January 27, 2014 · 8:34 pm

Milwaukee in February – why not?

It’s hard to get excited about a trip to Milwaukee in February – especially when it’s been so darned cold here in the Upper Midwest. But the NYTimes travel section yesterday had a story about the Walker’s Point area that got me a little psyched. (Granted I’ll be there more for work than pleasure but hope to sneak in a quick walk around town.) Here’s the story:  In Milwaukee a district for a bite or a brew

Of particular interest to moi:

BRAISE

Servers note that 90 percent of ingredients used at the two-year-old restaurant — with the exception of coffee, tea, spices, citrus and chocolate — are sourced from regional farms. Menus change daily, but the cooking by the chef David Swanson is consistently hearty and robust.

1101 South Second Street; 414-212-8843; braiselocalfood.com

CLOCK SHADOW CREAMERY AND PURPLE DOOR ICE CREAM (The cheese appeals more than the ice cream this winter)

A cheesemaker and a separate ice cream business share production and retail space in the newly built, LEED-certified Clock Shadow Building. Tours ($3) offered by the urban creamery (come Wednesday or Friday to see the popular cheese curds being made), culminate in cheese samplings. The popular Purple Door, known for unusual ice cream flavors like whiskey or chai with pink peppercorn, plans to move at the end of the month and reopen nearby in March.

Clock Shadow Creamery, 138 West Bruce Street; 414-273-9711;clockshadowcreamery.com. Purple Door Ice Cream, 205 South Second Street; purpledooricecream.com.

ANTIQUES ON SECOND

The biggest of several antiques stores in the area, this one opened in 2010 in two merged early-19th-century warehouses. Shoppers can ride the operator-manned freight elevator between three floors stuffed with vintage clothes, wood chests, record collections and eclectic finds like a midcentury vinyl living room set.

1039 South Second Street; 414-645-9640; antiquesonsecond.com

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January 24, 2014 · 4:10 pm

Cozy cafe chain not so bad for breakfast at least…

As fate would have it, I happened to eat for the first time at a Cozy Cafe in the Des Moines area (the original one, in Clive) one day before the DM Register pretty much panned it . The breakfast I had was pass-able. The service was very good (it was quiet on a cold Wednesday morning) and I was surprised by the hip cheerful decor.

Datebook diner review Cozy Cafe

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January 23, 2014 · 7:49 pm

The washington Post: “Why Iowa Rules”

Sally Field 1971.JPGGuess I’d agree with much of this (except the Machine Shed breakfasts which are a bit much)Washington Post story

but can’t help thinking of the famous Sally Field Oscars acceptance speech: “you like me right now. you like me!”

 

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January 20, 2014 · 5:18 pm

Wow and Norwegian airlines flights to london – cheaper?

This from airfarewatchdog on cheaper flight options to london:

How to Save: The big trick that will help in 2014 is finding affordable airfare; other than accommodations, this is going to be your largest expense. With new low-cost transatlantic airlines like Norwegian and WOW promising to undercut major carriers’ prices in the coming year, it will likely be easier to pick up an affordable plane ticket to the British capital this spring and summer.

WOW Air, the new Icelandic low-fare airline, announced it would start flying between Boston and London/Gatwick this spring. Similar to Icelandair’s long-term flying pattern, flights will be via Reykjavik: leaving Boston in the evening and arriving in London the following morning, with the morning departure, afternoon arrival reverse pattern.

So far, WOW hasn’t announced anything about Iceland stopovers, but I’ll be very surprised if the line doesn’t offer stopover packages.

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Flights will be in A320s, at a slightly below-average 30- to 31-inch pitch but average or better width. Although the airline is single class, you can reserve the extra-room exit-row seats and even guarantee an empty middle seat by paying extra.

Fares aren’t available yet, but the fare pattern will almost surely continue the carrier’s policy of offering very low fares to early buyers on at least some dates. Currently, for example, fares from London to Reykjavik are as low as £98 each way (about $157), including the onerous British passenger duty and a £6 “payment fee.” The only surprise is a very stiff charge of £19 for one checked bag.

Whether WOW flights will appeal to U.S. and Canadian travelers depends on one main factor: Will the fares be low enough to offset the increased flight time (compared to nonstops) and the hassle of an overnight stop? Back in the regulated days, low fares on Loftledir, the precursor to Icelandic, got a lot of budget travelers to accept those conditions, and many of them opted for a quick Iceland stopover. WOW seems to be hoping to replicate that formula.

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January 19, 2014 · 4:46 pm

A plug for my aunt’s book of Antarctica photographs!

