Chef Michael Corvino creates multi-textured, complex tastes that seem inspired by the fertile farmland, fields of wheat grain, desert sage, and lush vineyards of his home territory...the Walla Walla Valley of the Columbia River. A three course dinner starts with an amuse-bouche that arouses the palate before the first course; seed, grain, and sunchoke blanketed in the rich yellow yolk of a poached egg. Crisp-edged, roasted brussel sprout meld with the softness of a smoked potato, and tucked in are plump, perfect mussels. The Steelhead trout is prepared so seductively you linger over it, as your endorphins release. The sauce is bread-worthy and you mop it up. Dessert is an artful tonal palette of vanilla and white chocolate tinged with citrus fruit from yuzu and bitter orange. The waitstaff are perfectly synchronized to deliver at the right moment, articulate in describing the various selections. Every detail compliments the presentation of the food; the lovely, rustic china, the glasses for the well-paired wines, the small vase of bittersweet. Wafting down from the upstairs lounge, are strains of jazz from Kansas City’s most talented jazz musicians. The stunning dining room with its broad windows overlooking Crown Center, the warmth of the wood, the brass touches, and the imaginative wood-vaulted ceiling from the architect of Windows of the World, is still as elegant and comfortable as it was at The American’s opening in 1974.