Goodbye, Julian. See You Later, Celina.

We usually spend the night in Kansas City, a very nice town, on our way to see Mrs. C's family farther out in Kansas. KC has a good restaurant scene and Julian has become our favorite in recent years. When I was about to make a reservation I saw online that it was closing after the Fourth of July! I quickly made a reservation on Open Table.

I got a call Wednesday night from chef and owner Celina Tio. Did I know that they had a special menu planned, a five course tasting menu that she prepared when she won on Iron Chef? With wine pairings? No, clueless, but don't cancel our reservation.

OMG, it was heaven. Food and wine that was simple on the surface but oh so subtle as you paid more attention to each course. The highlight was almost inconceivable, lobster shepherd's pie, seen below. We were so glad we stumbled into the occasion.

The last photo is the rare image of Mrs. C and me, along with Celina and the wine guy (never did get his name).  She has another place, The Belfry, that we hope to visit soon. We may be back here in a month.

Everything's Up To Date In Kansas City

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Well, that's the only other song about this town I can think of besides the one I mentioned yesterday. But it's true!

I like KC. Some people say it's the eastern-most Western city in the U.S. And it's kind of an outpost - the next stop west is Denver, and that's a long way.  It's got a progressive, modern feel. We had dinner at Julian, which was highly rated online. We were not disappointed. The food was built of simple elements, perfect local ingredients and creativity, served by warm, knowledgeable people.

Got some good sunset pix from and around the Westin Hotel in Crown Center. Like St. Louis, this is flyover country. Some of those travelers should touch down and have a look.

And speaking of St. Louis, the Cardinals won the bottommost step of the baseball playoffs yesterday, beating the Atlanta Braves on their home field. Now we get into the real competition, playing the Washington Nationals at home Sunday and Monday. Mrs. C and I won't be home in time for the first game but I'll be at the following match, lenses blazing. Only 11 more victories until our home town heroes win their second straight championship.