34 minute read
Ask the Expert
Q&A
Expert ASK THE
When considering any task, it’s important to do your homework. These professionals offer their expertise on an array of popular subjects in order to help you decide what’s right for you.
Tim Herre, DDS
ABOUT
Dr. Tim Herre is a graduate of Saint Thomas Aquinas and UMKC dental school. He is a third generation dentist in Johnson County and is passionate about Kansas City. He practices holistic and biological dentistry with an emphasis on treating TMJ disorders, childhood growth and development and airway/ sleep concerns for all ages. His wellness philosophy aims at treating the root cause of disease, which enables you be the best version of yourself.
Holistic Dentistry
Q: Is there a solution to my chronic TMJ pain? I can’t deal with this!
A: Jaw pain, worn teeth, receding gums, headaches, earaches and clenching or grinding your teeth are all common TMJ symptoms. These are all signs that the chewing system is breaking down and not functioning properly. By focusing on the root cause of the symptoms, the chewing system is able to be conservatively rejuvenated back to a state of optimal health and well-being. This type of dentistry isn’t focused on managing the disease with a typical night guard but asking why and what is causing the breakdown and providing a permanent fix. The good news is there is hope for those suffering from long-term chronic pain.
Q: I don’t sleep well: I snore, I never feel rested when I wake up, and I’m tired of wearing a CPAP. What is going on?
A: Up to seventy million Americans are affected by chronic sleep disorders. It’s well known that sleep apnea can cause systemic disease such as high blood pressure, fatigue, weight gain and diabetes. Now we know that grinding one’s teeth and snoring can be directly linked to the size of one’s face, jaw and airway. When our jaws don’t grow properly, our airway from inside the nose to behind the tongue become a choke point to our breathing. As a result, we aren’t able to breathe properly, we get inadequate restorative sleep, and our health suffers. This can make us more irritable, anxious and stressed, wreaking havoc on our personal and professional lives. The good news is we have the ability to permanently change the size and volume of ones airway for 24/7 improved breathing with the use of a biological dental appliance. No more managing with just a nighttime appliance or CPAP. My goal is to help you BREATHE, SLEEP, THRIVE!
Q: Should I be concerned if my child snores, mouth breathes, grinds their teeth, has ADHD or wets the bed?
A: YES! The above symptoms, plus crowded teeth, enlarged tonsils, tongue tie and inability to nurse, are all signs there is a problem. In our modern society, there is an epidemic among children due to poor growth and development of their jaws and face. If not addressed early in life, the airway becomes constricted and may predispose your child to needing teeth removed for orthodontic purposes, sleep apnea, TMJ and other health issues. We screen and evaluate all childrens’ growth, airway and tonsils with a 3D scan of their jaws. The ideal age for this is three to six years old to harness the child’s true growth potential. My goal is to catch any potential airway issue at an early stage so your child can grow and develop to their full potential.
Herre Holistic Dental KC
11201 Nall Ave., Suite 120, Leawood, KS | 913.491.4466 | holisticdentalkc.com
Cristyn Watkins, MD
ABOUT
Dr. Cristyn Watkins is the visionary of aNu Aesthetics™ and Optimal Wellness. She has earned an outstanding reputation in the community for being an innovative physician since 2006. She is a double board-certified family medicine and functional medicine physician, certified master injector, and national trainer in Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Watkins personally trains, supervises and practices alongside her highly skilled medical staff, consisting of board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, medical assistants, licensed aestheticians and laser specialists.
Optimal Wellness
Q: Why did aNu incorporate wellness medicine into their program?
A: Dr. Watkins practiced traditional family medicine for more than 10 years and was determined to find an alternative to pharmaceuticals when faced with limited answers for her own chronic health issues. She sought information beyond traditional medicine, leading her to learn more about functional medicine and focusing on chronic diseases that are obscure and difficult to treat. She now blends traditional and alternative options to develop a comprehensive plan that is personalized to each patient.
Q: What is functional and wellness medicine?
A: Functional medicine considers the entire body, the mental and physical condition of the patient, nutrition, exercise and stress levels, along with all of the potential imbalances that may exist, and are caused by inflammation, bacteria, viruses, toxins, emotions, digestion, anxiety, poor diet, among others.
Q: What other advanced services are offered?
