The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation – some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los Angeles Kings run to the Stanley Cup, and some simply as a result of too much travel. Having enjoyed many of these meals with friends or family and with some of them amongst the year’s very best the reality is that with time my memory has deteriorated and as life moves forward I’ve realized there is little hope to ever “catch up” or document these experiences as well as I’d hope, yet in order to preserve them I present these pictures, notes, and thoughts on the experience.
Crème Fraiche Donuts with Cinnamon Sugar
Crepes with whipped cream, strawberry filling, spiced nuts, honey
French Toast, Spiced Nuts, Whipped Cream, Seasonal Fruit, Maple syrup
Biscuits and Gravy, Crispy chicken, Sausage Gravy, Poached Eggs
Shortcake, Strawberry, Fromage Blanc, Lemon, Vanilla, Lavender Ice Cream (Strwaberry Sorbet, Champagne compressed Strawberries, Fromage Blanc Panna Cotta, lemon gel, strawberry gel)
Bittersweet Chocolate, Bing Cherry, Sweet Corn, Salted Peanut, Caramel (Popcorn Semifreddo, cherry sorbet, chocolate sauce)
Roasted Peaches, Smoked Pecan, Buttermilk Waffle, Mascarpone, Maple, Sorbet (Peach Sorbet, Caramel Gel, Maple Foam)
Flat Rock Farm Black and Blueberry Cobbler, crumb, honey, orange, thyme (Sour cream and Honey Ice Cream, Orange Zest)
When industry photographer/insider, blogger, and cookbook co-author Bonjwing Lee (ulteriorepicure) offered to speak to pastry chef and restaurant co-owner Megan Garrelts about preparing the restaurant’s dinner desserts at brunch for myself and mother I worried that I’d not be able to fairly judge the experience that is bluestem – that this would afford us special treatment and bias my thoughts – and while I cannot guarantee that such a thing did not happen what I can promise is that every single person in attendance at the restaurant that afternoon was treated just as well as we were, save for the quartet of desserts, and we paid for everything we ordered; an astounding deal considering the quality of the food, room, and service.
A larger space that it appears from the exterior – with high ceilings, plenty of mirrors, and plush seating complimenting white tablecloths our arrival at bluestem was just after opening and greeted by the hostess at the bar we were handed off to a young, hip gentleman named Sean who provided professional yet casual and comfortable service throughout the meal – all dishes arriving at with perfect pace, plating, and descriptions while water and coffee remained filled without delay; the meal lasting just over 75 minutes for three courses where crème fraiche donuts that were good but not particularly memorable were the ‘lowlight’ and pretty much everything else was a highlight.
Having mentioned the desserts; though I’d have gladly, greedily, and gluttonously tried to work my way through full sized portions of a couple selections I was instead surprised/impressed by Garrelts’ choice to send out each of the dinner options in a ‘tasting’ portion on a large slate, all four excellent but the peaches and cherries particularly memorable; the former like a smoldering campfire pie with the pecans and buttermilk both providing an ample foil to the stone fruit’s natural sweetness while the second was one of the best desserts I had all year as the sour cherries met the bitter chocolate headlong overtop of a semi-frozen bar akin to kettle corn – each flavor and texture highlighting the rest and the flavors harkening red wine coming through on the finish.
Locally focused yet complex and elegant it is places like bluestem that people on both coasts are overlooking when they refer to the Midwest outside of Chicago as “flyover country” but as this meal and my dinner the following day at The American Restaurant would confirm, not all Midwestern cities are alike and although I’m not sure when I’ll be back in KC I am sure that when I am I’ll be making dinner reservations at bluestem.