Using State of the Art Technology to Get Kansas City Veneers

Kansas City is the home of the best barbeque foods in the world. But when you have an area that indulges in that much barbeque, you are going to wind up with people that have problems with the color of their teeth. In all seriousness, issues with chipped, cracked or discolored teeth happen to Kansas City residents of all types for all kinds of reasons. In the past, Kansas City residents had to either put up with the imperfections, or choose to face a series of painful and expensive procedures. In these extreme cases, teeth whitening is not going to work and it is also not going to be permanent. In the past few years, a solution has been developed that will allow people to get the permanent results they want. Kansas City veneers give people a great solution to a common problem.
Kansas City veneers are thin layers of porcelain that are laid over top of the damaged teeth to get the look of white and dazzling teeth. A qualified Kansas City dentist can do a complete veneer installation in as little as two visits. That means that your teeth can go from chipped, cracked or discolored to beautiful in less than a week. When you decide to get veneers done, it is always a good idea to get all of your teeth done as opposed to just one or two. When the veneer is laid on your teeth, it will make them look white and sparkling. To make sure that all of your teeth look uniform, you should get veneers on all of them at the same time.
When Kansas City veneers are installed, your dentist will need to remove the top layer of natural porcelain from your teeth. This is why you should only get veneers from a qualified and experienced Kansas City cosmetic dentist. The process is not painful at all, but if it is not done properly, then it could expose your teeth to problems in the future. A qualified dentist will be able to walk you through the procedure of getting veneers quickly and effectively. It will be one of the best decisions you have ever made.
If permanent Kansas City veneers are not what you want, then consider getting the less permanent lumineers. The dentist will not need to do any work on your teeth and the lumineers can be removed if you would like. It is a great option for people who want the benefits of veneers but without the permanent changes to their teeth.

American Royal Hotel - Great Hotel and Attractions

When you are booking accommodations in Kansas City and want to be close to fine dining, shopping, and all the major attractions, you should reserve you hotel room close to the American Royal Complex. The huge complex has over 300,000 square feet of space for exhibitions. A number of trade shows, as well as the American Royal Livestock, Horse Show, Rodeo and Barbecue are held at the center every year. The center is conveniently located within close proximity of a number of the major attractions in Kansas City.
By reserving accommodations in downtown Kansas City near the American Royal Complex, you will be able to enjoy shopping at Country Club Plaza and the attractions at the Crown Center. You can browse the Kansas City Power & Light Entertainment District and the Crossroads Art District, and spend a day with your family at the Kansas City Zoo. Several of the well known museums in the city are also located in the downtown region, making it easy to see all the attractions during your stay. There are a number of excellent hotels in the area that provide amenities you expect from an upscale hotel.
The Union Hill region of Kansas City is a great location when you are in the city for business, a weekend trip, or vacation. This area is close to Downtown Kansas City and only a few minutes away from Country Club Plaza. Crown Center and union Station are located close by. You will find that upscale hotels in the region provide guests with convenient, interior corridors. Fitness facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, hot tubs, and an indoor pool are some of the amenities. Most hotels provide continental breakfast, but several hotels have their own restaurant on the property.
When you reserve accommodations at an American Royal Hotel, you will find that large groups can easily be accommodated, but many of the hotels are also family friendly, and provide large, comfortable rooms, nay with 2 double beds so that families can stay in one room. Guest amenities include hairdryers, coffee and tea makers, complimentary toiletries, and flat screen TVs. If you are in town on business, the KC Convention Center and Municipal Auditorium and Music Hall are close by. In addition to shopping and the many attractions close to the downtown area, for those who love great jazz, the 18th & Vine Jazz District is located nearby.

"Put Your Name On It!"

Long time no post. It is amazing how work and family obligations tend to make a person forget other things - like staying on top of their team blog! Let me bring you up to speed on what is going on with all things Holla N' Swalla BBQ.

We decided in the off season to spend some of our winnings on some branding and have a new logo made. We like our old logo but wanted to move in a different direction and put our stamp on the team. We used an online design service that pitted artists from around the world to submit a winning design. We received a lot of great designs (and some crazy ones too!) The decision was very difficult once we narrowed it down to 3 designs. We even  posted some of the designs on our Facebook page and asked for feedback. Here is the winning design:

The artist provided us several alternative versions of the logo that will provide us with some different directions we can go with. We are very pleased with our choice and have had a banner, magnets, t-shirts and stickers made. Like they sing in Disney's Aladdin, it's "A Whole New World!"

In February, we were one of the teams selected by Oakridge BBQ for rub sponsorship. Mike Trump is a local guy who makes a great product. For our competitions, we are using his Secret Weapon chicken/pork rub, the Competition brisket/pork rub and his excellent Santa Maria seasoning. We are very grateful to Mike for selecting us.

So far this season, we have competed in 4 contests. We started the season in Pleasant Hill, MO which was a new venue for us. A great lineup of teams were there. The weather was hot for the end of March which made it a non factor and a blessing we did not have to deal with the cold or possibly snow. Temperatures reached 90 so there would be no snow here. We did stumble out of the gate there by finishing in the middle of the pack. Every category cooked well for us but just did not have that little extra "umph" we needed to put us over the top.

Next came Rockin' Ribs in Springfield, MO. This was the third time we have cooked this contest. We do pretty well here and again that carried over for us as we finished 8th overall. We received calls in all categories but Pork. If ever a category gives us fits, it is pork! Once again, it bit us in the ass and kept us out of finishing in the top 3 overall. It was a solid finish here but it could have been a terrific one with a good pork score.

