These are presented in alphabetical order.  I will mark them in red once I have made my visit.

• Avenues Bistro – I did visit the Leawood location, but have yet to visit the original in Brookside.
• Beer Kitchen
• Blanc Burgers + Bottles – I haven’t done a review, but I did enjoy my first meal here.
• Bluebird Bistro
• Bluestem - I actually purchased a Groupon for a 5-course meal here, so I’m looking forward to trying this soon.
• Extra Virgin  - Another Michael Smith creation
• Grunauer
• Jack Stack Barbecue – I have been to at least one or two of the locations, but haven’t reviewed it.
• Julian – I was able to enjoy dinner here in September and even got a picture with Chef Celina Tio.
• Justus Drugstore - I had an amazing meal here in August, the same night that Chef Curtis Stone dined here.
• McCormick & Schmick’s – I don’t generally review chain restaurants where I eat, but I recently ate here and enjoyed it immensely.
• Michael Smith
• Succotash
• The American
• The Test Kitchen - Not technically a restaurant

Yesterday, I enjoyed a nice evening at Julian in Brookside.  I had heard a little about this place, but not enough to have too many pre-conceived notions about what to expect.  What I did know is that the chef is a bit of a celebrity in Kansas City.  This is James Beard award winning chef Celina Tio.  You may have seen her before, perhaps on The Next Iron Chef or Top Chef Masters or perhaps you even experienced her cooking when she was executive chef at The American Restauarant.  Yeah, she’s been around.  I also know that she is very active on Facebook and Twitter, where she often corresponds directly with followers.

One thing that I am discovering in the Kansas City culinary scene is that most chefs seem to be very open to meeting and conversing with their customers/fans.  Celina proved this once again.  I had mentioned to her on Twitter that we would be coming in on this particular night.  Though we had never met, she obviously recognized me from my picture as she said “Hi Matthew…Twitter follower”.  That was a first for me, having the chef welcome me by name without having ever seen each other face to face.

Besides the welcome, the first thing I noticed when walking in was the warm, cozy, unpretentious feeling of this establishment.  The small dining room, the servers in t-shirts and shorts and the adjoining open kitchen all contributed to this feel.  Although casual, the service was nearly flawless as you would expect in a far more expensive restaurant.  The service was helpful without being overbearing and always had our needs taken care of in a timely fashion.  I wish that I could show you pictures of our dishes, but I still haven’t figured out how to get good pictures in a dim dining room without being annoying.   Suggestions anyone?  Do I really need to bring in the camera with mini-tripod to every meal?  At least I will let you know what dishes we enjoyed this evening.

The server mentioned to us that Celina liked to describe her food as feel-good comfort food, or something to that effect;  I can’t remember the exact wording.  We started with smoked salmon on deviled eggs with pickled red onions.  I think I am starting to fall in love with pickled onions recently.  Our dining partner had an off-the-menu crab cake.  Both were reported delicious.  For our mains, we tried papperdelle pasta with prosciutto and the crispy pork shoulder.  The pasta tasted homemade and was very good with the prosciutto and sauce.  I personally had the pork shoulder which wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I wasn’t disappointed.  It was in the shape of a short cube, crispy on top and served over a bed of creamy polenta with jus.  Now I truly was appreciating the comfort food reference.  The polenta and jus definitely hearkened back to good old homemade mashed potatoes and gravy.  The pork was tender and moist and pulled apart easily.  We finished by sampling a different dessert each, including cocoa bread pudding, “milk & cookies” cake, and chocolate ganache with stout caramel.  All were good in their own ways, although none of them blew me away, but they are definitely priced right and follow the comfort food theme.  My favorite was probably the cocoa bread pudding, though I would have enjoyed it even more with a more generous portion of the creme anglaise that topped it.

