TOWN TOPIC HAMBURGERS- KANSAS CITY

 Sometimes it takes an outsider, to make you appreciate what you have at home. In this case, it took a New Yorker(a certain Mr Bourdain), to introduce us and make us fall in love with Town Topic Hamburgers. The love story is instant. Once you are there, you have to be back and back and back.

You cant miss the Neon Signs when you drive into the parking lot. Gives you that old world charm. An old diner. With pies and milk shakes on the menu. Breakfast sandwiches and coney dogs. And the iconic Hamburger. A place which serves hamburgers in its most elemental form and does an awesome job at it. There's a reason why its an iconic Kansas City institution. In operation for the last 75 years, open 24x7 and 7 days a week. Now that's a record. Its not just any burger they are serving up. Its an experience.

As you make you way inside. Dont always expect to get a place to sit. There are around 10 or 9 stools . But who wants to sit when the heady aroma of caramelized beef and onions has filled your senses. You scramble up to place your order.

We ordered a Double Cheeseburger.

As we waited for our order, we could not help but notice how each burger is made. While I stood there trying to soak it all in, my husband was kind enough to take Step By Step Pictures of how a Cheeseburger is made. 

Fresh coarse ground beef is delivered daily. No frozen meat. Kinda reminded me of the meat standards of In and Out.Yes, I know that Review is long due. Shall be up soon. Coming back to Town Topic at Kansas City, each of the patties are fairly small. Around 2 o3 oz. So ordering a double makes sense.

The patties go on the flattop . As they start to caramelize, they are given an initial flattening and then flipped.

Sliced onions are pressed onto the beef patty . It all kinda melts together, yet gets the right amount of crust and caramelization. Its an art and you need to see it, to believe it. By this time, the aromas, are driving you crazy and you just want to reach out for your burger. But you wait. Patience is a virtue.

Its a patty melt. So the cheese goes on last and melts to an oooey gooey perfection.

What finally reaches you, is indeed a slice of history. Its love at first bite. Its juicy, has a nice crust, the bun soaks up the juices but doesn't get soggy. Its an under statement to say that its one of the most delicious burgers, I have had or anyone will ever have. A must visit for any food blogger and any burger lover. 

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CAJUN CHICKEN WINGS - SUPER BOWL SPECIAL

If the News Agencies are to be believed, then Americans will be having almost 1.3 billion Chicken Wings on Super Bowl . Add to that to the number of wings all of us have every Football Sunday. Football and Chicken Wings are like a match made in Heaven, aren't they ?!

Chicken Wings are pretty universal , I feel. They appeal to any one and everyone. I remember during my graveyard shift days in a large Television Network I used to work for. When the office car dropped me back at the apartment, I was half dead to the world. But more often than not I reached out for my phone and dialed the number of a late night food serving joint ,which not only made late night deliveries but also specialised in the Spiciest of Wings. The Eatery was called 'Slice of Italy,' and the Wings were called 'Super Spicy Wings.' Its almost a decade to this Food Memory but its still so fresh. Such is the power of Wings.

The absolute number of permutations and combinations that you can do with wings is just mind boggling. From Bone - In traditional wings to the more fancier boneless ones. Though I often wonder, if they are without bones, how do we call them wings. Won't they become Chicken tenders then.  Let me Not digress. Coming back to Wing Central. You can cook them in the oven, in your fancy non stick frying pan, or just dunk them in a hot bath in your deep frier. I personally prefer the last cooking method.With all these possibilities on how you can cook them, you can never have too many Chicken Wings Recipes. As they say, the more, the merrier.

While I love the traditional Buffalo Wings, or the Super Hot Blazing Wings, there are times, when I am looking for a different flavor profile. That's where my Husband comes in to the entire love story with Wings. Yes, I love my Husband and I love the Chicken Wings he makes. I could probably do an entire series on the flavors of Wings he masters in, but lets start off with the Cajun Chicken Wings. So if you want to be star of your Super Bowl party this weekend, go ahead and give it a try. Its a dry rub Chicken Wing, which everyone loves. You can adjust the heat level, by adjusting the amount of Cayenne Pepper in the recipe according to your preferences. The Paprika lends a more floral note rather than heat. You are all set for your Touchdown with your Game Day party guests.

CAJUN CHICKEN WINGS : 

Ingredients: 
Ice Glazed Chicken Wings(if using frozen) or Fresh Chicken Wings : 12
Cajun Spice Mix (He used McCormick) : 2 tbsp
Cayenne Pepper : 1/2 tsp
Paprika : 1 tsp
Parsley : Chopped : 1 tbsp
Canola Oil : for Deep Frying(Use Dried Parsley if you don't have fresh )
Deep Fryer

Procedure: 
Heat oil in the deep fryer .

