29 minute read
Beauty Guide
S
Sometimes a job is just a job. You dig ditches. You sell stocks. Sometimes, though, a job is more than just a living. Some jobs go beyond a career or even a calling. There are jobs that speak to everything you care about. They embody the essence of who you are. Jobs like that are the physical, emotional and spiritual manifestation of your deepest, most authentic self. Mark Stevenson is lucky enough to have that kind of job.
He’s a paper conservator in private practice, serving fancy museums, corporations and private collectors. That means Stevenson specializes in the preservation and restoration of drawings, historical documents, maps and posters. That, though, is merely a mechanical description of his work. What Stevenson really does, at heart, is care for things that are beautiful, delicate, valuable—things that should
“have been treated more kindly. He does this because he is beautiful, delicate, valuable and someone who should have been treated more kindly.
Stevenson is slight and lithe. He has large, kind eyes framed by a gray beard and ponytail. We talked on a brisk afternoon in his Valentine home, in a warm, inviting living room. Stacks of vinyl sat by the stereo on the hardwood floor. Walls brimmed with eclectic, indigenous art in mostly muted tones. Trina, a bright green finch, fluttered freely outside of her cage.
Our conversation started with trauma. Growing up on a farm in central Indiana, Stevenson—who identifies as biracial, including Native American branches—always felt himself an outsider. “I describe it as marginalized people mixing on the margins: A whole lot of mixed people who find other mixed people and then deny their heritage,” he says, laughing ruefully.
His childhood and adolescence were, in many ways, brutal.
His family wasn’t poor, he says. Dad I realized that we all have this compass inside of us. You set the needle on goodness and
walk in that direction." owned the local drug store and soda fountain, but Mom’s side had loads of dysfunction. He spoke of substance abuse and questions about the legitimacy of his birth—and even the unsolved murder of a great uncle.
“We don't know what happened, but it still echoes in the family,” he says.
He also mentioned an abusive football coach and pedophilic scout leader. “I had so much trauma by the time I hit my teen years. It was just, like, off the rails.”
Art was a sanctuary. He began to draw before he could speak. As a teenager, he would huddle in his bedroom, teaching himself to copy the style of underground cartoonists like Skip Williamson and R. Crumb. Working with clay was another infatuation, and he went to Southern Illinois University in Carbondale intending to study monumental ceramics. Soon, though, Stevenson discovered the medium that would define his life.
One night, he says, he stepped into an etching studio, “and it was just like, ‘Oh, my God, this is it. I love paper.”
He spoke kindly, reverentially, like a man describing his oldest friend. “I mean, the colors of paper, the softness of the tones, the rustle of the sheets, it just touched me,” he says. “It was like a tuning fork.” He thought, “This is what resonates with me. This is what I love.”
Even after graduation, though, his path wasn’t quite clear. Everything changed,
he says, during a camping trip to South Dakota. “I had a near-death experience, and it really directed my life.”
On the prairie, southeast of the sacred Black Hills, he was struck down by the sun. “I'm an outdoorsman,” he says. “I've never had problems before nor since. But that day, I got a really bad case of sunstroke. I didn't realize how close to death I was.”
When he awoke, he knew his life had changed. “I wanted to be a better person," he says. "I realized that we all have this compass inside of us. You set the needle on goodness and walk in that direction. I wanted to put myself on that path.”
Stevenson got busy being born. He dedicated himself to becoming a conservator. “And so it's like, I have to start going to night school. I have to start getting volunteer work. At one point, I was going to night school, studying chemistry, volunteering one day a week at the Indiana Historical Society and working the other five days a week in the back room of an art supply store.”
He thrived in academia, earning a master’s degree from Buffalo State’s well-regarded Cooperstown program. That included an internship at Harvard’s Fogg Museum, followed by a postgraduate Mellon Fellowship at the National Gallery of Art. Ultimately, he would publish extensively, establishing himself as an international authority in the field.