I would be interested in visiting again for brunch or lunch as they have completely separate menus.  The lunch is more like a prix fixe menu with the option of one, two or three courses with the three course option being an incredibly good deal.  I don’t know if Julian is always this laid back, but this is definitely a place you can feel comfortable just coming and hanging out at.  We happened to notice the chef spending a bit of time playing on her phone while we dined.  Granted, we were there somewhat early and the place hadn’t filled up yet.  The weather wasn’t cooperative on the evening that we were there, but I know that Celina loves to get the patio open when it’s nice outside.

This restaurant was on my short list of places in Kansas City that I had to try and it will definitely be going on my list of places to return to.  The prices are very reasonable for a restaurant/chef of this caliber.  If you haven’t been there yet, this is a must-visit.

When we arrived, since we had booked a fairly large group, our table had already been prepared. We were able to order some drinks as we waited for the rest to arrive. We were then ushered into back of the “red room” amidst a very packed dining room. I believe that our server was one of the several sommeliers that they keep on staff at Avenues and was able to offer some insight into wine differences. The service was fairly good, but on a busy night it seemed that several of the server’s responses of “I will get that immediately” resulted in a “I’ll get that in a few minutes”.

As a group we ordered several starters to pass around including Ceviche, Crab Guacamole and Bacon Wrapped Dates. Ceviche is a cold salad made of diced lobster, shrimp, crab, avocado, lime juice and cilantro served with grilled ciabatta bread. Normally a chilled seafood dish wouldn’t be my first pick, but out of the three, I enjoyed this the most. The dates were sweet and enjoyable, but are not the best I’ve ever had, and the guacamole was just okay.

For me, the star of the night was my main course, Braised Short Rib Stroganoff. Oddly, this dish is described on the menu as “A previous top seller”. Does this mean that it is no longer a best seller? I didn’t notice anything on the menu listed as “A current top seller”. Nevertheless, this dish was delicious and cooked almost to perfection. The portion size wasn’t too bad either. The short ribs where served over a herb risotto that was very rich and creamy and acted as a perfect complement to the boneless meaty ribs that sat on top. The ribs came in sort of a roast style that easily pulled apart and was very moist and tender. The marsala and veal stock that they braise the beef in gave it a very nice flavor. In my opinion, there is not much that they could have done to improve this dish.

We then shared a couple of desserts. I think everyone there was much too satisfied to order their own. We tried the flourless chocolate torte and carrot cake. The torte was rich and creamy. Generally when I make a torte it ends up being fairly dense, but their recipe turns out a very light texture. The carrot cake was fine, but I found the cream cheese frosting to be the best part of it. The cake was a little bit chunkier than I prefer, having large nuts embedded.

By the time our dinner was over, at approximately ten o’clock, the establishment had pretty well cleared out. Overall it was an excellent experience. Everything was executed fairly well. That has to be worth at least an A- in my book with an extra smiley face for the stroganoff.

This weekend, we had a couple of family members in from out of town. We decided to have a get together with everyone in my wife’s family, which is a large family. It was decided that we would have a cookout and our house was offered as the venue.  In the end, it worked out pretty well, but it didn’t feel that way getting there.

We offered to provide the main course and have others bring the rest, pot-luck style.  We were going with the basic, hamburgers and hot dogs.  Sometimes I tend to overdo meals, so although I considered brats, chicken, etc, I limited myself.  In order to get a little bit of my foodie self involved, I at least planned to make some of the burgers from scratch in a unique manner.  The day before the event, we sat down to get a head count.  All in all we had 21 people coming over, including 9 children.  This alone sounded like a recipe for a circus of activity within and outside of our house.

Prior to dinner everyone was planning to play a round of mini-golf and then meet at our house, so I spent part of the morning and afternoon preparing.  After asking for suggestions from my Facebook friends, I decided to make some burgers with embedded bacon, onions and cheese.  I also attempted to prepare fruit empanadas as an hors devours to be baked as soon as we made it home.  For some reason, the dough was really sticky and didn’t seem like it would work for rolling and cutting into circles.  Instead of scrapping the whole batch, I just added flour until it was dry enough to roll.  Did I also mention that some of our guests were hoping to catch the Chiefs game during dinner?  Let me also mention that we don’t have cable TV in our home.  After around 15 minutes of messing around with an antenna or two we were able to get the correct channel to come in and move onto setting up for dinner.  I popped the empanadas in the oven and went to heat up the grill.

