Music and Culinary Creations

Story by Dave Eckert / Intro photos courtesy of BB’s Lawnside BBQ

I love music, all kinds of music. I listen to music several hours a day, so it plays a big role in my life. Of course, as a food and beverage journalist, great cuisine and delicious adult beverages also help shape my daily routine. Recently, I started thinking of places around the metro where music and a culinary experience don’t just co-exist but influence each other and together shape a unique experience that rises above dining or listening to live music. That was the inspiration for this article.

I first reached out to Jimmy Nickle, the owner of the legendary BB’s Lawnside BBQ, a place known for both excellent barbecue and great live music. “BB’s was founded by husband-and-wife team Lindsay and Jo Shannon. The Shannons had a true passion for blues music and BBQ. Lindsay had a blues show on the radio for about 30 years. Lindsay always wanted live music and began bringing in live local acts on weekends,” Nickle shared.

The Nickles got involved in BB’s not long after it opened, with Jimmy’s brother, Michael, starting at the restaurant in 1992. “An avid barbecue pitmaster, Mike was instrumental in the development at BB’s over the 30-plus years he worked there. He implemented the BBQ techniques that turned BB’s into what it is today. Music is a big part of that. We now have live music six nights a week!” Nickle proudly exclaimed.

“What I like about BB’s is the natural vibe of friendliness that infects people while they’re here. Having the aromas of the pit along with music playing just makes you feel good. The communal seating is also one of my favorite elements. You meet people who were total strangers just minutes ago. Sharing BBQ and live music is a natural connection.”

“The ambiance is laid back, eclectic, and very friendly. People often say the ambiance is what really makes BB’s. We also recently renovated our deck, incorporating garage doors that open up to the dining room where the bands play. Customers comment how much they love sitting out there and hearing the music. I encourage people to look around. There’s a giant mural of Lindsay’s favorite blues artist on the wall. It all combines for a magical, uniquely Kansas City experience,” Nickel continued. Catch BB’s happenings at www.bbslawnsidebbq.com

Next, I sought the thoughts of friend and longtime KC jazz pianist, Tim Whitmer. I’ve heard Whitmer and his Good Time Quartet perform at a variety of venues through the years. But, for a more intimate and culinary-oriented experience, I highly recommend dropping by Café Trio on the Country Club Plaza any given Thursday night. That’s where Whitmer supplies what he calls ‘a soundtrack to enhance the evening.’ “I love that Café Trio has a New York-style ambiance. It provides classy first-class dining and service with a beautiful well-tuned baby grand piano. I’ve played there for nearly 20 years and have many friends and families that I’ve come to know that I get to serenade,” Whitmer said. Bop on by to hear him every Thursday from 5-8 p.m.

Ted’s Taproom is a new music venue to Kansas City. The vision of Jon Copaken, who set out to honor his lifelong friend, Ted Burns. Burns passed away in 2022 after a battle with a rare form of cancer, but as a long-time lover of KC Jazz, his memory lives on at Ted’s with great live music six nights a week and some creative and delicious cuisine.

“When I started planning this space, I looked around and saw while jazz plays a large role in Kansas City’s history, there just weren’t very many venues for live jazz. I wanted to find out if that was due to a lack of musicians, or perhaps a lack of interest from the general public. I’ve found neither to be true, Kansas City has a wealth of excellent jazz players, and the public, when aware of the opportunity to hear great live jazz, is more than happy to come out,” Copaken shared.

Photo courtesy of Ted’s Taproom

Ted’s Taproom allows customers to find their perfect space. Those seeking a jazz immersion can sit at a group of tables in front of the stage. Others can park at the bar for a drink and some conversation, and those desiring a night out with live jazz and a meal can find comfort and delectable food at tables throughout Ted’s. “We’re perhaps best known for our selection of flatbreads and charcuterie, but we like to think that our menu offers something for everyone, whether you’re looking for a snack or are making Ted’s the dinner component of your evening,” Copaken told me.

View their impressive music calendar at www.tedstaproom.com.

Photos courtesy of Mineral Lounge

Finally, perhaps the most in-depth combination of music and dining, or, in this case, musically themed cocktails. The list of performance-driven adult beverages is extensive-at Mineral Lounge, all generated by Mineral’s Bar Manager, Kris Siriwangchai and inspired by Mineral’s performing neighbors at The Kauffman Center. “I usually begin by learning as much as I can about the works being performed. I’ll read biographies about the composers, study the source materials, listen to recordings, watch available performances online, examine media releases from our arts partners, and research the historical context of the works — the philosophical, artistic, scientific, and political currents of the times. As I learn more about the upcoming performances, elements of the cocktails start appearing sort of kaleidoscopically. Nothing is really fleshed out-it’s just a lot of amorphous and shifting impressions,” Siriwangchai shared.

He has created dozens of cocktails themed to performances by the Kansas City Symphony, Kansas City Ballet, and most recently the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Siriwangchai has imagined over two dozen cocktails for the Kansas City Ballet alone for shows from Celts, Swan Lake, The Great Gatsby, The Nutcracker, and more. Symphony inspirations included Dolly Parton-Threads-My Life in Symphony, and Taylor Swift-The Symphony Era. Lastly, the Lyric Opera’s performance of Mice and Men moved Siriwangchai to yet another collaborative cocktail.

Here is a very impressive list of his creations.

