[lost meals] The American Restaurant, Kansas City MO

 

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.

Cheddar Popcorn and Peppered Potato chips

Lionfish – Bacardi Rum, Orange Flower Water, Domaine Canton Ginger Liquor

Cherry Blossom – Orange Curacao, Cherry Heering, Brandy, Cherries

Fontina Val D’Aosta Truffle Toast

Poutine with blood sausage and Fontina fondue

Salmon Rillettes with House-Made Focaccia Crackers

Duck Pastrami with Chocolate Pumpernickel Crumble, Bing Cherry, Mustard Seed

Unpasteurized Cow Butter with Black Sea Salt, Goat Butter from Quebec, Cracked Wheat, White Bread

BABY ARTICHOKE Prairie Birthday Farm greens, pistachio, fava bean (28 different greens including mint)

 

63 DEGREE CAMPO LINDO EGG corn, huitlacoche, lamb, porcini

TERRINE OF FOIE GRAS heirloom tomato, boudin noir, French lentil, brioche (Aerated brioche, and lentils cooked in chicken stock)

DAY BOAT SCALLOP sweet onion, stinging nettle risotto, honey, lavender

 

SOFT SHELL CRAB sugar snap pea, shiitake mushroom, miso, ramps

PORK JOWL beer Mustard Seed, Ribbons of Celery, Celery Puree, Caraway

DRY AGED BERKSHIRE PORK CHOP broad bean, carrot, spring garlic (pommes souffle, broad beans with nutmeg, carrot ash, carrot pudding, yogurt)

CAMPO LINDO CHICKEN buttermilk, gnudi, fiddlehead ferns, morel mushrooms (crispy skin, onion strings, buttermilk powder)

 

COLORADO LAMB crépinette, rhubarb, english peas, hibiscus (pea puree, candied hibiscus flower)

Sweet Corn and Berry Palate Cleanser (Corn Custard with Saskatoon Berries and Sable crumble)

NICKERS BAR chocolate torte, cashew caramel, bacon candy, sea salt ice cream (salted caramel, cashew caramel, crispy nougat, flourless chocolate cake, bacon)

BOURBON PEACH COBBLER sweet tea sabayon, pecan crisps tea cake, grilled peach sherbet (tea cake, sabayon of bourbon tea, cryo-vacced peach in bourbon, grilled peach sherbet)

SMOKED STRAWBERRY PIE angel food microsponge, honey crème brulee, scorched gelato (cold smoked strawberry, aerated angel food, pie shard, scorched milk gelato, crème brulee, aerated honey)

 

BERRIES N’ CREAM FLAMBÉ coffee cake, pecans, Bärenjäger, buttermilk sherbet

Mango Raspberry Pate de Fruit, German Chocolate Cookie, Sea-Salted Chocolate Caramel

With an early reservation and our arrival slightly preceding the dining room’s first seating our visit to Debbie Gold’s The American Restaurant began with complimentary snacks in the lounge while we each enjoyed a cocktail and subsequently progressed through a pair of small plates before we descended the stairs to our plus two-top overlooking Kansas City as Dean Martin and Old Blue Eyes crooned overhead. A good start and a stunning room the experience would only improve as we were greeted by a young woman named Sunshine who would act as our captain, server, and guide for the rest of the evening – each dish presented with ample detail and the lady herself even charged with preparing our final dessert when the time arrived.

 

Featuring a menu focused on an “American” vision but clearly rooted in a multitude of culinary traditions the decision of what to order was an easy one as each diner could order as many courses as he or she liked from any section of the menu and with a great diversity of items focused on local farms and seasonal produce I opted for seven courses while my mother chose a quintet – eight savories and four of Nick Wesemann’s decadent desserts plus canapé, bread service, amuses, mignardises, a palate cleanser, and a bonus savory from the kitchen – each dish remarkable with vibrant produce and picture-perfect proteins existing in balance while the sweets each presented a unique take on classic flavors with textures and temperatures adding intrigue as smoke, salt, alcohol, and savory tones prevented any one from being overly sweet.

Our last meal in Kansas City was not only the best in Kansas City but the best of the entire trip from Columbus to Phoenix; a top to bottom and start to finish masterpiece of a meal that both my mother and I still reminisce of fondly. Located in the Crown Center, a dramatic room with service every bit deserving of its four diamond/star commendations from AAA and Forbes, The American Restaurant is not just a restaurant that is “good for the Midwest,” it is a restaurant that would be great anywhere and one worth traveling to.