Food Adventure: Gram & Dun

Most people know I’m crazy about food. I’m getting really into the making and technique of it, so when I have the chance to go to a new restaurant, I always find lots of inspiration and try to figure out how to do it at home. (My FAVORITE food blogger, Ali, is fantastic at taking restaurant recipes home at Gimme Some Oven.)


I’ve cooked for the last 3 nights and was ready for some inspiration at another of the newest KC restaurants to open – Gram & Dun. This beautiful renovation is in the former Baja 600 on the Plaza. I’ve quickly become a HUGE fan of Bread & Butter’s restaurants and their unique twist on seasonal ingredients. I love Urban Table & BRGR, and with each new spot, they keep elevating American farm to table food in new and exciting ways.

The renovation is GORGEOUS, and all the beautiful KC people (and some tourists, I imagine) were out in force on a Tuesday to check it out. The restaurant was almost full.  Our waitress kept a nice, relaxed pace, and one of the things that surprised me most was that you’re only started with a drink menu. Although it took about 20 minutes to sift through that (with her expert opinion, I ordered an Old Fashioned to warm me from the inside) and get our drinks, before we saw a dinner menu, it was nice to not dive into business straight away.

A note about drinks: I’m not really into cocktail creating, but after sampling new creations on area menus, I’m wondering about delving into it. Their Old Fashioned was so inspired! The (literal) cherry on top were housemade maraschino cherries that were large, sour and sweet candied things that were a lovely addition to the syrupy bourbon and bitters. I’m hooked.

We decided to pace through each course and split everything, which is usually our approach.

Our menu:
French Onion Dumplings (gruyere, sweet onion broth, brioche crouton)
Seared Ahi Tuna Salad (watercress, bean sprouts, wontons, peanuts, seasame, chili ginger vinaigrette)
Duck Pappardelle Pasta (duck confit, red wine, roasted fennel, orange & watercress)


Drinks:
Hubs: Goose Island Matilda
Moi: Old Fashioned (sugar cane, orange slice, bitters, Maker’s Mark, luxardo maraschino cherries)
*Descriptions from their menu

The first course was BY FAR my favorite. 6 toothpicked bites came out on a rectangular platter - carmelized onions are wrapped up like a coin purse in a wonton wrapper with broiled cheese oozing down the sides, swimming in the soupy, savory broth. I damn near licked the plate and will try to make these perfect little pillows for my next party.

Our server suggested we didn’t have them split up the salad course, since it was a “presentation,” and she was not kidding. They stacked the layers of wonton, tuna and veggie elements in 4 colorful layers - sort of like a pile of edible sheets of paper. Raw, red tuna is so beautiful, and it really starred here against the green and yellow shades of veg and the orange/red drizzle of dressing. The dressing was a little on the spicy side, but a sip of hub’s beer cut through it perfectly. (The bourbon and spice had my mouth dancing a little bit.)

By the time we got to the pasta, I was winding down, but the slow cooked, tender duck was a beautiful pair with the (what I assume were) housemade ribbons of papardelle in the red wine gravy sauce. (I love this style of pasta since it holds chunkier meats and sauces well.) I’m not sure that I’d go back to this entrée again, since I didn’t really catch the brightness of the orange and fennel, but it is an excellent savory choice for winter. Next time, I’ll be nose deep in their short ribs.

Lately I’ve been craving desserts at dinner, but we skipped it last night since it was late and our tummies were full. Hubs read the menu, but I wouldn’t even peek at it. On our next trip, I’ve got to see if their Gram & Dun bar is anything like a Snickers (one of my favorite things).

All in all – we had excellent service, and a great experience. The beautiful new interior and inventive food makes G&D a perfect place to go for a night with friends or family. You should definitely check it out. It’s a little loud for an intimate date, but I saw plenty of people on one, and overheard a sweet conversation at the table next to us. It reminded me of our first dates, and the many new restaurants we explored as we got to know each other better.  Good times.

The more things change...

Hey guys…remember me? It’s been awhile since I’ve written here, and I’m not sure anyone outside of the people I’ll let know will even remember who I am.

Life has changed a BUNCH.

What fun to go back and see where the story left off – almost exactly 3 years to the day. In the interim I:

-Got married to Mr. Man a year ago

-Moved back to the KS side of our city

-Decided that the church nonsense below wasn’t worth it, and God walked us around in a circle until we ended up back at the same place again with a different viewpoint

-Got our car stolen…and returned 8 days later (There’ll be a post about this. Promise.)

-Have dealt with serious family illnesses and a death, and am seeing what is emerging from the chaos

-Saw an upheaval in my friendships and have an almost new community

-Learned to cherish and respect my immediate family more as we went through the wedding process

-Have begun the process of starting our family and am sifting through what it means when it isn’t coming together quickly

-Have come to love (and laugh at) how we repeat the same patterns in our lives. Mine is usually larger and more full of upheaval than most everyone I know.

-Spent more hours than I thought possible in my kitchen. And I’m pretty damn good in there.

-Oh yeah, and I turned 30.

So this is a totally new decade. And I’m ready to talk about it. And dream. And see what the hell comes of it all.

I’ve missed this, and you guys. 

the church part 2

Thanks to all for the encouragement, feedback, etc. That's what makes this all so rich. We still don't have it figured out, but I thought I'd ruminate a bit to see where this new stuff settles.