After five minutes or so, I noticed that the grill hadn’t gone past 300 degrees.  Normally it would be around 500 by this point.  This is when I looked at the gauge on the propane tank and saw that it was on empty.  By now, most of the guests had moved outside to our patio and gazebo or playground.  A Frisbee game had been started as well.  Hopefully no one came too hungry.  Did I also mention that although we have a patio, we have no way to get down to it from our 4 foot high doors?  It was interesting to see people climbing up on a chair to get in and out of our house.  I think we really need to get that deck installed.  So, it was a quick run to Home Depot to get a tank replacement and dinner was back on schedule.

From there on, I think it went well.  Everyone seemed to be well fed and even the kids played nicely together for the most part.  The empanadas were doughy and dry, the burgers were well done but at least not burnt and there was fun and good conversation.  Plus there was plenty of other good food too, including salad, pasta salad, the family secret jello dish, drinks  and plenty of brownies and such.  Thanks to everyone else who made this not a disaster even though apparently my lack of planning could have made it go the other way.  Maybe I’m not ready to host my own dinner part, providing everything, at least not for 22 people.

Sunday afternoon was my first time to visit ingredient restaurant on the plaza.  I don’t know anything about the history of the restaurant, but I thought it was interesting that the sign says “Chef Owned!”, especially now that I see on their website that there are nine locations and that this is a franchised concept.  I had heard that it was a somewhat unique concept in that it is almost fast food, yet you are able to essentially build your own dish by selecting the sauces and toppings that you want.

Being a Sunday afternoon around 1:00 on the plaza, I was expecting it to be fairly busy, but was surprised to see that the dining room was mostly empty.  By the time our whole party had arrived, we had looked over the menu and several of us were salivating over some of the delicious sounding breakfast items prominently displayed on the menu boards.  We then approached the counter to order, where a few people waited in line to order from the lone cashier, who seemed to be the only person in the restaurant that wasn’t in the back of house.  As we became first in line, we proceeded to give our order.  That’s when we were informed that breakfast was only served until noon.  Hmm… you’d think that would be something they would mention on their menus, or at least somewhere in the restaurant.  So we stepped out of line and decided all over again.  When we stepped back into line, there were about 5 people behind us.  In the middle of our ordering, a person farther back in the line offered the following advice to the cashier, “Shouldn’t there be more than one of you taking orders?”  This prompted the cashier to stop taking our order, visit the kitchen to request help, then make a phone call to another part of the store before finishing our order.  Having ordered chocolate milk for children, the cashier then left the register and spent approximately 5 minutes hand mixing chocolate milk and delivering it to our table, again leaving one cashier (the new one that came to help) catering to the growing line of patrons.

Needless to say, we weren’t impressed up to this point.  Although the doughnut holes had been recommended to us, we assumed that this was part of the breakfast menu and instead ordered two main entrees: A falafel sandwich and a pizza with banana peppers, pineapple and fresh mozzarella.  Both of these items came out quickly and looked delicious, although the sandwich had tomatoes which was explicitly requested to not be there.

I really don’t have anything bad to say about the food.  The sandwich could probably actually do with one fewer falafel since they tended to try to squirt out one end or the other, but I’m not complaining.  The pizza was unique for a restaurant of this style.  I even think I saw a brick oven in the back.  For $10, the pizza was well-priced.  I guess for a restaurant on the plaza, I was just expecting better service than I might get at a Panera.

