Scrape the Plate Catering

I was invited to happy hour in downtown at the Urban Living Center. It was catered with some delicious dishes. The catering company is Scrape The Plate. Phyllo chicken cups, walnut brownies, and chocolate chip cookies were just some of their dishes. Phyllo chicken cups were just spectacular. Some kind of combination of chicken, mayonnaise and spices. I couldn't stop eating the walnut brownies. At first I thought they were macadamia nuts (I love macadamia nut cookies), but walnuts tasted great. They titled their cookies "The Best Chocolate Chip Cookes Ever" and I don't know if I can disagree. It was well garnished and the texture of the cookie was crisp yet still soft and somewhat chewy. If I ever need catering, I might just have to give these guys a call.

Soul Food Done Right!

It had been a while since I feasted at a buffet, but Peachtree hit the spot. I'm usually always looking to try something new, but sometimes the basic, home cooking comfort food is really what the taste buds need. I went to the place at about 2 on a Sunday afternoon and it was packed. Sundays usually has a big church crowd, but even late afternoon, there is a huge line to get a seat. But they've been in business so long that they knew exactly how to handle rush effectively with a relatively short wait.

Peachtree is all about soul food. They have two locations in Kansas City. I went to the original buffet location which gives you the bigger bang for your buck with a day to day varying buffet menu. They also have a fancier location with free live entertainment at the 18th & Vine Jazz District that might be moving to the new Power and Light District.

Southern Fried Chicken, beef brisket, neckbones, candied yams, collard greeens, cornbread, peach cobbler, salad bar are just some of the items that were on their Sunday buffet menu. Peachtree's fried chicken is fresh, hot, full of flavor. But the great thing about the chicken is that their batter is light, crisp and not too greasy. Neckbones were so good with the meat just falling off the bone...I had to get seconds. Their beef brisket was somewhat plain but still flavorful. Even the dinner yeast rolls were delicious.

Their array of desserts was just great. Candied yam, peach cobbler were my favorites, but you really can't go wrong the others. I'm definitely hitting up the place to try their baked catfish, smother porkchops and other daily feature items.

map: 6800 Eastwood Trafficway, Kansas City, MO 64129 (buffet location)
phone: (816) 923-0099

That's a Wrap!

Yum. Longboards is a refreshing little place to grab a wrap. I've often called it the Hawaiian-Asian version of Chipotle.

Longboards is very popular for their Hot Panini Style wraps that are grilled nicely. My favorite is Cabo Beef which has seasoned beef, rice, blend of cheese and sauce that has a perfect asian-hawaiian-spice kick. They also have cool style wraps, bowls, fresh pasta and potato salads along with a daily special that ranges from sushi salads to some of the best soups I've ever had. If you want to test your spiciness tolerance, check out their their alarms sauces (ranging to 1 to 5 alarm) that go with some of their spicy wraps.

The place is like a little surf shack off the beach. It's owned and run by a Hawaiian family too. The decor features many types of surfboards, tikis, bamboo, hawaiian flowers and photos that bring a Hawaiian flair.

The place isn't really well advertised and it's easy to pass by since it's in a strip mall. But that might explain why the prices are very affordable. Most wraps cost about $5. It's one of the places on my list to take friends that visit Kansas City.

map: 6269 N Oak Trfy Kansas City, MO 64118
phone: (816) 454-0008

Wine and Dine

Classy, sophisticated, refined. JP Wine Bar and Coffee offers a great social atmosphere for a date and a group of friends looking to explore wine and cheeses. They offer a great selection, flights of cheeses and wine. Perfect for adventurous people. Inside you will find a dim light setting with nice simple decor and some modern flare including a big LCD screen showcasing part of their menu. The wait staff and servers were very friendly, helpful, quick and attentive.

I recommend going with a group of friends where you can split a couple bottles of wine. We got bottles in the $30 range. That's about the most expensive wine I've ever had but it was worth it. One of the wines we got was Pinot Grigio. It's a white wine that was very crisp and very smooth. I don't think I want to go back to cheap wine :-)

map: 1526 Walnt St, Kansas City, MO 64108
phone: (816) 842-2660

Drink More...Often!

Probably an uncommon new year resolution, but one of my goals is to drink more frequently (moderate amounts of course). The primary reason is for better health! My plan is to drink a half or full glass of wine pretty much daily.

The main benefits of red wine summarized from the article "To Eat or Not To Eat? The Good and The Bad of 7 Commons Foods":

• High content of polyphenols. In nature they exhibit a wide range of biological effects as antioxidants, antimicrobials, and modulators of various enzyme systems.
• Coronary heart disease (CHD). One of most well-documented benefits of red wine is a heart protective effect. Moderate consumption of red wine on a regular basis may be a preventative against coronary heart disease.
• Cholesterol. One of the most important benefits of regular wine consumption is an increase in levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the "good cholesterol"). One to 2 drinks per day of red wine have been shown to increase HDL cholesterol by about 11-17%.
• Blood clots. Red wine produces anticlotting, or antithrombotic, action[96-98]. Light to moderate consumers of wine have lower levels of protein fibrinogen, that promotes blood clot formation.
• Atherosclerosis. Red wine may prevent the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis (hardening" or "furring" of the arteries).
• Hypertension. Excessive alcohol consumption is generally considered a risk factor for hypertension. However, there is some evidence of red wine favorable effects on blood pressure.
• Stroke. Red wine consumption may have a protective effect on the risk of ischemic stroke.
• Kidney stones. Red wine intake reduces the risk of kidney stone formation.
• Alzheimer's disease. Moderate wine drinking correlates with a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease.
• Smoking. Acute smoking significantly impairs vasodilatation. Red wine, with or without alcohol, decreases harmful effect of smoking on endothelium.