A: • aNu offers bio-identical hormones and medical weight loss, but Dr. Watkins has a passion for and excels at treating more difficult cases---offering advanced medical treatments that aren’t routinely offered through most practices. For instance, high dose nutritional IV’s such as vitamin C and glutathione are available and deliver powerful antioxidants for detoxification and other benefits.
Ozone therapy offers a unique and integrative treatment that increases the amount of oxygen in the body. Ozone can help reduce pain/ inflammation and help treat viruses, bacteria, and yeast, especially those hard-totreat, resistant pathogens that can be found in chronic conditions such as Lyme, EBV, chronic fatigue syndrome, MS, fibromyalgia and autoimmune disease.
Infrared saunas are also available at two of their locations for assistance with detoxification.
Another advanced therapy, offered only by aNu, is a newly created treatment called REIKIN(TM), combining the principles of Reiki, first practiced in Japan, and IV Ketamine. It combines energy healing and guidance by a REIKI Master to manage pain, trauma, mental health conditions, stress and other medical problems holistically and compassionately, targeting both the physiologic and spiritual aspect.
Q: How can I get more information or schedule an appointment?
A: Visit them online at
anuaesthetics.com/
wellness/ or call to book a complimentary consultation.
aNu Aesthetics™ and Optimal Wellness
North Location 10090 NW Prairie View Road Kansas City, MO 64153 Phone: 816.670.4406 | River Market 547 Grand Blvd Kansas City, MO 64106 Phone: 816.339.5053 | Leawood 11401 Nall Ave, Suite 218 Leawood, KS 66211 Phone: 913.298.6230 | anuaesthetics.com
Georgia Cirese, RN, CANS, CLT
ABOUT
Georgous Aesthetic Bar opened in October, 2019 by Registered Nurse, Certified Aesthetics Nurse Specialist (CANS) and master injector, Georgia Cirese. Georgia has been in the aesthetics industry for more than 20 years and is recognized as a top aesthetics trainer, national speaker and key opinion leader. She has even been nicknamed to be one of the original or “OG Injectors” in the aesthetics field.
Hyperpigmentation & Sun Damage
Q: What are the dark spots or “age spots” on the face/body?
A: The dark spots are called hyperpigmentation and they occur when an area of the skin produces excess melanin, thus creating the darker toned areas.
Q: What causes hyperpigmentation?
A: Hyperpigmentation occurs for a variety of reasons such as sun exposure, pregnancy (melasma), or from postinflammation (ie: acne scarring). Due to the complexity of this issue, it is important to consult a medical provider about your skin and to avoid treating the dark spots with over-the-counter products or remedies.
Q: How do you remove the dark spots?
A: There are a few approaches to treating and lightening the dark spots or sun damage. Initially, a consultation is recommend to provide an overall analysis of your skin and determine which treatments may provide the best results. The team of providers and medical aestheticians at Georgous Aesthetic Bar offer a complimentary session to complete a full assessment of your individual situation. Upon completion of the consultation, a recommended treatment plan is created and it may include topical products, chemical peels, and laser treatments. The treatment regimen is determined based on the cause of your hyperpigmentation, your skin type, and your skin goals.
Q: Who performs the laser treatment and chemical peel procedures?
A: All of the aestheticians at Georgous Aesthetic Bar are experienced medical aestheticians and certified laser technicians. They perform the chemical peel and laser treatments, with follow-up throughout the duration of the treatments to aid in a more consistent and overall improved outcome.
Q: When should you start treatments?
A: Fall and winter are the perfect times for laser treatments, since there is generally much less direct sun exposure to the skin during that time.
Georgous Aesthetic Bar
4505 Madison Ave. Kansas City, MO 64111 | 816.946.8484 | georgouskc.com
Someone is accidentally injured every second
Schedule online at GetInQuickERKC.com.
In case of a life-threatening emergency, call 911
Four Johnson County Locations
That’s why our ER experts stand ready 24/7 to care for you.
Unexpected moments happen. When they do, you can trust that AdventHealth’s ER experts are ready to safely care for you at four locations throughout Johnson County. And, we’ve made it easy to schedule a non-life-threatening emergency room visit online so you can wait in the comfort of home and arrive at a time convenient for you.
