This was another episode that I was looking forward to, after viewing the previews.

Regarding the indecent with Tim, Lil' Charles and Miss Robbie's grandson from Texas, Andre,  I think that Tim could have handled the situation with Andre without hitting him in the chest.  I do understand his frustration, though.

Both Charles and Andre know that they can't be fired, and they  take working at Sweetie Pie's for granted.  When Tim was trying to talk to them about being more responsible, both of them were disinterested and disrespectful.

On a side note, I noticed that Tiim called the server, Paula, over to illustrate a point about responsibility to Charles and Andre.  I mention that because I believe he also tried to call on her to back him up when he was talking to Miss Robbie about the new manager in a previous episode, but Miss Robbie didn't want to hear it. Paula comes across as a no nonsense type of person, and I get the impression that Tim respects her and her work ethic.

Even after Tim used Paula as an example, Andre and Charles still kept making excuses, and thats when things first start to go sideways.  When Tim asked them to go sit at the bar with him, all they did was mostly clown and make smart comments.

Then, when Tim got Andre sitting alone at the table, Andre was still clowning, and Tim hit him in the chest.  After that, Andre leaves.  It appears that Tim got physical with Charles and Andre again off camera, and the next thing you know Charles comes running in crying to Miss Robbie, followed by Andre, talking about what Tim did to them.

Miss Robbie's response is to believe their account, go to the restaurant, yell at Tim and then fire him.  I know Miss Robbie has to have a strong business accumen to run  two sucessful restaurants, but I don't see how you fire the conscientious person who works the hardest, and keep the two who don't care. I don't know what has transpired between Miss Robbie and Tim prior to the show, but it seems that, on the show, more often than not, Miss Robbie takes the side opposite of Tim in a dispute.

Skipping over all the drama that occurred afterward, I'm glad things appeared to have worked out in the end.  It was nice to see  Andre recognize that he played a major part in creating all the discord,  and that he tried to facilitate getting the family back together. Still, I think that he and Charles need to go; at least as far as the restaurant is concerned.  Let them come back after they have proven that they can take their work seriously. I also hope Miss Robbie reconsiders her decision to surprise Tim with the news that he has to share an office with Lil Charles at The Upper Crust.

As far as restaurant matters, I wasn't paying too much attention to the roof situation with the Upper Crust Restaurant, until they said that it would cost $50,000 to replace it, and that Miss Robbie didn't have any money left in the budget to cover it.

Fifty thousand is also the amount the wedding planners told Janae that her wedding would cost, so I  think Janae is going to end up having to scale back her dream wedding plans!

The 7th annual Kids Fishing Derby will be held on May 19, 2012 at the Kansas City Kansas Community College.  More details can be found at the following link: 7th Annual Kids Fishing Derby

Fashion blogger, Tara Kloeppel, joins Fox 4 TV to discuss women's formalwear fashions, from The Legends Outlets Kansas City, for formal spring events.

Models wear attire appropriate for graduations, baby showers, bridal showers and weddings, from Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th and the Banana Republic Factory Store.

The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities is upgrading their customer's electric meters.

I saw a number of BPU contractor vehicles out in Wyco yesterday, and one of the workers told me that they were installing new electric meters that will be used in a new system that should be a place by next year. A  BPU contractor vechile is photoed below.

Oprah and Gayle Visit Sweetie Pie's

Oprah is in St. Louis filming Oprah's Lifeclass: the Tour, and she can't wait to stop by Sweetie Pie's, a local soul food restaurant. Neither could Gayle, who flew all the way from New York City for lunch. Watch as Oprah and Gayle meet the Montgomery family, who run Sweetie Pie's and are the subjects of an OWN reality show, and then feast on chicken, cobbler and more.

I was looking forward to this episode since last week, when I saw that Tim and Miss Robbie were going to have a cookoff.

Usually, I'm either on one side of a debate or the other, but, in this case, I can see both sides.

People come to Sweetie Pie's for the great soul food, created from the recipes that were handed down to Miss Robbie from her mother. The restaurants have been very successful with the food on their current menu, and I can understand why Miss Robbie would want to continue what has proven to be successful at the new Upper Crust location.

On the other hand, I can see Tim's point as well. The new Upper Crust restaurant will give them the opportunity to expand on what people already love about Sweetie Pie's, by offering new menu items to go along with their already tried and true menu.

What I also like about Tim is that he is motivated. He not only wants to add his soul food creations to the menu because he feels he can cook, but also because he wants to help take the Upper Crust restaurant to a new level by trying things that have not been done at the Sweetie Pie's Mangrove location.