Soccer Rout

Best soccer showing of 2008! After THREE straight 2-2 ties, our co-ed soccer team (Team Awesome) won 10-3 at the Kansas City Indoor Soccer Dome. Everyone was in the zone offensively and defensively. Our backfield surprisingly blasted in at least 6 goals. Wish we can save all the extra scoring for a future game :-)

Ripped for the Trip

As part of my 2008 goals, I've started to weight lift again. The original goal was to get fit by the May in time for the warm months as well as my potential Italy trip. With a new trip to Cancun in late March in planning, the goal has moved to the end of March. It'll take hard work and a good diet. My friend Kit and I are following a routine based from http://www.robertsontrainingsystems.com/articles/manwplan2.html

Tuesday

• Squat, 5x5
• RDL's, 3x10
• Step-ups, 3x8
• GHR, 4x6>
• Back Extension, 4x10
• Calf Work, 3x40 sec.

Thursday

• Max Effort Bench, Work up to heavy triples
• Pull-ups, 4x8
• Narrow-Grip Bench, 10-8-6
• Barbell Curls, 3x6
• Shoulder Horn, 3x12
• Ab Work, 3x8

Saturday

• Deadlift, 5x5
• Good Mornings, 3x5
• Bulgarian Squats, 4x6
• Reverse Hypers, 2x15
• Ab work

Sunday

• Push-ups
  
• Ab work
  

BBQ meets Blues

Great BBQ, crowd and music really made B.B.'s Lawnside BBQ restaurant an enjoyable, yet unique atmosphere.  I was skeptical at first given the area we were driving through.  Once you get there, you find a down to earth family owned place. The owners Lindsay & Jo Shannon were extremely friendly and seemed to be very caring and interactive with their customers.

As with any new place, I went for their signature dish or combo.  I got their B.B. King Combo which included ribs, italian sausage, choice of beef, ham, turkey or pulled pork (i got the pork) with battered potato wedges and pit beans. The ribs were ok...little on the dry side but had a great smoke flavor.  I was a fan of their pulled pork and beans.  Their beens had burnt end pieces that put it over the top with a lot of flavor. Their BBQ sauces is pretty good.  I went with the non-spicy version just because it was a little sweeter.

This place is really known for bringing some great live blues music.  By chance we got to see Trampled Under Foot who are on the rise after winning the 2007 Kansas City Blues Challenge nominated for Pitch Magazine's 2007 Music Awards "Best in Kansas City" blues category. They are also Memphis bound for the International Blues Challenge.  

I bought both their CDs, met the band and wished them luck but I doubt they'll need it.

Awesome Cell Phone Plan (Sprint)

Many who know me, have already heard about this cheap cell phone plan, but I figure I post this for anyone else that hasn't heard about this.

For those that have sprint (off contract) or might want to switch, You can basically get 500 minute plan with unlimited "everything" ranging from unlimited text to unlimited web and data.

(INDIVIDUAL PLANS ONLY- No family plans with SERO)
1. Sprint Employee Referral Offer 500 for $30 per month
2. Sprint Employee Referral Offer 1250 for $49.99 per month
3. Sprint Employee Referral Offer 2500 for $99.99 per month

2: WHAT IS INCLUDED WITH SERO?
- Unlimited Sprint Vision or Power Vision (Vision for Vision phones, Power Vision for Power Vision phones)
- Unlimited Web/Data
- Unlimited Mobile to Mobile
- Unlimited Sprint Picture Mail
- Unlimited Roaming
- Unlimited Text (for a limited time)

- Unlimited Nights & Weekends (night starting @ 7 PM)(6 PM nights & weekends for $10/month).
- Nationwide Long Distance- Crystal Clear Calls
- Voice Mail
- Caller ID
- Call Waiting
- Numeric Paging
- Three-Way Calling

**typically to get this plan, it has to be a new customer or a new line of service. Can't really port your number over of an existing account. But after talking to several departments on the phone with sprint, the cancellation department let me because I was already off contract and I was going to just cancel and start a new account. I was lucky because I really didn't want to lose my number. I was eligible to get a phone upgrade too so I got the palm centro for $99 – slim down newer version of a palm treo basically.
Detail info threads:
http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/680568/
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=563252&highlight=sero

Baby Shower

My work team threw a baby shower party at the office for Braden and Lyndsey Padget. We had Papa Johns pizza, a Costco cake and a homemade chocolate red velvet cake. Lyndsey made the cake with fresh strawberries that set it apart.

In addition to the Padgets getting baby gifts, we played two baby shower games. One was to guess the baby's birth date, length, weight, and name. It even had a line for "proud parents." We all had a laugh as if we're suppose to guess who the parents are??? As we were writing our guesses down, Nick Beary asks "what's the size of the standard issued baby" haha.

The second game was difficult. You must come up with the most song or movie titles that have the word baby. I could only think of three whereas he winner came up with 7.  Can anyone else beat that?