride back to 39th Street, we cruised into our neighborhood breakfast place and took a seat by the window. Our server Adam looked so familiar (because he worked with George at The Lodge six years ago). Adam has just been back in Kansas City for six months and it just goes to show, we really do live in such a little big city.

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George's a la carte Brekkie, $10.25
Half Order Biscuits & Gravy ($4), 2 Eggs ($4), Bacon ($2.25)
Their eggs are from Campo Lindo farms in Lathrop, Missouri
and Doug Schroeder in Higginsville, Missouri.

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Cup of Drip Coffee, $2.50
Arabica beans from Costa Rica blended with Ethiopian yirgacheffe and roasted
by the Broadway Roasting Company. Date with hairy arm-ed man optional.

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A peek at our table: condiments, eggs close up and fall flowers.

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Smoked Salmon Scramble, $8.00
House cured and smoked salmon with cream cheese, scallions and
soft scrambled eggs with breakfast potatoes and toast.

Photos by Linh Trieu

chris & jo ellen

Chris & Jo Ellen | Servers

Starker's and Story

Years of Industry Service: Chris (8) / Jo Ellen (14)

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You will be hard-pressed to find Chris and Jo Ellen apart. Married for eight years and working together for most of that time, they even spend their time off with one another. Set up by mutual friends, they met on a blind date. Each had asked to be introduced to someone and finally, one and one were matched perfectly in this adorable pair. They typically work the same schedules, splitting their time between two chefs, two cities in two states and ever-changing menus. "It's a nice change of scenery," Chris says while Jo Ellen remarks, "It's fun to work with two menus and two wine lists. It's always something new."

Chris and Jo Ellen work hard so they really enjoy their leisure time. They love to go out to eat and "abuse the wait staff." They're working on their house, enjoy cooking and love wine, which they like to study. And they travel as often as possible – don't be surprised, but mainly it's to eat...and drink wine. A recent trip took them to Dallas for Taste of the NFL, where Chris says there was a foot of snow. Next month, they are planning a trip to Santa Barbara and they for sure, have a reservation to eat at acclaimed French restaurant, Bouchon. They also love music and try to do a music cruise once a year. They said they might get a dog, but it was followed by a big "but".

They live a Jersey Shore kind of life. "Pool. Gym. Travel." I don't know about you guys, but I'm completely jealous. Work hard and play hard. Keep it up guys.

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Chris and Jo Ellen were working at Starker's when we caught up with them.

  Make KC Better » Jo Ellen would like better public transportation while Chris wants to change the weather (too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter). 

on the street: danna s.

Danna S.

Kansas City, Missouri

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Danna is a fashion merchandising student and was waiting for her friend on the Plaza. She also works for Lucky Strike in the Power & Light District. There's something about a red dress that stops you in your tracks. Hers had a wonderful stripy texture and her accessories were really nice, especially her belt and heels. Although we didn't capture the side view of those shoes, they were two-toned, nude and black and sexy as hell.

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Photographed on Nichols Road in front of Peruvian Connection on the Country Club Plaza.

Sunday Brunch

Our good friend Sloane and fellow Supper Clubber invited us to a special Sunday brunch tomorrow at Story. It's a four-course prix fixe with coffee pairings from The Roasterie. I unashamedly try to never get up early on weekends to cook for myself and am a huge, huge fan of weekend brunches. At restaurants. (I only get up early for estate sales. Priorities, people.) So I'm super excited to go tomorrow. Tina will be there too and we'll be doing a post later for the blog. If you're there, hopefully we'll see you too! You can see the full menu here.

Photos by Matt Kocourek, provided by Story.

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Full disclosure: Sloane said she'd buy us brunch tomorrow so we said okay!  But this is not a paid post.

We just like to help our friends promote whatever they need to and be successful at their jobs. 

Link Love for the Weekend

Photo by Tina Magee-Jenks - taken with a vintage SX70 Polaroid camera with Impossible film

Elsie from A Beautiful Mess gives some great tips on how to

photograph your home. The picture above is of Tina's house.

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A super fantastic collection of vintage fashion covering every decade from the 1950s on.

In mint condition. I can hear the dollars draining from my wallet now.

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Our new favorite blog....LA in Bloom.

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Everything comes back. Even punch bowls.

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Even though the weather is cooling way, way down from our 100°F summer,
this Rosemary Lemonade Gin Slush still sounds really good.

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Coding. It's a mind trip. But never fear. It's not too late to learn.

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A wonderfully creative way to use cake sprinkles for an embroidery effect.

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Peanut Butter & Jelly Pancakes. Enough said.

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The assault on smokers continues. But in a funny way.

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For the adult and the kid in you. A bourbon chocolate milkshake.

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Bottles in the Sky

FOR THE LOVE OF KANSAS CITY

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Where are we?

What Kansas City restaurant has this fantastic bottle chandelier in their dining room? 

 Don't forget to check here for last week's answer and winner.

Leave your answer in the comments section below or

send us a message via facebook or twitter @ELoungeKC.

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This wonderful bottle collection is at Starker's Restaurant on the Plaza.

Brian from Cellar & Loft, you nailed it first! I know where to find you,

just have to think of a something fun for you.

Doughboys & Bootleggers

Doughboys & Bootleggers

Kansas City, Missouri

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We know the Plaza Art Fair is this weekend, but you get three whole days to check it out. Why not take one of those days and go to this instead? We have the ONLY World War I museum in the country, so you'll get to stand in the midst of greatness while learning about Kansas City during Prohibition. Appropriately, our friends at The Rieger (who are such classic cocktail nerds) are part of this fun event. Thank you Megan for sharing this with us!

Peek Into 715

715

Lawrence, Kansas » Mass Street

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This is just a really beautiful restaurant. From the metal chairs on the patio which were super stylish and comfortable to the naked light bulb fixtures in the dining room, there is a lot of attention to detail and style. Pots of fresh rosemary on the window sill and a basket filled with loaves of fresh bread at the open chef's window are two cues that there is thoughtfulness to what is being served. A wall of green water bottles separates the bar from the dining room and brings to mind the jugs of wine at Macaroni Grill, where I once hostessed, but done it in a much, much nicer way. I like how the repetition of design elements and clean lines draws you right into this long space. And the hidden bonus is their cellar kitchen downstairs. We sat on the patio and there is so much going on on Mass Street, it's constant entertainment. We did a restaurant snapshot of 715 a couple of months ago, and you can read it again here.

Zuccotto

Cupini's

Kansas City, Missouri » Westport

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This dome-shaped cake looked so exotic that we had to try it. I'm not a sweet-sweet dessert kind of person so this was absolutely perfect. There are so many different textures and flavors playing in your mouth all at once. There's a cake layer at the top and bottom but most of the sweetness came in tiny bites of the raspberry roulade. The center was rich and creamy. It was wonderful.

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Zuccotto, $4.29 slice, $38.99 whole

Swirls of delicate raspberry roulade encase a light and luscious orange mousse laced

with Grand Marnier, this domed shaped speciality is finished with apricot glaze.