Local in Kansas City

We are traveling this week, visiting my mom in Springdale, Arkansas. I didn't think I'd be able to post a local meal this week, but while staying a couple of days in Kansas City, Missouri, I came upon a locavore's dream: Blue Bird Bistro.
This small restaurant is nestled in an old Kansas City neighborhood, making its home in a converted 1900-ish house. We made reservations for brunch on Sunday, June 15. Although it was Father's Day and the restaurant was bustling, our service was knowledgeable, friendly and efficient. We climbed the old stairway to a former upstairs bedroom where we were seated next to a large, old-fashoned window. Our entertainment for the meal included a family celebrating Father's Day at a nearby table, complete with children and grandchildren; and watching a mother and father bird bring insects to their nestlings in the branches of a tree outside.
The restaurant caught my eye by advertising itself as "organic, all natural, sustainable, local." Along with the brunch menu, which featured more than a dozen entres and a thorough appetizer list, was an insert that listed the local produce, meats and dairy products that were delivered that week. This list included potatoes, carrots, oregano, mixed greens, spinach, chard, white and wheat flours, tomatoes, butter, oyster mushrooms, tofu, pecans, milk, goat cheese, cheddar and garlic colby, grass fed bison, free range chicken and eggs, and local pork chops and beef.
Whew! What I wouldn't give for a restaurant like this is Des Moines!
I asked the waitress which of two options I was considering had the greatest proportion of local ingredients and she readily shared with me her knowledge of the menu and its ingredients.


Above was my entree: Vegetable Egg Napoleon, featuring local Beau Solais oyster mushrooms, organic fresh vegetables, caramelized onions and parmesan cheese layered between chives and egg white crepes with roasted red bell pepper coulis and fresh parsley. It was absolutely fabulous and affordable, too, at $13.00.

My husband had the Blue Bird Salm San: House-cured sustainable salmon and local herbed goat cheese open-faced on a toasted English muffin with sliced tomato, capers, onion and mixed greens.

Both my daughters had the pancakes, made with local organic white wheat flour studded with house-made granola and organic blueberries served with pure maple syrup and local butter.

It was a purely delightful meal: affordable, flavorful and local.