If you’re not familiar with Justus Drugstore, you need to be.  Chef/Owner Jonathan Justus and his wife Camille opened a restaurant several years back in the old pharmacy that his mother had worked at for decades.   This is just one of the many things that makes dining here a memorable experience.  Situated in an unassuming small brick stand-alone building sits this crown jewel of the Kansas City area.  Actually this is in Smithville, MO, so you’ll have to drive a little bit to get there, but it is worth every mile and worth every dollar.

Having never been here, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I called on Wednesday, hoping to get a reservation for four early Saturday evening.  I was told that they should be able to squeeze us in at 8:30.  I was also told that it may take a little while for us to be seated when we arrived because they will have around 20 being seated at that time and those who arrived at 5:30 may not have vacated their tables by that time.  Yes, you heard correctly, the tables that were seated three hours previously may still be filled.  Thus, the quote on the Justus Drugstore website: ”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 

Our party had an experience that most won’t have, but it just made our evening that much more exciting.  When we arrived, we were informed that it would be a few minutes until our table was ready and we were invited to have a seat at the bar.  Next thing we know, we glance into the kitchen and see Chef Curtis Stone talking with the staff.  Yes, we’re talking about Curtis Stone of Take Home Chef, Top Chef-Masters, and numerous other shows, not to mention his cookbooks and line of cookware.  He was in a rush to leave, but I was able to capture one blurry photo of him posing with the kitchen staff.  We also overheard his handler talking with Chef Justus near the bar for a few minutes after he had gone.

I wish I had pictures of all of our dishes and a detailed description of wonderful tastes and flavor combinations that we enjoyed, but I neglected to grab a menu to bring home and really it was kind of a whirlwind experience and it’s all a little bit hazy even after one day.  All I can say is that it was everything I had heard that it was and I was not disappointed.  Since this trip was on a my short list for places that I have to try in Kansas City, we decided to go all out and order items for every course.  Did I mention that our server was the chef’s wife Camille?  That woman has ears like a hawk.  It seemed that every time we were discussing a flavor, she quickly appeared to inform us of the ingredients used in creating that particular taste.  Maybe we were just talking louder than we thought!

I will at least give you a quick rundown of the dishes that I personally enjoyed.  We were first presented with an amuse-bouche, which gave us the idea of the style of preparation for the rest of our evening.  It was a nice combination of textures and flavors.  We were also served fresh-baked bread with butter.  For our starters, we tried the farmers platter (a wide assortment including rabbit, bone marrow mousse and house made sausage) as well as a sort of tempura squash.  I don’t remember exactly what that was called, but it was delicious.  My salad was the Nested Egg Salad which included a crispy soft-boiled egg on a nest of curly endive with goose confit.  One of my favorites was my main course, the Berkshire Pork 2 Ways.  This included both a grilled pork rib eye and pork shoulder sausage.  I loved the grilled rib eye, especially with the sauce on this plate.  This was also served over a perfectly seasoned quinoa.  Then came the desserts.  While not my favorite part of the evening, they were still good.  We tried a strawberry dish with lemon poppy seed cake and also the Chocolate Mint Decadence.  The chocolate ice cream served on this dish incorporates rose hips which gave it a unique flavor, but not necessarily one that added to the taste in my opinion.  A complimentary after dinner beverage was also served.  I don’t remember details, but I know that it was made with honeysuckle.

Another great feature of this restaurant is the open kitchen.  We were able to see the staff at work throughout our dinner, including watching Chef Justus spend most of his time rolling fresh pasta through the machine.  As our dinner was completed, Chef Justus thanked us for dining with him and spent several minutes at our table discussing the appearance of Chef Stone and telling us about the 9 course meal that he had personally prepared for him.  Could he have possibly been scouting for a future TV show?  Maybe we’ll see our own Chef Justus on the Food Network soon.

Overall, we had a wonderful experience.  Well, at least 3 out of 4 of us did.  Let’s just say that one of our party would rather have meatloaf than Rabbit Terrine, but I think this person still enjoyed the company and the overall experience if not every item served.  This was the shortest 3 hour meal that I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying.