Deep Fry the wings in batches of six.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the Cajun spice mix, cayenne pepper, paprika and parsley.

Toss the hot fried wings in the spice mix and mix well with a large spoon. Make sure the wings are coated with the dry rub thoroughly.

Serve and enjoy.

Bon Appetit ! 

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GAROZZO'S RISTORANTE: KANSAS CITY RESTAURANT WEEK

Kansas City Restaurant Week is currently on. It started off from January 16 and shall continue upto January 24th. A great celebration of local food, for every foodie worth her/his salt. We like to take our picks every year and try out a few joints. Sometimes, we will be repeating our favorites and sometimes, trying out something new. Last year, we had been to Garozzo's for lunch during the Martin Luther King long weekend. We had been to their College Boulevard location, among their three locations in town. It was a reasonably warm Winter afternoon, and we were looking for some food to warm our souls. I checked out the KCRW Menu for Garozzo's this year and saw that they have exactly the same menu for lunch. So if you are planning to sample their KCRW Lunch in the next few days, it could give you a foodie insight. Garozzo's is a family owned Italian restaurant which enjoys a high Zagat rating and has won multiple awards over the years.

We started off with the customary warm bread and butter. The KCRW lunch menu is priced at $15 and the dinner menu is priced at $33 for three course, excluding any alcohol or other drinks.

We started off with Canneloni, which is a Pasta Crepe, filled with Chicken, Beef and Veal. Served in a tomato cream sauce. If the menu had not read, three different kinds of meat, I would have probably not understood that. No, my tastebuds aren't that immune to flavor subtleties, its only that the canneloni was too doughy for my taste.

We ordered Baked Ravioli with Meat for my daughter, from their Children's Menu. It came with some house made marinara. She was more interested in the sauce than the pasta itself.

I opted for the Linguini Alla Fruiti di Mare. I love my seafood. It was linguini served with clams, shrimps, scallops, tomatoes and mushrooms in a light bechamel sauce. I really enjoyed it but the portion size for a bit too large. Seafood pasta loses its charm if it starts getting cold. The seafood flavors were beautfully paired with the bechamel sauce.

Our daughter's Children's Menu meal came with a serving of the famous Spumoni Icecream, which wa sbasically cherry flavored ce cream, mixed with fruits and almonds, surrounded by chocolate and pistachio ice cream. The Children's Menu is not a part of the KCRW special fare. Three different ice cream flavors, churned into a single dessert. It was also one of the dessert options in the three course Lunch Menu we had opted for. I had a bite from my daughter and was pretty darn impressed.

For his main course, my Husband had opted for the Vitello Parmigiano. It was Milk fed-Veal breaded and sauteed in Maggie's Sugo with melted Fontina cheese and served with Pasta. It was a handsome serving, I must say. I am not much of a fan of breaded meat for lunch,but the meat was juicy and tender.

We ended our Three Course KCRW meal with a serving of Cannolis. This was the Cannoli to blow your socks off. I loved how luscious the secret filling was, yet not too sweet and clawing. A few nibbles of Cherries added just the right touch of acidity.

My husband opted for the Limoncello Torte, which was layered with mascarpone cheese and white chocolate shavings. Simple inrgedients but such a complex flavor profile. My favorites of teh three course KCRW Lunch at Graozzos had to be the desserts.

The portion sizes of every course was quite impressive, and I had to box up my main course for my left overs. The first course was the least impressive of all, with it being so doughy. As they have the same menu for KCRW this year, I am probably going to be checking out a few other places. But I do want to sample their famous Stuffed Artichoke for dinner someday. 

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THANKSGIVING IN A DESI HOME

Happy Thanksgiving everyone ! Hope all of you are having a wonderful day. I am spending the day with friends, who are very close to being family. I do miss my family like crazy . Similarly today, as like every other special and not so special day, in the calendar. So what are your plans? Are you in the middle of prepping up your show stopper turkey and hosting the grandest party at home.

For me, I was not born in this country, I now call home. So I did not grow up with Turkey Day dinners and yummy Stuffing and super perfect pumpkin pies. Over the many years, that I have called the Midwest my home, I have experienced a few different kinds of Thanksgiving Meals . But what  has stuck very close to my heart, is a meal I had at our friend Sonal and Mayukh's in Columbia, Missouri. It was supposed to be a mini re-union of my husband's batch mates from college. Three friends who went to Grad school , together were meeting up, after years, with their families,for Thanksgiving. And the host, Sonal and Mayukh , delivered a stellar meal. They kept alive the spirit of Thanksgiving, but added their own touch to it.

