Around the BLOCK

Making Pizza at Home–Kansas City Star Food section

Mary Bloch — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:01:19 +0000

What a fun assignment! I interviewed three of Kansas City’s finest pizza makers–Jake Imperiale, Quillan Glynn and James Landis–to get their take on translating the art of pizza making to a home kitchen. I also got to try my hand at shaping crusts, spreading the sauce and toppings and using a peel to rotate the [...]

Restaurant Week Jan 20-29, 2012

Mary Bloch — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:51:33 +0000

Hooray! Kansas City’s second annual Restaurant Week starts today and continues through the 29th of January, with 127 restaurants participating for lunch and/or dinner. At lunch two courses will be served for $15 and at dinner 3 for $30. Check out Restaurant Week’s website where most restaurants have posted the lunch and or dinner menu [...]

Mestizo

Mary Bloch — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 17:49:44 +0000

Aaron Sanchez of the Food Network recently chose Leawood as the site of his first restaurant outside the New York City environs. In keeping with his roots (he grew up at the knee of NY acclaimed restaurateur Zarela Martinez),Mestizo features upscale Mexican fare with a flair. The contemporary interior comes alive with bright colors, red light [...]

Gram & Dun

Mary Bloch — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:59:33 +0000

Gram &Dun is the latest restaurant under the Bread and Butter Concepts flag, an independent and local group that also owns BRGR and Urban Table in Corinth. The owners decided to jump the state line and open on the Plaza, where it’s getting a ton of buzz. Evidently, I’m not the only one delighted that [...]

The Girl and the Goat

Mary Bloch — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:03:29 +0000

Stephanie Izard has been on a roll ever since winning Season 4 of Top Chef on Bravo. Shortly after becoming the first and to date only woman to win that competition, she opened her own restaurant. The Girl and the Goat has been packed since the day she opened the doors and, after a recent [...]

Nica’s 320

Mary Bloch — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:25:55 +0000

Nica’s 320 recently took over the old Shiraz space on Southwest Boulevard. The original Nica’s Cafe was out south before its owners negotiated for a bigger space in the Crossroads. Loaded with the same charm and a courtyard as Shiraz, Nica’s 320 looks like it’s been around forever. The menu is quite unique. Diners devise [...]

Favorite Photos of 2011

Mary Bloch — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:30 +0000

This was such a fun post to put together. Each of the photos I selected has a particular meaning to me, either because of its composition, the presentation of the dish, or the memories it conjures up when I recall where I was and who I was with at the time the picture was taken. [...]

Locanda Verde–New York City

Mary Bloch — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:55:04 +0000

Locanda Verde has been on the map for quite some time. This charming Italian hot spot in Tribeca is owned by Andrew Carmellini, who just added The Dutch to his resume. Securing a reservation for dinner is no easy task, so rather than eat super early or late, we opted for brunch. Tables started filling [...]

El Patron

Mary Bloch — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:00:38 +0000

It was a real struggle to get my husband to go to El Patron with me. He remembered vividly, as did I, our last visit there several years ago and it wasn’t pretty. Though it occurred right after the restaurant opened, our meal was so abysmal I made no pretense of eating my dinner and [...]

Zocalo

Mary Bloch — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 20:35:34 +0000

Zocalo is the new Mexican restaurant that recently opened in the space vacated years ago by Mi Cocina. I was so happy to see another independent restaurant open on the Plaza and it was time that building saw new life. The good news is that it’s been packed since day one. It’s attractive and lively. [...]