For those looking to try the food with a little less formality, I hear that they have a patio that now serves a different menu with courses that come out a bit quicker.  That’s the only place that you’ll find a burger at Justus Drugstore.

While it seems that the classes are geared towards the home cook, there are a few more advanced tracks, such as their 3-day Cooking Basics class and several 9 week programs, like their Pro Series Cooking Fundamentals class and the Professional Culinary Arts Series.

Having never been inside the school before, I didn’t quite know what to expect.  I walked in to find a large demonstration kitchen complete with overhead mirrors, a tv feed of the chef, tables set for 24 students to dine and 6 prep tables for us to try out our newly learned skills.

Click any picture below for a larger size.

Chef Matt Chatfield ably demonstrated five different recipes for us and we copied what we saw.  The best part was that we were able to eat our new creations.  This was one of the “hands-on” classes.  They also have demonstration only classes, but that takes away most of the fun of taking a class like this.  Let me walk you through the evening and the dishes that we created.

Patatas Bravas with Spicy Tomato Sauce (on the right in the picture)

This is a very simple potato dish with a spicy tomato sauce.  Some may call these home fries or even potato wedges.  While a very basic dish, these were still delicious.  The sauce was a perfect compliment and a huge upgrade from simple ketchup.

Lobster Mango Spring Rolls with Apricot Vinaigrette (on the left in the picture above)

This is my first experience making a spring roll and it’s easier than it looks.  Shhh… don’t tell anyone.  These contained lobster, mango, cucumber, and rice noodles.  While the spring rolls on their own could be considered a bit bland, the sauce elevated the overall dish to a delicious level.

Bacon-wrapped Dates

These are bacon-wrapped dates with a twist.  I don’t know that I’m a huge date fan, but these were beyond amazing.  They were so creamy and sweet, not at all what you might expect.  We pitted these dates and replaced the pit with a roasted almond and slice of cream cheese.  Then we wrapped them in bacon and baked them.  Simply awesome.

Cumin Cured Salmon with Tahini Yogurt Sauce (on the right in picture)

This is salmon that is not cooked in the traditional method.  This is cured, which is a form of a chemical reaction that cooks using spices rather than heat.  This was served on toasted slices of baguette and topped with the tahini yogurt sauce.  The sauce was wonderful and blended well with the flavor of the salmon.

Pineapple Empanadas (on the left in the picture above)

This is probably the simplest dough that I’ve ever seen (Flour, Cream Cheese, Butter), yet it was light, moist, flaky and delicious.  The pineapple preserves that filled the center was just enough sweetness to end a perfect night.

Review

Overall, this was everything that I had hoped for.  I was able to spend three hours learning new skills, meeting a new chef and sampling the fruits of my labors.  The only thing that I would have liked to have been able to do was to make my own sauces.  The chef made the three main sauces, but I know that this would have been next to impossible in this particular class.  I believe that they may have other classes that focus more on one or two dishes that may allow you to create the complete dish from scratch.

Also, I would recommend attending with a friend or two or three.  We were divided into groups of 4 and then further sub-divided into teams of two.  Being there on my own, I was paired with another solo.  It all depends on your partner, but it was a bit awkward dividing responsibilities with a complete stranger when you are both there to learn and would like to do everything on your own.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to hone their culinary skills or is just looking for a new recipe or two.  It’s a lot of fun and is well set up.  Let me know if you want to be my partner next time…

Wikipedia: An informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink.

Urban Dictionary: A person that spends a keen amount of attention and energy on knowing the ingredients of food, the proper preparation of food, and finds great enjoyment in top-notch ingredients and exemplary preparation.

I personally like that definition, but let me give you a couple of alternative definitions from Urban Dictionary:

- A douchebag who likes food.

Douchebag – “I’m a big foodie.”
Non-doucher – “Really? I like food too, but I’m not a tool.”