They brought forth the every major aspects of a typical Thanksgiving meal, but added an Indian immigrant touch to it.Every immigrant family would have their own spin on Thanksgiving and this was probably theirs. But it became ours, with their subtle touch.

Rather than the big Turkey, there are two roast Chicken. But they were roasted with Tandoori spices. Demi Tadka, as you could call it.

Every item of the traditional Thanksgiving table had an Indian flair to it. So the mashed potatoes, became Oven roasted masala Aloo, accompanied by Garlic Green Beans with toasted sesame seeds, Jeera Rice , Matar Panner(as we had an veggie friend), and Cranberry Churtney with Pita. 

Enough Dutch Beer to wash it all down. And decadent Caramel Pudding.

Just like every family have their own family tradition, I think Sonal created a benchmark in our friend circle for the perfect Thanksgiving Meal to  appeal to the Indian diaspora in the heartland of US.

So here's wishing everyone of you a wonderful Thanksgiving. Wear your favorite PJs and tuck into your favorite meal of the year. 

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STORY - A Kansas City Restaurant : EATING OUT

I received a complaints from some readers, that I have been irregular with my food posts. And that they miss them. Aww, thats so sweet, I thought. Reader requested content or reader driven content is definitely special. So I shall try and bring forth a few food posts, in the upcoming weeks. Rather than a recipe this time, I thought of a restaurant review.

A couple of months back, it was my Husband's birthday. And it seemed like the erect opportunity, to tick another eatery of our list of places we had been planning to eat. This year, his birthday was on a weekday and we had made no reservations as to where we wanted to head to. The man said, STORY and we drove to Prairie Village in Kansas.

STORY  is a beautiful and cozy restaurant which is nestle din the Village Shopping Center of Prairie Village. I love that neighborhood. Its so beautiful to just walk around, do some window shopping, sip on a cup of coffee. Story has a large patio and a great bar area, but we decided to sit in the main seating area of the restaurant. When the hostess heard that we were there for a birthday dinner, she gave us a lovely corner table .

Story is the brainchild of Chef Carl Thorne-Thomsen who has won multiple awards for his creations. The decor was very modern and the staff were very amiable and helpful.

How about Dessert first ! Birthdays always mean that,don't they. Well, actually we did have it after our dinner, but then I thought of writing about it first, as it made more sense.

The man settled for a Chocolate Torte with creme anglaise, vanilla ice cream, and meringue chip. The torte was light and airy and I could have had a dozen more, I think. Chocolate and meringue work so beautifully together.

As it was a celebratory dinner, the spirits had to be special, didn't they. So we gave the regular choices a miss, and ordered a round of New Old Fashioned. Both of us love our share of whiskey and a whiskey based coctail seemed like the perfect today to toast to the Man. It was a beautiful mix of Whisey, Cherry Bitters, Maple and Orange. Not at all sweet and packed a potent punch with every sip. Cheers !!

As we were sipping our cocktails, our server came up with a plate, even before we had ordered anything. Mozzarella Fritters laid on a bed of house made Orange Marmalade . A savory and extremely tasty birthday gift from Chef Carl. It was like biting into a cloud of mozzarella. and the marmalade provided just the right kind of acidity to cut through it.

They had a lovely kids menu. While our daughter loves her share of chicken nuggets and mac'n'cheese like any other toddler, we decided to push forth some fish for her. The fish in question was the Catch of the day: Pacific Rockfish . While the menu called for a grilled fish, the server offered to batter fry it for her. It came with a side of fries and our picky eater, who rarely touches fish, seemed to enjoy it.

For our appetizer, we ordered Crispy Fried Pork Belly with braised leeks , polenta and chanterelles. Lets face it, I am not a fan of pork belly and the man loves it. Whenever he sees pork belly on a menu, he will surely be ordering it. As it was his birthday, I decided not to be a spoil sport and went ahead with his choice. But I was pleasantly surprised. The way the dish was presented and the crispiness of the pork belly, had me going in for seconds. The creamy polenta and the leeks were a great textural contrast to the crispy belly.