Stevenson found Kansas City through the Nelson-Atkins. They hired him out of the National Gallery as a conservator of graphic art. His first stint in KC only lasted a few years, though. He met a woman, a doctoral candidate, and followed her back east to Princeton. When the relationship ended, he chose the Midwest again. “Because I loved Kansas City and I continue to love Kansas City,” he says. “I was born a Kansas Citian but didn't know it until I moved here. I found my people when I came here.” He likes how the city functions as a magnet for creative kids from across the Midwest who need an escape from small, conservative prairie towns. Stevenson returned in 1995. He had an opportunity at the Spencer Museum of Art but ultimately decided to stay in private practice. He’s been on his own ever since. We went upstairs to tour his happily cluttered studios. He told me about the healing, meditative, transformative power of his job. He talked about the exacting nature of work with paper—the demand for solitude and the necessity of embracing minutia.
He discussed how different substances respond to heat and moisture. With paper conservation, Stevenson says, “you don't get a lot of second chances. So you really have to be able to stay five steps ahead.”
A recent project, for instance, involved a print by Henry Ferrer on 140-year-old Japanese paper. Stevenson recounted a complicated and incredibly painstaking process that I only partially understood.
“When things are glued down or attached or fixed to a board, my first thing is to begin to probe the board and look at its structure,” he says.
He described the nature of certain backing boards and the dangers of a break along the laminates. He told of using a scalpel and running an angled line around the perimeter of the piece, then a spatula, and moving incrementally—a sixteenth of an inch at a time—slowly prying and lifting the print away from the remainder of the board.
He’ll also use Gore-Tex fabric, the kind used in camping gear, because it allows moisture to pass through as vapor but not liquid. He spoke of how adhesives made from animal skin, hoods or horns will react to certain sorts of enzymes. There’s more. Much more. But you get the idea.
As the sun fell, afternoon winter light flowed softly through the living room window. We spoke of his biggest claim to fame, at least in certain circles: a cinematic tale about the time billionaire Crosby Kemper bought twenty-eight watercolors attributed to Georgia O'Keeffe. Stevenson was called on to help authenticate them. After a series of Succession-worthy twists, he came to realize the paintings were fake, printed on a kind of paper O'Keeffe would never have used.
“Basically,” he laughed, “I gave Kemper the information that allowed him to get his $5.4 million back.”
We finished our day discussing the project that brought him to my attention. A friend who works at the Kansas City Star told me they discovered a first edition replica of the paper in a storage bin and wanted it restored. Just curious, I asked who one would call to handle something like that, which led me to Stevenson.
“It's framed, I think, double-sided,” he said of the first edition. “They want me to help them get it out and to make sure it's preserved.”
It’s his job, you see. Stevenson has devoted his life to the restoration and protection of delicate, beautiful things. In doing so, he restored and protected himself.
LOOK AND FEEL YOUR BEST
BEAUTY GUIDE
In the craziness of today’s fast-paced world, carving out time for your health and wellbeing is more important than ever. We’ve gathered several local experts to share rejuvenating and reinvigorating treatments and services so that you have all the resources you need to look and feel your best.
GEORGOUS AESTHETIC BAR
4505 Madison Ave., KCMO
If glowing, dewy skin is on your must-have list this year, then it’s time to experience the DiamondGlow Facial. It’s more than just a wet facial or dermabrasion; the DiamondGlow Facial delivers a next-level resurfacing treatment that deeply cleanses and rejuvenates the face by exfoliating, extracting and infusing serums into the skin. After a single treatment, you may notice radiance and improvements with fine lines, dryness and texture. All skin types can experience this treatment with no downtime.
Winter months are the perfect time to treat concerns of sun damage, skin texture and hair issues with little to no downtime. Intense Pulsed Light/Broad Band Light therapy, Halo Fractional Laser and laser hair removal can address those concerns. Chemical peels and microneedling are great treatments to add in combination to laser treatments to get the results you want.
Our clinic also offers body contouring, which has vastly grown in demand recently. CoolSculpting is a non-invasive, permanent fat reduction treatment with zero downtime, and it’s perfect for those hard-to-get-rid-of areas such as arms, abdomen, bra fat, flanks, thighs and more.
Not ready to commit to surgery for the Brazilian Butt Lift? The BootyLift is a minimal-downtime, non-surgical procedure that helps improve volume, smoothness and symmetry.
The best procedures are the ones that are undetectable, which is why we believe in elevating your natural beauty with wrinklerelaxers such as Botox and Dysport and cosmetic fillers to help correct dynamic lines and wrinkles and loss of volume and support. Those things can be a bit overwhelming if you’re not sure where to start, but don’t worry, we are here to help guide you to realistic and desirable results. All consultations are complimentary, so schedule one today because you deserve to look and feel your best!
