Story Scene and Be Scene - HERLIFE Magazine - Kansas City

On March 14th, Story hosted a wonderful evening of food and wine with famed winemaker Greg Brewer of Santa Barbara, California. Greg is the owner and winemaker of Brewer-Clifton, Melville and diatom Wineries, and he made his rst trip to Kansas City to share his Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. Six wines were paired with a ve-course dinner prepared by Story chef/owner CarlThorne-Thomsen.VisitStoryat3931West69thTerraceinPrairieVillage,Kansas,orvisitstorykc.com. 

Story. Restaurant in Prairie Village - HERLIFE Magazine - Kansas City

 

Restaurant in Prairie Village

by charity ohlund photography by brooke vandever 

I’ve told this story dozens of times. I was
a few years out of journalism school and had returned to my hometown to work as
a project manager at a web development com- pany. One of our clients was a gourmet food shop, and after my California-transplanted boss learned that my entire Wichita upbring- ing had consisted of nothing more adventur- ous than pork chops, potatoes, fried chicken and spaghetti, he insisted that I try the yellow- n sushi rolls offered at our client’s edgy and whimsical shop called With A Twist. 

My relationship to food changed on that day 13 years ago. It was the moment I realized that food could be art, adventure, experience and emotion instead of just sustenance. 

Then just days ago, I was enjoying yet another game-changing moment, this time with
a yellowtail snapper at Story restaurant in Prairie Village. Ceviche has never been on my personal faves list (too much acid and too salty). But chef and owner Carl Thorne-Thomsen’s yellowtail Ceviche was even more delicious than it was beautiful. And man, was it beautiful. A perfect, shallow circle of diced snapper, tomatillos and Serrano chiles is kissed with olive oil and lime, and crowned with a tangle of curly, crisp carrot strings.

As I sat chatting with Story co-owner Susan Thorne-Thomsen, stories were told, dots were connected and culinary serendipity intervened. Susan had been the owner of With A Twist in Wichita all those years ago. She hired Carl to be the chef at the café inside her shop after he knocked her socks off with his homemade breads, sauces and desserts.

“He was supposed to be getting his Master’s degree in creative writing at Wichita State after nishing his undergrad at Cornell,” Susan said. “But he was distracted by food. When he should have been writing, he was cooking.” 

There was something else distracting Carl, too. It was Susan. They soon married and had three kids while Carl rst honed his skills at 40 Sardines, then as the chef de cuisine for Chef Michael Smith at Michael Smith and Extra Virgin. 

Looking around the crisp and clean dining room of Story, it’s clear that Carl and Susan designed it as a light box to showcase the main characters at Story—the ingredients. The white walls, tablecloths and plates pro- vide a pure backdrop to Chef Carl’s signature philosophy of “a central ingredient, a sup- porting cast of three or four avors, a variety of textures, and a nice balance of sweetness, tartness, and saltiness.” 

Dinner at Story is at once upscale and casual, urban and neighborhood. But the best- kept secret at Story happens in broad daylight. In addition to the regular lunch menu (if you consider Arctic char with Brussels sprouts and bacon as “regular”), a daily prix xe lunch menu offers 3 courses with options for $18. Happy hour is from 4:30pm–6:30 pm Tuesday through Friday, and gets you the best bar menu I’ve ever seen for half price. Sunday brunch is an á la carte gathering of friends and neighbors shaking off Saturday night’s excess with head-healing dishes like smoked duck empanadas, shrimp and grits, and even a classic cheeseburger (if you consider red wine mayo to be classic, as I do). 

Sunday night at Story has a strong cult following with foodies getting their x for less when Chef Carl offers a $10 entrée special and a select bottle of wine for $10. No, not glass. Bottle. 

The rst full spring season of Story’s rookie year is upon us, and I can’t wait to set up permanent camp on the gorgeous patio. A full schedule of events is already in place, including a Boulevard Beer dinner with brewmaster Steven Pauwels on April 11, a Mother’s Day tea and fashion show on May 12, and a cocktail and tapas patio party on June 13, just to name a few. 

