A postcard after sunrise
Heading East
Posted Wednesday, April 4, 2007 - 2 comments
Last Saturday,we caught the last night of the Sonic Spectrum Anniversary Showcase. Before the show, we followed Marci Penner's suggestion and tried out the Jumpin' Catfish in Olathe. We stepped inside something that looked like a hunting lodge. It had wood paneling running up and down the walls plus animal decor covering the rest of the dining room: flying birds, antlers and fish.
This place is all about the big servings. After we got carded for ordering Boulevard Wheat, our server placed these huge baskets in front of us. At some places, we're lucky to get bread or chips and salsa with dinner. But this Olathe haunt went one step beyond and offered FREE refills of the navy beans, hush puppies and coleslaw. These side servings could have easily made a meal. I enjoyed the beans cooked in a rich, savory sauce. My hubby was impressed with the coleslaw that tasted fresh and tangy. And we devoured the hush puppies before our entrees were served.
On the menu, the restaurant boasted having the best catfish in Kansas. I haven't visited enough places in the Sunflower State to make a judgement call. However, I'll say the Jumpin' Catfish has some mighty tasty seafood. I ordered the fried combination platter with catfish, shrimp, crayfish and stuffed crabs. The crispy batter complimented the flaky, hearty catfish flavor. The stuffed crabs were OK and something I could have found in the deli section of a grocery store. Overall, I was happy with this combo plate and I had plenty of leftovers for this week.
We managed to waddle out of the Jumpin' Catfish and drive-up to the show at the Record Bar in Kansas City. KCUR's Sonic Spectrum features 2 hours of free-form music programming and interviews every Saturday. I often use Robert Moore's program as my traveling soundtrack for our weekend roadtrips around the state.
Softee opened up the night with a cute indie pop set.
Ghosty was in fine form Saturday night -- rockin' out with some fierce experimental grooves.
American Catastrophe sounded amazing -- dark melodies and lead male vocals that sounded like an edgier Tom Waits. I posted a review on the show at lawrence.com.
At 1:30 AM, we ended up with the munchies. We followed the clubbing crowd down to Westport Road and discovered a treasure trove of late-night food offerings. This hot dog stand reminded me when I got a craving for sausages in London, after an loud electronica set in the theater district. Westport also had two food trucks serving falafels, gyros and other Middle Eastern goodies. Why does food taste amazing after midnight?
We settled on Joe's Piza behind Kelly's. For $6, we got two pizza slices and a soda. There's a few tables inside, but some people were content to enjoy their slices out in the balmy night air.
Good times.
Comments
Apr. 6, 2007 at 8:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)lckrings (Lisa Coble-Krings)
Sounds like fun Kris. Love the Record Bar, Davy's uptown and I really love this place called Knuckleheads, but it's probably not your kind of music. More country, swing country, blues and rockabilly. Anyway, great pics, keep blogging.
Apr. 11, 2007 at 4:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)kveraphillips (Kris Vera-Phillips)
I heart swing music and swing dancing - simply because I'm a sucker for the movie, "Swingers."
Lisa -- I think you'd like American Catastrophe - with its dark Country vibe. I feature one of their tunes in my latest podcast:
http://www.archive.org/download/QueenkvA...
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)