FOOD & DRINK
and a desire to share new experiences with others. If you think you hate a certain ingredient, Coulter will creatively invite you to think again. “I have a friend who hates mushrooms. I was shocked, and I was determined to find a way to convince him that they were good,” Coulter says. “I had made the portobello spread for the Vegan Bae pizza [made with said spread, blistered tomatoes, zucchini, and basil] and I had him try it. He was raving about how great it was and asking me about the sauce, and I said to him ‘I thought you didn’t like mushrooms?’ Once he realized, he was mind blown. There are so many ways you can make something good for someone. You can make things fun.” As she’s seen the Kansas City restaurant industry grow before her eyes, Coulter is thrilled to see the food culture hold space for smaller-scale creatives. The pop-up community has embraced Devoured with open arms, as have the brick-and-mortar joints that invite her to sell her pies on-site. She’s formed solid partnerships with other pop-ups like Café Cà Phê, and has been delighted to see the diversity, collaboration, and connection of the pop-up scene come to this area of the Midwest. “It’s exploding,” Coulter says. “I used to always envision this and would talk to people about setting up a food pop-up, and people would tell me it wasn’t possible. And I said, ‘Why?’ I’m so glad I didn’t fall for that.” With her eyes to the future, Coulter is riding a wave of success. She recently purchased a food truck that will allow her to be more mobile than before, and is in process of fundraising to acquire the necessary equipment to trick out her pizzeria on wheels. Once her food truck set-up is complete, she hopes to be able to park it in a queer area of Kansas City. “We have a pretty large queer community here in Kansas City, but sometimes I feel like we are all over the place,” Coulter says. “It would be really cool to be part of some type of queer space, like a ‘gayborhood.’ I would love to be a part of creating that, and I really envision Kansas City to be progressive in that way.” For now, she’s focused on getting her truck up and running and serving the people of KC some creative pizza slices with her signature smile. To quote her mom, even though Coulter puts pizzas inside of boxes, she will definitely never think inside of one. “I have to be able to express myself, which is why me being an entrepreneur makes so much sense,” Coulter says. “I just need to be creative, and I want to create something that I like and then share that with other people.”
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The Breakfast Burrito at Mattie’s Foods
BY LIZ GOODWIN Mattie’s Foods, a haven for
g ro wn b y h a n d
ma d e b y h a n d
816. 221 . 7 5 5 9 | b l u e b i rd b i s t ro . c o m 1 7 0 0 S u m m i t S t re e t
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plant-based comfort food, is known for its simultaneously indulgent and healthy-ish creations. The breakfast burrito is a dish that lives up to the eatery’s reputation. I am a self-proclaimed champion of tortilla-based entrees for breakfast, and this folded pocket of flavor meets the mark. The breakfast burrito is the perfect hangover cure, guaranteed to keep you full but not too full until lunch time, and practically begs to be topped with some sort of hot sauce. The exterior is a perfectly crisped, yet still somehow internally fluffy flour tortilla. Tortilla connoisseurs know that texture is everything, but that softness can’t compromise the structure: nothing is worse than an architecturally questionable burrito. This one marries the best of both worlds. It’s then stuffed with the “Mattie’s hash” featuring perfectly sized potato chunks, meaty seitan that resembles slightly sweet and tangy sausage, and a creamy cheese sauce. Served with a side of salsa, the breakfast burrito truly brings the Tex-Mex flavor profile to its peak. This decadent and delicious breakfast bite is available for $9 from 9-11 a.m. Wednesday-Friday, and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. If you happen to have leftovers, it’s also well suited for reheating in the oven or the air fryer at a lower temperature.
The Naranja (Orange) Gin and Tonic at La Bodega
BY LIZ GOODWIN Southwest Boulevard’s go-to
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spot for tapas, La Bodega, has an abundance of wines and cocktails to choose from as you dive into your tapas. The gin and tonic selection presents plenty of options, including the Naranja. For the most part, I am a hater of orange-flavored drinks unless it’s true OJ. But this beverage changed me. The Naranja is made with aromatic J. Rieger gin, a housemade orange tonic, orange bitters, and star anise. It’s well-spiced and not too sweet, a celebration of citrus and the diversity of flavors it can compliment. This drink is a liquified version of that fleeting chunk of time where summer melts into fall, which is objectively the best weather of the year. I prefer to enjoy it al fresco on an early September afternoon, but even when you’re in the thick of a classic Midwestern cold snap, this drink will remind you of warmer days ahead. Pair it with the Higos y Queso de Cabra, which are grilled baguette slices with goat cheese, fig coulis, and roasted peppers; or the Costilla Cortas, the chipotle-apricot braised short ribs with roasted peppers and fresh mint. The generously sized drink rings in at $12, allowing plenty of room in the budget to split a few plates amongst friends. THE PITCH | March 2022 | THEPITCHKC.COM
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