This from the Wall Street Journal:

Most travelers will never visit Antarctica—and even if they do, they likely won’t see it in this way. Artist Diane Tuft traveled there in 2012 on a National Science Foundation grant to document the effects of ozone depletion on Antarctica’s light. Her gorgeous results are collected in the new book “Gondwana: Images of an Ancient Land.” This is the natural world abstracted—snow sculpted by the wind, folding upon itself; shapes that might be boulders or grains of sediment, depending on where the photographer stood. Though they may feel fresh, many of Ms. Tuft’s shots capture eons-old formations, such as jewel-like air bubbles that were frozen into a lake thousands of years ago. $95, assouline.com

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January 5, 2014 · 4:49 pm

Check out the Drake University Chamber Choir – in Des Moines and England!

The Drake University Chamber Choir performs at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in 2010.

The Drake University Chamber Choir performs at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in 2010.

For my music-loving friends in London, here’s a treat from Des Moines – Drake University’s Chamber Choir will perform free concerts at St. Paul’s Cathedral at 5 p.m. Jan. 20 and at St. Martin-in-the-fields (Trafalgar Square) at 1 p.m. Jan. 21,  as well as at Oxford and Cambridge during a 12-day concert tour January 10-22. These are some of the talented vocal students that my choir, the Drake University Community Chorus, sings with during our semester concerts. Closer to home (in Des Moines) the chamber choir will perform a free concert on Thursday Jan. 9 at 7:30 at Grace United Methodist Church. Here’s the scoop on the England tour from the Register: Drake choir to kick off series

While in England, the choir will to sing in the cathedrals of Gloucester, Coventry, and Ely, at both Cambridge and Oxford (St. John’s College Chapel, Cambridge; Merton College Chapel, Oxford), St. Martin-in-the-Fields and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, and St. Nicholas Church in Witham.  The Chamber Choir was selected by the American Embassy in London to inaugurate its new series at St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

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January 5, 2014 · 2:56 am

From a frequent Nebraska visitor: Alexander Payne gets it right

Thoroughly enjoyed Alexander Payne’s movie Nebraska, an affectionate, matter-of-fact, funny, respectful, honest and true-to-life depiction of the kind of small worn-out rural town in Nebraska (or Kansas, Iowa, and South Dakota) that I never dreamt I would know so well. But I do. (Witness the photo below of Kinsley, Kansas.)

I was worried the movie would be too bleak or depressing, in its black and white account of a mentally failing cranky old drunk who goes on a quixotic road trip from Montana to Nebraska with his long suffering sad sack son to collect a million dollars he mistakenly thinks he’s won through one of those bogus magazine sweepstakes. I also worried that the movie would ridicule the folks in these parts. But this movie wasn’t directed by the Coen Brothers, no snottiness here. it just tells it like it is. it feels dead-on, right and real.

Nor does the movie stoop to false sentiment or glorification of the place and people. There is greed and small mindedness and boorishness but also warmth and kindness. None of it flashy or effusive, of course. Payne captured the stark beauty of the treeless landscape, the quiet emptiness of small town Nebraska, the stoic solid nature of its residents, the lack of drama. Things do happen, the action ebbs and flows, the story moves forward, there are funny, sad, touching moments, but the tone remains steady and true. There is no swelling manipulative soundtrack.

I loved the movies’ silences (brave for a filmmaker), the soundless landscape, the sparse monosyllabic conversation, the quiet acceptance of surprises along the journey. I have grown to respect these places that are so foreign to the one where I grew up and Payne, who did grow up in Nebraska, obviously does too.

After the movie, the scene I encountered while waiting in line in the bathroom of the Des Moines theater felt like an extension of the movie.
“Did you like it?” An older woman asked her friend.
Silence.
“Yes,” her friend responded.
Silence.
“Might be hard to recommend to just anyone. Not like ‘Saving Mr Banks.'”
Silence.
“Yah. There weren’t a lot of lines.”

20140104-210143.jpg

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December 28, 2013 · 1:59 am

Tale of 3 restaurants: tres amigos/dodge city; saigon/wichita; & story./prairie village

The “El Capitan” cattle drive monument, Dodge City

Our dinner tonight at story., an upscale new American cuisine restaurant, in a fancy shopping area in the Kansas City suburb of Prairie Village could not have differed more from dinner last night at Tres Amigos, on Wyatt Earp Blvd. in Dodge City. But both were good in their own way. story. Has a clean dramatic decor with dimly lit white walls and large pieces of understated contemporary art. I had a beautifully prepared and presented piece of red snapper, with a slightly crispy crust but light and moist inside, atop a bed of sautéed spinach, salty bits of pancetta and a light lemon wine sauce. another stand out was the braised short rib with gnocchi and onion rings. best of all was the company, a favorite uncle who lives in Kansas City.