Georgous Aesthetic Bar is owned by Georgia Cirese, RN, CANS, who has been active in the aesthetics industry for more than twenty years. Georgia is a nationally recognized trainer and speaker on aesthetic injectables, and she is passionate about educating industry professionals and patients.
The DiamondGlow Facial is more than just a dermabrasion or wet facial – it delivers a next-level resurfacing treatment that deeply cleans and rejuvenates the skin by exfoliating, extracting and infusing serums into the skin.
GEORGOUS AESTHETIC BAR
georgouskc.com 816.946.8484
CENTER FOR NUTRITION & PREVENTIVE MEDICINE P.A.
4963 W. 135th St. Leawood, KS
Most Americans have gained weight in recent months. Being overweight can rob you of joy, energy and health—and with COVID-19 added to the list of common health concerns, weight loss has never been more important.
Losing weight and keeping it off is far more difficult than most people realize, and unfortunately, common weight loss attempts are ineffective. Food cravings, chronic hunger or a sluggish metabolism can make weight loss impossible. A powerful, personalized, medically based treatment plan can be the key to success.
Since founding the Center for Nutrition in 1996, Dr. Rick Tague, M.D., M.P.H. & T.M., has assisted over 30,000 patients in losing over 500,000 pounds. A medical weight loss and “Optimum Health” specialist, Dr. Tague is an Alpha Omega Alpha honors graduate of Tulane University School of Medicine.
He also holds a Masters Degree in Public Health from Tulane and is board certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine and the American Board of Family Medicine.
Dramatic improvements in selfesteem, energy levels, activity levels and health measures have been typical among Dr. Tague’s patients while losing 20, 40, 60, 100 pounds or more. If you need a personal treatment plan to lose weight and improve your nutrition, seek help from someone with understanding and experience.
Dr. Tague’s Center for Nutrition and Preventive Medicine has medical clinics in Leawood and in Topeka. For more information, or to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation, contact the Center for Nutrition at 913-814-8222 in Leawood or 785-273-4443 in Topeka, or visit TagueNutrition.com.
Weight loss can make life better in many ways. Self-esteem, heart, lungs, joints, mood, blood pressure, cholesterol, sexual health and our life-saving immune system can suffer when weight increases. Learn more about your options at one of our free consultations.
CENTER FOR NUTRITION & PREVENTIVE MEDICINE P.A.
913.814.8222 taguenutrition.com
SUNLIGHTEN DAY SPA
Healthy, glowing skin can help you feel radiant and confident, and it’s one of the many benefits of consistent infrared sauna use. Sunlighten Day Spa offers infrared sauna sessions that can help reduce wrinkles and crow’s feet while improving overall skin tone, softness, smoothness, elasticity and firmness. What a wonderful way to restore, refresh and rejuvenate your skin.
A Sunlighten® sauna is a place to heal, to reflect, to invest in you. Surround your body with soothing infrared therapy that penetrates the body at the cellular level, leaving you feeling light and revitalized.
Visit Sunlighten Day Spa at sunlightendayspa.com for more information and to book an appointment today!
SUNLIGHTENDAYSPA.COM
Sunlighten Day Spa 7373 W. 107th St., Overland Park, KS 913.754.2023
60-minute couples relaxation massage, 30-minute Sunlighten Purifiying Treatment, plus a glass of champagne each. $225
*Book and enjoy by February 28, 2022 to receive discount.
VALENTINE’S DAY GIFT CARD PROMOTION
Purchase $150 in gift cards, get an Andre’s Valentine’s chocolate gift.
