Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Patriotic Over-Spending

Those clever writers at woot.com come through once again with insightful social commentary, this time on how profligate spending is somehow "patriotic."

http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=7539

Monday, February 02, 2009

Jim's Guide to Kansas City

I wrote this in response to a couple in our church who spent some vacation time in Kansas City. They're from Wisconsin and don't really know Kansas City at all. I figured I might as well post it here.

Clarification: this post is written mostly for the benefit of Kansas City outsiders who, like us, live on a budget, but have managed to scrape together funds for a "splurge" weekend in KC. Your budget may allow you to stay at the Hotel Phillips for a month. If so, this is not your guide to KC. I've included a few chain places on this list (sorry Chris), even though I support local flava whenever possible.

Here's a rundown on some of our favorites in Kansas City.

PLACES TO EAT

Downtown:

The Majestic Steakhouse ($15-30) – Steaks, pasta, and seafood. The atmosphere is old-town Kansas City class. The building was a speakeasy during prohibition, among other things. On the weekends, the Bram Wijnands Trio performs at dinnertime (Bram is one of my all-time favorite jazz pianists). Ask to sit downstairs where you can see the band.
http://www.kansascitymenus.com/majesticsteakhouse/
http://tinyurl.com/c9ym4k

The Hereford House ($20-40) - One of the great steakhouses. A Kansas City classic. I've heard it much maligned recently, but I still support it. I've only been able to afford it a few times, but every time my steak was a memorable experience (in a good way). Thanks to bigBADbobby for reminding me to include a few steakhouses!
http://tinyurl.com/b26dme
http://www.herefordhouse.com

The Peachtree Restaurant ($10-20) – In the Power and Light District next to the Sprint Center Arena (the Power and Light District has lots of other places to eat, plus a sweetastic-looking bowling alley, but we don't have good info on them yet). “Soul food with elegance.” Fried chicken, catfish, cornbread, collard greens, sweet tea, and peach cobbler. The original location off Eastwood Trafficway is one of my dad's all-time favorite places to eat.
http://tinyurl.com/bhbvo6

Arthur Bryant's Barbecue ($5-10) – Near the 18th and Vine jazz district. Bryant's is still neck-and-neck with Gates & Sons for the title of The Classic Kansas City Barbecue Place. I slightly prefer Bryant's, although if you're buying a bottle of sauce for your own purposes, go with Gates.
http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/
http://tinyurl.com/dgqg3q

The Happy Gillis Cafe ($3-12) - Just off the northeast corner of the Downtown loop. A really cool little cafe with yummy breakfast sandwiches and pastries, plus the best soups and sandwiches anywhere for lunchtime.
http://www.happysoupeater.com/happy_gillis.php

The Skies ($30-50 for dinner, but we just go for dessert, which is $6-10) – The rotating restaurant high atop the Hyatt Regency hotel by Crown Center. Awesome view that rotates all the way around slowly, so you see the whole thing in about an hour. Go at sunset or later.
www.hyattkc.com/skies/

Pancho's ($3-7) – Awesome, epic, huge, authentic gut-busting burritos. Open all night so you can make your heartburn worse. I've spent a large percentage of my restaurant dollars here. Get the carne asada burrito and experience true felicidad.
http://tinyurl.com/aarv9d

Town Topic ($3-7) - One of those classic 24-hour diners that kept blue-collar Americans alive through the best and worst of the twentieth century. The burgers are the famous part, and I love them in all their greasy goodness.

Southwest Boulevard/ Crossroads Arts District:

Lulu's Thai Noodles ($8-20) – Cool little Thai place on Southwest Boulevard. Good atmosphere and great food. If you like really spicy curry, order theirs and prepare to have your mouth on fire for hours. Most menu items can be made milder, though.
www.lulusnoodles.com
http://tinyurl.com/dgujh5

Manny's Mexican Restaurant ($7-15) – Authentic Mex with a real south-of-the-border atmosphere. If you can't find Manny's, just keep going down Southwest Boulevard and eat at any of the dozen or more Mexican places. They're all good.
www.mannyskc.com
http://tinyurl.com/cvphd2

Dagwood's Cafe ($4-10) - Another classic diner. Dagwood's pancakes take my prize for best-in-city, and their burgers are hard to beat. Also try the biscuits and gravy, cinnamon rolls, and breakfast sandwiches on Texas toast. Open for breakfast and lunch only.
http://tinyurl.com/b4xbkm


The Plaza/Westport:

- The Country Club Plaza (mentioned above) is a short drive south of downtown Kansas City. It's the classic romantic place to hang out in KC. Upscale shopping and dining, with the look of the Mercado in Seville, Spain. It's probably most famous for its fountains and for the Plaza Lights (during the Christmas season). You can take a gondola ride on Brush Creek, but I recommend saving that idea for the warmer months.

