Coolness Lost

This isn't a very happy post, you all. Two things have happened here that have made life less cool.

1. Goodbye to Felini

First is that Felini, one of our favorite restaurants in Columbia, has shut its doors. I wrote about this restaurant earlier; you can see that earlier post for more about it.




I found it an uncommon type of restaurant, for the Midwest. The food was creative and delicious without being "trendy." The presentations were elegant without being ostentatious.




The menu was varied enough so that there was something for everyone in the party, and there were some items you can't get anywhere else (Kosovar-Albanian specialties such as Tava Sautee, Qoftethes, and their unique style of kebobs; their Greek and Italian dishes included an unusual and addictive tuna calzone, Domate Supa, and Galaktobureko).

The ambience was pleasant, relaxing, "nice," without being hoity-toity. The service was attentive, gracious, and friendly without being in-your-face. The prices were very reasonable.




Felini opened my eyes and palate to a new cuisine, and it renewed my memories of the great dinners we would have at my Grandma Schroeder's house--first-class food made with love, the good dishes, good wine, and yet so comfortable, with plenty of room for ebullient conversation, even singing. I found Felini a tremendous inspiration for my own cooking and entertaining, and I already miss it.

(Wonder how I can get the recipe for their tuna calzone? Man, that was great!)





2. The Tour of Missouri

Well, this is just a damn shame: Governor Nixon and the Missouri Tourism Commission have nixed the funding for what would have been the fourth annual Tour of Missouri bicycle stage race (which is a lot like the Tour de France). Each summer, from 2007 to 2009, the world's top cyclists--professional athletes on a level with Lance Armstrong--have come with their international teams to compete in a progressive race that took place all across our state.




They rode in Kansas City and St. Louis; they rode in Gallatin and Taos. The races were broadcast on the Web, and cycling enthusiasts worldwide learned about Missouri, saw our beautiful landscapes, our rolling hills . . . and many came as tourists to follow their teams for the whole week.

There are a large number of stage races worldwide, but the Tour of Missouri quickly rose to become one of the most significant apart from the Tour de France. It is ranked as one of the top 5 races outside of Europe. The biggest pro teams were attending. People were really paying attention to this race.




Both public and private money sponsored the Tour of Missouri; this year, the Tour was asking for $1,000,000 from the state. The total event budget was $3.5 million, and much of the corporate and city funding has been tied to the assurance of support from the state.

The part I can't understand is how the great benefits of the Tour of Missouri can be so summarily discounted: For the state, there's an estimated average 20 to 1 Return on Investment for this event. Tax revenues are estimated at $3.8 million. Numerous world-famous Tour de France winners, Olympic medalists, and other top cyclists appeared on Tour of Missouri podiums. Our event was broadcast in 173 countries, and Versus, Fox Sports Midwest, and Fox Sports Kansas City provided daily telecasts to American viewers.






Visitors from 42 states and 15 countries came to Missouri, dined, and slept in motels here. There were 790 million circulated impressions of the event with Missouri by-lines. This was the most international sporting event Missouri has hosted since the 1904 Olympics.




At the starts and finishes, festivals provided promotional platforms for more than 20 sponsors, plus Health and Wellness Expositions; these festivals were attended by an estimated 300,000 people. Included were things like safety clinics and bike-helmet giveaways for kids, information on ways to improve your diet and get more exercise, and much more. An accompanying educational curriculum reached 250,000 students in the state.




Yes, I know that things like "exposing people to healthy ideas" and "getting kids enthused about bicycling" are rather intangible--how can you put a dollar value on an incentive that may or may not bear immediate fruit? But people need to be reminded of health and fitness constantly, and this is one, fun way to do that. Not every kid is going to be "reached" by baseball, football, or other sports (I certainly was not)--but I can understand cycling. You don't need a team to be a cyclist, and cycling is one sport that definitely is very open to women, and to people of all ages, too.




It's also rather intangible to talk about how people all across the world saw the St. Louis Arch, or the Pony Express in St. Joe. How do you quantify the value of a picture postcard? Where is the immediate payoff? . . . As with the health and wellness benefit, it is collective. It might take the thirtieth such "postcard" to inspire someone to come visit our state and spend money here. So to my thinking, the Tour gave us a lot of bang for our buck--cycling fans tuned in every day for a week, so that's seven doses of "Missouri postcard" right there!

But set aside the intangibles: In 2009, the total economic impact by spectators during the seven-day event was $38.1 million. The previous year, that was $29.8 million in 2008, and in 2007, it was $26.2 million. This baby was growing!

