Al Fresco by Chris Becicka
Who is Al Fresco anyway and when can I meet him? Em Chamas After our so-called spring (really, snow forecast for April 14th?), it’s time to dine outside. Any time you can, in Kansas City, you should. No, you must. Even if you are in the anti-outside contingent, therefore likely a member also of the “I hate picnics” cabal, at least once a season you should choose to dine under the stars, among the cars, outside the bars. Why? you ask. For goshsake’s why? Meet Al Fresco. Actually it’s a what, not a who. Sometimes written hyphenated or as one word, alfresco, it originated in the 1700s in Italy: literally meaning ‘in the fresh’ and it often referred to mural painting, on fresh and not-so-dry plaster. The English adapted the fresh part and added it to air, hence dining outside or in the open air. Several reasons come to mind. First, in our beloved Kansas City, chancing McCormick & Schmick's upon a day that’s still glorious when you have chosen to eat out i...