Tres Amigos is a much humbler place with somewhat ordinary Mexican fare but it easily accommodated our party of nine on a holiday weekday. Today in Wichita we stopped at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant Saigon, which was even busier than usual. but as usual, the service was brisk and the food (#45, bun with charbroiled pork and egg roll!) was fresh and tasty. Discovered the shrimp chips this time and they are much better than the ones I try to make at home. We also stopped at our favorite middle eastern restaurant in Wichita , N&J market, to pick up some hummus and pitta chips to take home.

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December 24, 2013 · 7:00 pm

Oklahoma joes thumbs up

We are breezing down two lane highway 156 towards Ellsworth Kansas on ChristMas eve. Nary another car or soul in sight. The fields are snowy, the sky is a sunless white-grey, the temperature is up to 25, who hoo! Better than the frigid sunny 9 degree weather that greeted us this morning in the icy parking lot of the Baymont Inn in Lawrence (where I slept fitfully on a too soft mattress.)

Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ was indeed in a gas station in Kansas City, Ks, which added to its street cred and quirky charm. (Pix below) The ribs and brisket were, as reported, excellent. On a Mpnday night, the line to order at the counter was long but moved fairly quickly and everyone was in a cheerful, pre-holiday mood. The ribs were meaty and moist, well seasoned, good sauce on the sweet side, akin to Gates. Also had good sides …spicy coleslaw, beans with chunks of beef in them, seasoned fries. We will be back!

This morning we had an excellent breakfast at Milton’s in Lawrence, stopped to get some goodies at the bakery Wheatfield’s (surprisingly delicious rugelah, a rustic rosemary bread, pecan raisin bread) then hit interstate 70 west. man this road is empty (although behind us somewhere are our kids in another car). This annual road trip to Wright, Kansas, this time of year, always feels like we are driving to the end of the earth.

The sky has just turned hazy and we are not sure if there is fog or blowing snow ahead.

 

 

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December 22, 2013 · 9:02 pm

Big Step – trying out a new BBQ join in Kansas City! Oklahoma Joe’s

HomeScreen_8-21g short bottom.jpgAfter considerable family debate, we have decided to try out a new BBQ joint tomorrow in Kansas City during our annual Christmas drive to western Kansas. This is a big deal since the debate for years has been solely between Gates and Bryant’s – with Gates usually winning.

Not that we aren’t happy with Gates, but we’ve been hearing considerable buzz about Oklahoma Joe’s which contrary to the name was actually started by two Kansas City champion amateur bbq-ers. The Oklahoma name comes from their initial partnership with the owner of something called Oklahoma Joe’s Smoker Company (the owner’s first/middle name was “Joe Don”…classic) and their decision to open their first bbq join in 1996 in Stillwater Oklahoma, home of Oklahoma State University and not incidentally, where my stepdaughter spent her early childhood. Apparently the second Oklahoma Joe’s opened soon after beside a gas station in Kansas City. The first one closed, and additional Oklahoma Joe’s restaurants opened in Kansas City. (I guess by then it was too late to call them “Kansas City Joe’s.) Stillwater seems to have an affinity for restaurants that include the name Joe’s — the only other restaurant I remember there was called Eskimo Joe’s, which opened in 1975 and vowed to serve the coldest beer in Stillwater. Hence the name.

Here’s more about Oklahoma Joe’s below. Wish us luck!

Oklahoma Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que has earned local, regional, national, and even international attention for the quality of its barbecue and the uniqueness of its original gas station location.

Oklahoma Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que has earned local, regional, national, and even international attention for the quality of its barbecue and the uniqueness of its original gas station location. It has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Denver Post, The Chicago Sun-Times, Vanity Fair, numerous airline magazines, local magazines, and The Kansas City Star.  

Oklahoma Joe’s has also been featured on local and national television programs, including Anthony Bourdain’s “A Cook’s Tour” and “No Reservations”, the Travel Channel’s “Man vs. Food”, among many others.

In 2009, Anthony Bourdain named Oklahoma Joe’s as one of “Thirteen Places to Eat Before You Die” in an article for Men’s Health magazine.

Oklahoma Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que has been the Zagat #1 Rated barbecue restaurant in Kansas City every year since 2004. Zagat also named Joe’s famous sandwich, the Z-Man, the Best Sandwich in Kansas in its “50 States, 50 Sandwiches List”. In 2013, The Daily Meal website and USA Today both named Oklahoma Joe’s Kansas City’s ribs “America’s Best Ribs”.

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