Dinner At The Drugstore

Anyone who has read this blog for any amount of time knows that I am extremely concerned with eating locally grown foods. That is foods that are grown and produced as close to my home as possible using the most sustainable methods possible. And as much as I love cooking it is still nice to spend an evening out with my husband, especially over a wonderful meal.
So you can imagine the leap my heart made when Tim & I heard of a new restaurant north of the river whose menu features almost entirely locally grown food. Obviously we had to check it out and what better excuse than my birthday.
So we headed for Smithville, Missouri on Saturday night to the Justus Drugstore. Yes you read correctly Justus Drugstore. The building that houses the restaurant has been in the Owner/Exec Chef's family since the 1840's and was at one point a drugstore ran by his mother. Jonathan Justus the owner is an artist turned chef and has ran kitchens from France to California before moving back to Missouri. He and his partner Camille opened the restaurant with a vision to create dishes with almost entirely locally produced food. From the coffee to the meat to the vegetables to the butter, every detail has been painstakingly thought through. The building is a model of "green architecture" and has features like a bamboo bar and stainless steel kitchen. But more important than all of that is the food. I can in no way do justice (no pun intended) to the meal we had but I will do my best to leave a few highlights.
First they offered an elixir Du jour to start the evening, a wonderfully mixed cocktail featuring local berries infused with vodka. Second was the bread made by Camille herself which was amazing, that served with a side of shatto farms butter and I was already happy. We had an amazing cheese spread that I think I may still be dreaming about paired with the most delicious crackers that we later found out were made by the dishwasher herself. Yet another reason to love this guy and his vision. I had a wonderful kobe beef flank stank with a potato and cauliflower gratin that melted in my mouth. My husband had a dish called pork two ways, which basically featured two cuts of pork each cooked very uniquely but joined with a common ginger sauce that was to die for. That was served with an heirloom corn polenta and I have to say my husband does not usually care for polenta, but after that he asked "why don't you start making this"??
Dessert was equally amazing, I had a trio of local truffles, Tim had a homemade donut served with a pistachio foam and a small scoop of homemade pistachio ice cream. They make all of their own ice cream there with flavors like basil, rosemary chocolate and lavender, I can hardly wait to try them all.
So the next time you want a truly amazing dinner please consider heading up north. It was by far the best dinner we have ever eaten in Kansas City. We spent 4 hours there as they pride themselves on people taking their time over dinner, and I have to think, isn't that the way it should be?? http://www.drugstorerestaurant.com/

"Cooking is not about convenience and it's not about shortcuts...... Our hunger for the twenty-minute gourmet meal, for a one-pot ease and prewashed, precut ingredients has severed our lifeline to the satisfactions of cooking. Take your time. Take a long time. Move slowly and deliberately and with great attention.." - Thomas Keller, Chef Owner, French Laundry