Kc Magazine Review Of Bluestem Oct 2006

THE WRITING’S ON THE WALL AT BLUESTEM

A

fter a long wait, the gentleman emerged from the washroom

a very wealthy acquaintance’s home, “like peeling away layers and

with one comment: “Good reading.” What kind of excuse

layers of shock.” At first, you’re overwhelmed by the scope, then the

is that? As it turns out, a good one. Inside, the walls were

presentation, followed by the quality and finally, taste. By the end of

crowded with framed accolades. Chef/owner Colby Garrelts’ Food

nearly a dozen meals in three months, I was like an over-conditioned

&Wine’s Best New Chefs of 2005 award is just one of the dozens

Pavlov’s dog—yearning for shocks.

of clippings singing his praises and those of his wife, pastry chef Megan Garrelts. An odd place for trophies? When you see the restaurant, you’ll know

Since my first visit more than a year ago, service has bumped off its few edges, rounding into a nice rhythm. Courses are well-paced, drinks topped off without question and silverware replaced seamlessly.

why. It’s tiny. But the cozy comfort is part of its charm. Having eaten

There’s also more elbow room. Although bluestem’s Wine Lounge—

at both Charlie Trotter’s and TRU, the culinary meccas where the

which opened in March in the adjacent space—didn’t significantly in-

Garreltses worked and met, I can say that bluestem has the master’s

crease seating capacity in the 40-seat dining room, it has helped alleviate

touch without the unnecessary fuss. Eating at bluestem is, as a friend once described as his glimpse into

BY G.E. FELLRATH PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACK HARPER

ABOVE: Just a sample of the tender morsels available on bluestem’s menu, the hamachi sashimi made our writer shiver. LUXURY LIVING & FINE HOME DESIGN

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traffic. Now, instead of disrupting diners in the main room, patrons enter through the lounge to park at the bar for a simple meal of steamed mussels in a buttery bath of white wine, saffron and Dijon ($6). Or, as the name suggests, you can recline on the plush couches for wine and a platter of charcuterie. Yes, accommodation and flexibility are bluestem’s mantra. The menu is a good example. Inspired by the dinner he hosted at the prestigious Beard House in New York in July, Colby Garrelts changed bluestem’s à la carte menu to a prix fixe format. This allows diners to choose their own three-, five- or sevencourse adventure from seven categories: Caviar, Crudo (raw fish) & Cold Appetizers, Hot Appetizers & Pasta, Soups & Salad, Fish, Meat, and Dessert. Or, if you can’t decide, leave it to the chef in a twelve-course Spontaneous Collection. The affable wine director (and GM), Jeremy Lamb, can suggest wines by the glass, bottle or multi-course pairings. Both Colby Garrelts and the chef de cuisine, David Crum, like to source locally for ingredients. Farms like Campo Lindo (Lathrop, Missouri), Beau Solais (Hughesville, Missouri), Brunner Beef (Ramona, Kansas) and Crum’s Heirlooms

(Crum’s

family

farm

is

in

Edwardsville, Kansas) dot the menu. Understanding this attention to quality lowers any eyebrow-raising at the prices. Naturally, the ever-evolving menu spells seasonality and blissfully favors the horticultural. Soups—like a brilliant pea soup poured table-side over pillowy ricotta ravioli and a frothy turnip soup tumbled over a nest of asparagus and caviar—tasted like a freshly harvested field of the star vegetable condensed into one bowl. If vegetables aren’t the centerpiece, they complement the wonderful fish and meat courses. Chic Rosenthal china satellite bowls bore gorgeous cuts from the ocean like a vibrant orange filet of Tasmanian sea trout nestled on a bed of shell beans and succulent oxtail. Waves of shock continued with buttery escolar, a white-fleshed deep-sea fish, atop heirloom green beans and giant sea scallops, caramelized 184

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yet quivering within, siding with sweet corn and a nob of miso butter. Shivers. The meat category was represented by tender Wagyu (American Kobe) beef reclining on sturdy fava beans and asparagus, tender Berkshire pork with grilled peaches, duck breast with eggplant and so on. Not one missed a beat. A good half of the menu is devoted to what I call prurient eating—food that makes you feel sexy and naughty all at once. Caviar seduces you with accompaniments like buttery float-away blinis and sweet corn panna cotta. If you can’t afford the Sevruga or Osetra supplements ($20 and $50, respectively), I recommend you at least submit to the briny golden trout roe. Tell me crudo isn’t foreplay, and I’ll call you a liar. I blushed through a plate of garnet-red beef carpaccio—paper-thin slices glistening with walnut oil—and gushed over the lump crab, raw tuna and poached rock shrimp on a swath of magenta beet paste. But caviar and crudo are mere teasers compared with the pastas, which verge on obscene, like lusty thin tubular fidua tossed with escargot, smoky linguica sausage and garlicky sofritto. Cavatelli and crushed heirloom tomatoes topped with shaved Parmesan and bottarga (wonderfully pungent cured tuna roe used as a condiment in the Mediterranean) both titillated and aroused. At my table, desserts are usually negotiable. But, the Malted Cocoa—a malted chocolate float served with warm honey beignets—was a non-negotiable commodity. I’ve also crossed spoons over Megan Garrelts’ silky Raspberry Parfait and her fluffy soufflés. Sunday brunch is when Crum’s love of Latin American and Mediterranean culture shines in offerings like Arroz de enfermo, a Spanish rice soup with poached egg (said to cure hangovers), and Socca, a crispy Provençalinspired chickpea flour crêpe topped with grilled vegetables and a fried egg. Like so many before me, I’ve found bluestem to be a restaurant worth writing about. If you find yourself reading my review on the washroom wall, be mindful of the people waiting to get a glimpse of the good news. ■ LUXURY LIVING & FINE HOME DESIGN

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Let the

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bluestem ÈÈÈÈ (Excellent) 900 Westport Road 816-561-1101 bluestemkc.com Ratings: ÈÈÈÈ (Excellent) ÈÈÈ (Outstanding) ÈÈ (Commendable) È (Good) - Acceptable to Poor Executive Chef Colby Garrelts Pastry Chef Megan Garrelts Chef de Cuisine David Crum Wine Lounge Hours: Monday-Sunday 5:00 p.m.-1:30a.m.

���������������������������� Come see our showroom 3050 S. 24th Street • Kansas City, KS 66106

913.831.6100

Restaurant Hours: Monday-Saturday beginning at 5:30 p.m. Brunch Sunday 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Recommended: Caviar service; Crab, tuna and rock shrimp; Foie gras au torchon; Sweet corn soup; Fidua pasta with escargot; Tasmanian sea trout; Wagyu beef; Duck; Raspberry parfait. Fellrath’s Table of Envy: Intimate: Table #34; Large Parties: Table #43. Price: $55 3-courses, $65 5-courses, $75 7-courses and $100 12-course Spontaneous Chef’s Collection (available Monday-Thursday only). Both wine and nonalcoholic pairings available for additional cost. Wine Lounge: $4 - $13. Dress: Business casual. Smoking Policy: Non-smoking only. Parking: Street parking and limited parking in lot behind restaurant. Reservations: Recommended. bluestem accepts reservations on Fridays-Saturdays at 6:00/6:30 p.m. or 8:00/8:30 p.m. Handicap accessible: Yes. Review Policy: Reviews are based on a minimum of three visits, and menu items are widely sampled. Meals are paid for by the reviewer, and reviews are conducted anonymously. Restaurants are generally not reviewed until two months after opening.

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