Katie Dunn Fitzgerald
ABOUT US
Mariner Wealth Advisors, a privately held national advisory firm founded in 2006, offers clients wealth management services designed to help them navigate their financial future. Our teams, including tax, estate planning and trust services, investment management and insurance, are under one roof, which provides clients with a coordinated, personalized experience. Our advisors are focused on partnering with clients for whatever life brings their way and are committed to always putting their interests first.
As a senior wealth consultant, Katie Dunn Fitzgerald helps business owners and senior-level executives formulate and implement financial plans, while actively volunteering in the Kansas City community.
Katie’s current community involvement includes serving the following organizations: the University of Kansas Health System, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, the Foundation board for Johnson County Community College, the United Way of Greater Kansas City Tocqueville Society, BOTAR, multiple women’s causes and her children’s grade school.
Wealth Advice
Q: What is the most rewarding part of your career?
A: As a senior wealth consultant, I help clients achieve their goals by matching them with the right resources to meet their needs, whether those are within or outside of Mariner Wealth Advisors. I have the opportunity to get to know clients and gain an understanding of their goals and challenges. The most rewarding part of my career is helping clients develop personalized plans and making sure they have the resources in place to help them achieve their long-term objectives.
Q: How do you balance the demands of your career and family while still finding time to be active in the community?
A: I grew up in a family that believes in giving back to the community, and it’s important to me that my husband and I make serving the community a priority for our family as well. I’m fortunate that my career provides flexibility to allow me to attend events and play an active role in many organizations. My family also realizes the importance of my community involvement and provides endless support. I’m most grateful for the legacy of service I believe I am leaving for my children, as they already seek opportunities to serve others.
*MWA does not provide all services listed in this piece. Some services are provided by affiliates and are subject to additional fees. Additional fees may also apply for tax planning and preparation services. This article is limited to the dissemination of general information pertaining to Mariner Wealth Advisors’ investment advisory services and general economic market conditions. The views expressed are for commentary purposes only and do not take into account any individual personal, financial, or tax considerations. As such, the information contained herein is not intended to be personal legal, investment or tax advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any security or engage in a particular investment strategy. Nothing herein should be relied upon as such, and there is no guarantee that any claims made will come to pass. Any opinions and forecasts contained herein are based on information and sources of information deemed to be reliable, but Mariner Wealth Advisors does not warrant the accuracy of the information that this opinion and forecast is based upon. You should note that the materials are provided “as is” without any express or implied warranties. Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision. Mariner Wealth Advisors (“MWA”), is an SEC registered investment adviser with its principal place of business in the
State of Kansas. Registration of an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. MWA is in compliance with the current notice filing requirements imposed upon registered investment advisers by those states in which MWA maintains clients. MWA may only transact business in those states in which it is notice filed or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from notice filing requirements. Any subsequent, direct communication by MWA with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. For additional information about MWA, including fees and services, please contact MWA or refer to the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov). Please read the disclosure statement carefully before you invest or send money.
Mariner Wealth Advisors
5700 W 112th St., Suite 200, Overland Park, KS 913.647.9700 | marinerwealthadvisors.com
Senior Care Authority
ABOUT US
We help guide seniors and their families to excellent outcomes. Don previously worked 10+ years as a food and beverage director in a senior community and developed a heart for working with this age group. His father suffered from Alzheimer’s, and Don had to juggle his father’s needs with his full time career, so he knows the struggle what families face. Elaine is a pharmacist and has a decade of experience in long term care.
Senior Care
Q: Why did you choose Senior Care Authority as your next career path?
A: The challenges Don faced with caring for a sick and aging parent made him wish for someone to help guide him through the complexities of the senior care world. Our goal is to know the systems inside and out, which can help families make informed decisions. Don is a Certified Senior Advisor and keeps current with continuing education to help people navigate the often confusing options out there.
Q: Explain your services?
A: We meet the person wherever they are in their journey and help devise the best next steps. We offer placement assistance for independent living, assisted living, and memory care at no charge to our clients. We also specialize in elder care consulting where we can help with situations such as skilled nursing placement, family mediation, community education, and a plethora of other topics that affect our region’s seniors.
Q: What types of factors differentiate one senior community from another?
A: We research each community in depth to understand the level of care they can provide for our clients. Every place is different, so before we set up any tours with our clients, we ensure that the community can fit the individual’s unique needs. We accompany them on the tours and help them weigh their options to make an informed decision. Once they move in, we follow up to make sure it’s a good fit. All of this is at no charge to the private-pay independent, assisted living and memory care clients.
Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)TM
Senior Care Authority
22052 W 66th St., Suite 179, Shawnee, Kansas | 913.488.8609 | seniorcare-kansascity.com
EATING AND DRINKING WELL IN KANSAS CITY
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CALEB CONDIT AND REBECCA NORDEN BRISKED EGGS André’s has been making quiche since 1955, and
not originally by choice. “The concept that my grandparents came over here from Switzerland with was exclusively pastries and chocolates—1955 Kansas City was not ready for a shop that just did that,” says owner René Bollier. “They didn’t really understand what my grandfather was doing, what made it special, why it was so much more expensive.”
And so they added quiche. At André’s Confiserie Suisse (4929 W. 119th St., Overland Park, and 5018 Main St., KCMO), they’ve had quiche lorraine on the menu for close to seventy years.
This month, they’re branching out in collaboration with Q39, making a limited-edition quiche loosely modeled after the Pitmaster sandwich.
“Brisket is what I think of when I think of Q39,” Bollier says. “It’s some of the best brisket I’ve ever had, so I was really pushing to incorporate brisket into the quiche.”
The final recipe uses that brisket plus three other key ingredients from the Pitmaster: classic barbecue sauce, provolone and onions. They also added a few Calabrian peppers to the caramelized onions to add just a touch of mild heat. They put a bit of sauce and brisket on top of the quiche, which caramelizes in the oven much like the city’s famed burnt ends.
“We’re always looking to do something outside the box,” says Q39’s executive chef Philip Thompson. “We don’t just want to be that quintessential barbecue joint, so we’re always looking to do something unique.”
A whole André’s Q39 BBQ Quiche is $35 and is available starting on October 1. Both locations will also have it avail-
able by the slice on October 1. —MARTIN CIZMAR
Tacos Valentina
NIX IT
The third wave of masa has arrived in Kansas City. Here are three people redefining the modern tortilla.
BY NATALIE TORRES GALLAGHER PHOTOGRAPHY BY ZACH BAUMAN
YOU CAN NEVER TELL THE SECRETS A TORTILLA HOLDS.
I am not referring to what this deceptively plain wrapper carries between its folds: the al pastor licked with heat and pineapple or some impossibly tender cochinita pibil. I mean the hundred thousand mysteries packed and pressed and flattened into the unleavened bread: the ancient process of transforming kernels to masa, the gods and goddesses of maíz revered by the Aztecs, the perseverance of cornstalks that stretch ardently toward a blistering sun. It is so humble, this tortilla, but so profound.
Within the last several years, a new breed of culinarians has emerged, and with them a resurrected idea of what a corn tortilla really is—and what it can be. Meet Kansas City’s third-wave masa evangelists.
Tacos Valentina Tacos Valentina sets up three tables under a tent in a parking lot. They don’t have much in the way of equipment—just a portable flat-top grill, two crockpots and a small tortilla press. The menu is small, usually offering no more than five items, and it changes with every pop-up. One week at the Brookside Farmers Market, the feature is a rich mole amarillo con pollo (yellow mole with chicken). On a Thursday at Casual Animal Brewing Co., the fragrant barbacoa is going fast. The recurring vegan option—confit potatoes with strips of firekissed nopal and hot salsa macha—might be the best choice you could make.
Each taco is a little gift, painstakingly assembled and finished with a flourish of cilantro. But the hand-pressed tortillas are the backbone of Tacos Valentina’s business.
“We really make masa as the base of our product,” says Roger Avila, one of Tacos Valentina’s three co-founders and partners. (The others are chefs Kendra Valentine and Pablo Muñoz.) “We want to show people another side of Mexican food.”
In 2017, Avila and Valentine moved from Dallas to Kansas City (where they met Muñoz). The plan was always to move on after a couple years, to continue ascending in the industry—until the pandemic hit. Suddenly, there was no time like the present to start their own business.
At the first Tacos Valentina pop-up in August 2021, the three partners made fresh tortillas with masa harina. The end product was good, but Valentine wanted something special, and that meant taking the operation a step further. They found a company called Masienda, which sources single-origin heirloom corn varieties grown by independent farmers in Mexico. They purchased a molino (mill). And then they dug deep into nixtamal.