June found us cooking in Raytown, MO (aka Raintown) for the third straight year. To our relief, there would no thunderstorms this year but only the rays of the sun.  The Louisiana Pellet Grill made her debut here for us. We always cook on the WSM but wanted to add another weapon to our arsenal. We cooked our ribs on it and the finished product was some of the best looking ribs we have ever produced. I sampled the ribs before we put them in box for turn-in. They were salty. What the hell was going on? It was too late to worry about it as we applied more glaze to them and turned them in. They were awful tasting but we ended up getting 8th overall in that category. Go figure! The crappiest stuff we turned in is what the judges liked. Nothing else hit the top 10 for us that day and again we find ourselves stuck in the middle of the pack. Any momentum we built from Springfield is quickly muted here. As far as pork, once again it drags us down!

July hits and we decide to cook in the middle of the heatwave at Glasgow, MO. This is our first time here and the organizer has us set up under a huge oak tree which provides shade for the whole event. What a break for us! The weather is hot and sunny but the shade we have makes it much more bearable. The cook here goes well. Prior to this event, we had been kicking around some different ideas on the pork to see if we can bring this category off of the scrap heap. We decided to cook 4 butts and to trim them out differently. We injected, seasoned and cooked them using our normal process. We decided to change our presentation based on the amount of great money muscle slices we ended up with. We are rewarded for our efforts as we take 1st place in the pork category! Redemption at last but at what price? We hear no calls in the other 3 categories. Did we put all our effort into the pork and ignore the other categories? The results may reflect that but in the end we had trouble with the ribs as I did not bring the pellet grill. They over cooked slightly on the WSM and did not look good. The brisket was average. It was cooked right but had no pizazz to it. The chicken was spot on. We turned in 6 thighs and changed it up by putting in 4 lollipops instead of our normal legs. It seems the judges did not appreciate this and our scores were just average. Overall, there we are again in the familiar middle of the pack spot. I do not like this trend.

Up next is the Downstream Casino contest in Quapaw, OK at the end of August. Normally we are clicking on all cylinders at this point in the season and expect a strong finish in contests we enter. In order for us to do that, we really are going to have to step it up because the competition will not be any easier here. In the words of Coach Herm Edwards, we need to "Put Your name On It!" I am also going to bring the pellet grill to this contest so we can "Put your ribs on it!"

Upcoming Events:
8/31/12 - Downstream Casino, Quapaw, OK
10/05/12 - American Royal Invitational and Open
10/26/12 - Jack Daniels Invitational? (Fingers are crossed!)

Welcome to Our New Sponsor

We are very excited to have Oakridge BBQ as our rub sponsor for the 2012 season! We are very honored to have been selected by Mike Trump as one of his product representatives. His products are top notch and we look forward to adding to his award list and being part of the Oakridge team.

We will get our season kicked off in just a couple of weeks in Pleasant Hill, MO at the Smokin' on Big Creek BBQ contest. This will be our first year cooking this competition. I personally cannot wait to get things started. Even though we have had a warmer than usual winter and practically no snow to boot, I am ready to get this season launched! Hopefully, the momentum we gained at the end of last season can carry over into the start of the 2012 season. It will be hard to gauge because typically that first contest of the season is the one that helps shake off all the dust and rust. I know we will also be facing some top notch teams who have already shaken their dust and rust off.

The rest of our 2012 roadmap is starting to take shape. We will be cooking in Springfield, MO at the Rockin' Rib Fest the weekend of April 20-21st. This will be our third trip to this contest and it is one we enjoy doing.  This year it will not be on the grounds of the Bass Pro Shop but at the Community Blood Center instead. I am going to miss that breakfast buffet in the Pro Shop.

We will also be returning to the Raytown BBQ contest in June and the American Royal in October. We are currently trying to fill in some other dates for the season and hope to schedule at least three to five more contests when all is said and done.

Time to get things started!!

Enjoying BBQ and Horses is Easy at an American Royal Hotel

Kansas City embraces its heritage as a livestock center of the Midwest along with its reputation for being a major BBQ center. In days past, this part of the Midwest was where the Mississippi River met the railroad lines. Cattle coming from the West could come into this area and go up or down the river. They could also cross into the East. Other agricultural goods also followed as more and more land in the Plains came under the plow. That heritage continues in the American Royal festivals that occur every fall in Kansas City. You will find an American Royal hotel is a great place to stay for the fun.

Today, the American Royal BBQ competition is the crown jewel among competitions in North America. BBQ and Kansas City are almost synonymous. People go to Kansas City just to try the dozens of barbeque restaurants that dot the landscape. The American Royal tournament draws people from around the country and around the world. They come to compete for the blue ribbon of BBQ championships. The best judges take samples from dozens of competitors. In the end, only one can emerge a winner in each category. You can experience this if you stay at the American Royal hotel.

Other than BBQ, the American Royal is famous for its long running livestock exhibitions. This exhibition also includes judging contests that offers individuals and teams a great way to see who has the best livestock in the area. There are different categories for competitors. There are categories for Livestock Judging as well as Meat Judging. There is also a separate Crops Judging category. College level and high school level competitors have categories for thee age group. The idea is to advance their knowledge of the field as well as their maturity as individuals. Many families choose to stay at an American Royal hotel.

Horse shows is another reason to visit the American Royal in the fall. Horses are a big part of the American Royal. There are categories including Arabian, cutting horses, hunters/jumpers, quarter horses, and saddle horses. Youth have their own competitions. Each category of competition has its own subcategories. For example, the Arabian division involves competitions in halter classes, western pleasure, English pleasure, and dressage. Throughout the weekend, the horses go through various competitions. In the end, a select few become winners of the Royal. For those coming to see the show, staying at an American Royal hotel make sense.