What surprised me about the cookoff was that Tim actually won, though Miss Robbie, who had the head chef, D'Angelo, fill in for her because she was not feeling well, said that Tim won because the tasters were intimidated because he was big and ugly, rather then because they liked his food better.

The tasters were not supposed to know who cooked what dishes, but Tim didn't like the way Lil Charles was serving some of his dishes, so he brought some of them out himself, so the tasters at least knew some of his dishes. Some of Tim's dishes included deep fried soft shell crab, beef pasta shells, chicken alfredo stuffed pasta shells, lobster claws, clam claws, deep fried georgia peaches and peach donuts.

I am glad that it looks like some of Tim's soul food creations will be included on the Uppper Crust menu now.

I also like Miss Robbie's idea to include a culinary school in the new Upper Crust restaurant to keep the art of cooking soul food alive.

It reminds me of the way Gates Bar-B-Q, in Kansas City, created the Gates College of Bar-B-Que, better known as Rib Tech, to train their cooks and other personnel to uphold the Gates Bar-B-Que tradition.

On another front, I don't want to touch on the wedding and wedding planning situation with Tim and Jenae, until I see more of the upcoming episodes. From the preview of next week's episode, it looks like there may be a non-wedding related intense incident involving Tim and one of the other family members.

A new retailer, Dress Barn, opened at The Legends Outlets Kansas City recently. Dress Barn offers casual, career and special occasion fashion apparel and accessories, at value prices, for women ages 35-55. Dress Barn is located on the southern end of Legends, across from J.Crew|Crewcuts. Location details.

Journey is scheduled to perform a concert at Livestrong Sporting Park, in Village West,  on Friday August, 31, 2012.  Special guests joining Journey to perform are Pat Benatar, featuring Neil Giraldo, and Loverboy.  More information

A new retailer, Uniform Destination, opened at The Legends Outlets Kansas City recently.  Uniform Destination offers brand name scrubs at outlet savings.  Uniform Destination is located across from Mema's Bakery at The Legends.  Location details

Does anyone know if these workers are working on a Google Fiber Hut?  I took this photo today while out in KCK

Fashion stylist, Melanie Knopke, of StyleSpies.com discusses rainy day fashions available at The Legends Outlets Kansas City, in Kansas City, KS and One Nineteen, in Leawood Kansas

Best Buy announced on Saturday, April 14, 2012 that the Plaza at the Speedway Best Buy store, located at 10500 Parallel Parkway in Kansas City, KS, is one of the 50 stores nation-wide that the consumer electronics retailer will be closing. Most of the stores will close in May 2012.

I was driving down State Avenue recently and noticed a For Sale sign in front of the Perkins restaurant at 72nd and State Ave.  The Perkins sign on the restaurant was down, and it looked like the building might have been vacant for some time.

This is the first time I had noticed the For Sale sign. Perkins had been there for years!  Does anyone know why it closed?

For anyone that is a fan of the TV show,  Welcome to Sweetie Pie's, all new episodes return to the OWN  network this Saturday, March 31, 2012, at 8:00 pm central! Sweetie Pie's Website

Sandstone Amphitheater announced on March 20, 2012 that the venue is now officially named Cricket Wireless Amphitheater, as a part of a new partnership with the wireless service provider.

Along with the name change, Cricket Wireless Amphitheater also announced several 2012 performances. More information can be found in the following press release. Cricket Wireless Amphitheater

Melanie Knopke, wardobe stylist for Style Spies and Style Scout Blogger, discuss game day fashions during March Madness with apparel from The Legends Outlets Kansas City.

The Chest of Drawers Fashion Blogger, Tara Kloeppel, shares timeless fashions, for both men and women, that will stay in style until the next leap year, from The Legends Outlets Kansas City

The Kansas City area's first White House | Black Market Outlet boutique will open at The Legends Outlets Kansas City in May 2012.

The women’s retailer will offer a collection of apparel, accessories and shoes in their signature palette of white and black, designed specifically for the outlet boutique, along with a select assortment of product from their full-price boutiques.

The White House | Black Market Outlet boutique will cover 2,955 square feet, and will be located next to Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH.

More information can be found at the full press release.

Leaders of The Mayors Bistate Innovation Team, Mike Burke and Ray Daniels, discuss Google Fiber on KCPT's The Local Show, on February 6, 2012.  The show also featured segments on depression, a meeting at the Kauffman Foundation discussing how Kansas City can become one of America's most entrepreneurial cities, and other subjects.  The video clip above jumps to the segment on Google Fiber.

The news is reporting that Whitney Houston has passed away.  She was 48.  Not many details are currently available.