Nixtamal is the word the Aztecs used for corn they had soaked in water and wood ash. This process would loosen the hull from the kernel, making the corn easier to grind and convert into masa. Today, nixtamal is commonly made by fermenting corn in an alkaline solution of lime and water. And while Mexican megaproducer Maseca’s masa harina is made from nixtamalized corn, the difference is that after it completes fermentation, the masa is dehydrated and pulverized into a fine, dry powder.
“With masa harina, you still have a natural tortilla product,” Avila says, “but the only thing that’s lacking is when you dehydrate the nixtamal, some of the nutrition and flavor from the corn gets lost, and that affects the flavor of the tortilla.”
To make their masa, Tacos Valentina mills the nixtamalized heirloom corn they’ve purchased from Masienda. (Masienda coined the phrase “third wave of masa” to indicate the surging interest in single-origin products and regenerative farming.)
The process is quick—just thirteen hours before the masa is ready. Then the team gets to work on the menu.
“We taste the masa, and from there, we decide what it would work best with,” Avila says. “Once we had access to different varieties of corn from different areas in Mexico, it opened up a lot of doors.”
On each menu, Tacos Valentina specifies which corn variety was used and where it came from, and repeat customers learn to look out for the masa they prefer best: The red cónico from EDMX produces an earthy, sweet masa that works well with spices while the bolita velatove from Oaxaca is dense and nutty (Tacos Valentina uses that masa for tetelas, a Oaxacan street food similar to empanadas).
“There is a difference in look and taste from one masa to another, and you can tell right away,” Avila says. “It’s a little like the coffee world when people prefer Brazilian or Ethiopian espresso. We’re helping them with maíz.”
Yoli “There is no recipe for tortillas,” Marissa Gencarelli says. “There are ratios. It’s a process.”
Marissa is the co-founder and co-owner of Kansas City’s Yoli Tortilleria, which specializes in stoneground, non-GMO corn tortillas and Sonoran-style flour tortillas. Since launching in 2017, Yoli has grown exponentially, processing up to eight hundred pounds of corn a day. In 2020, Marissa and her husband, Mark, opened a cafe and retail shop in the Westside neighborhood. Today, Yoli is a nationally recognized name in the tortilla game.
When Marissa was first forming the business plan, corn varieties and sourcing were carefully considered.
“We made a list of values, and one of them was sustainability,” Marissa says. “Do we know the farmer? Are we paying a fair price? Are shipping and gas emissions worth the import?”
The Yoli product needed to match its values, she says, and for the business to scale, imported Mexican maíz wasn’t feasible. Nor could Marissa find a way to rent rural Missouri crops and grow proprietary corn. Eventually, she found a fourth-generation farm family in Illinois that grows non-GMO and organic varieties, and today the bulk of Yoli’s corn supply comes from the Midwest. (Mexican heirloom varieties are occasionally brought in and used for limited-edition products.)
“Each corn that we work with has a different purpose,” Marissa explains. With more than seventy-two corn varieties commercially available, she keeps her options open. “Quesabirria was just in vogue, and those tacos need white and yellow corn, but maybe tomorrow the new trend will be something else.”
This past spring, Yoli acquired the KCK-based Art’s Mexican Food Products, a tortilleria and wholesale food company founded in 1961. Art’s is known primarily for their tissue-thin white corn tortilla—the same that many local Mexican restaurants use in their complimentary chip basket. When the owner of Art’s approached Marissa with an offer to sell the company, she saw an opportunity. She says that Art’s operations and products will not change.
Tamaleon In addition to its signature featherweight tortillas, Art’s sells fresh nixtamalized masa. This is what Crystal Nieves had been using for the tamales in her food truck, Tamaleon, since she started the business in 2020. (Before that, Nieves spent eleven years at Nara.)
“Art’s has a long history in Kansas City, and my mother has been getting masa from them since I can remember,” Nieves says. Her mother was known for her tamales, and this was the inspiration for Nieves’ business. “It’s straight ground corn dough, not powder with water. We take that masa and add our own ingredients to make it taste to our liking.”
Nieves’ tamales are wonderful, soft and steamy, but the most popular items at Tamaleon are the tacos—particularly the birria. Nieves relies on Art’s for her tortillas, too, but prefers their thick, six-inch corn tortilla.
