Best of Kansas City?

I think Smokehouse might take take six months to a year off of my dad's life. He loves the place.

But Bryant's is still the best. Go and enjoy a sandwich the size of your head with a side of fries cooked in lard. Mmmmm-mmmm.

 

Maybe I'm an oddball, but I like Bryant's AND Gates. There's a Gates just north of Bryant's on Brooklyn, I believe.

It appears the Golden Ox Web site still is up and there still are plenty of reviews floating around on the Web. sportsgopher, are you sure it's bit the dust?

 

You can stay at the Holiday Inn in Westport and be walking distance to the bars and stumbling distance back. Cool little place on the corner, with the giant deck. Decent food and good people watching. Same goes for the other corners, two good bars, but I don't remember names.
Honest to God, I freaking love the museum in KC. It is awesome. They have a cafe and it is terrific for lunch. Cheap too. Get there early and sit on the bench in front of the giant Monet.
I also like the Asian wing and when you see the Buddha statue, that's actually the same size as Whitlock. Gasp at his giantness.
Also ask the museum workers if the Nelson family were shuttlecock enthusiasts or if they helped bring badminton to KC.
Cool fact, they are arranged as if they were actually playing game and the museum was the net.
The casinos aren't bad either. Some weird-ass thing about playing limits and if you like poker, Harrah's has a 1-3 table most nights. The other casino has a Gates inside it. Too much food, for not that much money.

 

Not sure at all Lyman. I only get back there a couple times a year. I heard it second-hand so it's definitely not the sportsgopher truth.

 

Don't forget Winstead's hamburgers. There's one on the plaza. Also, Westport Flea market for burgers. Tanners, a great sports bar, has great chicken lips.

Don't forget to chuck a rock at the new Star printing press and knock out a window

 

The Golden Ox was sold a couple of winters ago. It re-opened in the same location, with the same name, under new ownership a few months later. I think it was late 2003.

 

Thanks again to all who offered Kansas City travel advice. The young lady and I enjoyed a fun, snowy weekend in KC. Like true tourists, we hit the museums. A few notes that may be of use for other out-of-towners should they ever be in Kansas City:

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was indeed an ass-kicking experience, as I expected. I am very familiar with the history of black baseball and my girlfriend knew nothing of it, so the fact that we both had a good time tells me that they put together the exhibits very well. There was a high level of energy at the museum when I went, because lots of MLB types were in town for an awards ceremony that evening...I had a good chat about the Twins with a cordial gent from the Minnesota organization. A well-spent afternoon, in general. I'm no souvenir hound, but couldn't resist picking up a sharp-looking navy-and-red Monarchs cap.

The American Jazz Museum occupies the same building at 18th and Vine. It's certainly worth seeing, but the place seems like it could use a little taking in hand. Most of the audio exhibits weren't working and the layout itself is kind of confusing. The place seems like it wants to be the definitive museum of jazz in the US, but it appears to lack the collection to fulfill that (admittedly quite lofty) goal. Still, it was an inspiring place to visit, overall. Any Count Basie fan who hasn't been should find a way to go there.

I didn't spend as much time as I'd have liked at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. It was a busy day and we showed up only an hour and a half before closing time. But we made the best of it by taking our time with the European stuff on the first floor. The painting of St. John the Baptist by Caravaggio was worth the price of admission. We didn't hit the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, as we're both kind of old-school when it comes to visual art.

The surprise highlight of the weekend: The National World War One Museum. This place totally blew us away, no pun intended. State-of-the-art multimedia exhibits, an abundance of information and artifacts, a huge facility...I've never had a museum experience like this one. This is a must-see for anyone with the opportunity. Go there. And bring a snack. It's worth spending an entire day, but the place just opened and the restaurant hasn't been built yet. Seriously, this is a very different type of museum.

So much for culture-hopping. Sadly, I didn't make it over to O'Dowd's, but I did find a faux-Irish bar near our friends' apartment and sipped a couple of smooth pints of Murphy's while enjoying the Saints' win...much to the dismay of some fratboy yobbos who were pulling for the Iggles. The culinary highlight was Middle Eastern food at Jerusalem, a fairly mellow spot in the boho district. Also had some fine BBQ at Gates. While we were there, we saw one of their staff get fired. She was initially sent home for showing up in a dirty uniform, then got canned when she responded to the sending-home with a little too much sass for her supervisor's liking. Apparently, they run a tight ship at Gates.

 

Oh yes, oh yes that is SO true about Gates.
It is the only place I've ever experienced some sort of overt racism. A young lady refused to serve me and kept ignoring me in line. I was trying to be nice and give her the benefit of a doubt but a kind older black gentleman wouldn't stand for it. He spoke up, called for the manager, explained the situation and the manager took her to task. Before I finished my meal she was out the door.
But that was just once and I've always had good experiences at Bryant's, Gates and other wonderful barbecue joints in KC. I hope I've always treated those people with kindness and respect. If not, that older gentleman who helped me should be allowed to kick my butt until I beg for mercy.
Also, at Bryant's, is it just me or do they hire the men with the biggest hands to work the front counter. I swear those guys could palm a medicine ball with the way they pick up all that meat and all those fries and just load your plate with food!!!
OK, now I'm hungry. I need a plane ticket, a rental car and a quick trip downtown ... NOW!!!

 

Good report, writing irish.

 

Gracias, Ace. My Monarchs lid:



The only bad thing about my visit to the Negro Leagues museum: No chance of seeing Buck.

 

I know what you mean. I lived in or around Kansas City for 21 years, never did go to the Negro Leagues Museum. Still haven't, actually, and now no Buck.

BTW, great hat. The Royals are wise to continue the Monarchs promotions. I would rather to go a game that day than when they do the baby blue '80s t-shirts, and that's saying a lot.

 

And on behalf of Jays fans across Canuckistan, damn you Jim Sundberg.