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Archive for the month “December, 2016”

06 Dec 2016

Panclog #30: McLain’s Market

Update 1/25/17: We recently visited McLain’s Market again, and we are proud to announce that the foul odor has disappeared.  We wholeheartedly recommend McLain’s.  Go on, child. Eat good food.

Munching at McLain’s
11/29/2016

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McLain’s Market is the sister store of McLain’s Bakery in Waldo. McLain’s Market is located on the Northeast corner of 435 and Roe Avenue. McLain’s Market is less than 2 months old.  They opened on October 11th, 2016. You can check out their website if you like. They are open for breakfast, lunch and light dinners.

Location/Environment: McLain’s is across the street from a Quiktrip where a Shell gas station once stood. McLain’s is very easy to get to thanks for them being right off the highway.  McLain’s is what you would call country-urban.  It is decorated in a chic but home-y fashion.

Service: McLain’s Market is a order-first sit-later establishment.  We had a small group of people in front of us, this provided the perfect duration of time to peruse the menu and make a decision.  The coffee was served from their espresso machine area.  This could cause a wait if the barista is busy making orders. All workers in the bakery area and cash registers had chipper attitudes.

Wait time for food: 7 minutes

Menu/Selection: McLain’s Market is not just a breakfast spot.  They are also open for lunch, and afternoon appetizers.  Did you also catch that this place is a bakery?  That means they have delicious sweets and desserts, too.  McLain’s also serves beer and wine. It looks like a wonderful place to get together with an old friend and share some pastries while sipping on some wine.  McLain’s has been kind enough to publish their menu on their website.

Food:

Market Bowl and Almond Croissant (Jared)

Mornings are simply better when you are able to share it with good people over good food.  Seriously is there anything better than coffee conversations? Well maybe a conversation over a nice beer. Oh that reminds me! Go read the interesting series of Thirsty Thursday posts.  Read them with a chilled pint of Milwaukee’s Best! Click here for beer reading material!

Walking into McLain’s Market feels great. Why you ask? Well I’ll tell you why, this place is aesthetically pleasing to both the eyes and both the nostrils.  They have some of the cutest décor that you will find west of the Mississippi.  You know those east-of-the-Mississippi people have some incredible decorating skills.  We can all agree on that. And that nostril thing?  It is not as gross as it sounds.  McLain’s is a bakery. That means they bake stuff. Baked goods smell incredible. I rest my aesthetically-pleasing case.

When waiting in line for the cash register, McLain’s brilliantly surrounds the customer with freshly baked goods.  This is my favorite type of entrapment.  They show you tasty things when you already hungry.  It worked.  I bought that almond croissant to prove to McLain’s that they have a good sales technique.

Let’s talk about this Market Bowl. When I read the description of chorizo verde, scrambled eggs, avocado, and potatoes.  I screamed, “TAKE MY MONEY!” They graciously accepted my payment. When I received my bowl of goodness, I was slightly confused.  For some reason, I was expecting an omelette or a scramble of sorts.  This was not a bad realization at all.  Just a surprise.  The layering of foods allowed me to choose the flavor combinations myself.  Bowls are hot right now.  Being able to hold your food and eat it makes people happier. That is a fact. I heard it on the radio.

The green chorizo was everything you want in chorizo.  It is sliced a little larger than I have seen it before.  The spice level of this chorizo was perfect.  Spicy enough to make you rethink all of your life’s decisions but not spicy enough to make you do anything different. I usually don’t like onions and peppers in my food, but when hidden inside this bowl, I guess they are fine.

The almond croissant is flaky and gooey.  It will fit perfectly in your stomach where the sweets go.  I want more.  I believe I will be going back this week just to get more pastries.  I have a sweet tooth that needs to be satisfied by more goodies from McLain’s.

I must say when Brent and I visited this fine establishment, we were struck by the scent of natural gas.  I stated that it was something like “butt smell.”  I am at the assumption that this was a one time event. We will find out next time I check it out.

Large Coffee: $1.99
Market Bowl: $6.50
Almond Croissant: $3.00

Pepper Jack Burrito (Brent)

McLain’s Market is a newly opened bakery/breakfast place that the Panclog crew recently visited. Located on the corner of Roe and 107th St in Overland Park, KS, McLain’s repurposed an old gas station on the site to build out their restaurant. They recycled a building, and for that they are heroes.

The work that the McLain’s team has done to remodel the building is terrific. The outside and inside stylings complement each other quite well. There is a lot of exposed wood and steel throughout the décor, with some old west style accents (maybe?). I am not an interior decorator so my best guess for style is Urban Country. You would be better off checking it out for yourself at your nearest opportunity.

