Starboard Cannons & Ambiguous Fiddle

This past weekend Kansas City hosted the Folk Alliance International Conference. This conference brings a ridiculous amount of amazing music and cool folks to the city, and we were pleased to meet a number of them.

One group, Starboard Cannons from Australia, were sweetly enamored of our space and spent some time filming on Friday. As a consequence we had the lovely strains of guitar, fiddle, upright base, and beautiful voices wafting through the restaurant. We so infrequently have music in the shop that I forget how nice it sounds, and theirs was the perfect compliment to the space.

Aside from their talent as musicians, they were so very gracious and genuinely appreciative, as were the film crew from Ambiguous Fiddle. Starboard Cannons was kind enough to gift us with their new album and I’ve had it on repeat all weekend. I suggest you check them out on You Tube and keep an eye out for their touring schedule.

Cheers to good music and new friends! XOXO

RIP Friday Dinners

I’m afraid I haven’t properly blogged since about this time last year other than to update daily specials and post the regular menus.  Unfortunately, the year on my last post isn’t clear and may have caused some confusion.  The dinners officially ended as of August 2012 and we have no current plans to reinstate them.  I DO hope to keep the blog more current, perhaps this is the kick in the butt I needed.  Thank you so very much for your continued support!  We can’t do it without you!  XOXO Annie

The Last Three Dinners and One Menu

It’s sad but true…dinners will be no more.  The next three scheduled will be our last.  Of all the reasons they will be discontinued, lack of interest was NOT a factor.  Many thanks to those who joined us on a regular basis, as well as those who only came occasionally.  If you always wanted to come but couldn’t find the time, now’s your chance!  The last three dinners will be June 15th, July 20th and August 10th.  Email me for a reservation at YouSayTomatoKC@gmail.com.

As an incentive to make a reservation for next Friday’s dinner, here’s the proposed menu.  As always, it’s not completely set until the day before or even day of.  If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to email me.  The Eggless Caesar and Fried Chicken remain the same.  The seasonal salad will be a Panzanella with cucumbers, tomatoes, toasted bread, red onion, feta and kalamata olives, tossed with a lemon basil vinaigrette.  The vegetarian entree will be a Vegetable Lasagna made with seasonal fresh vegetables.  The meat entree will be a Pork Chop Saltimbocca – a bone in grilled pork chop stuffed with fontina, prosciutto, spinach and sage.  That and the Fried Chicken will be served with a Lemon Parmesan Risotto as well as a simply prepared seasonal green vegetable.  Dessert options will be a Vanilla Ice Cream with chocolate chile sauce and toasted pinon nuts or Peach Crumble with bourbon brown sugar ice cream.

Almost the entire menu will be gluten free with the exception of the Lasagna and Peach Crumble.  The Panzanella will not be not be made gluten free, but will have a gluten free option.  And I almost forgot the beverage!  We’ll be serving a Cherry Limeade made with fresh limes and house-made maraschino cherries.  As always, we will be featuring the gluten free flour from Be Free Bakers and hope to showcase primarily Goode Acres produce.

We very much hope you’ll be able to join us!  XOXO Annie

Evening Shade Farms

I had the pleasure of spending Memorial Day weekend in Osceola Missouri.  Evening Shade Farms hosted their 12th annual Herb Days in May festival.  It was by no means a leisurely 3 days, but even working hard I treasure my time there.  Gayle (who is no longer with us) has infused that land with a particularly beautiful spirit – HER spirit.  I miss her so much, but I know she would not want me dwelling on things that can’t be changed and instead focus on the now.

I came back with a fresh batch of soaps – some standards and some new.  One of the ones that is new to me (but has been in production for many years) is the French Clay Facial Soap.  The bar is moistened, applied to the face, dried, then wiped off.  While it’s on you can scare people with your green alien face!

They’ve also expanded their Critter Ridder line.  The original Critter Ridder was oil based that you put on pressure points.  The new Critter Ridder Light is in a non-oily base that can be put on pressure points as well as clothes.  It’s an awesome, natural “bug spray.”  They’ve also put the formula into a soap that you can bathe with before you head into the garden.  The Pine Tar soap is an old standard for problem skin but it serves another purpose in the summer.  If you get bug bites or get into something itchy just wet the bar, rub it on the itchy spot and let it dry.  It totally stops the itch!