It’s hard to argue with Nieves when it comes to her birria. Beef is stewed for six hours in a heady broth of chiles— puya, guajillo, ancho—and tomato, and when the meat is trembling in the pot, Nieves calls it done. She spoons out the built-up red film and uses that to grease her tortillas—this is how she crisps up the exterior. The end product is bulging with fiery beef and gooey cheese. It’s less than five dollars, and it is nothing short of glorious.
“I’ve seen restaurants use double tortillas, and I feel like that’s too much,” she says. “You want a tortilla that’s going to give you a good bite but still hold up with the cheese and the broth. Art’s tortillas are perfect.”
For Shanita McAfee-Bryant, gumbo isn’t just food—it’s philosophy.
BY TAYLOR DRUMMOND
SHANITA MCAFEE-BRYANT KNOWS THE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS. From creating new recipes within her family’s kitchen to winning Cutthroat Kitchen, a popular Food Network game show, McAfee-Bryant looks to use her talents to help those within her community through food advocacy and to bridge the divide in Kansas City with gumbo.
During the pandemic, McAfee-Bryant had the opportunity to do the boot camp held by the James Beard Foundation. “We made lasting friendships, good relationships and some of us got to talking about gumbo and how some of the things that we make are euphemisms for community work or what we were doing in advocacy,” she says.
McAfee-Bryant is now hosting the city’s first Gumbo Festival on October 9 in collaboration with the Troost Market Collective, which is putting on the fifth annual Troostapalooza celebration of local art, culture, music and food on October 8.
“When you look at this collaboration, a gumbo on Vine looks very different from a gumbo in the Northeast or a gumbo on the Westside,” she says. “But they are still a gumbo. They are still just as important. This is the idea.”
The family-friendly Gumbo Festival will be in the Jazz District. Teams will compete against each other at the event, which will also feature live music and vendors.
We talked to McAfee-Bryant about gumbo as a food and a philosophy, plus got her picks for a perfect day of eating and drinking in KC.
Where did your inspiration come from to make a Gumbo-inspired event? I was reading Marc Morial— now president of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans—who wrote a book during the pandemic called The Gumbo Coalition. He was talking about how the same philosophy to make gumbo can be applied to leadership or community development, meaning there are thousands of different recipes for gumbo and it has a rich history that comes from struggle.
How does gumbo relate back to a community like Kansas City? If you apply that same ideology to what we are trying to do with Gumbo Fest, it’s really to revitalize an economically disadvantaged area. It takes more than just one thing: It’s not just the businesses, it’s not just the developers, it’s not just the politicians, it’s not just the city funding, and it’s not just the tourism. You need all those components to create a thriving neighborhood. They all have to work together, and no one thing is better than the other. Same with Gumbo. You don’t want it to just be turkey stock or ham stock. You need all of the components.
How did this collaboration with the Troost Market Collective come about? I knew that they had Troostapalooza, and I wanted to make sure that one, we weren’t on top of what they were doing, and two, once we found out that it was going to be the same weekend, I was like, “We have to work together on these because I don’t want to create an East Side divide”—because they were doing something on Troost and I was coming from Vine. I’m going to be at Troostapalooa on Saturday and they’ll be at the Gumbo Fest on Sunday to support each other.
FAVORITE SPOTS
Rise and Shine “Those at Urban Cafe are creative and consistent. The best pancakes in town!”
Coffee, Please “I love what TJ at Kinship Café is doing in KCK. His coffee is creative and delicious, not to mention the coffee shop is a vibe.”
Lunch Box “I have one thing to say about The Russell: shrimp tacos. They know how much I stan for those tacos and chocolate chip cookies.”
Evening Vibes “Chef Pam and her team at Waldo Thai never disappoint. The brisket curry is next-level. It is so spicy for my weak taste buds, but I cannot get enough.”
BUTTERFLY BOOK
Sippin’ on gin and lactofermented fig syrup
BY MARTIN CIZMAR
UNTIL RECENTLY, cookbooks either focused on utilitarian recipes or begged for admiration with gorgeous photos of meals you might attempt on a long weekend. The easy availability of internet recipes has led to the near-extinction of the classic how-to book, with today’s cookbooks getting prettier and sometimes growing into mini-memoirs.
Bartending books have likewise evolved, with titles like The Cocktail Codex, The Drunken Botanist and Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails. They’re getting prettier, too, rather than going deep into the historical roots of drinks and obsessively categorizing them as earlier books in the genre did.
