STOP THE PRESSES! Food Fit For Feasting Found in Flyover
The New York Times in an article by Joe Drape on Wednesday was Shocked! Shocked! to discover that "...smaller cities such as Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis have sustained not just good individual restaurants but packs of them."
The article focused mainly on KC, but extrapolated its findings to other Midwest cities -- St. Louis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis. Two major themes emerged. Top quality local restaurants are springing up or are being reinvigorated -- 40 Sardines, Bluestem, and American Restaurant. And serious food outlets from the coasts are expanding into the heartland -- Dean & DeLucca and Lidia Bastianich (Lidia’s) in Kansas City, and Wolfgang Puck and Jean-Georges Vongerichten with restaurants in Minneapolis.
I had the chance to eat at Debbie Gold's 40 Sardines last summer and it was one of my top five meals of the year.