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Culinary Curiosity

The Dish With Ann – Food Trucks

In this age of coronavirus, there is only so much cooking a person can bear. Yes, baking can be soothing when you’re feeling anxious and cooped up. But let’s face it, we are all craving a bit of fresh air and a safe adventure. Ordering your next lunch or dinner from a food truck may […]

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The Dish With Ann – April 2020

The coronavirus has changed everything, especially the way we eat. Some of us are cooking more. Many of us are picking up or having food delivered. As I am writing this, we are a few days into our 30-day shelter in place. In other words, only essential services will be available. But restaurants and caterers […]

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The Dish With Ann – Dos de Oros Restaurant

When I was looking for a restaurant I hadn’t visited, my friend, Lynne, said, ‘Have you considered one of my family’s favorite Mexican restaurants, Dos de Oros?” I hadn’t. But since I’ve been there, I’ll be returning soon, for sure. With its low ceilings, weathered driftwood walls festooned with sombreros, the restaurant’s casual vibe belies […]

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The Dish With Ann – Strang Hall

With its Scandinavian sleek and industrial minimalist design, Strang Hall is the cool new chef collective in downtown Overland Park. Named after William B. Strang, Jr., who platted Overland Park and was considered its founder at the turn of the last century, Strang Hall has six different chef-driven restaurants under one roof, along with a […]

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The Dish With Ann – Sayachi

Sayaka Gushi Falcon is the owner of the new sushi and oyster spot, Sayachi, in Brookside, along with her husband, Chef Carlos Falcon of Jarocho fame. She may be one of the hardest working and one of the smartest people in the local restaurant business. Her day job? She is an actuary for Sun Life […]

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The Dish With Ann – Urban Cafe

One of the joys of living in Our Town right now is the plethora of quality, home grown restaurants that serve farm to table, locally sourced produce, fruit, and meat, in addition to vegan, organic menu items. Add the newly opened Urban Cafe to the top of your list. Owner and Chef Justin Clark was […]

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The Dish With Ann – French Market

The cuisine scene in Prairie Village has become even more extraordinaire, thanks to the July move of the already popular French Market into the now-shuttered Pinot’s Palette. And the secret to its success? Well, that’s truly a Quillec family affair.  Joanne and Patrick Quillec have been making their French presence known in Our Town since […]

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The Dish with Ann – Poi-ō

Tucked off Southwest Boulevard, Poi-ō – a play on the enunciation of the Spanish word for chicken, pollo – has a hipster vibe that is obviously attractive to the non-stop flow of customers. This fast casual restaurant has a counter for ordering, a clean, simple decor, communal seating, and is festooned with floor to ceiling […]

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The Dish with Ann – Fox and Pearl

Vaughn Good, chef and co-owner of Fox and Pearl, originally thought he wanted to do a deep dive into molecular gastronomy while attending the French Culinary Institute in New York City in 2011. Then he met a professor who was passionate about charcuterie, curing meats and sausages, and Vaughn did a 180-degree professional pivot. After […]

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The Dish with Ann – Afterword Tavern & Shelves

“One sip of this will bathe the drooping spirits in delight, beyond the bliss of dreams.” John Milton There might be a night when you just want to curl up with your laptop and tweak your work presentation, sipping a glass of Sean Minor Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon, while sitting at a long, custom-made bar. […]

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The Dish With Ann – Q39

When Chef Rob Magee opened up Q39 at the original 39th street location five years ago, barbeque lovers instantly knew there was a hot, smokin’ talent in town. Lines formed outside the restaurant, and the positive online, newspaper, and magazine reviews (Zagat!) piled up higher than five slabs of ribs. But Rob was not just […]

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The Dish With Ann – Black Sheep + Market

Co-owner and Chef Michael Foust feels fortunate that his restaurant, Black Sheep + Market, is located in the same spot as one of Our Town’s iconic, now-shuttered bistros, Cafe Allegro. Said Michael: “Owner Steve Cole was really at the forefront of farm to table culinary excellence in Kansas City. I respected the heck out of […]

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The Dish With Ann – Jovito’s Italian Café

Leasa Caron, the owner of Jovito’s Italian Café, is steeped in the lore of Our Town’s local food establishments. Her former in-laws, The Fiorellas, owned all the Smokestacks and Jack Stacks. She and her ex-husband, Dr. Russell Fiorella, briefly owned a Smokestack up north. When restaurateur Jo Marie Scaglia moved back to Kansas City from […]

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The Dish With Ann – Café Sebastienne

Rick Mullins, executive chef at Café Sebastienne at Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, got into cooking by default “I was working in bars throughout my ‘20s, living close to the edge. I really didn’t start professionally until I was 31. By then, I was sober and more mature mentally. It was easier for me to […]

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The Dish With Ann – Waldo Thai Place

As the executive chef at Waldo Thai Place, Pam Liberda represents a new generation, a branch of a storied family tree that consists of her husband, Ted, and her mother-in-law, Ann. At one point, Ted, Pam, and Ann owned and oversaw eight Thai restaurants throughout the metropolitan area. Ann and Ted still have Thai Diner […]

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The Dish With Ann – Freshwater

To many of Our Town’s foodies and midtown residents, Calvin Davis is a hero. In June of 2017, a drunk driver, going 70 miles per hour, crashed into his well-received restaurant, Freshwater, located on Southwest Trafficway. The accident destroyed the window and collapsed the front corner of the building. “We were fortunate that no one […]

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The Dish With Ann – Parlor

Food halls are red hot right now, providing a variety of cuisines for the most capricious of palates. (But don’t confuse them with food courts, with their sampling of fast food kiosks, found in shopping malls and airports.)  Food halls provide ethnic, artisanal, farm-to-table fare. Great Britain originally took the lead in this trend, with […]

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The Dish With Ann – Tribe Street Kitchen

Open since March, Tribe Street Kitchen has a funky, global feel, yet it’s also quite sophisticated. That is no coincidence. It showcases a large array of street food from around the world. The three owners, Wichita natives and childhood friends Sam Hagan, Ben VinZant and Jordan Mathes, are passionate, intrepid travelers and eaters, whether it’s […]

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The Dish With Ann – Sailor Jack’s Snack Shack

Probably one of my fondest memories of food from my childhood (my very own Proustian madeleine) is a lobster roll from one of those rustic roadside places in Maine. You place your order at the window and out comes perfection in a red and white checked paper basket: a toasted bun with just the right […]

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The Dish With Ann – The Savoy at 21c

When I walked into The Savoy at 21c’s bar area at the newly renovated 21c Museum Hotel Kansas City, I literally did a time travel back to my teens and twenties. My cousin, Richard Stern, and his partner, Gino Happy, used to hold court at the front table almost every night. With drinks and cigarettes […]

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The Dish With Ann – The Russell

Before you even enter The Russell, Our Town’s fabulous lunch spot on Main Street, which opened in February, the smell of hickory wood and savory roasting food emanates from the Argentinian fire table, measuring 10 feet and weighing three and a half tons. Located in the heart of the kitchen, it was handcrafted by Co-owner […]

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