That’s the thing about Story. It can just as easily accommodate a power lunch as it can a patio pig roast, which will indeed happen on May 24 to celebrate Story’s one-year anniver- sary.

I’ve had more moments of culinary magic than I can count in the past 13 years. It started in Susan’s gourmet food shop with a simple roll of sushi, and continued days ago with Chef Carl’s modern German chocolate cake with thin layers of coconut and white chocolate mousse that looked as if it were plated by Picasso with its geometric salted caramels and candied pecans. ■ 

An Oft-told STORY - Spaces Magazine - Kansas City

 

carl thorne-thomsen, the executive chef and co-owner of story restaurant in prairie village, weaves a tale of the best ingredients and his family’s favorite dishes

by contributing writer carl thorne-thomsen

The premise behind the style of food I make both at home and at my res- taurant, Story, is that quality of ingredients

matters. As chef, ingredients inspire me. I like to know where they come from, what makes them unique, the “story” behind them. I don’t believe in excess or overabundance. I don’t manipulate or embellish products to the point that they are no longer recognizable. Chicken should taste like chicken, shrimp like shrimp, artichokes like artichokes. Each dish should be focused, with a central ingredient, a supporting cast of three or four flavors, a variety of textures, and a nice balance of sweetness, tartness, saltiness. More often than not, like an editor, I’m looking for things to remove from a plate.

Ceviche typifies simplicity. A traditional South American dish in which the acidity in citrus “cooks” diced fish, ceviche depends primarily on having great quality seafood. At the restaurant, it showcases the freshness of the fish we are able to get, despite being in the middle of the country. Thanks to FedEx, we can have fish in our kitchen the day after it comes off a boat. Snapper, bass, and fluke are all great choices for ceviche. Based on the season, I might highlight the fish with diced apples, raw corn, or radish; then some sort of heat, like habanero or serrano peppers, fresh herbs, and something crunchy, like a tortilla chip or crackers. It’s a refreshing appetizer that pairs well with a glass of cava or prosec- co for a delicious start to a meal.

My wife and business partner, Susan, and I have three young children, which can be a challenge when it comes to meals. We all like chicken though, and my favorite comes from Campo Lindo Farms in Lathrop, Missouri. It’s an amazing product, one of the best local ingredients in the area. Not only

are the chickens free-range, all-natural, and antibiotic free, they are unbelievably fresh, juicy, and delicious. At Story we roast the breasts and fry the thighs. The rest of the bird goes in the stockpot. At home, a pan-roasted chicken breast cooks quickly and is a partner for any seasonal produce. In the spring, pair it with asparagus and morels; in the summer, eggplant and tomatoes; in the fall, apples and roasted squash; in the winter, Brussels sprouts and fingerling potatoes.

Another mealtime favorite of my kids is homemade bread. I’ve been making bread almost daily for as long as I’ve been a professional cook. It’s important to me, somehow, an indicator of who I am as a chef. The art of baking bread, more interesting to me than the science of molecular gastronomy, never ceases to challenge me. I always said if I ever opened a restaurant, I would make the bread for it. Fortunately I’ve been able to do so at Story. We bake focaccia, brioche buns, and batard loaves daily for lunch, brunch, and dinner services. At home, my kids not only enjoy the finished product, they get involved in the process—measuring and mixing ingredients, kneading the dough, shaping it and watching it rise.

For dessert, we will have something with chocolate, there’s no question about that. Everyone loves it. Everyone devours it. I met my wife because of chocolate. She owned a gourmet food store that I first patronized for its selection of specialty chocolates. Scharffen Berger, Valrhona, and Callebaut are among my favorites. Iapplied for my first professional cooking job at her store and brought in a dozen dessert samples for her to taste. She told me I was hired after tasting the brownies. I still make them. I like to serve them barely warm, with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate ganache. It’s a simple delicious recipe that, along with the others, I hope you enjoy. Cheers. 