Honestly, I can understand this sentiment. Unless you are a foodie, I think it’s hard to understand the strong emotion tied to food. A foodie can definitely come across as pretentious if they are not careful.

- A dumbed-down term used by corporate marketing forces to infantilize and increase consumerism in an increasingly simple-minded American magazine reading audience. The addition of the long “e” sound on the end of a common word is used to create the sensation of being part of a group in isolationist urban society, while also feminizing the term to subconsciously foster submission to ever-present market sources.

Hmmm… I think an angry person wrote this one.

Based upon the first two definitions, it appears that this is something that you develop over time, not a “skill” that you are born with. Now, you must be born with a love of food in order to put in the time and energy to become a foodie, but not everyone with this love is willing to dedicate themselves to learning.

Lets make a list of requirements based upon the definitions:
1) Aficionado of food and drink

Spends a keen amount of attention and energy on the following:
2) Knowing the ingredients of food
3) Knowing the proper preparation of food

4) Finds great enjoyment in top-notch ingredients and exemplary preparation

My Checklist
1) I need quite a bit of work on this one.
2) Working on this.
3) Working on this.
4) Done!

So, my grade card is pretty dismal. Looks like I’m going to have to work harder on a few of these. A friend recently referred to me as a “closet foodie”. I’m ready to come out of the closet. Well, you know what I mean, I hope.

Every goal needs action steps. I have jotted a few down that I would like to accomplish during the rest of this year (5 months).
1) Eat at one of the best restaurants in the city I happen to be in at least once a month.
2) Attend at least one live cooking class.
3) Continue to improve my skills through use of online learning.
4) Join a CSA or regularly visit farmer’s markets to encourage using the freshest local ingredients available.
5) Impress my family.

On my way -
1) I have reservations to eat at Justus Drugstore tomorrow night. From what I hear, this is one of the must-go-to places in the Kansas City area. I will also be in Atlanta, GA next month and hope to eat at Rathbun’s. I have been there twice and have been impressed. Kevin Rathbun is native to Kansas City and is also a winner on Iron Chef. I will always be looking for suggestions for where to eat, so comment away.
2) I will actually be attending a class tonight at The Culinary Center of Kansas City. I am about to learn some traditional tapas dishes. Sounds like it’s almost time for a dinner party!
3) I just discovered a great resource online, the eGullet Culinary Institute. I have been looking for something like this for months. It’s like attending culinary school online… FREE! I plan to visit this site often.
4) I have contacted a few local CSAs in the area and I’m waiting for replies. I may be a little bit late, since generally CSAs seem to start in the spring and last for 20-24 weeks. New Roots for Refugees is particularly interesting. They help refugees from other countries become acclimated to the United States and part of that process involves growing crops and selling them at farmer’s markets.
5) I’m guessing that my family will be my biggest critics. My parents are traditional down-home folks, who would probably rather eat at a barbeque joint than at Pierponts. My wife also enjoys comfort foods. There is a running joke in our family that each restaurant we go to needs to have meatloaf on the menu, or at least a good steak. And my kids, well they won’t eat half of the food that I make already.

I’ll have to let you know how this all turns out. Look for an update at the end of the year. Maybe I can get a testimonial or two if I’ve been able to improve my skills by then.

Many members of my family met up today at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in Overland Park on 121st Street.  Apparently this is a franchise restaurant with two locations in Kansas as well as a presence in most states in the United States.   The Dickey family opened the first location in Dallas, TX in 1941.   It is a pretty standard fast food barbecue (or is it barbeque or BBQ?) joint, but with a twist or two that makes it stand out from the crowd.  Normally this isn’t the type of restaurant that we would probably make it a point to stop in at, but overall, I’m glad we did.

They offer the basics, such as various smoked meats as a platter or as a sandwich.  Their sandwiches range in size from the lil’ hoagie for $3.75 up to the Westerner for $7.00.  I had the pulled pork which was very tender and quite tasty.  This was served on a hoagie bun with lettuce, pickles and onions.  The sauce was self-serve and came in original, sweet and spicy.  I sampled each and can’t pick one over the other.  I’m a sucker for a sweet sauce, but occasionally enjoy a little spice in my life.

