Parabola Day - Blanc Burger and Bottle

I wasn't one of the lucky few to get their hands on one of Firestone Walker Parabola bottles released to KC recently. Lucky for me, Blanc Burger and Bottle received a small amount and alerted me to its presence at the Plaza location. Blanc has never had to twist my arm to enjoy a great brew and bite. I probably would have made it in soon anyway, but I think it's awesome they are willing to go out of their way to entice me to come in and get my drink on try something special. Now that they've added a black bean burger to the menu, my steady diet of Blanc is only bound to increase.


I get a limited allowance from the wife each week, which happened to be given to me yesterday...and was burning a hole in my pocket. Having a bottle of Parabola with my name on it was all the more appealing and worthy of my hard earned cash. At $25/bottle, Parabola can seem steep for a lunch brew on a Saturday, but it's actually a pretty great deal for a pub/restaurant. A bottle will run $16 to $20 if found at a local liquor shop. Not a bad price at all.


The brew poured black as night with a maple, bourbon smell, holding a short lived lacy head. The taste started with a mix of coffee and dark chocolate with maybe a hint of tobacco. This quickly moved to a hint sweet maple syrup and finished with the bourbon-ish 12.5% ABV backbone. The brew was extremely smooth and clean for all the alcohol and flavor. Very impressive. One of the best, if not the best, Imperial Stouts I've ever enjoyed. In all seriousness, I think everyone reading this needs to immediately head in and try this brew while it's still available. This brew should not be missed. Period.

Serving Type: 22oz Bomber
Glassware: Snifter
Appearance: Midnight black, maple brown fringe, quickly dissipating lacy head
Aroma: Maple, bourbon, hint of coffee
Taste: Coffee, but not overly bitter, dark chocolate, maple syrup, trace of tobacco, bourbon and alcohol
Grade: 100/100 (A+)
Musical pairing: Holy Ghost! - Wait & See
Surroundings: Brews and burgers with great friends at Blanc Burger and Bottle

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Stone Saves Kansas City from Fizzy Yellow Beer

Stone week, Missouri has begun. The quest of introducing Stone's fine ales to Missouri will continue in Kansas City through Wednesday, followed by 2 days in St. Louis. Amazing. Blanc, Saucer, Riot Room. Amazing. The Stone crew, especially co-founder, Greg Koch, seemed to be on a mission to save the world from "fizzy yellow beer" and we should all thank him for it. I've not seen anything like it and I hope to see more.

If you didn't get a chance to hang out with the Stone crew today and enjoy some great brews, there's still time. Be sure to check the schedule below and come out Wednesday. I'm thinking Swagger for lunch, Flying Saucer for a little happy hour, insert WAKA kickball games at 730* and finally The Foundry for total tap tower takeover. See you there, Kansas City? I hope so.

*Kickball is an unofficial stop for Stone Week. Attendance is optional for you and required for me. Stone brews will be in my cooler, none the less.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 - Kansas City
11am - 12pm: Lukas Liquor Superstore

• Stone DVD and bottle signing with Greg and Nate!

12pm - 1pm: Royal Liquors

• Stone DVD and bottle signing with Greg and Nate!

1:30pm-3pm: Swagger

• Stone Smoked Porter
• Stone IPA
• Double Dry Hopped Stone IPA
• Stone Cali-Belgique IPA
• Arrogant Bastard Ale
• Arrogant Bastard Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels

3:30 - 5pm: Gomer's South

• Stone DVD and bottle signing with Team Stone!

6:30 - 7:45pm: Flying Saucer

• Stone Pale Ale
• Stone Smoked Porter
• Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans
• Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers
• Stone Smoked Porter Aged in Bourbon Barrels
• Stone IPA
• Double Dry Hopped Stone IPA
• Arrogant Bastard Ale
• Arrogant Bastard Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels
• OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale
• Stone Levitation Ale
• Stone Cali-Belgique IPA
• Stone Ruination IPA
• Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale
• Double Dry Hopped Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale
• Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
• 2010 Double Bastard Ale
• 2011 Stone Old Guardian BELGO Barley Wine
• 2010 Stone Imperial Russian Stout
• 2008 Stone Imperial Russian Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels

8pm: The Foundry

• Stone Pale Ale
• Stone Smoked Porter
• Stone Smoked Porter with Vanilla Beans
• Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers
• Stone Smoked Porter Aged in Bourbon Barrels
• Stone IPA
• Double Dry Hopped Stone IPA
• Arrogant Bastard Ale
• Arrogant Bastard Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels
• OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale
• Stone Levitation Ale
• Stone Cali-Belgique IPA
• Stone Ruination IPA
• Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale
• Double Dry Hopped Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale
• Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
• 2010 Double Bastard Ale
• 2011 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
• 2010 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
• 2009 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
• 2007 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
• 2010 Stone Imperial Russian Stout
• 2008 Stone Imperial Russian Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels

Brew...errr...Burger Review?

The Red Devils of Manchester United came into town and I wasn't about to miss the show. No, I wasn't one of the 48,000 fans wearing red and calling it "futbol" (Hey. Guy in the Christiano Ronaldo jersey, spray tan and faux hawk. You live in America. Talk like it.)... I was one of the 4200 wearing blue and cheering the Wizards to victory; something that hasn't happened very often this year. Either way, the Wizards are best in the world, at least for a short while. Ah, but these great things were second on the day's bucket list. Blanc Burger + Bottle has opened an Arrowhead spot to serve a few of their burger/fry options to willing fans. 