I'm realizing what sort of power the church as community shouldn't have for me. Sometimes (and as Myles referenced) people leave churches...or friendships...or families for entirely too few reasons. They are proud or bruised or selfish or afraid. I've reached out harder and stuck through the pain to not be one of those people.

We were driving home from Thanksgiving when Mr. Man made a brilliant observation: We're not trying to leave this particular church. It just seems to be leaving us.

I'm reminded of all those moments in my early faith where people counseled me to reach out and rebuke some sort of sin in the people around me. To be sure, there's time for that, but I'll be damned if it's gonna come unsolicited from people I sort of know.

This would be dangerous if I didn't have anyone else, but that's what I've got my friends and family around me for. I've chosen to trust them and give them that sort of freedom to speak unto me. I also trust God pretty implcitly to do this. (He's got a damn loud voice.)

But I haven't given this churchy group of people, who though I like and respect, that sort of reach. It'd be one thing if I surrounded myself with yes men and women, but I haven't. (As those of you who know my girls can attest.)

I've chosen to surround myself with people who empower me and trust in my ability to make the right decisions. I've earned it after making some really bad ones, and working through some horrendous ones, I know the boundaries of a healthy life for myself.

But back to the issue of abandoning or sticking it out: Churches, and a lot of well-meaning people in them, have really bought into the idea that we need to stick and get beat up and wrestle with our "church." I know that Paul talks a lot about the body, but where is this Biblical idea that we're supposed to spend our lives in one community? We change and evolve and find natural reasons to go different places. Shouldn't our ultimate devotion be getting to find God?

If a good thing is the church as an ultimate testing ground, we can find it in other places too. We go to work and encounter lots of people who will give God plenty of space to push us. I'm just thinking that the main place you go to find him and be vulnerable shouldn't be this frought with chastisement.

We get to thinking that true nobility or righteousness involves some sort of struggling and wrestling. And a lot of the time it does. But we have the choice of whom we'll hear that truth from. Life is far too hard and precious to spend it wrestling with people, who, from what I've seen proved, seem to not want to care about us beyond our circumstance.

So I've actually let go of quite a lot of the hurt. And I'm glad I've felt it. I'm hoping to go and sit in the back of our church in the next few weeks and see if I still feel anything close to comfortable. Because like it or not, you've gotta be able to be true and vulnerable to see a semblance of God.

happy day

so to cope with the issues of late, I'm enjoying:

-wine
-the fact that a 4-state tour with family is ahead of me
-iTUNES!!!! they're back on my computer after a 1.5 year hiatus. first purchases: John Legend's Evolver and Amos Lee's new stuff.

gobble gobble with a groove, y'all.

The church

I've stolen away some time this evening to be by myself and reflect on a situation that's yielding some tough questioning, doubt and hurt.

Mr. Man and I find ourselves at odds with our church over our living situation and whether that will limit our ability to serve as members in volunteer positions. Of course it's much murkier than that, but that's the jist.

To start - I'm going to try really hard not to bag on the people, though we disagree. It's been a beautiful place and this hiccup is just making me a little confused. Though they've been better than other churches we've encountered, that we were approached at all is causing us to reassess. After my 3 years there (and his 7+), do we feel like it's still our home?

The point that is puzzling my puzzler tonight is about how much authority the church should be granted. Most of you know that I'm inclined to ceede very little, thank you very much, to people I don't personally choose. But is this reality? Is my membership in any large organization part and parcel with some sort of "right" to tell me what's what? This gets even murkier when the Bible gets involved and all sorts of scripture about pastoral authority gets bandied about.

I'm proud of us for sticking in the muck and sorting through it without just huffing off mad. Stuff that stings this much and feels invasive has the tendency to grow and change us - though the process can be awful. It's my hope that God will keep doing what He's always done and lead me into something that is relevant and speaks to my life now. He's been all about moving me forward and healing me, and no frustration or hurt from other people will dispell that truth.

So to be clear - I'm not having a crisis of doubt about Him. It's about how I learn and follow Him.

One thing I'm tossing out there - and will honestly welcome the dialogue about - is the role of leadership or servants in a church and what standards can be expected of them. I'm of the opinion that unless you are exhibiting destructive behavior that affects others, there's really nothing that should stop you from being a full member. Maybe this belief will lead me towards another community of more open-minded believers (I've been looking at the United Church of Christ), or maybe it will lead me to the conclusion that church can be seperate from your own community (and mine is FULL of open-minded believers).

So that's the rub this fine Sunday night. I've gone from being pissed to humble, back to pissed and am settling on something close to adult reflection. More to come...

My heart melts with gratitude

My favorite women gathered in my home tonight for a beautiful feast.

My favorite man came home early to make a turkey for us.

We had such a wonderful time laughing and making connections.

The food was lovingly prepared and wonderful.

Craig held Jonah as he fell asleep.

I laughed and looked around my home as it was filled to the brim with love.

There is nothing wrong in my world. I am so lucky and blessed.

Yes we can

...elect a president who rewrites history
...again become a nation that strives to succeed and fail TOGETHER
...overcome the divisiveness that has ruled Washington and bled into our towns
...vow to remain committed to our local communities and ride this wave to local changes
...pledge to hold our MO election board accountable for HORRENDOUS voting conditions
...swim around in this moment and take a breath knowing that we've been heard
...hold Obama to his word with our communications to a man that will listen
...see this nation as a hospitable world neighbor again
...know that this is the day the Lord has made
...walk taller and prouder
...start searching for a woman to break history in my lifetime