BlueStem

Last night Brian and I had a wonderful opportunity. We were fortunate enough to not only eat dinner at one of the finest restaurants in Kansas City, BlueStem, but we were able to eat with the chefs & owners (husband and wife Colby & Megan) and our good friends Ted & Jackie who own Room 39 (another of the city’s finest). We were not disappointed! Tons of fantastic food, tons of great wine, fun company, AND a celebrity sighting! Steve Martin was having dinner when we arrived. Missed getting a snapshot, as they ducked out quick when they were finished. Dang! Promise he was there - scout's honor.
Here’s what was on the menu (and yes, there were only six of us!).
Truffled pommes frites (aka awesome French fries) with 5 dipping sauces (siracha aioli, green goddess, heirloom tomato ketchup, garlic aioli, and truffled mustard). By far the fanciest & tastiest fries this world has seen!
Smoked salmon with capers, egg, crème fraiche on toast
“La quericia” cured meats (believe it or not, that refers to a pig that is raised on a mostly acorn diet – crazy, yes? Tasty, yes!), with cornichons (one of my favorite words to say)and more of that awesome truffled mustard
Kobe beef tartare – three words: Oh. My. God. It was WONDERFUL. I WILL make a trip down there for a plate of that all to myself. Soon. Like, maybe tonight. Seriously, it was amazing.
Okay moving onto the main courses – no, we aren’t even there yet!
Mussels with coconut milk, lime & chili. Yet another winner. I would’ve never in a million years ordered this dish, and yet it was in my top 3 of the night. I think I polished off a dozen of them and then dipped bread in that sauce. Heaven.
Mac & cheese with bacon. Know how to make a fantastic mac & cheese better? Add bacon.
Pulled pork sandwich. There is some unwritten law that says you must like bbq to live in KC. Typically I break that rule and stay out of the dozens of bbq places around the city. This was pretty damn good, though. Colby’s homemade sauce was perfect…sweet, spicy & smoky.
Shrimp & grits. Another one of my favorites of the night (have I said that yet?). I don’t think I tasted grits until I was out of college, so my knowledge is lacking, but these were incredibly creamy and soooooo good with the slightly spicy shrimp.
Steak with a tasty chimichurri sauce. Who doesn’t love steak?
Buttons popping, we moved onto dessert. Sometimes you’ve just got to power through...
Milk chocolate frozen mousse & various ice creams
Bittersweet chocolate tart with candied kumquats and bergamot ice cream
You can never go wrong with chocolate. Ever.
All in all, one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. Make a trip down, you will NOT be disappointed.