Finally it was time for our main course. We went ahead with the Catch of the Day. Pacific Rockfish . It was set on a bed of aromatic jasmine rice, with broccoli and hen of the woods mushroom , and a light and flavorful gravy. The fish was firm and flaky and had a strong flavor profile. A great plate of good fish.

Overall it was a great dinner on a weeknight. I have heard that they have their specials, which they call 10 dollar entrees . I want to go over on a weekend, and sip on a cocktail or two and order me one of those.

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CHOCOLATE CAKE TIRAMISU

Tiramisu holds a special place in my heart. I always have place for tiramisu even if its after a heavy meal. For years, I thought that this dessert is too complicated to make at home. Ameretto, Ladies Fingers and all the other ingredients, which need to shopped specially. So i always thought that its easier to order a serving when we are out for Italian dinners.

We have even had dessert outings, after a homely dinner at home, just for Tiramisu. Till I thought enough as enough. There should a  hack for it. And there was. I was watching an old episode featuring Martha Stewart's cooking on some random channel. Thats when she showed a recipe to use old chocolate cake, and give it a new lease of life. Yes, you guessed it right. Tiramisu it was. Let me clarify that this is no way the original Tiramisu recipe. But it doesn't shy away from packing a punch. 

The ladies finger in the iconic recipe is replaced by slices of cake. You can either use Chocolate or simple pound cake. Martha Stewart had used Pound Cake, but I used some marbled Chocolate Cake, which my hubby had picked up from Costco. Cakes from Costco are usually nice, but this one in particular wa very dry. So the idea of rehydrating it with some rum and coffee and layering it with decadent Mascarpone Cheese sounded like a great idea for my foodie loving soul. And its an easy desert to serve up at any Fall party that you might be hosting at home. 

Recipe Inspiration: Martha Stewart 's POUND CAKE TIRAMISU 

Martha's version called for a touch of rum and loads of espresso, but I had to make mine booozey. So in came the Rum. For the extra Rum, the inspiration was INA GARTEN'S TIRAMISU RECIPE. 

For me the biggest challenge in this recipe was to find some good Mascarpne Cheese. As they say, when you need something, your grocery store, will suddenly run out of it. All plans were made to make this desert for a party I was hosting at home for my extended family here in KC. But Mascarpne Cheese was nowhere in sight, till the last minute. A quick stop at the local Sprouts at the day of the party saved the day. The huge display of Cheese from the local farmers almost stole my heart. And I wanted to bring the entire cheese stand home, if I could. So i had to remind myself that I was in there for some Mascarpone Cheese. 

Rather than a large dessert, I had five individual servings in ramekins, so that everyone could nibble on theirs with some coffee as the fun rolled onto the night.

CHOCOLATE CAKE TIRAMISU - POUND CAKE TIRAMISU : 

Ingredients: 

Heavy Cream: 1 cup 

Mascarpone Cheese: 1 lb tub 

Chocolate Cake or Pound Cake: 1/2 loaf . I had used marbled 

Dark Rum: 1/2 cup

Espresso: 1/2 cup

Confectioners Sugar: 1/4 cup 

Cocoa powder: for dusting 

Shaved chocolate:  1/4 cup 

Procedure: 

 I had half a loaf of Chocolate marbled cake. I cut it into slices to fit into the the ramekins. 

I had a tub of fresh Mascarpone Cheese. I whipped it with the heavy cream, 1/4 cup espresso and 1/4 cup dark rum and confectioner's sugar. I used a normal whisk, but if you have a mixer, use it by all means. Mine had conked off.

It was time build up the layers. Mix up the remaining 1/4 cup rum and 1/4 cup espresso in a bowl. Place a slice of cake in the ramekin. Pour  the coffee- rum mixture to moisten the cake. You could also dip the cake and then place it in the ramekin.

Then add a dollop of the cheese-cream-coffee-rum-sugar mixture  and smooth it out with a spatula.
Do this for all your ramekins. Or you could also do a single serving in a larger bowl. Top the cheese mixture withs have chocolate.

Repeat the layers, till you have filled the ramekin. For the final topping of the cheese mixture, I used a piping bag and a Wilton Star Tip .

I took a normal strainer and dusted some cocoa powder as the final touch. Please excuse my super chipped nails. I was due for a manicure the very next day. yes, I hosted a party at home, with chipped nails. But the food I served was tasty, so I am sure my guests remember that, rather than the chopped nails.

So go ahead and give it a try. And don't forget to let me know, how you enjoyed it. feel free to make individual servings or a large serving. You can skip the rum if you are teetotaler , but dint skimp on the strong espresso. 

Bon Apppetit !!! 

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