The Monarch Book of Cocktails is something else entirely—a unique and detail-driven book for a unique and detail-driven cocktail bar, which redefined luxury nightlife in KC when it opened on the Plaza five years ago. The drinks might be described as “aspirational” for most bartenders, but beautiful photos and clear instructions make it possible to recreate world-class mixology at home if you’re willing to spend the time and money.
The book opens with a description of the bar’s spaces— no accident since owner David Manica is an architect whose firm designs stadiums around the world, including the palatial new Raiders stadium in Vegas and the new Golden State Warriors arena in San Francisco. Digital renderings of the original designs and finished spaces look like a mirror’s reflection. The text accompanying the images gets into detail about design choices and materials used.
The drink recipes that follow are detailed and clear, but even the simplest will require a little effort and a few trips to the store for a home bartender. The Carriage Club (Tito’s, red wine, lemon juice and a syrup made from fresh berries and mascarpone) and the Kansas City Ice Water (Broker’s gin, Tito’s, Dolin blanc, fino sherry and tonic water) are probably the most approachable.
Monarch’s signature drink, the Louisiana Purchase, is more complicated, requiring you to make an infusion of two exotic liqueurs and orange peel and also a tincture with eleven ingredients including burdock root, wormwood and angelica. The final mixed drink is then freeze-distilled for two hours before serving. (At the bar, the glass is chilled with liquid nitrogen, but you can omit this step at home.)
Several other drinks require making tinctures from tropical nuts, salt-curing egg yolks or making your own kombucha or tepache.
For bartenders in other markets, there surely are ideas here begging to be borrowed. For most people in Kansas City, the book is a reminder of how lucky we are to have Monarch in town and pouring these drinks for what now strikes me as a very reasonable fifteen dollars.
NEWSFEED
WHAT’S NEW IN KANSAS CITY FOOD & DRINK
Alley Oop
A new bar coming to the Crossroads in early October will have just thirty-six seats and is aiming to be a spot where people in the neighborhood watch football on Sundays. Jim’s Alley Bar (500 E. 18th St., Suite 102) comes from the team behind nearby King G, but it’s aiming for an “old-school feel” that pays homage to owner Eric Flanagan’s late grandfather, Jim, who passed away in 2016.
“He was an important man in my life—a WWII vet, blue-collar worker that was a rock in our family,” Flanagan says. “He was a man of few words and family always came first. He was someone I looked up to.”
The food menu at Jim’s Alley Bar is highlighted by an Italian beef sandwich made with flat iron steak that’s slow-cooked for half a day and served with the classic option of au jus, giardiniera, sweet peppers and provolone. There will also be a sausage, onion and peppers sandwich made with a Scimeca’s link and served on a hoagie roll. The famous King G Taylor ham sandwich, which was pulled from the menu there because the processed New Jersey pork product made too much smoke on the grill, makes its triumphant return to Jim’s.
“My family is from New Jersey,” Flanagan said in a press release. “I wanted to put a New Jersey staple on the menu. We threw the Taylor ham on the King G menu as kind of an aside, but it ended up being very popular. We had to stop cooking it because we didn’t have proper ventilation. With Jim’s, we now have a hood system to cook that item and many more.”
Cocktails are simple—a Cuba Libre with housemade cola, an Italian Greyhound with housemade grapefruit soda—and the beer selection is described as “time-honored,” meaning classic macros.
The D in Detroit
The Detroit Pizza Craze isn’t over just yet, as a new Texas-based chain is bringing its square pies to a lot near the Regency Park mall on Metcalf Avenue in Overland Park. Via 313 opened as a food truck in Austin a decade ago, having been started by two brothers from Michigan. It’s going to share space with the questionably named The Crack Shack, a Southern California chain serving fried chicken sandwiches.