Carl Thorne-Thomsen prepares the ceviche in his home kitchen.

sional cook. It’s important to me, somehow, an indicator of who I am as a chef. The art of baking bread, more interesting to me than the science of molecular gastronomy, never ceases to challenge me. I always said if I ever opened a restaurant, I would make the bread for it. Fortunately I’ve been able to do so at Story. We bake focaccia, brioche buns, and batard loaves daily for lunch, brunch, and dinner services. At home, my kids not only enjoy the finished product, they get involved in the process—measuring and mixing ingredients, kneading the dough, shaping it and watching it rise.

For dessert, we will have something with chocolate, there’s no question about that. Everyone loves it. Everyone devours it. I met my wife because of chocolate. She owned a gourmet food store that I first patronized for its selection of specialty chocolates. Scharffen Berger, Valrhona, and Callebaut are among my favorites. I applied for my first professional cooking job at her store and brought in a dozen dessert samples for her to taste. She told me I was hired after tasting the brownies. I still make them. I like to serve them barely warm, with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and chocolate ganache. It’s a simple delicious recipe that, along with the others, I hope you enjoy. Cheers.

RECIPES

Focaccia

10 ounces lukewarm water
1 teaspoon dried yeast
14 ounces all purpose flour
1 ounce olive oil, plus more for drizzling 2-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more

for sprinkling
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Pour the water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast, flour and olive oil, then mix on low speed with the hook attachment until the ingredients form a rough dough. Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for 20 minutes. 

Add salt and mix on medium low for 15 min- utes. Increase the speed to medium and mix for five minutes. Spread a film of olive oil in a clean bowl or container large enough to accommodate three times the amount of dough that you have. Add the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until triple its original size.

Place a large sheet pan upside down in your oven and preheat to 500 degrees.

Turn the dough out onto a floured table and press out to a 10-inch by 15-inch rectan- gle. Flip over another sheet pan large enough to hold the shaped bread and lay a piece of parchment paper on it. Transfer the dough to the parchment lined pan, dust the top with flour, and cover with plastic wrap. Let proof until the dough feels airy when gently pressed. Remove plastic wrap, dimple the dough with your fingertips, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle on salt and Parmesan, and slide the dough, still on the parchment, onto the preheated pan in the oven. Close door and bake for ten minutes. Remove loaf and let cool for 30 minutes before slicing. 

 

Ceviche

6 ounces snapper, diced
2 tablespoons green onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons apple, diced
1 serrano chile, halved lengthwise, then thinly

sliced
Mint leaves, thinly sliced Cilantro leaves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Salt to taste
Tortilla chips

In a bowl combine all of the ingredients except for tortilla chips. Mix and let rest for a minute or two. Place a spoonful of ceviche on each chip and serve. 

 

Chicken Breast

2 6-ounce chicken breasts, boneless, skin on 2 tablespoons bacon, minced
6 fingerling potatoes, split lengthwise
8 Brussels sprouts, split

1 tablespoon shallot, minced 1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup white wine vinegar Salt and pepper to taste Canola or grapeseed oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat two sauté pans over high burners. Liberally season both sides of each chicken breast with salt and pepper. Add oil to one sauté pan and when it begins to smoke add both chicken breasts, skin side down. Meanwhile add the bacon to the other sauté pan and brown lightly. Add potatoes and Brussels sprouts to the pan with the bacon, and then place it in the oven. When the chicken skin has nicely caramelized, flip the breasts and place that pan in the oven as well.

After 12 minutes remove the chicken from the oven and set the breasts on a cutting board to rest. To the same pan the chicken was cooked in add the syrup and vinegar, then place over a medium burner and reduce by half. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Remove the potatoes and Brussels sprouts from the oven, add shallots, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Divide the mixture between two plates. Slice and plate each breast. Drizzle with syrup mixture.

Brownies

8 ounces unsalted butter
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly

chopped
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
2 tablespoons all purpose flour

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Add the chocolate, put a lid on the pan, and remove from the heat. After 4 or 5 minutes remove the lid and stir until the butter and melted chocolate are smooth. Stir in the sugar and salt, then the eggs and flour.

