Casey and I would never knowingly put someone on a pedestal. The view can skew your perception; the fall can be perilous, and it can make you a target. That said…
Last week we held a private party at stuff after hours. It was an event that had been bid on at a charity auction, and it included a catered, sit-down dinner within the walls of the store. The evening was beyond fun, and the participants left very happy. Casey and I were the only staff on hand, and we had personally set the table for the magic that was to arrive an hour before the event.
And arrive it did. Jo Marie Scaglia, owner of The Mixx restaurants, had partnered with us for this donation, and she delivered the multiple courses herself. You can kick us now, because we got too busy to take pictures of the actual food at table. (But don’t hit the bruises we have from kicking ourselves, because we are starting to heal!)
It was so gorgeous, you didn’t want to lift a spoon or fork to disturb it. It was fresh, crunchy, savory, healthy and delicious. It was seasonal, and all dishes were served at room temperature because the day had been so hot. Jo Marie told us about how she took all of that into consideration when she planned the menu the morning of the event. She not only cares deeply about the properties of the food you eat, but she thinks presentation matters. And it does.
The lucky people who spent that evening dining and shopping couldn’t stop raving. It was the kind of food you didn’t want to stop eating; they were nibbling until they left – four hours after their arrival.
We placed Jo Marie and her restaurant on the Plaza on our all-time favorites list the first time we ate there the week she opened a few years ago. The talented team under her leadership has never let us down, and we crave it constantly.
We are delighted she’s our friend and even happier that she keeps us well fed. We’ll never place her on a pedestal, but we will sing her praises.
Dang, her food is good.
PS…We’ve had a few things to say about The Mixx in past blogs. Check this one out.
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The day that we went to Fort Osage, we drove through Buckner, Missouri. To many people, this would not be a bonus, but I had insider information garnered from a customer I had met at stuff. Right before the holidays, I struck up a conversation in the store with a woman named Tammy. She was oohing and aahing over our fully-lit, reproduction carnival letters. We talked a good long time – she mentioned needing a few of them, and we discussed all the ways Casey and I had used them in the store. Then she told me about her BBQ business in Buckner, Hawg Shed. The woman she was traveling with that day became the “rave squad” for her friend’s business and regaled me with its magic. (I’ve seen this behavior in my own friends about stuff, and it always warms my heart that they love what I do as much as I do.) Tammy stood their quietly smiling, and I stood there with my mouth watering.
I have to preface my next comments about the Hawg Shed with the fact that I was basically raised on Kansas City barbeque (and bar-be-que and BAR-B-Q and Bar-b-que and BBQ). My parents – both when they were together and since they’ve been apart – are barbeque junkies. I truly believe my father could eat it every day, and my mother was once a team contestant in the American Royal BBQ contest and the Lenexa BBQ Contest. Serious red sauce runs through these veins. I won’t digress into the quagmire of debates over thin sauce vs. thick sauce, toasted buns vs. soft bread, etc.. I will also not profess to be an expert on barbeque myself.
So, that being said, I will tell you that Tammy’s place in Buckner has the finest pulled pork I have ever consumed, and her baked beans are tops. Both were authentically smoky – no trace of smoke flavoring, one of my least favorite things on the planet. No one at our table ate anything but pork, so I can’t speak to the other meat offerings. We will be going back sometime this summer when our little group of three is hungrier.
