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Day: June 6, 2023
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Café Corazón now serving Latin cocktails, happy hour includes tamales and empanadas
Café Corazón has traditionally served a Latin-inspired menu full of yerba mate, café Cubanos, café de olla, cortados and more. While the Westport location (1721 Westport Rd. KCMO) menu will stay the same, the Crossroads coffeeshop (110 Southwest Blvd. KCMO) has officially welcomed boozy sips to their drink menu including cocktails and Latin-owned beers and wine.
The sangria has a touch of Mexican coke and instead of the usual bloody Mary, customers can indulge in a bloody Maria made with tequila, chamoy and tajin. The Drunken Samba Limeade is a boozy take on a traditional sweet Brazilian limeade but creamier and with the Colombian spirit of aguardiente. Seasonal cocktails include a watermelon mint mojito and paloma.
All cocktails can be ordered in a glass or a pitcher.
The family-owned café chose spirits, wines and beers that “aligned the closest with [the coffeeshop’s] ethics” and “[reflected] Café Corazón’s spirit of highlighting Latin and Indigenous flavors.”
“We wanted to highlight some lovely liquors that are out of the norm for the average drinker and have them accessible to try at a decent price point versus placing the liquors on lofty pedestals that both liquor and coffee get put on,” says owner Miel Castagna-Herrera.
WINE AND LATIN PASTRIES AT CAFÉ CORAZÓN / PHOTO TAKEN BY MEGAN PORRAS Unique selections like Can de la Calle, the first premium artisanal agave wine (and woman-owned), and TRÄ KÁL, a spirit made from native berries and herbs, can be added to any coffee drink or soda.
Beers include local Latin American Ales are from KC’s first Hispanic beer company Rizoma.
To top it off, the café’s happy hour consists of a tamale and beer combo for $6 or wine and empanadas for $11.
Happy hour is from 3PM – 6PM Monday through Friday.
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BREAKING NEWS: KC tortilleria wins James Beard Award
It’s time to pop some champagne and stock up on some award-winning tortillas! The James Beard Awards were held last night in Chicago and KC’s beloved Yoli Tortilleria (1668 Jefferson St.
Kansas City, MO 64108) took home the award for Outstanding Bakery.When Yoli owner Marissa Gencarelli took to the stage to accept the award from Chef and TV personality Carla Hall. In Gencarelli’s speech, she thanked the James Beard organization and Kansas City community for “helping [her and her husband] honor the very humble tortilla.”
The Westside tortilleria was one of two Kansas City establishments who attended the awards. Shawnee-based cocktail bar Drastic Measures was also a finalist for Outstanding Bar but Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu, Hawaii ultimately took the win.
The stone ground non-GMO corn tortillas and Sonoran-style flour tortillas are products inspired by Marissa’s roots in Sonora, Mexico. She and her husband Mark began selling them as a vendor at the Overland Park Farmer’s Market in 2018. The Yoli storefront opened in July of 2020.
While you can find Yoli’s tortillas in restaurants and grocery stores across the metro (and at their vendor booth on Saturdays at the Overland Park Farmers Market), they’re not the only product the Gencarellis excel in. Their quaint shop constantly rotates with seasonal delights like horchatas, breakfast burritos, paletas, blue corn tamales and salsas.
If you like some heat, the Taco Stand salsa a personal favorite and a fridge staple. The creamy spring green salsa has a bright base of jalapenos, habaneros, tomatillos and serranos.
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Corn Flakes
There’s a reason why the Cerveza Royale brew at Stockyards Brewing Co. is a summertime staple. The Mexican-style lager is traditionally light bodied, with its brewing components of light malted barley from Chile and German Perle hops. But the subtly sweet finish can be attributed to summer’s golden produce: corn.
“It’s not super dry like a traditional European style lager might be,” says Stockyards owner Greg Bland. Traditionally, lagers use a bottom-fermenting yeast, which produces at a lower temperature and “lagers” or “matures” over time. With the addition of flaked corn and corn sugar, the Cerveza Royale has a refreshing aroma similar to that of a Modelo or Pacífico.
The craft brewery’s wood-paneled walls and panoramic painting of the Wild West may not be the obvious ambiance to indulge in your summer brew. But like its golden hue lager, Stockyards is versatile.
“That’s what’s great about this beer is it can fit the needs of beer nerds who want to try some locally produced, traditional Mexican-style lagers,” Bland says. “But it also fits the needs of your average beer drinker who just wants a clean, light, easy-drinking beer.”
Emphasis on “light.” It’s an easy sipper with a crisp bite. Beer snobs may not appreciate the lime wedge that comes nestled on the rim—citrus can rob a beer of its keypoint flavor components—but I squeezed and plopped it into my drink. After one tangy sip, I was ready for sunshine and tacos.