They offer up standard sides such as barbecued beans, cole slaw and green beans as well as a few of their own creations, such as jalapeno beans and baked potato casserole.  Add two adequately sized side items to a sandwich for only $2.5o.  I sampled a couple of the deep-fried standards: waffle iron fries and fried onion tanglers.  The fried onions are basically onion rings, but cut into much smaller pieces.  The batter on these little crispy gems was addictive.  A large drink in a “Big Yellow Cup” will run you another $2.00 and soft-serve ice cream is always free.  This is a family friendly restaurant with kid’s meals for $4.00.   For around $10, you get a good sized meal and it’s very good, but probably not great.

If you’re planning a trip here in the near future, visit the website and join the “Big Yellow Cup Club”.  I did and within a few hours I had received a coupon for a free drink.  Later, I also received a coupon for my birthday which entitled us to one free sandwich with the purchase of another.  After all was said and done, 4 of us (2 adults, 2 children) ate for around $14.00.  We used the coupon and shared sides.  The kids shared one meal since we have learned from experience that they never finish their own meal.  Plus, free ice cream.  Need I say more…

The true value of an item is getting lost in a flurry of marketing. Which is a better deal, the blender for $100 at Target where I get 5% cash back on my credit card, or the same blender at Macy’s for $125, but I can use my 25% off coupon, or should I buy it on Amazon.com for $90 with free shipping but a painful return process? Can you imagine a time when you could walk into any store and the prices are directly reflective of the actual costs to the retailer? I’m guessing that this is the way it worked in the olden days when you went to your local country store. As competition crept onto the scene, retailers were forced to find creative ways to draw customers to their stores.

The confusion has only gotten worse with the advent of social couponing sites such as

Groupon, LivingSocial , Muncharoo and a thousand other local copycats. I almost don’t want to go out to eat at full price. They might put up a Groupon tomorrow for that restaurant. There are even sites dedicated to living off of Groupons. Don’t even get me started on Extreme Couponing. To get the best price on an item, you have to spend hours clipping coupons and making a battle plan for each shopping trip.

Price confusion is only half of my complaint. I also don’t like the fact this sort of system is inherently unfair. Let’s say that a store purchases an item to sell for $30. You may pay $50 for this item and I may step up to buy the same item for $25 with a half-off coupon. How does that make you feel? In the bigger scheme, you just paid for part of my discount. If a retailer is selling an item at cost or for a loss, someone has to pay for it, and that someone is you who paid above what the item should truly be selling for. This reminds me of healthcare. I recently heard about a person who received a statement from their insurance carrier which showed that the original bill for a surgery was over $28,000, yet the insurance company got a $20,000+ discount and was only required to pay approximately $7,000. If I walk in and tell them that I don’t have insurance, I will be charged $28,000. I know why. Some people choose to pay their bills and some do not. The hospital has to charge someone for those who do not pay their bills, so they charge the responsible ones.

All of this seems so desperate to me. It cheapens the image of a store, but apparently most stores don’t care, as long as it gets another customer through the door. It may be idealistic, but in my perfect world, when I open a store I would be able to say “Hey, these are my prices. They are as low as I can make them and still keep my business open. Everyone pays the same price, so it’s fair and you don’t have to worry about the person in line behind you paying half price because they brought their Entertainment Book coupon.” There are many places that do adopt this principle, but unfortunately these are mostly only upscale establishments where you wouldn’t go unless you could afford to pay for their quality anyway.

So, what is the solution? I don’t know. Obviously I am not going to start a campaign to eliminate sales. I won’t boycott stores that have clearance racks. None of these tactics would make a difference. My plan: Focus on value for quality when shopping; teach my children to recognize marketing tactics, and get out the scissors to clip this week’s coupons. Oh well.