Line an approximately 6-inch by 10-inch pan with parchment paper. Pour in the brownie mixture and bake for 30 minutes. Remove and let cool completely before cutting into squares or rectangles. (It’s so moist it will be hard to cut in such a way that the brownies look nice. At the restaurant we freeze the brownie while it is still in its pan. With a knife we separate the edges of the brownie from the sides of the pan, then flip it and let the brownie fall out in one piece. Then, while it’s still frozen, we cut our portions.) Serve barely warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

SIDE DISH

After moving from his home in Connecticut to Wichita to pursue a masters in creative writing at WSU, Thorne-Thomsen discovered his true passion in cooking. He was self-taught but tal- ented enough to be hired by a small café that happened to be co-owned by his future wife, Susan. After the couple moved to Kansas City, he worked as a line cook for 40 Sardines, and then followed Michael Smith on to his epony- mous restaurant and to Extra Virgin. When the opportunity arose to tell his own “Story,” the next chapter began. 

Last Bite | Sage Spaetzle With Pork and Spinach - The Kansas City Star, Pete Dulin

Chef  Carl Thorne-Thomsen of  Story in Prairie Village frequently serves spaetzle, which translates from German as “little sparrow.” This small dumpling can be short and thin or small and button-shaped, depending on the tool used to form the noodle. 

 

To make spaetzle, combine  3/4 cup all-purpose flour and  1/8 teaspoon kosher salt in mixing bowl. Stir in  1 egg, 1 tablespoon plain yogurt, 1/4 cup milk and  4 fresh sage leaves, minced.

Bring lightly salted water to a boil in medium saucepan. Press thick batter through spaetzle maker (or through holes of a colander) into water. Retrieve spaetzle from water after a minute, toss with a little grapeseed or canola oil, and spread on a sheet pan to cool. 

Heat a large sauté pan and coat lightly with grapeseed or canola oil. Add  6 ounces (about 3/4 cup) pork shoulder (cut in 1/4-inch dice) and spaetzle to pan at the same time and brown lightly. Add  1 teaspoon minced garlic and  2 tablespoons minced onion. Sauté 1 minute. Add  1/2 cup chicken stock, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and  3 tablespoons butter. Cook until liquid reaches sauce consistency. Add  1/2 cupspinach leaves, reserving a few for garnish, and season with salt and pepper. Divide spaetzle between two plates. Garnish with reserved spinach leaves dressed lightly in olive oil and lemon juice.

 

Read more here

Last Bite | Winter flavors, warmed to perfection - The Kansas City Star, Pete Dulin (special to The Star)

Butternut Squash Bisque

Chef Carl Thorne-Thomsen of the restaurant Story in Prairie Village turns to butternut squash for this creamy soup perfect for frosty nights. The sweetness of this winter squash is enhanced by fresh apple and balanced by savory herbs and spices.

Use a sharp knife for easier preparation. Peel, remove seeds and roughly chop 2 pounds butternut squash. Peel and roughly chop 1/2 pound sweet potato and 1 carrot. Chop 1 celery stalk, slice 1 yellow onion, and dice 1/4 cup apple. Add these ingredients to a medium saucepan with 2 fresh sage leaves, 3 sprigs fresh thyme, 2 cloves, 6-8 peppercorns, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Add just enough water to cover.

Bring to low boil and cook gently for 30 minutes or until all ingredients are soft. Puree in a blender, then pour through a sieve. Return to a clean saucepan, add 1 cup heavy cream and heat gently just below a boil. Season with more salt if necessary. Serve in warm bowls and garnish with crumbled bacon and chopped parsley.