New Dinner Dates!

Alright, we’ve finally set the dinner dates for the summer!  They are June 15th, July 20th, and August 10th.  The menus are nowhere near set yet, but I foresee some awesome summer fare made with local, seasonal produce.  Thanks to the mild winter and early spring, the growing season has started early (and will hopefully last long).  Goodeacre Farms is already bringing in peaches, zucchini, cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes.  If you’d like to make a reservation, please email me at YouSayTomatoKC@gmail.com.  Hope to see you!  XOXO Annie

May 18th Dinner

Good morning!  This Friday we will host the second of our May dinners.  I’ve attached the menu for the FIRST dinner, held on May 4th which, aside from a few small changes will be the same.  The Tenderloin will be served with a wild mushroom cream sauce instead of the demi glace, and a new (and I’m sure delicious) dessert will replace the Lemon Meringue Pie.  If you’re interested in joining us, please email me at YouSayTomatoKC@gmail.com for a reservation.  At this time we have openings scattered throughout the evening.  We look forward to seeing you!  XOXO Annie

Spring Dinners

Now that we’ve gotten into a groove and the dinners aren’t quite so taxing, we’ve decided to add another one each month.  Of course, this wouldn’t be possible if they hadn’t been so successful, and we have you to thank for that!  The menu for both dinners each month will be the same, unless we can’t get the same quality ingredients and have to make a substitution.  We hope that enables those of you who may have a conflict on one of those Friday nights to join us on the other, or bring you back for a second dinner to try another dish.

So far, the posted dates are April 6th, April 20th, May 4th, and May 18th.  Contact me at YouSayTomatoKC@gmail.com for a reservation on any of those evenings.  We take the first reservations at 6 and the last at 8:30.  We serve at a fairly leisurely pace, but can certainly move faster if needed.  If you have a particular time constraint, please let me know and we will work to get you in and out with enough time for you to get to your event.

We continue to highlight small, local vendors, most recently smoked cheeses from Bob Kat Dan.  He cold smokes the cheese using native fruit woods, and they have a lovely mild smokey flavor.  There are small blocks for sale in the case if you’re interested.  We feature Zim’s hot sauces with our Pan Fried Chicken.  If you’re a hot sauce fan, and haven’t tried Zim’s, you really should!  Not only does this small, local, independent company make some of the best hot sauce around, they just so happen to be awesome people.  You can always ask at the register for a taste, and pick up a jar of the Bufsas or Kiksas (or both).  Be Free Bakers provides the gluten free flour that enables us to keep the Pan Fried Chicken gluten free without sacrificing flavor, not to mention its myriad other uses.  She’s working on packaging at the moment for the all purpose Jen’s Blend, and when it’s ready it will be proudly on our shelves for purchase.  As we move into the growing season, a majority of our produce will come from small farms and independent growers.  Goode Acre Farms has been a welcome partner over the past few years, and we will certainly continue that relationship, while also working with smaller growers.

While the final details of the menu are never quite set until the day of the dinner, we do have the basic outline set for April.  We will of course have the Caesar, Pan Fried Chicken, and Vanilla Ice Cream (served with a hot fudge sauce and pistachios this time).  The seasonal starter will be a Crostini with house made ricotta, spring peas, radishes, pickled spring onions, and a simple lemon juice, olive oil and cracked pepper dressing.  The meat entree will be Roasted Lamb, served with risotto croquettes (made with a smoked havarti) and broccoli raab (roasted wtih pine nuts, lemon zest, basil and parmesan).  The vegetarian entree will be a larger portion of the Risotto Croquettes, served with a wild mushroom ragu and the broccoli raab.  The dessert will be a Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler, served with ginger ice cream.

Finally, I want to make sure you all know that we are now available to host private dinner parties from 10 to 40 people.  These would be scheduled around the dinners, and would be treated much the same.  The only substantial difference would be that we will require pre-order of meals.  We will work with you to determine a menu and track responses.  Payment can be made by one person or individual diners, though there will be a deposit required (which will be credited if final payment is made by individuals).  Please contact me for additional information or if you have any questions.

Spring is such an exciting time, and we’re grateful to be spending it with you!

XOXO Annie