Now, when you stop to think that the State was asked to provide ONE million dollars, in order to bring probably $40 million into our state, and it didn't see this as a wise way of spending our tax dollars--well, it's no wonder we're in a recession, no wonder stuff is screwed up, with this kind of thinking.

And yes, I'm a big ol' Democrat, but I'm simply pissed off at Governor Nixon about this. I can't help but think this is some kind of asinine political foolishness on his part, since Lt. Gov. Pete Kinder, who is likely to challenge him in the next gubernatorial election, has been the top politician supporting the Tour of Missouri. Indeed, this race is one of Kinder's proudest projects. And he deserves to be proud.




Governor Nixon has really missed his mark on this decision. The Tour of Missouri is too good to be a political football. In many ways, Nixon's and Kinder's stances on the Tour of Missouri seem to swap the usual positions of Democrat and Republican. Stereotypically (if I can make sweeping generalizations), Democrats are willing to spend public money on the "intangibles" concerning community spirit (including small towns) and promotion of public health and wellness; the Republicans seem most likely to refuse public dollars for, well, anything public-welfare-related. Republicans usually refuse to allow public money in any projects constructive for the common man, insisting that private sources fund it all. But here the roles seem reversed, with Kinder backing this popular, public-private cosponsored, do-good, feel-good, everyone-wins project.

It takes more than a shrewd politician to know when to support his opponent's good works--it takes someone who really cares about the state. And so I have doubts about Governor Nixon. This really smells like partisanship. I haven't ever voted for a Republican, but I have to admit: Nixon's stand on the Tour of Missouri is making me reconsider.

Will the Tour of Missouri return in 2011? If a last-minute change on the part of the Tourism Commission and Nixon doesn't save it for 2010, then probably not. So goodbye, Tour of Missouri, you were really inspiring, and you made me proud of every corner of our state, from the smallest rural towns to our largest cities.




And so Missouri has had, and lost, another really cool thing, and my friends from out of state will have another reason to say, "How can you live there? What a backwards state! That place must really suck." And yeah, sometimes it really does.

Felini Restaurant: Eat There!

This is one of my very favorite restaurants in Columbia, for several reasons. And I worry about them—Columbia has a very competitive restaurant scene, and I’m not sure many people know what to make of this restaurant.

So here is why I love Felini. The links I include below are to Columbia Daily Tribune articles; here is the Felini Restaurant Facebook page.

First: The Owners

Felini is locally owned and family run. More than that, the owners, the Canhasi family, are immigrants, Kosovar-Albanian refugees who are trying like nuts to live the American dream. Learning about their story makes me predisposed to wish them well. They came to America after a harrowing journey out of their homeland. They got factory jobs, worked their fingers to the bone, scrimped and saved, polished their English, and kept their dream alive in their hearts. They passed their citizenship tests and are now proud Americans.

They had been restaurateurs in Kosovo, before the war. Their restaurant there was also named Felini, after the Italian film director. The spelling reflects the Albanian spelling of the Italian name. The Kosovo Felini was destroyed during the war.

So if the Canhasis can make it, that means the American dream of “Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free” is still . . . possible. Still alive. So if you ever think to yourself “God bless America” or “buy American,” make sure to patronize the restaurants and other businesses of people like our ancestors, who came here willing to work hard, to reap the benefits of their life’s labor.

Second: The Food

At Felini the food is wonderful. The Canhasis know their business. The food is excellent, although it may not be exactly what we’re used to eating. I don’t know about you, but Albanian cuisine is new for me. And at this point—I suspect because Columbia’s not quite ready for Albanian cuisine—the Canhasis have gradually turned the restaurant into a full-fledged “Greek” restaurant—albeit with a few traditional dishes from their own country.

Among the latter have been Tava Sautee, a rich, stewy blend of vegetables, tomatoes, chicken (if you want meat; or you can get it with just vegetables), topped with mozzarella and cooked and served in an oven-proof clay bowl. Another favorite is Qoftethes, which is seasoned ground beef filled with mozzarella cheese and topped prettily with thin, looping lines of mayonnaise, served alongside a mild rice pilaf, roasted potatoes, and (when the restaurant first opened), a small side of cooked beets.

Alas: The menu has recently changed again and the two dishes I just described are no longer on the menu—I suspect because they’re too heavy for summertime eating in Missouri. The menu has instead expanded on chicken and fish dishes, as well as sandwiches—the Greek kind, on pitas. They are trying to get more student business, I think. Although their prices have always been very reasonable, I think the sandwiches offer diners lower price tags.