**while supplies last.
SUNLIGHTENDAYSPA.COM 913.754.2023 I-435 & METCALF
BROW BAR
BROW BAR is a unique beauty spa nestled in Kansas City’s Brookside Shops. I started BROW BAR because I saw an opportunity to offer beauty services in a way that was not being done. So many times I had visited aesthetics studios, salons and medical “spas” that gave me what I needed but not what I truly desired. I always felt like these visits were the perfect opportunity to relax, but I never felt relaxed. I usually felt rushed and that the experience was cold and sterile. I knew I could do better, so in 2018, I started BROW BAR. From day one the focus was on quality. Quality of the experience first and foremost, but quality of products, services, tools and everything in between as well. We offer the comforts of a high-end spa but with all of the advanced beauty treatments women are looking for. Our mission is to make every beauty treatment, even a brow wax or botox, feel like a spa experience. We want you to leave feeling beautiful and relaxed! – Tammy Sciara, Owner
BROWBARKC.COM
BROW BAR 328 W. 63rd St., KCMO 816.834.9100
REFLECTIONS BODY SOLUTIONS
Reflections Body Solutions offers a new treatment option for the tightening of the skin & visible reduction of wrinkles & lines. VirtueRF works by applying sterile microneedles deep into the dermis of the skin. The needles create microscopic channels that deliver radio-frequency heat energy at the desired depths to promote remodeling of the collagen and the elastin that tightens & lifts the skin.
Patient Benefits from VirtueRF: • Tighter Skin • Reduced Pore Size • Improved Tone & Texture. • No Downtime VirtueRF microneedles are driven into the skin using the exclusive robotic precision delivery system. The insertion of the needles is so exact that it creates no tearing or trauma to the skin. It delivers the heat under the skin precisely where it needs to go without causing burning, itching or irritation.
VirtueRF treatments are spaced 5 weeks apart and a series of 3 treatments is recommended for a patient who has never had the VirtueRF before. A maintenance treatment is recommended every 6 months.
VirtueRF can treat the face, neck, chest, arms, stomach & knees. We are very excited to be able to offer this exciting technology to Reflections Body Solutions. Our consultations are complimentary & look forward to seeing you soon!
REFLECTIONS BODYSOLUTIONS.COM
Reflections Body Solutions 7824 W 119th St, Overland Park, KS 913.322.3433
DR. MEENA SINGH
Harvard Trained Hair Transplant Surgeon
Doctor Meena Singh is a board-certified dermatologist and dermatologic surgeon. She attended Harvard Medical School, trained at the Mayo Clinic and completed a surgical fellowship in New York City. From there, she trained in Mohs Micrographic Surgery. Upon completing a fellowship with the International Society for Hair Restoration Surgery under world-renowned surgeon Dr. Marc Avram, Dr. Singh trained in all areas of hair transplantation techniques including strip excision, manual/motorized/ robotic follicular unit extraction, as well as transplanting into scarring alopecias.
Dr. Singh also specializes in medical treatments for hair loss of all cosmetic and medical types. She is passionate about treating ethnic skin/skin of color. Dr. Singh has performed clinical trials in laser hair stimulation, as well as studies in hair transplantation for scarring and non-scarring forms of hair loss. She has performed investigative studies on skin cancer in transplant recipients, as well as tissue engineering. She has been published in multiple peer-reviewed dermatology journals, book chapters and in the New England Journal of Medicine. Additionally, she is a reviewer for the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology and the Dermatologic Surgery Journal, and her blog articles have been published in online periodicals. Dr. Singh was also featured on the cover of New York Times. Raised in Kansas City before leaving for school, she returned to the KC metro area with her three daughters to serve the needs of this community in her specialized issues of hair and skincare.
Hair Loss & Treatment Types
There are many types of hair loss, typically broken down between scarring and nonscarring forms. Scarring hair loss is caused by inflammation around the hair follicles, which eventually heal over with “fibrosis” or scar. The goal of treatment for scarring hair loss is to stop the progression of the inflammation to allow the hair to regrow. Non-scarring hair loss usually is not permanent, but if left untreated, these forms of alopecia can eventually lead to permanent hair loss. The most recognizable types of non-scarring hair loss are male and female pattern hair loss.
Non-surgical treatments for hair loss include topical treatments, oral medications, and laser devices. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injection treatments also act as an adjunct to the forementioned non-surgical options. Surgical treatments like hair transplantation are also used in order to restore hair on a thinning scalp.
For more information or to schedule a consultation, visit kmchaircenter.com or call KMC Hair Center at (913) 631-6330.
Dr. Meena Singh is a world-renowned, Harvard trained hair transplant expert. She specializes in dermatology, dermatologic surgery (MOHS micrographic surgery) and hair loss.
