Tom King / LJWorld.com

Staff

Tom King (Freelance writer)

Recent stories

Nature’s medicine chest: Family, experts tout the health-giving, delectable elderberry: By Tom King; May 24, 2010; After managing the Herbs and Wellness departments during his 20-year tenure at Community Mercantile, 901 Iowa, herbalist Hal Sears is convinced of the health benefits of the elderberry.
Kitchen wisdom: Eighteen Lawrence culinary masters share some of their best tips: By Tom King; May 10, 2010; Lawrence’s restaurant scene has come a long way since the turn of the century. Massachusetts Street has become a bona-fide Restaurant Row, an asset to local culture and prestige…
‘Invest locally’ could ease credit restrictions faced by small businesses: By Tom King; April 1, 2010; Let’s get big-picture statistics out of the way first. According to a September 2009 report by the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, about two-thirds of America’s small business startups will make it to the two-year mark. Half of those will survive for at least five years.
The etiquette of corkage: Fine-dining restaurants pop off about BYOB; By Tom King; March 29, 2010; You’ve ordered the same dish several times at a favorite restaurant, and you keep thinking how well it would pair with a wine you have stored at home — a special bottle not on the restaurant’s list. Now’s the time to inquire about the restaurant’s corkage policy.
Despite sour grapes in Topeka, local wineries stomp ahead: By Tom King; March 22, 2010; It’s spring in Kansas, pruning time in the vineyards. That seems an incongruous statement in the land of amber waves of grain, but time was when Kansas and the Midwest dominated American winemaking. If Kansas wineries have their way, that time will come again.
The more the merrier: A college student joins community of North Lawrence retailers: By Tom King; March 8, 2010; In North Lawrence, you’re both in and out of town. The river is a powerful psychological divide. North Lawrence feels like frontier country, a place far removed from the bustle across the river…
Brave new food: You won’t believe the things you’ll be putting in your mouth: By Tom King; February 22, 2010; Remember the first part of Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” when the ape threw the bone in the air and it suddenly cut to the space station? Food science took a similar leap in the first decade of the 21st century.
Bierocks: Old World culinary icons live on in Kansas: By Tom King; January 18, 2010; You’d think most Kansans would know about bierocks. After all, Kansas and Nebraska are bastions of America’s bierock tradition, and bierocks play a significant role in Kansas’ culinary heritage. But say “bierock” to a Kansan, and the general response is silence, or something about the music at a frat party.
Group Dine-amics: Local dining clubs foster friendship, feasting and economy: By Tom King; January 18, 2010; While the nostalgia of meatloaf and macaroni and cheese undoubtedly nourishes our souls, globalized Midwestern palates increasingly dig sashimi and pisco sours…
Amazing grain: South Pole cook touts barley’s many qualities: By Tom King; December 28, 2009; Francis Sheil knows all about winter food. He recently became the 1,255th person on record to spend a complete winter at the South Pole. Seven months, 80 below and total darkness. “The Milky Way is so bright, it almost seems to cast a shadow,” he says.

Recent photos

Lorene Damewood and Ted Swartz, both supervising judges for Douglas County elections, test voting machines Thursday with Keith Campbell, right, deputy of elections for Douglas County, to ensure the machines are functioning properly for Tuesday's primary elections. Several primaries will take place in Douglas, Jefferson and Leavenworth counties.