Let’s pause and look at a nice picture.
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Ordering is a simple process: check the overhead board, make some decisions, walk to the counter, place your order, pay some money, and you’re done. Back in the inner workings of McLain’s your breakfast is prepared and will be delivered to you. Or at least they will yell out your name so you can go grab it. If you bring a Jared, there is a good chance he will jump up and get your food for you. He’s nice like that.

I apologize for the momentary lapse in writing. I took a moment to look at the nice picture again. I should probably remove the picture as she is very distracting.

Back to McLain’s. The food appeared very fast. As I wasn’t feeling 100% that day I looked for something that would be relatively small, but I also wanted to find something that was representative of a full breakfast. Enter the breakfast burrito. Specifically, McClain’s Pepper Jack Burrito.
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As a brief aside. When I get creamed by a bus and go to heaven, I would like to meet the inventor of the burrito and give that person a hug. A hug so long that it is almost inappropriate and awkward. I would like the inventor, whomever she or he may be, to know that I truly appreciated their invention and look forward to burritos throughout eternity.
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The burrito is similar to most other breakfast burritos in that it contains eggs, another protein, cheese and seasonings. In this particular case, McLain’s includes sausage, eggs, pepper jack cheese, red potatoes, and serrano sauce. In my opinion, the eggs of a breakfast burrito are the most important part to get right. The eggs need to provide a firm base to support all of the other flavors, but should not be the main event. Runny or stiff eggs have a tendency to ruin the experience (if you would like to experience runny/stiff eggs I would send you to my office cafeteria). If you would like to experience eggs done properly, I would send you to McLain’s.

The potatoes in the burrito provide a very nice additional texture to the dish. The potatoes themselves are seasoned well and properly cooked. They are tender to the tooth but are not mushy or grainy. They help support the eggs in their job of providing a background for the more flavorful components.

The other ingredients provided quite a kick. I assume the sausage is regular pork sausage and it is quite good, although there could have been a little more. The pepper jack and the serrano sauce were also flavorful and added a bit of heat to the burrito. I would imagine that many folks might consider it extremely spicy, but I felt it had just enough heat. The spice made for an adventurous breakfast. Paired with hot coffee you will want to have another beverage at the ready. Something like orange juice and/or water, which is what I did.

I would be remiss though in not mentioning that the restaurant had a strange odor. To me it seemed like a residual fragrance from the gas station; Jared had a more colorful description for it (See butt smell above). The staff suggested that it was something odd about that morning, so we must head back sometime soon to check it out.

Pepper Jack Burrito – $6.60

Overall: McLain’s is an excellent place to grab a breakfast. The seating was a little uncomfortable for our long breakfast sessions, but that shouldn’t be an issue for most. Especially if you are in a rush. The staff is friendly and quick to help. McLain’s has the type of atmosphere that puts you in a good mood.  If the strange odor was a one time problem, McLain’s could become a mainstay in anybody’s breakfast rotation.

Grade:
Brent – McLain’s has my hearty recommendation, 3 out of 5 stars. If the odor disappears on our next visit I will give them 3.5 to 4 stars

Jared – McLain’s has the stuff to be great. I will have to give it a C+ if the odor persists.  Possibly an A- if we went at a bad time.

Expect an update from us soon!

Send recommendations and feedback to the Panclog’s Twitter.

You can also follow Jared and Brent.

 

 

 

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01 Dec 2016

Thirsty Thursday: Singer-Songwriters

Happy Thursday to the thirstiest of readers.  This is the 4th edition of this fine editorial.  If you haven’t read the other three, I should probably catch you up.  The boys of Panclog choose a human they would like to have a beer with and then we choose a beer that pairs well with that humans essence.  We didn’t post last week due to the lovely food holiday of Thanksgiving.  Did you have any beers with interesting people?

There will be a new Panclog on Tuesday! No, this is not a December Fool’s Day prank.  It will be reviewing a restaurant that is less than 3 months old. Be excited. Set your alarms.

Here we go. Which singer-songwriters do the Panclog Pals want to have beers with?

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Jared – Whom I would have a beer with – Paul Baribeau

September 2008, Driving around the rough streets of Overland Park, Kansas with me newest friend, Matt. The late summer heat is finally starting to give way to the slightly chilly breeze of fall.  The windows down, the music up.  The CD ends and with all of the style in the world, Matt hands me a compact disc that will blow up my very fragile understanding of “indie” music.  The CD contains bands like Andrew Jackson Jihad, Tom Waits and Paul Baribeau.