KMC HAIR CENTER
Shawnee: 913-631-6330 Leawood: 913-451-5934 kmchaircenter.com
EXCELLHEALTH SLEEP CENTER
10640 W 87th St., Overland Park, KS
How many hours of sleep do you
need? Optimal Sleep is essential for your wellbeing. Getting the right amount for your mind and body feels great and helps you wake up rested and refreshed. Every person is different when it comes to the exact amount of sleep that’s optimal for them, but most people fall within a range, depending on their age. These guidelines can help you determine how much sleep you really need, while providing some easy ways to achieve it.
Individuals 65 and older require a minimum of 5 and up to 9 hours of sleep nightly depending on their overall health and activity, while a newborn requires upto 17 hours of sleep nightly.
It is good to identify your own ideal amount of sleep and work toward achieving a regular routine of bedtime habits. Both children and adults benefit from a nightly routine that allows time to wind down and settle down for sleep
What happens when chronic sleep
deprivation occurs? Some of the most serious potential problems associated with chronic sleep deprivation are high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, dementia and depression. Other potential problems include obesity, ADHD, impairment in immunity and lower sex drive. Chronic sleep deprivation can even affect your appearance.
Dr. Ehtesham’s practice, Excellhealth Sleep Center, specializes in helping sleepdisorder patients with comprehensive therapy.
“We provide sleep consultations in-clinic and at affiliated hospitals. We also offer sleep studies and sleep therapies. We are also offering telemedicine services, as needed.”
“A good patient dialogue/history and diagnostic sleep testing are important steps in evaluating how to treat a patient’s sleep issues.” Dr. Ehtesham says. Excellhealth Sleep Center, is AASM accredited and provides a full suite of sleep services including home sleep testing, in-lab sleep testing and treatment, nocturnal oxygen testing, sleep diaries/logs sleep counseling and education.
“When any patient is treated for sleep disorders, it not only improves their sleep but also improves their overall health. Their bed partner may sleep better, too.” Dr. Ehtesham says.
EXCELLHEALTH SLEEP CENTER
913.203.4040 excellhealthsleep.com
EATING AND DRINKING WELL IN KANSAS CITY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CALEB CONDIT & REBECCA NORDEN NEW NOODLES There’s a THUMP every few minutes at Magic Noodle (8013 W. 159th St., Overland Park), the south Overland Park Chinese restaurant which
brought traditional hand-pulled noodles to KC last year. Magic Noodle makes lamian by hand THUMP in an open kitchen visible from the dining room. These simple noodles are a staple in China, made only from flour, salt and water—plus the laborious THUMP process you can watch, which requires the cooks to knead, twist and stretch each order. The noodles are the star of soups like the Magic Beef, which finds them sopped in a savory broth with sliced beef, a little pickled radish and some herbs. In another fresh twist, those noodles are THUMP delivered to tables by a toddler-sized robot that steers around obstacles in the room to bring your order
from the kitchen. It makes for a full sensory experience, even before THUMP the bowls arrive. —MARTIN CIZMAR
DUMPLING YOU SHOULD KNOW
In the former Bluestem space, Katie Liu-Sung begins a new chapter for her Taiwanese kitchen, Chewology.
BY NATALIE TORRES GALLAGHER PHOTOGRAPHY BY CALEB CONDIT & REBECCA NORDEN
EVERY SUNDAY AS A CHILD, Katie Liu-Sung would accompany her family to a dim sum restaurant. This was tradition, whether they were living in LA, where Liu-Sung spent her first decade, or Taichung, Taiwan, where her family moved back to when she was ten. She especially loved har gow, delicate shrimp-filled dumplings that she would beg her mother to order en masse. “She would get annoyed because it was too expensive to have six or seven orders of har gow,” Liu-Sung says. “One day, she started making the har gow, and we had our own endless supply. That was the best day ever.”
It was a sticking moment: “Once I realized that we can make the things we love at home, that we can recreate the things that make us happy, it was all I wanted to do.”
You will not find har gow on the menu at Chewology—not yet, anyway. But there are a few other dumpling options, tried-and-true recipes Liu-Sung perfected over the three years she ran her counter-service spot inside Lenexa Public Market. She left Lenexa in July 2020, and in November, she reopened at 900 Westport Road in the space vacated by Bluestem.
