First, the good news: There’s a new restaurant in midtown called Mr. Good Chicken. It’s at 3605 Broadway, in the old Messy’s space. I will leave it to The Pitch’s esteemed food critic, Charles Ferruzza, to evaluate the cuisine. But for the purposes of this column, let’s just say I have a new favorite restaurant in town. Have I eaten…
Dinosaurs, King Tut, Leonardo da Vinci — these are the types of traveling exhibitions that museums and science centers tend to book. Informative, sometimes entertaining, but not typically very contemporary. A few years ago, Bryan Reinblatt and Lance Brass — two Canadians working separately in the field of exhibition production — got to talking about the lack of dynamic modern…
The noon rush has started at Blanc Burgers + Bottles. On this Friday, servers in gray T-shirts carry burgers on square white plates as they swing through a dining room filled with Plaza holiday shoppers. In the restaurant’s entryway, a young man with close-cropped hair nervously fingers the driver’s license in his right hand and asks the hostess for a…
All is not well in the house of Pascal. This place, this House of Yes, isn’t the House of Usher — playwright Wendy MacLeod has said she was partly inspired by Edgar Allan Poe — but there’s illness here. The family, Kennedy neighbors in an exclusive McLean, Virginia, neighborhood in the early 1980s, is a crumbling segment of the upper…
Pedaljets Eighties undergrounders the Pedaljets are set to release a new album sometime early next year, which qualifies as pretty big news around these parts. The local vets’ last release was written and recorded in 1990, though the self-titled album was reworked, remastered and released as we know it in 2008. To prime us for it, they’re dropping a single…
Several years ago, when Steve Cole was still working as a real-estate broker for restaurant properties, he tried to lease the former plumbing-supply space at 2050 Central to several restaurateurs. “This part of the Crossroads wasn’t nearly as desirable then as a restaurant destination,” says Cole, who is now the chief operating officer for the Missouri Restaurant Association. “No one…
Flickr: Retail Mania This week brings a tale of morality and fried chicken. When I was growing up, my mother told me that she would love me no matter what. “Even if I killed someone?” I asked. “Yes, even if you killed someone,” she replied without hesitation, before adding the requisite motherly guilt. “But know that I’d be very sad…
High on Fire There’s something universal about the power of a great riff. On Monday night, one of history’s greatest riffsmiths, Matt Pike, and his band, High on Fire, descended on the Riot Room to demonstrate their mastery of his craft. Categories: Music Tags: goatwhore, high on fire, in the grove, Lo-pan
Facebook: Tasso’s Release the ugly sweater. Ugly Christmas sweaters should never be used for evil; instead, you should wear them for good. Case in point: Tasso’s (8411 Wornall) annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party on Thursday, December 13, at 7 p.m. There will be plenty of Greek cuisine and prizes for the most heinous Christmas sweater. And don’t worry, they’ll still…
Pollan’s next adventure is in his kitchen. A cookbook author and three men who want to change the way you eat are part of the early lineup for food writers headed to Kansas City in 2013. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey and professor Raj Sisodia discuss their book, Conscious Capitalism, on Thursday, January 31. The duo delve into how companies…
Punch Brothers Earlier this fall, Chris Thile won a coveted MacArthur Genius Grant – $500,000 over the next five years, no strings attached. Why? Because Thile, who cut his teeth in the bluegrass group Nickel Creek, is arguably the best mandolin player on planet Earth. He now leads the Punch Brothers, a virtuosic folk-bluegrass outfit that employs the primary instruments…
Mizzou graduates make up a sizable chunk of the Senate. In January, when the new crop of U.S. senators is sworn in, a full 3 percent of the legislative body will be graduates of Mizzou. That is to say, three members of the Senate got their degrees at the university. Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill – who throttled Todd “Shut That…
nonrev This frequent restaurant patron never leaves a tip. Let’s face it, cockroaches are a part of restaurant life, particularly if the venue is in an old building or the restaurant owner isn’t consistent in paying for regular extermination services. And some restaurant owners don’t always make that a high priority (I’ve worked for several of them) until the Kansas…
Flickr: Justin Brockie Bright skies or a setting sun at Kauffman? Which is it? It’s been 21 years since the Kansas City Royals had a starting pitcher (Bret Saberhagen) with a World Series victory on his resume. It’s been 10 years since they’ve had a starting pitcher (Jeff Suppan) with a World Series appearance. That streak ended last night when…
Cooper’s Hawk Kansas City has a new winery. Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant (4686 Broadway) opens today in the former 810 Zone space on the Plaza for lunch and dinner. It’s an innovative concept – a restaurant paired with a winery (there’s a tasting room and a retail shop if you want a bottle of wine to take home) with…
Annedore’s This Santa comes home with you for Christmas. Whether or not you still believe in Santa, Annedore’s Fine Chocolates (5006 State Line) is ready to renew your faith in Kris Kringle. The Westwood Hills chocolate shop is giving away a 3-foot tall milk chocolate Santa. If you stop in the shop before Thursday, December 20, you can fill out…
High on Fire If the group isn’t there already, High on Fire is at least on the verge of legend status in the world of stoner metal. The Oakland band’s latest, De Vermis Mysteriis, is a sort of concept album – the title is an H.P. Lovecraft reference (or something – it’s hard to parse the lyrics over the roaring…
If you’re like me, holiday music can make you extremely content or homicidal. Gerald Trimble understands. Trimble, a Kansas City artist, is a tad tired of jangly holiday songs. He prefers holiday music that’s soulful, tinged with timeless pop perfection, and soaked in eclectic influences. So what exactly does that sound like? You can find out this Saturday, December 8….
Gustavo Ortiz is charged with second-degree murder. Jackson County prosecutors have charged Gustavo Ortiz with second-degree murder in the death of Denise Streeter. Streeter’s body was found in a field adjacent to Platte Purchase Park November 29. Streeter was 49. According to court records, an unnamed witness told police that she and Ortiz, 37, picked up Streeter at a casino…
The Chiefs have established a trust for Zoey Belcher, pictured here with Kasandra Perkins and Jovan Belcher. When Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed Kasandra Perkins and then committed suicide December 1, he orphaned the couple’s 3-month-old daughter, Zoey. The Kansas City Star reported that prior to committing suicide, Belcher asked Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli if…
Ed Bagley’s wife got probation. Marilyn Bagley pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday for her role in sex trafficking a 16-year-old girl, whom she and her husband, Ed, allegedly kept as a sex slave in the couple’s Lebanon, Missouri, trailer. The press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office is upsetting, as is the story as a whole (which came out…
Finally, ESPN and director Michael Bonfiglio have fixed the greatest shortcoming of American cinema: the lack of documentaries about Bo Jackson. You Don’t Know Bo, a film retracing Jackson’s career as a cultural phenomenon, baseball player and football player, airs Saturday on the network. “This film will examine the truths and tall tales that surround Jackson, and how his seemingly…