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Paul Baribeau struck me instantly. His simple acoustic guitar backed poetry is just what you need when your world is changing from the safety and security of high school to the open and friendless space that college begins as.  Paul’s lyrics can bring you to laughter or break you into tears. Paul has written songs that perfectly encapsulate the youngest of loves. Strawberry is one of the most romantic songs that I have ever heard. Give it a gander in this best fashion you can, a lyric video.  Paul Baribeau has given me great advice like “Hard work helps the time go by.”and “Name 10 things you want to do before you die and then go do them.”

Sadly, Paul Baribeau’s last released album was in 2010.  The last song on that album is called Wild Eyes and is all about reckless love and loss.  Pretty exciting. I don’t want you to be sad because, Paul still releases music.  it is just different.  He releases some delicious new age music with guitar mixed into it.  It will make you want to hold hands and get things done. He releases this music under the name New Boy.

The beer I selected to share with Paul Baribeau is none other than a beer I brewed on my own.  Why not drink something home brewed to share with someone who creates their own music?

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Kelly Bripa is a beer. That is all I have to say about it.  I brewed this beer as a gift for my best friends’ wedding.  I made this recipe as an ode to their relationship.  In fact they both have been guest writers on this fine Panclog.   He loves dark beers and she loves IPAs.  I put these two styles in the best way I knew how.  It turned out very well.  The crowd loved it.  I brew under the name Trestache Brewing with all of my friends help.  Hit me up on Twitter and we can brew and drink our creation.

You can follow Paul Baribeau on his tumblr.

Brent – Whom I would have a beer with – Tom Petty

When listening to music very rarely am I able to equate the song with the artist. Asking me who sang such and such song will only lead to a dead end. This deficiency in my knowledge was most recently demonstrated when someone asked me what band wrote and performed “Come, Sail Away.” I can’t remember what my answer was, but it was certainly not Styx. The only reason that I know it is Styx now is that I just looked it up on Wikipedia.

So when confronted with the suggestion of favorite singer/songwriter for this column I was kind of at a loss. I like almost all music and musical genres, but since I would find it difficult to determine which artist belonged to which catalog, how could I fairly say that person is my favorite. Performing a quick scan of the stations I have setup on Pandora only yields more confusion. I pick artists for the shuffle play because I know they belong to a genre of music I enjoy listening too. A quick sampling of the list of stations I have setup includes, Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast), Lisa Loeb, The Roots, Straight No Chaser, Bettye Lavette, Green Day, Wicked, The B-52s, Hootie & The Blowfish, Frank Sinatra, A Tribe Called Quest, The Piano Guys, Wynton Marsalis, etc.

I soon realized that I was going to have to dig deep on this one. So I thought back to my teenage years, the age when music seems to capture people more tightly than any other. In 1989, when I was 15, Tom Petty released “Full Moon Fever”, a solo album. The album took off pretty quickly and peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200 list. Following my siblings and friends, whom were all avid watchers of music videos, I quickly discovered Runnin’ Down a Dream. The video caught my eye way before music actually did because of the surrealist animation. However, it didn’t take long for my appreciation of this song and his music to grow. A couple years later Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released “Into the Great Wide Open”, an album I truly enjoy from beginning to end, cementing Mr. Petty as one of my favorite artists.

2013 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival - Day 4

In any case, Tom Petty is an artist whose music I know, well almost. It is a good thing that I know Jared, because he knows all the music, and can correctly steer me in regard to music trivia.

There seems to be a slow, easy drawl through all of Tom Petty’s music, with a strong emphasis on the lyric. That isn’t to say that the music is over powered by the words. Mr. Petty seems to be able to consistently balance the two threads of music and lyric. Throughout the bulk of his music there is a bluesy quality that permeates, of which I am a fan.

Playing his music in the background while working helps push the day along. Earlier this afternoon listening to “Learning to Fly” powered me through a rather complex SQL query and “Out in the Cold” delivered on the application of some JQuery validations for a web application. I am certain Mr. Petty would be pleased with this outcome.

The beer that I would like to share with Mr. Petty is Boulevard’s Bourbon Barrel Quad (BBQ).

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I find that the flavor of the BBQ is very deep, and rich overall. However, I do find the initial sip unexpectedly sweet. The beer finishes clean and clear with very little aftertaste. If you focus on what you are tasting you can get hints of vanilla and cherries. According to Boulevard’s website, this shouldn’t be a surprise. Also, it is probably only due to the power of suggestion in the name of the brew, but I do think I can taste the Bourbon from the barrels. If this is true, and it is only suggestion, don’t tell me, I like it the way it is. BBQ, in my opinion, is unique across the rest of Boulevard’s offerings and it is one of my favorites.

Who would you like to have a beer with? What beer would you drink with them?

Let us know at our Twitters: Panclog, Jared, and Brent.

CHEERS!

Posted by stephentshaffer in Thirsty Thursday and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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