"midwest cities" news and stories

• A reporter and his daughter attempt to make their own Halloween candy and quickly vow to never do it again.
• Kansas City kids collected more than 850 pounds of sweets on Halloween night and gave it all away to benefit a charity that provides braces to low-income youths. Rest assured, the candy didn't go to waste, but to troops overseas.
• A recipe for a reduced-fat au gratin potato casserole pleases the palate.
• At The Drop, a small plates restaurant on Kansas City's "Martini Corner," how you want to eat is almost as important as what you want to eat.
• Sumo, a Japanese steakhouse in the suburbs, is a pleasant surprise with top-notch service, spicy salmon rolls and... spinning eggs?
• A raw food enthusiast uses finds from her Halloween harvest for a semi-healthy Welsh rarebit recipe.

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

On Monday night, 75 people piled into a Kansas City, Mo., church to catch a free screening of "Mad City Chickens," a documentary from Tarazod Films that chronicles the resurgence of the urban chicken.

Unfortunately, like many U.S. cities, Kansas City makes it nearly impossible to have even just a few hens in the backyard. Chickens are only considered legal residents if their coop is 100 feet from the nearest home or business; they're certainly not allowed to roam. But the more people focus on eating locally, the more chickens pop up in backyards all over the United States (and Kansas City for that matter), legal or not.

Up until a few years ago, Madison, Wis., ("Mad City") banned urban chickens, forcing more than a few rogue backyard farmers -- known then as "the Chicken Underground" -- to get the law changed ... if they wanted to keep their chickens, that is. Now Madison is a veritable backyard chicken oasis, and serves as the backdrop for "Mad City Chickens."

Read about Big Tiny the rooster and Consuela the hen after the jump.

The Westport Flea Market's Burgermobile. Photo: Emily Farris

"Hey, that's a nice truck!" a young boy yelled at Joe Zwillenberg as he tried to park his Burgermobile at a dog show last weekend. "Where'd you get it?"

Zwillenberg didn't hear the boy. He was too busy concentrating on parking the thing. "I gotta be careful," he said. "I don't wanna scrape the bun."

Well, kid, if you're reading this, the Burgermobile is from New York City. When visiting the Big Apple in April, Zwillenberg -- the owner of Kansas City, Mo.'s Westport Flea Market Bar and Grill -- met artist Matt Targon, who specializes in promotional vehicles. While discussing Zwillenberg's business, Targon declared he'd always wanted to make a burger car. After a little negotiating, Targon told Zwillenberg, "I'm going to make you the best hamburger vehicle ever."

As far as K.C. residents are concerned, mission accomplished. Since arriving in the city's Westport neighborhood earlier this month, the Burgermobile has captured the attention of nearly every passerby, as well as their cameras. It's exactly what Zwillenberg had in mind.

Last month, Michigan passed a bill prohibiting out of state wine shipments, and online retailer wine.com pickup up its toys and left the playground in protest. In 2008, Illinois consumers, who formerly had that right, were partially stripped of it. I've mentioned the Web site Free the Grapes on here before, where you can write to your legislators, and wanted to pass along another resource if you care about direct shipping rights for consumers.

The Illinois Wine Consumer Coalition is working to educate Illinois consumers on how their right to buy wine has been infringed upon by lawmakers. According to the website,

"Prior to passing HB 429, the bill that stripped consumers of their 15 year-long right to buy wine from out-of-state retailers, wine clubs, Internet retailers and auction houses, Illinois alcohol distributors gave $50 million dollars to state politicians. Illinois alcohol distributors were the primary advocates of stripping consumers of their right to buy from out-of-state retail sources. Their interests were protected since now Illinois wine consumers only have access to wines from retail sources that Illinois alcohol distributors supply."

It seems like a no-brainer that U.S. citizens should have free choice in the consumer marketplace, but it always comes down to money. Wondering about your own state laws? Check out this state-by-state guide.