Photos courtesy of Mineral Lounge

KC Ballet Collaborations

We’re grateful to have partnered with the Ballet on so many performances and with well over two dozen different cocktails. Here are some favorites (I’ve also included some of Brady’s Ice Cream specials):

CELTS (part of the Ballet’s Fusion program): Massalia — A thyme and mead sorbet finished with Greek sparkling orange wine. Massalia was a Celtic village that would later become a Greek colony, and much later, the modern French city of Marseilles.

SWAN LAKE: Black Swan — añejo tequila, espresso, Pedro Ximénez sherry, lavender, Spanish sea salt

STARS AND STRIPES/RODEO: La Vaquera (The Cowgirl) — Spanish rosé, strawberry liqueur, Lillet Rosé, Solerno Blood Orange, sparkling grapefruit, citric acid. Begun as a rosé sangría but became a little too boozy. Nope, this is a cowgirl through-and-through!

GREAT GATSBY

The East Egger — Essentially a whisky sour. Playful nod to the old-world opulence of the residents of East Egg. Buchanan’s 12-year scotch (a reference to the East Egg characters of Tom and Daisy Buchanan), Luxardo Apricot liqueur, pineapple liqueur, lemon, egg white.
The Fitz — Old Tom gin (another reference to Tom Buchanan), lemon juice, Bordiga Extra Dry Vermouth, thyme syrup. Named after F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Fitz takes the citric brightness of the author’s beloved Gin Rickey and softens it with vermouth and a touch of herbal sweetness.
Jordan Baker — Coiron Jaune, absinthe, ras el hanout, ginger, turmeric, saffron water, splash of cava. Garnished with charred pineapple on a golf club skewer. Jordan was a professional golfer, and this drink is intended to capture the globetrotting, high-energy, East Egger lifestyle.
The Green Light — Pistachio Praline ice cream. We paired Brady’s ice cream with Russo1899’s delicious pistachio cream liqueur to make the Green Light Special.

THE NUTCRACKER

The Mousse King’s Royal Nog: Homemade vegan egg nog mixed with Canton Ginger liqueur, apple brandy, Extra Añejo Rum, Zamora Clove and Cinnamon Liqueur. Garnished with two homemade sugar plums.
Nut/Cracker Ice Cream Sandwich: Mission Fig and black walnut ice cream finished with a brûlée glaze and Maldon sea salt, then sandwiched between two Graham crackers. Wrapped in wax paper and silver foil Nutcracker gift wrap and a pretty blue ribbon.

Symphony Collaborations

This partnership is new for us, and we’ve had fun imagining how American musical icons might inspire Mediterranean cocktails.

DOLLY PARTON — THREADS: MY LIFE IN SYMPHONY

9 to 5 — The 9 to 5 was a non-alcoholic drink. We imagined something vibrant and healthful to power you through the workday. N/A aperitivo, beet-horseradish shrub, sumac-orange blossom syrup, lemon juice, N/A sparkling rosé.
5 to 9 — The companion piece to the 9 to 5 and intended for after-work fun. We swapped out the N/A aperitvo for Amaro Lucano, added an egg white, and made a sour. Garnished with pickled beets.
Blue Smoke — This cocktail was inspired by the Dirt Road martini found in Dolly Parton’s Good Lookin’ Cookin’ Cookbook. We combined our homemade giardiniera brine with our Mediterranean Martini brine, exchanged the original recipe’s vodka for a Blanco tequila infused with a little lapsang-souchong tea, balanced out the salty brine with a little thyme syrup, and added a little lift with dry vermouth. The name is taken from Dolly’s song, “Blue Smoke,” but it also refers to the tequila’s blue agave and the smoky, tannic tea we added to the tequila.

TAYLOR SWIFT: THE SYMPHONY ERA

Folklore — We placed the intimate campfire feel of the album in an alpine forest setting. Bordiga Occitan Gin, Lillet Blanc, Antico Bitter Noveis, Kapriol, grapefruit juice. Served up with a smoking rosemary wreath. The drink was also inspired by Swift’s favorite cocktail, the French Blonde, which contains both Lillet Blanc and grapefruit juice.
Lover — Sweet but light with a subtle kick. A white chocolate martini made with reposado tequila, a splash of our Blue Smoke’s tea-infused tequila, pink peppercorn gomme, marshmallow and white chocolate extract, horchata liqueur, pistachio liqueur, and rose water. Garnished with a honey-roasted pistachio-dusted rim.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City/Kanbe’s Market Collaboration

Another new partnership! We worked with Kanbe’s Market to repurpose some of their “ugly” fruit to create the Aspiration cocktail for Lyric’s production of Of Mice and Men. The name “Aspiration” was taken from the private and public aspirations of the novel’s characters — the aspiration to have a home of one’s own, to have security and personal freedom, the aspiration for personal connections. The name also invoked Kanbe’s mission “to transform food loss into food access.” For the cocktail itself we cooked down Kanbe’s apples and pears and made a spiced syrup with cinnamon, ginger, and quince. This syrup was added to a spirit base of over proofed bourbon, apple brandy, maraschino liqueur, apricot brandy, lemon juice, and lemon and peach bitters. The choice of spirits was partially inspired by John Steinbeck’s favorite cocktail, the Jack Rose, an applejack brandy cocktail made with grenadine and lime juice.

Siriwangchai told me he enjoys the entire process of the cocktail creation-learning, researching, and developing. I asked him what he’d like his customers to know about these creations. “There’s so much more that goes into the cocktails than the raw ingredients, and there’s always a community of people that contribute to the final product. But if anyone would like to learn more, I would love for them to visit us at Mineral, so we can nerd out together!” Siriwangchai exclaimed. A good place to start is at www.mineralkc.com.