By some sort of divine intervention, my tickets happened to be in the same section as their new burger spot. It was meant to be. I had heard they were opening a spot and immediately assumed Arrowhead had expanded their contracted brew options. What was I thinking? Strict stadium rules severly limit the brew options to Miller Lite only. Really? Not even Boulevard products? Well, I guess brew will have to go by the wayside for this posting...although a Blanc burger does considerably raise the grade of any watered down BS the macro conglomerate wants to pass of as brew. 

The lines were crazy and I think I noticed a little smoke coming from manager Brian Wilson's shoes. My wife and I ordered a classic with sweet potato fries, a soda and a beer for around $20. A Blanc burger raises the grade of any watered down beverage, so I won't rant any more about the only option. While not the same "made to order" flavor as the regular Blanc Burger + Bottle experience ((or cute mini shopping carts to hold your fries), the meal definitely superior to any stadium fare I've enjoyed to date. All in all, I was more than happy. My only regret was not smuggling in a Tank 7 to match the meal. I definitely think with a few more games under their belt, people are going to be skimping on their tailgate grilling in favor of a burger on the inside.


Location: The Burger Spot, section 122
Surroundings: 10 lines, 10 people deep, all hungry.
Music: The Heavy - How You Like Me Now?

Blanc Burger + Bottles - King of kings

Hey fella, how do you feel about gourmet burgers? Young, respectful lady, do you enjoy many micro brews featured prominently? If you answered coherently, your answers were most likely “I feel good, I tend to like them better than room temperature UV + Pink Lemonade drank at my local house party”. In that case, we are recommending a gathering spot for you – Blanc Burgers + Bottles.

This is the very first of our reviews featuring local watering holes and rightfully so since Blanc has been anointed King over the Burger and Bottle fiefdom (if you don’t believe us, fine…just check the articles below). Sometimes we tend to be a bit biased, but even our non-beer friends love the food, atmosphere, and beers we’ve introduced them to at this glorious place. Here are some highlights:

• 110 beers in bottle (if you can find Hitachino beers you know you’ve hit the sweet spot) featuring such personal favorite breweries as Avery, Lagunitas, Bells, Boulevard, Left Hand, Dogfish Head
• Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout – nothing more needs to be said
• Burgers that include Au Poivre, $100 (think deliciousness + awesomeness), mahi mahi, kobe, bison, kangaroo (had it once, sans boxing gloves and bad attitude)
• A giant black board that details the daily specials
• A fry selection that includes truffle fries, sweet potato fries, and onions rings the size of your best friend’s bulbous head, all in mini shopping carts
• Local ingredients and businesses used for mustard, cheese, etc (extra points for repping their “hood”)
• Manager named Brian, an overall high quality dude who isn’t afraid to kiss babies and dole out free apps to get you to come back, and who mysteriously ends up with cases of awesome beers incorrectly
• Bar Manager named Ryan who is lead singer in a pretty sweet band named “Heroes + Villians”, who indirectly got us not sober with Dallas at the Riot Room

In all seriousness, we’ve drank at some pretty sweet establishments in both KC and Chicago and most lack the rare quadfecta of overall quality, selection, atmosphere, and humility (don’t fret Map Room, Villians Bar and Grill, or Riot Room – we’ve got reviews coming soon and you all graduated at the top of your class). If you enjoy a great bottle beer selection, some very knowledgeable folks in terms of beer and food pairings, manners, and hot skanks (I made up the last part), then please check out Blanc – I’ll bet the deed to Imbibilicious's place that you aren’t disappointed.

Don’t believe me? Why don’t you take a look at some of the hot publicity heaped on this place as of late:

http://tags.draftmag.com/?s=blanc+burger (Draft magazine – also named one of “the best beer and burger spots” in the May/June issue of the mag)

http://www.kctv5.com/video/23068181/index.html

http://www.burgerbusiness.com/?p=4147 (the Duke University of the 2010 Burger Bracket)

Our advice – grab your sack o nickels and order a $100 burger + a Rogue Hazelnut Brown. Wolf it down and then tell Brian and Ryan that we should get free beers for being “right”.

Blanc Burger can be found at two locations, but our favorite is the Country Club Plaza location at:

4710 Jefferson St.
Kansas City, MO 64112
816.931.6200

Overall grade: A

Founders Brew Schedule

Definitely one of the cooler websites for a craft brewer that we've ever taken five seconds to look at:

http://foundersbrewing.com/founders/beer/brand-calendar

The brand calendar actually lists when their beers are available and since they distribute to many states outside of Michigan, head down to your local brew pub/beer store and see what you can find. 

For March, the Kentucky Breakfast Stout is going to be available and being here in KC, we know exactly where we are headed to bong this beer - Blanc Burgers + Bottles (4710 Jefferson, KC, MO 64112), where Bryan always treats us with "mad love" and respect.  I have a feeling that if this beer is even only slightly better than the Founders seasonal beer Breakfast Stout, that we might end up as Pookie from "New Jack City" - cracked out and dead...I mean buzzed and enlightened.

One thing that we've both found interesting about Founders Breakfast Stouts is that despite the color and abundance of coffee, they aren't overbearing at all.  The original Breakfast Stout is 8.3% ABV, yet it goes down dangerously easily, to the point that you too might wake up with one shoe on/fully clothed, with the remnants of yet another late night trip to El Rancho next to you, and the stink of shame hanging in the air.  KBS checks in at over 10% with hints of bourbon/whiskey, so be sure to bring your fork, knife, and capacity for subtle "clearance burps".