I am hoping that when the weather turns chilly again, they’ll bring back some of their heartier dishes, even if it’s just for one night a week as a special. These dishes are one of the big things that set them apart.

At this point, the only dish on the menu that seems especially Albanian, and not Greek or Italian, is the Kebobs Appetizer. I have to tell you, though, that if you’re expecting chunks of grilled steak on a skewer, you’ll be surprised. The beef is ground, seasoned, and formed into link shapes. If you get it as an appetizer, they are artfully arranged like spokes on a small, homemade bread round similar to a thick-crust pizza, atop marinara sauce and with mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, feta, and parsley.

Another great thing about the food is its presentation—the meals are harmonious in terms of flavors, textures, and colors and are beautifully decorated with sauces, garnishes, relishes, and vegetables. My favorite meal there is the Rainbow Trout dinner, which includes a grilled, whole trout (minus the bones), rice pilaf, steamed vegetables, tzatzike sauce, a few dollops of their buttery-light flavored feta cheeses, and crispy potatoes. It’s so pretty it makes me smile when they bring it out for me.

Among the Greek and Italian dishes are gyros, chicken souvlaki, tuna calzone, chicken modiga, grouper primavera, Mediterranean salmon and shrimp (prepared en papillote), dolmathes, lasagna, lamb chops, and a Greek combination platter.

Each dinner table receives a homemade Albanian-style pita, which is something like a big, hot dinner roll—raised, not a flatbread—with olive oil for dipping.

Our favorite appetizer is the Greek Dip Medley—a simple combination of hummus, taramusalada, and tsatzike served with warm triangles of Greek pita bread—but so artfully presented that you can’t help but enjoy the view of it before you dig in. (And now I’m addicted to taramusalada—my first bite of it, and I was going, “What is this stuff? It’s terrific! I could take a bath in it!”)

There are two dynamite soups available, as well: Avgolemono (chicken, orizo pasta, egg, and lemon) and Domate Supa, which is an incredibly rich and flavorful blend of fresh chopped tomato, celery, parsley, oregano, romano cheese, and red wine, simmered slowly. Sue says she could take a bath in this: “Compared to Campbell’s, it’s like tomato soup from a parallel universe, where everything’s way, way better.”

The desserts include two traditional items that you just have to try: The Piano Cake and the Galaktobureko. The former is difficult to describe, but features interlaced vanilla and chopped-walnut chocolate cake to form “piano keys.” The latter is a chilled Greek custard baked with phyllo pastry and served in a small pool of sweet, light, cinnamon syrup. Mmmm.

Third: The Ambience

You already know that the feel of a place means a lot to me; it’s reflected in the way the servers treat you, the way the place is decorated, and how many distractions there are. At Felini, you feel like a guest in someone’s home. It’s a nice home, with nice furnishings, so you want to sit up straight, wear something casual but nice, and display good behavior—but because it’s someone’s home, you are encouraged to have a wonderful conversation and to have a good time.

That’s how it feels; it reminds me of my Grandma S’s house, where the food was fantastic, the conversation was sparkling and spirited, and where singing might erupt at any minute. Maybe I’m simply describing what others might call a European or Old World ambience.

They offer a substantial selection of wines and beers, but even with the flaming-cheese appetizer, the restaurant is absolutely not a rowdy college hangout. Hooray!

Sue and I love to come here after the symphony, to have a beverage and an appetizer or dessert. (Sue loves to have a glass of Macon-Lugny les Charmes Chardonnay; I love it that they offer Clausthaler n/a beer.) It’s comfortably laid-back, our concert duds go okay with the surroundings, and the libation and food is just right for a bite on a night on the town.

There are no obnoxious TVs hanging on the wall, and the music they play is from the Old Country. The Canhasis have decorated with dolls, costumes, rugs, and other items from Albania.

In general, they’ve put a great deal of themselves into the restaurant; they’ve created a little slice of their homeland for us to enter and enjoy. What a huge treat for us!

So eat at Felini—and pass it around.

Addendum (June 10, 2010)

I'm sad to report that Felini Restaurant has closed its doors. Man, oh man, am I going to miss them! I wish the Canhasis the best of luck in all their future endeavors, and I thank them for sharing a taste of their homeland with me, and for inspiring me to be a better cook and hostess.

And if they decide to open a new restaurant hereabouts, I'm going to be first in line to check it out!

--JS