Just a taste of Kansas City

Headed to the Midwest to spend the holidays this past Christmas.  I didn't know anything about Kansas City, but when I went there, I found many people who loved it there.  I experienced only a taste of what this city has to offer, and was quite pleasantly surprised and hope to be back again.

Visitkc.com offers great insight into what activities to do, attractions to see and restaurants to eat at, as well as discounts and deals.

Some tourist highlights include the following:

Union Station - The station turned 100 years old in 2014 and has been magnificently been restored.  It was totally decorated for the holiday season, with model trains and nutcrackers.  I'm sure New Year's was fabulous here.

Science City - A wonderful place for all ages.  The Maker Lab was closed during our visit, but many other interactive exhibits kept us intrigued, including Mr. E. Hotel with many illusions, Astronaut in Training and Genetics.

Crown Center - This mall is attached to Hallmark headquarters and includes their store Halls.  It is full of attractions, such as LegoLand and SeaLife,  A great place to take families.

The Federal Reserve Money Museum was a neat place.  Missouri has 2 regional locations and Kansas City is 10-J.  Any bills with the letter J were made here.  Old bills are no longer burnt, they are shredded, up to $4 million per day.  This means free money to visitors!

Famous for BBQ, Kansas City has a lot to offer for meat eaters.  We tried a few noted restaurants and always tried to eat BBQ when we stopped for a quick bite.

The famous Jack Stack BBQ was a hit with our group.  We tried lamb ribs, burnt ends, prime beef ribs, pork baby back ribs and  chicken.

  But Q39 was just as good.  But with take out for lunch, check your order, they got ours wrong.  And we didn't try as much because it was a smaller meal.  The pork belly was delicious!

Also good in the States are Mexican Restaurants.  El Patron was great!  Mixed meat fajitas and tamales.  Great service, tasty margaritas, good prices.  

Town Topic burger joint is also a place to note.  It's been open 24 hours everyday for 75 years.  It's a small diner, with friendly staff, unbelievable prices and great burgers.












Bourbon is the liquor of choice here, but I found a new favourite, Ginger liqueur!  It goes with many things, like soda, 7-up, apple and cranberry juice.  Liquor is so cheap in the States compared to Canada and Gomer's had a great selection. They also have local craft breweries, like Boulevard as well.





There were a few shopping districts, but Country Club Plaza was my favourite.  The buildings are modelled after architecture in Seville, Spain.  From American Thanksgiving to January, Plaza Lights are on all the buildings making it such a festive stop, even just for coffee.


Brookside was also pretty neat.  Again, theme coloured buildings and a few cool shops like A Store Called Stuff and World Window, both of which carry work from local artists.

Famous for live jazz, Kansas City has music almost every night of the week.

We were fortunate to have gone to the Pheonix Jazz Club to enjoy 2 local musicians, trumpeter Lonnie McFadden and pianist Mark Lowrey.  The club was packed at 4pm on First Fridays (the first Friday of each month when the city celebrates culture, art and music).  Drinks were only $5 during happy hour.

We also saw the Blisstonians at Chaz on the Plaza in the Raphael Hotel.  A wonderful intimate lounge.


Another venture out was to Westport night life district.  With the holidays, not all the bars were having their usual weeknight music offerings, like dueling pianos, so we ended up at Harry's for a drink and some chill time.

Knowing nothing about Kansas City before I went, I am definitely hoping to visit you again.  More music, more BBQ, more fun!