Read more here

In the Kitchen with Bonnie

Carl Thorne-Thomsen is in the Kitchen with Bonnie

Lamb “Crepinette”

French in origin, this small, slightly flattened sausage is made of minced pork, lamb, veal or chicken and sometimes truffles. Crépine is the French word for "pig's caul," in which a crépinette is wrapped instead of a casing. Inspired by this French preparation, Executive Chef & Co-Owner Carl Thorne-Thomsen creates his own version of a “crepinette” by wrapping a lamb steak with a lamb sausage of garlic, herbs and shallots to take center stage on his signature dish “In the Kitchen” at Story.

View the Webisode

Kansas City Homes and Gardens

 

Fall Apple Crunch

Story Pastry Chef Dominique Perez
Photos: Matt Kocourek
October 2011 KCH&G 

 

RECIPE

Cinnamon ‘n’ Spice Fall Apple Crunch

Chef Dominique Perez, Story

Popcorn
3 T     canola oil
⅓ C    popcorn kernels
1 three-qt covered saucepan
2 T     butter (melted)
1 C     sugar
1 T     cinnamon
1½ t  curry powder

1. Mix cinnamon, curry powder and sugar together and set aside.
 

2. Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan on medium high heat.
 

3. Put 3 or 4 popcorn kernels into the oil and cover the pan. When the kernels pop, add the rest of the ⅓ C of popcorn kernels in an even layer.
 

4. Cover. Remove from heat for 30 seconds. Return the pan to heat. The popcorn should begin popping rapidly. When the popping starts, shake the pan back and forth to cook the kernels evenly. When the popcorn slows down, remove the pan from heat and dump the popcorn into a bowl with a lid.
 

5. Pour the butter over the top then follow with the sugar mixture. Place lid on top and shake all together until popcorn is evenly coated.

Caramel Apples
4      Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples
½ C  butter
2 C   firmly packed brown sugar
1 C   light corn syrup
1      dash salt
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 t    vanilla

1. Melt butter in 2-quart saucepan; add brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. 
 

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a full boil (10 to 12 minutes). Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until small amount of mixture dropped into ice water forms a firm ball or candy thermometer reaches 245°F (20 to 25 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.
 

3. Dip apples in caramel and roll in popcorn crumbles. Place on wax paper. Refrigerate until set. Reserve until ready to serve. These can be made a couple hours ahead of time. Roll in popcorn crumbles and place on wax paper. Refrigerate until set. Reserve until ready to serve. These can be made a couple hours ahead of time.
 

4. When ready to serve, cut apples into slices and place onto skewers. Brush exposed flesh with a 3-to-1 ratio of water to lemon juice to keep from browning. Place on tray with extra popcorn for guests.

Spaces Magazine - Kansas City

Story

open the book on this daring, delectable new restaurant in prairie village

by contributing writer darren mark

Since moving to Kansas City, I’ve always been amazed that the area’s richest triangle—the one encompassing Mission Hills, Fairway and Prairie Village—lacked any semblance of a serious dining scene. Clearly, the region’s most prestigious bunch of CEOs, CFOs and CMOs want something more than BYOs, right?

Residents of this culinary black hole have, time and time again, regaled my parched eardrums with stories of the Fairway Grill, the one restaurant that brought hope to this barren, crackled land. But things are finally looking up, way up.

Café Provence, located in the shops at Prairie Village, qualifies as one participant, but it’s only one. Tavern in the Village is a newbie on the scene, as is the upcoming launch of Urban Table in Corinth Square.

But I’m here to tell you a Story, and it’s the story of a lovely lady. She was bringing up three very lovely girls. My bad. That’s another story.

This is the story of Carl Thorne-Thomsen, the chef with one of the region’s best city- centric pedigrees. He was a line cook at the Debbie Gold and Michael Smith-owned restaurant, 40 Sardines, for three years. And for the three years that followed, he was chef de cuisine for restaurants Michael Smith and Extra Virgin. When it comes to local chefs, Carl was trained by the best.

And so, during 2010, the prologue to this chef’s story concludes. Enter 2011, and the chapters unfold. This spring, Story’s inaugural menu begins chapter one.

