Because one cannot live on BBQ alone, even when that BBQ is from Kansas City, I didn’t only eat burnt ends during my Worldcon trip, though I might have made it appear that way. I also wanted to experience the fine dining side of Kansas City at least once. So after a bit of research, I chose Bluestem, where Chef Colby Garrelts had won the 2013 James Beard Award for Best Chef Midwest.

And based on what I experienced with Ellen Datlow, Kathleen Ann Goonan, Pat Murphy, and my wife, I could easily understand why.

We chose the three-course dinner option—though if we’d wished, we could have gone for meals of five or ten courses. It was not a set tasting menu, in we had multiple choices for each course, so aside from the amuse-bouche and mignardises below, everything else represents my dishes alone, not those of my companions.

But believe me, we all left happy.

Amuse-bouche: Saffron arancini

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I seem to have a way of finding art. Or rather—art seems to have a way of finding me.

Back in 2008, I told you how I’d found an abandoned painting leaning against one of the famous lions at the main branch of the New York Public Library, and later learned that artist Kael Cabral did that sort of street project a lot. It was a joyful thing to have occurred, and I never expected to make such a serendipitous discovery again.

Then came the Kansas City Worldcon.

As I waited a little over a week ago to be picked up by my Uber, I happened to look behind me and spot this small painting leaning against the outer glass wall by the airport exit. I was intrigued. Could I have encountered a second example of free street art?

An examination of the 5″ x 7″ piece showed—yes, I could! (more…)

This year’s World Science Fiction Convention meant a trip to Kansas City, and Kansas City, of course, meant BBQ. I managed seven BBQ meals, and wish I could have fit in a few more. There were several restaurants, such as LC’s and Snead’s, which I was unable to get to because of panel scheduling, party invites, and pulling off the recording of five new episodes of Eating the Fantastic.

Wherever I went, burnt ends were a part of my meal, though I was surprised by how many of the burnt ends weren’t, well … burnt ends. Several of them either weren’t burnt or weren’t ends.

In order to fulfill the demand for something which constitutes an incredibly small part of a brisket, many restaurants try to turn other sections of the brisket into burnt ends, which while sometimes tasty, doesn’t really fit my own definition of a naturally occurring burnt end.

And so …

Arthur Bryant’s

My barbecue tour began Tuesday night with what’s perhaps the most famous Kansas City barbecue joint, especially to those who don’t live there. I ordered the burnt ends, ribs, and baked beans, expecting to have my mind blown, and while I wasn’t disappointed by the meal, my mind remained unblown … but surprised. Because thought the ribs were fine, and the burnt ends were tasty, the latter didn’t seem either fatty or charred enough to be burnt ends, but were rather heavily sauced chunks of beef. And the beans, while above average, didn’t come close to my favorite, at Hometown BBQ. (more…)