Category: Blog

  • F-Mart’s Mural Provides Beacon for Asian Community in Lawrence

    F-Mart’s Mural Provides Beacon for Asian Community in Lawrence

    F-Mart’s colorful mural in Lawrence, Kansas, acts as a beacon where people of Asian descent may find more than food for their table.

  • Wagner Biscuits and Gravy in West Virginia

    Wagner Biscuits and Gravy in West Virginia

    Making biscuits and gravy is a rite of passage in the extended Wagner clan of West Virginia. That treasured family ritual involves a heaping amount of bacon grease with no regrets. My Uncle Mike grew up in Longacre, West Virginia, a poor coal-mining town, with a big pack of siblings. Now, Uncle Mike and Aunt…

  • Potato Candy

    Potato Candy

    I tasted potato candy for the first time last week at Watoga State Park, located in the mountains of Pocahontas County near Marlington, West Virginia. Before this trip, I never knew that this sweet confection even existed. My Uncle Mike, Aunt Tawee, sister Mary, her family and I drove from Kansas City to Watoga for…

  • Grating Coconut for Sticky Rice Dessert

    Grating Coconut for Sticky Rice Dessert

    It’s been years since I used a Thai “rabbit” grater. I brought mine out storage to grate fresh coconut for a sticky rice dessert that I prepared for a four-course Thai meal at Julian in March. The grater is referred to as “rabbit” because the elaborate versions of the tool were once carved into that…

  • Urban Food Tour with Chef Ferran Adriá

    Urban Food Tour with Chef Ferran Adriá

    It’s not every day that you meet world-famous Spanish master chef Ferran Adriá. Yesterday, a small entourage that included Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Director Julián Zugazagoitia, local media and I had the opportunity to accompany Adriá on an exploratory food tour through downtown Kansas City. Adriá and his wife Isabel traveled from Spain to visit Kansas…

  • Snow & Company Frozen Cocktails

    I shot a series of photographs this afternoon at Snow & Company, which serves frozen cocktails using premium ingredients, for a KC Magazine assignment. The story, due out in August, is about cool sweet treats from local establishments. It is definitely a fun assignment. These shots are outtakes from my visit. Camry Ivory and her friend…

  • EBT Restaurant

    Recently, EBT Restaurant General Manager Adam Horner invited local writers and foodies to sample dishes from the menu updated by Chef Tate Roberts. Renovated in 2006, the restaurant’s decor and atmosphere reflect its rich history and contemporary touches that offer a classy setting for drinks and dining.  Here’s a description from the restaurant’s website: Much…

  • Red Mesa Grill

    Recently, Pam Taylor and I traveled to Chicago and Boyne City/Traverse City in northern Michigan for a week’s vacation with the kids. We ate a few places that were easy to find if you’re in the area and were not touristy at all. A standout discovery was Red Mesa Grill with locations in Boyne City…

  • Ventana Gourmet Grill

    April/May 2012, Home in the Northland Magazine Story By: Pete Dulin Photography By: Brad Austin A row of local shops line each side of the main strip in old downtown Excelsior Springs. Guests tour the Hall of Waters and Cultural Museum. Afterward, they pop into stores selling antiques, curios, spa services, and arts and crafts.…

  • Judith Fertig and Karen Adler, authors of The Gardener and the Grill

    Judith Fertig and Karen Adler, authors of The Gardener and the Grill

    Self-titled BBQ Queens and prolific cookbook authors Judith Fertig and Karen Adler will release The Gardener and the Grill for publication (Running Press) in late April 2012. In this interview, they discuss their latest cookbook and share recipes such as Grilled Peach Halves with Lemon Balm Gremolata. The Gardener and the Grill is a grilling…