The menu here is easy on the eyes, but there’s depth behind its breezy blonde hair and sexy physique. The smoked duck empana- das, for instance, aren’t your typical, roadside empanadas. It begins with leg meat from the duck, which is deboned, ground, braised and smoked. It finds its soul when stuffed into dough built from flour, duck fat and water. When it leaves the deep fryer, it meets the Worchestershire-balsamic sauce that lounges on the plate, and a marriage of comfort and sophistication begins.

And like everything else here, there’s a story as to how this dish came to life: “A long time ago at Michael Smith, this couple called that I knew,” says Thorne-Thomsen. “They were coming for their anni- versary, so they asked if I’d do something special. I had some smoked duck confit, and I stuffed it in a ravioli. It just seemed natural to go into an empanada.” 

Like, of course it did

The fried soft shell crab relies on the quality of crab and the sim- plicity of its preparation to sell itself to palates. Here, it’s soaked in buttermilk, dredged with flour and fried. More fun than eating it on its own is dipping it in the pancetta mayo, over which it sits. Thorne- Thomsen introduced an in-house meat-curing program to Michael Smith while he was there. He carries the tradition into Story, using house-cured delicacies like pancetta to define his flavors.

The fois gras terrine was so creamy, it could have been butter: foie gras-flavored butter. But better than that, it was actual foie gras, sporting the consistency of room-temperature butter. Thorne- Thomsen credits the French Laundry as having inspired this prepa- ration. He recalls the foie there as having been “so cleaned up.” So to prepare his “cover” of Thomas Keller’s hit, Thorne-Thomsen first poaches the foie, then passes it through a chinois so as to create a mousse-like consistency. He serves it with roasted beets, almonds, bacon honey, and toasted brioche. 

Rejecting etiquette, I schmeared the foie over the brioche as if it were a bagel and ate it with great appreciation for the goose that made this moment possible. Thank you, Goose. (You big stud.) Halfway through this meal at Story, I started to realize that my meal wasn’t just good; it was excellent. And here in the shadow of such great establish- ments as Waid’s, I was enjoying a meal that would pass for excellent not just in this neighborhood, but in any in Kansas City.

I loved, especially, that the kitchen didn’t force me into ordering my entrées when I ordered my appetizers. It’s all part of the casual vibe that the restaurant seeks to promote. Says Thorne-Thomsen, “I want it to be—it’s cliché—but I want it to be casual and upscale. I want to serve food made from great ingredients, but I want it be affordable enough so people don’t think of it only as a birthday place.” So his starters average between $10 and $11 dollars, while the entrées live in the mid-$20s. 

Entrées like...the lamb

I eyed the lamb “crépinette” from the moment I met the menu. Ordering it was more of an automated reaction than a decision. It’s a play on crépinette, actual- ly—almost a reverse crépinette. Here, a house-made sausage of lamb, pork and red pepper puree wraps around that ultimate Tootsie Pop of a center: lamb. Sharing the stage of this entrée is an olive falafel, arti- chokes, zucchini and roasted mole. It’s an unlikely love connection in which Mexico meets the Middle East meets North Africa. But it works.

It’s the short rib croquettes that make the roasted strip steak work. The steak itself—a cut from Creekstone Farms in Ark City—is black angus. Served over a bordelaise sauce, of the food that defines this city in the eyes

it’s a winning example of tourists. But it’s the short rib croquettes that make this dish high relief. Each one, the size of a tube of lipstick, is filled with a mixture of mashed potatoes, short ribs and egg yolk. On their own, they could be a bar snack. Or an appetizer. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t kick it out of bed as an entrée either.


I’m sure that, in the tradition of empanadas, and the foie, there’s a story behind this as well. There’s a story behind just about every dish, why it is just part of the reason that this Cornell English-major chose  “Story” as the name of his restaurant.


There’s no doubt about it: Chapter One was a page-turner. I can’t wait to read more. 

3931 W 69th Terrace prairie Village, KS 66208 (913) 236-9955 Info@storykc.com

Dinner :: Wednesday - Sunday 4:30Pm - 8:30PM