The new location has afforded Chewology several new features: more square footage, table service, a long bar with a devoted cocktail program. Liu-Sung’s touches are more redecoration than remodel. Every other table has been plastered with a floral tablecloth, walls have been painted green, the dining room has been strung with festive twinkling red lights.
It’s the food that clears out the Bluestem cobwebs. Chewology’s best-selling dumplings are filled with a punchy pork-cabbage combination seasoned with fresh ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil. There’s a beef option, too, flavored with kimchi and not short on funk. These dumplings are crimped into crescent moon-shaped presents, the same fold Liu-Sung’s father taught her. Wield your chopsticks carefully: The rose petal-soft dough is thick but delicate.
If ugly dumplings are on offer, get them. Liu-Sung and her team take the reject-dumplings that are too misshapen to land a starring role on the regular dish and give them a second life as an occasional nightly special. When I had them, seam-popping beef dumplings arrived in a spicy, gory, blood-red bath of the best sauce ever—a magic combination of chili oil, black vinegar and garlic. Liu-Sung’s dumplings are usually seven to an order, guaranteeing an argument over who will have the last one.
Dumplings will come with your preference of a side of rice or a ramekin of pickled vegetables. The latter is credited to Andy McCormick, last seen at The Restaurant at 1900 and the Hey Hey Club before. Liu-Sung recruited him to be her chef de cuisine. He makes a dashi with dried shiitake and kombu and uses the resulting broth in the threecup mushroom ramen. McCormick cures the leftover shiitakes in a Shaoxing wine and rice vinegar brine he has perfected. A scant few slivers of
these snackable mushrooms are nestled prettily alongside pickled cauliflower and cucumbers.
Chewology’s dishes are a mashup of Liu-Sung’s experiences and McCormick’s interests, blending her family recipes and traditional preparation with his penchant for bright flavors and delicate plating. From this meeting of minds, we have dishes like the bibimbap—a thriving vegetable garden where different textures (charred green onion, pickled lotus root, the softest poached egg) buzz with flavor.
Liu-Sung and McCormick’s union is perhaps the most Taiwanese thing about the restaurant. Taiwan is an island of immigrants, from the Japanese colonizers who introduced raw fish and miso in the 1890s to the Chinese migrants fleeing communism in the 1950s, bringing with them regional Sichuan, Cantonese and Shanghai dishes. Chewology’s flavors cheerfully glide between all these influences and pull inspiration from several more.
“People always ask me, ‘What is Taiwanese food?’” Liu-Sung says. “But it’s a melting pot, just like America. On our menu, we have a lot of different regions, but it’s what we eat in Taiwan and it’s part of our culture. For me, moving across continents multiple times growing up, food was always what comforted me.”
At its best, lu rou fan, a bowl of stewy pork over rice, is everything comfort food should be. Liu-Sung prepares skin-on pork belly in the tradition of Taiwan’s Hakka people—a long, patient braise with soy and fivespice—and serves it with her chili and kombu-pickled pineapple and McCormick’s crunchy pickled cabbage. Here, this dish is nourishing, uncomplicated and unforgettable.
Chewology distinguishes itself with small details. Liu-Sung prefers brown short grain for the extra chew, and a patient cook with lots of water keeps her rice wonderfully plump. The raw ahi and soy-drenched jammy egg in the poke bowl are excellent partners, but it’s the rice that compels you to dig your chopsticks in again and again.
Beef noodle soup is often regarded as Taiwan’s national dish, and at Chewology, fork-tender slices of beef shank float in a fragrant beef broth that is rich but not too decadent. On each of my four visits, someone recommended the dan dan noodles. I liked the just-right spice that tickled the back of my throat, but it’s the mushroom ramen I’m still thinking about: McCormick’s soulful dashi surrounds a fungi forest populated with shaggy lion’s mane, coral tooth and king oyster, and the squiggly noodles are perfectly al dente.
At Chewology’s bao station, the team steams marshmallowy buns throughout the day. The gua bao—golden brown slabs of pork belly braised in a funky, citrusy ponzu—scratches an itch you didn’t even know you had. The kaarage, with bites of juicy chicken thigh coated in an airy sweet potato flour and five spice batter, is an easy contender for Kansas City’s best chicken sandwich.