Wild and Quirky
Downtown Shawnee is fast becoming one of Johnson County’s top nightlife destinations. Now, it’s getting a new bar with a fresh concept that’s unlike any other in KC. Wild Child will be a “bright, quirky” bar with wine, cider and cocktails with little or no alcohol. Wild Child comes from Jay Sanders, the owner of the excellent cocktail spot Drastic Measures, which has an unsigned door on Nieman Road next door to Wild Child at 11022 Johnson Drive in Shawnee, an area we’ve previously dubbed “the South Beach of Johnson County.” Wild Child will open sometime next year, and Sanders says it will be “the perfect addition” to the area because “it won’t be like any of the other businesses on the block.” Also new on the strip, the former Hartman Hardware will soon open as Friction Brewery next door. “I believe Wild Child is the perfect accent to turn downtown Shawnee into a destination nightlife district in Johnson County and Kansas City,” Sanders says.
King G
Incahoots
Closings
Some sad news about the closing of three notable spots: Incahoots of Parkville, Pig & Finch of Leawood and Caribe Blue in KCK. Incahoots was a super-cute coffee and doughnut shop that opened in June 2021 in a former rail station with two 1920s Pullman train cars providing seating. It will become a branch of Rochester Brewing and Roasting, the brewery and coffee shop in West Crossroads. Pig & Finch had been open for a decade and was well-known for its fried chicken. The casual Park Place eatery was owned by the Iowabased company that also owns 801 Chophouse in Park Place. Caribe Blue in KCK was one of the area’s best Caribbean restaurants and was known for whole fried snapper, empanadillas and plantains. Caribe Blue’s social media pages have been taken down, and a sign posted on the door said it’s closed.
Caribe Blue
EXPANDED APPEAL
Pitmaster LT’s sauce aims to become KC’s next hit barbecue sauce with a new Walmart distribution deal.
BY MARTIN CIZMAR
PITMASTER LT’S BBQ SAUCE has roots in a local pit, but unless you’re a hardcore ’cuehead or you happened to live off 87th Street in Lenexa, you probably don’t remember LT’s Finest BBQ, which closed in 1999.
“He had great food,” Brian Tooks says of his dad Luther Tooks’ spot, “it was just a classic case of picking a bad location.”
The location wasn’t right, Luther says, but neither was the workload. “I had to get out of the restaurant business because I was retired and I was not accustomed to working that hard,” Luther says. “If I was younger, I could have hung in there, but after thirty years in a business office environment, the work was just too hard.”
After closing LT’s, Luther went back to retirement—until Brian’s wife, Sherin Tooks, told him he should look at selling his sauce. That sauce is now scattered around grocery stores around Kansas City, including Whole Foods, Hy-Vee and Price Chopper. They also got into Dillons, the Kroger division that covers most of Kansas. And it could grow from there. Pitmaster LT’s was recently selected to roll out at a hundred Walmarts after being given a ‘golden ticket’ at the megaretailer’s annual Open Call in Bentonville, Arkansas. Think of the open call like Shark Tank: Budding entrepreneurs get a half-hour to pitch their products to Walmart and/ or Sam’s Club buyers as part of the company’s efforts to rebuild American manufacturing. The businesses selected are put on the fast track to financial stability, says Brian, who has seen the program play out in his other job as a trademark and patent attorney. Pitmaster LT’s sauce will hit Walmart shelves in March, at the start of the next barbecue season. What makes the sauce stand out from the thousands of competitors on the market? Brian and Luther say their tomato-based sauce has “a very high-quality taste” and have marketed it, in part, on “what’s not in it.”
“We’ve very conspicuously said on the label that it’s an all-natural sauce, and we call out the junk ingredients that are not contained in the product— high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, nuts, dairy, gluten,” Brain says. “We like to think it’s a very distinctly Kansas City-style sauce.”
It’s also designed to be “all-purpose.” I bought a bottle of LT’s sauce and found it hard to describe by picking out flavors—as it’s designed to be. The idea is to make barbecue sauce that tastes like barbecue sauce.
“I developed a sauce that doesn’t have any dominating ingredient,” Luther says. “Unlike a mustard-based barbecue sauce, unlike a vinegar-based barbecue sauce, unlike a thick tomato sauce made with lots of hickory—ours has all of those things in it but no one ingredient dominates the taste. So that expands the appeal.”
“I don’t think you would ever tire of it,” Brian says. “I think it pairs with everything on any day. So in that sense, it has the potential to gain national appeal because it’s not a niche barbecue sauce.”
If there is a niche audience that the sauce does especially appeal to, it’s the pickiest and most forceful one of all: children.
“We learned over the years, from being in the restaurant business, that kids were our number one fans,” Luthur says. “Kids seemed to really like it.”