The Cheesecake Factory – hard to go wrong here, but I recommend just getting your dessert here. It does have the best-looking interior and exterior of any CF location I've seen, though.

The Classic Cup Cafe ($8-45, depending on when you go) – Probably my vote for best romantic place for couples in Kansas City. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but upscale and a bit spendy (especially dinner).
http://tinyurl.com/cbhcvh
http://www.classiccup.com

PF Chang's China Bistro ($7-25) – Surprisingly good Chinese place, and laid-back atmosphere, just across from the JC Nichols Fountain (the huge one with the rearing horses and such).
http://tinyurl.com/c6olcp

O'Dowd's Little Dublin ($10-20) – Irish pub with my favorite shepherd's pie ever.
http://tinyurl.com/cfc55j

Andre's Confiserie Suisse ($5-15) – A Swiss chocolatier that also serves lunch. You can go for awesome pastries and coffee for breakfast, or get lunch for around $13 per person, which includes drink and super-nice dessert.
http://tinyurl.com/dlz3pk
http://www.andreschocolates.com

Winstead's ($4-12) - A 50's-themed burgers-and-ice-cream joint and a Kansas City tradition. Their food is good, but the highlight is the Skyscraper Soda, an enormous ice cream soda that you need a buddy (or two or three) to finish.
http://tinyurl.com/d3janx

D'Bronx Pizza ($6-10 approx. per person) - Very very good New-York-style pizza. The original (and by far the coolest) location is in Westport. Other locations on the bottom floor of Crown Center, on Metcalf in Overland Park, and now on Johnson Drive in Mission.
http://www.dbronxkc.com/

Blanc Burgers and Bottles ($8-20) - Possibly the best burger I've ever eaten, although I'm willing to accept arguments from anyone willing to buy me a burger at Westport Flea Market or 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. But you do pay for it. They use seriously premium ingredients to make seriously premium burgers. The Kobe burger is excellent, but spendy. Also, they serve fries (and you can get truffle fries for an upcharge) in little shopping carts that sit on the table. And the atmosphere is very cool. The "Bottles" part is that they have tons of bottled drinks. Most are alcoholic, but they have a very wide selection of non-alcoholic bottled sodas and other interesting bottled drinks. Also, the milkshakes are made with Shatto milk and Foo's Fabulous Frozen Custard. I invented my own milkshake made with Shatto Root-Beer-Flavored Milk (which is awesome) and vanilla custard. WIN. They have recently moved from Westport to the Plaza, and have a second location in Leawood on Mission Road just north of I-435. Don't look for a Mission Road exit, though - there ain't one. Take Roe or State Line and use 103rd to get there. It's between 103rd and the highway bridge on Mission Road.
http://www.blancburgers.com/

Jerusalem Cafe ($6-15) - A middle-eastern restaurant with two Westport locations. Things like beef and lamb kabobs, falafel, baba ganoush, hummus, pita sandwiches, gyros, etc. For the price, you get a ton of food. We usually share the big complete meal for two that costs around $20, and there's enough to take some home and feed us another complete meal later!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/jerusalem-cafe-kansas-city


Other Locations:

Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue ($4-10) – The best barbecue in the world. I know you're going to try to argue, but stop. It's simply the best. These guys won the American Royal Barbecue competition several times in the nineties, and then decided, hey, why not open a restaurant? Get the pulled pork sandwich. They have the world's best fries, too. It's in a gas station, so don't let that throw you. (There's a classier-looking location now in Olathe, but go to the original.)
http://tinyurl.com/cwkjc5

Waldo Pizza ($6-20) – Good pizza, with good crust. If you're feeling the need for good basic pizza, this is your place. Or if you want to get some crazy pizza, this is also your place. One of my favorites is pizza with barbecue sauce instead of marinara sauce, topped with chicken and maraschino cherries. No, seriously. Or you can get things like pine nuts and artichoke hearts on your pizza. No, seriously.
http://tinyurl.com/bnchhk