Not everything works, not yet. A robust Hunan-style dry rub made of cumin, coriander and Szechuan pepper was powerful enough to distract, at first, from lamb ribs that clung to the bone with a sinewy might. And the only dessert—moon cakes from Shang Tea House in Crown Center—has been put on hold indefinitely.
The cocktail program has hits and misses. Flavors in the Taipei 101 (a martini with Japanese gin and bee pollen) were excellent, but the coupes are oversized for the volume, and when the drink disappears in just a few swallows, you feel a little cheated. Go for the 823, an Old Fashioned riff with sesame oil-washed Rittenhouse whiskey that is as smooth as an Ang Lee film.
This spring, Liu-Sung and McCormick hope to debut Chewology’s sister concept, Stray Kat. The idea has cycled through several iterations since the two began discussing it. They duo has landed on a pop-up dinner series where they can play with more adventurous dishes. In the meantime, there is plenty to explore on Chewology’s purposeful and concise menu. Start with the dumplings, order at least one bao and then—well, it only took four visits for me to try every dish. You could probably do it in two.
SPRINKLES & GRIT
Bryan Sparks and his partner, Hailey Allen, are transforming an iconic Waldo establishment.
BY DANIELLE LEHMAN
AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, chef Bryan Sparks found himself at a crossroads. His position as executive chef at Jax Fish House was on hold indefinitely, and with ongoing restaurant closures and layoffs across the city, Sparks recognized he needed to take his future into his own hands. With his partner, Hailey Allen, he launched Beloved on the Go, a chefdriven meal delivery service that uses locally sourced ingredients. As the business grew, Sparks searched for a permanent kitchen location where he and Allen could grow the business. As fate would have it, The Classic Cookie in Waldo was up for sale. They jumped on the opportunity to take over the restaurant space to support the meal delivery business while also reopening and reinventing the cafe.
How do you plan to evolve the menu and concept at The Classic Cookie? The Classic Cookie is a small but strong mainstay in KC. It’s been around since 1992, and it’s been a humbling experience trying to refresh the space while not losing its identity. We’ve given our pastry chef, Logan Goff (formerly of Banksia) free rein to create whatever he wants. To start, we’ll be offering fresh-made danishes, hand pies, a few different types of bread (our sourdough starter is named Henrietta), baklava, small cakes, muffins and, of course, cookies. The idea behind the menu is to not overcomplicate it. Nothing fancy, nothing that involves tweezers. Just some really high-quality ingredients that we try not to fuck up.
It looks like the interior of the space has changed quite a bit. What do you have in store for us? The remodel started out small, but as most remodels go, it quickly expanded into almost a full gutting of the dining room. We are aiming to be lighter, brighter and fresher while still making it feel cozy. Local art, family pictures, recipes on the wall, real plants everywhere and small details like USB outlets all over the place.
What does this mean for your meal delivery service? Beloved will still be operating out of the kitchen during the hours The Classic Cookie is closed, and we plan on ramping up the catering portion of Beloved as well. Future collaborations might include a rotating weekend dinner pop-up in the space and potentially a liquor license for all of the mimosa drinkers. Beloved was our first baby—it was what started all of this. There’s a lot we can do with The Classic Cookie, but at the end of the day, we still have to stay within a framework that was established over the past thirty years. We also have the “Food for All” initiative, where we partner with local nonprofits to feed as many people as we can to try to put a dent into food insecurity in our community. That’s still important to us.
What’s your most popular option, and what’s your craziest flavor? The honey-dip, made with real honey, is one of our most popular doughnuts. The pineapple fritter with pina colada glaze might be the craziest.
KC FAVORITES
Shopping Style “I’d start with a visit to ULAH for sure. Buck and Joey have an amazing eye and can help even the most fashionably inept (me) look good! They also have a candle and hand soap line, which is almost always in my house. ” Sweat Sesh “2020FIT helps keep my dad bod at bay. The coaches are amazing, the facility is top-notch. Jon, the owner, truly cares about everyone at his gym.”
A Flawless Dinner “Corvino. I mean, it’s consistently perfect, which is hard to do in the best of times, let alone nowadays. Every detail, every menu item, is perfection. Michael and Christina Corvino are definitely a couple we look up to.”