Tatsu's ($15-35) – Possibly Cindy's favorite restaurant. French cuisine that doesn't leave you hungry when you're finished. It's kind of buried in a residential neighborhood, which can make you feel like you've taken a wrong turn somewhere when you're trying to find the place.
http://tinyurl.com/auhosn


Coffee:

The Roasterie Cafe – Has recently emerged as one of my favorites, and is now battling Toto's (RIP) for the top slot. They roast their own, and they know their stuff. Classy place, too. If you're a coffee purist, try one of their Clover coffees or the siphon-brewed coffee. Ask them about it – it's hard to explain.
http://tinyurl.com/bhuqyf

Toto's – CLOSED NOW! ALAS! RIP Toto's... you were my introduction to fine coffees, and my hometown pride. Long my favorite coffee shop (but see above), just a great little place.
http://tinyurl.com/b8kgnm

Homer's – Good coffee, and free live music on weekends. The cinnamon rolls, scones, and tiramisu are pretty great too. In the fall, they have a hot caramel cider that Cindy and her friend Maggie refer to as "liquid autumn."
http://tinyurl.com/banqzc

Benetti's
Excellent little place in Raytown, which is a recent discovery for me. They do great latte art and know how to make a traditional Italian cappuccino.
http://benettiscoffee.com/


LIVE MUSIC

The Blue Room – in the 18th and Vine Jazz District. Some of the best jazz players in the world come through this club, which is a smoke-free dedicated jazz venue attached to the Jazz Museum. Some nights are free, others have a cover charge attached. Check the calendar.
http://tinyurl.com/675yjq

The Majestic Steakhouse and other restaurants with live music are mentioned above.

The Music Hall – The place to see major touring shows, at least until the new Performing Arts Center is completed.
http://tinyurl.com/cvmbpv

The Sprint Center – The new downtown arena. Concerts from Bon Jovi to Trans-Siberian Orchestra to Coldplay. Lots of special sports events, too, and the NCAA Basketball Experience is attached. Check the calendar.
www.sprintcenter.com

The Main Street Cafe – Christian coffeehouse venue with reliably good indie/underground Christian music from The Almost to Bradley Hathaway to Derek Webb to Waterdeep.
www.mainstreetcafe.org


CULTURE

First Fridays – The Crossroads Arts District, just southwest of downtown KC, has an open gallery night on the first friday night of every month. There are street performers and lots of things to see.
http://kansascity.about.com/od/thearts/p/FirstFriday.htm

Union Station – the old train station, now refurbished and gorgeous. Houses a science museum, theaters, and traveling exhibitions.
www.unionstation.org

American Heartland Theatre – Live plays. Good ones.
http://www.ahtkc.com/

The New Theatre Restaurant – Dinner theatre. Good dinner theatre.
http://www.newtheatre.com/home.html

Crown Center – Shopping, dining, ice skating – attached to the world headquarters of Hallmark Cards.
www.crowncenter.com

River Market – The downtown farmer's market with restaurants and the Steamboat Arabia Museum attached. Walk around and find crazy stuff to buy. Free samples all over the place on Saturdays.
http://www.kansascityrivermarket.com/


MUSEUMS

Nelson Atkins Art Gallery – One of the world's premiere art galleries. Ancient to modern art from all over the world. Free, except for special exhibitions. Also, their Rozzelle Court Restaurant is a very romantic place. Ahh, memories...
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/

National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial – This is a really cool place if you're into history. Also, the tower has great views from the top. Go and just hang around outside for free, or pay to see the museum.
http://www.theworldwar.org

Kauffman Garden – A small but memorable memorial botanical garden open to the public. Within walking distance of the Nelson Atkins gallery.
http://www.powellgardens.org/default.asp?page=KauffmanMap

Powell Gardens – Botanical garden.
http://www.powellgardens.org/


PLACE TO STAY


The Raphael Hotel - ($120-200/night) - This is our favorite KC hotel. It's across Brush Creek from The Plaza, and just had a major renovation. Very romantic, if a bit spendy.
www.raphaelkc.com


This is all just scratching the surface. There are movie theaters (including IMAX), shopping malls, the Royals and Chiefs, and lots more places to eat and hang out. Have fun!