SLICE OF LIFE Get ’em while they’re hot! KC pizza is on the come up. Our 43 favorite pies, pans and slices. Photography by Zach Bauman PIE OF THE YEAR Grandma Pizza at Clay & Fire They say even when pizza is bad, it’s good. That makes determining great pizza difficult. How can something so simple… Continue reading Here are the 43 best pizzas in KC
As a young couple, Julie and Christian Arnold enjoyed loft living and being able to walk to shops. But as their family started to grow, they knew they needed a little more room and outdoor space for their kids to play and explore. They were able to find the perfect mix in Old Briarcliff, just… Continue reading Designer Julie Arnold creates a sustainable, modern home for her family in a wooded area just north of the river
Since Kelly’s Westport Inn opened in one of Kansas City’s oldest buildings at the intersection of Westport Road and Pennsylvania Avenue in 1947, the district has seen many iterations of its identity—from family-friendly shopping destination (Pryde’s has operated since 1968) to hip restaurant harbor (RIP Prospect of Westport) to late-night party precinct (Johnny Kaw’s and… Continue reading Three new restaurants come to Kansas City’s oldest neighborhood
At the time of its 1995 dedication, the Children’s Fountain at North Oak and East 32nd Avenue, at the north end of downtown North Kansas City, was said to be the “largest fountain of its kind in America.” The fountain pumps five and a half thousand gallons of water per minute and at the time… Continue reading Who are the kids depicted in the Northland’s Children’s Fountain?
Nick Vella was a rising star of Kansas City’s pizza community: His pandemic-born Observation Pizza, with its impeccable crust and irreverent toppings, was in demand even after his untimely death in August 2020, when his team briefly tried to carry the business forward in his honor. Vella had been a regular at Lucky Boys in… Continue reading Lucky Boys’ Tuesday pizzas were born of tragedy
Not all Instagram contests are grifts. Just ask Jhy Coulter. The pizzaiola behind the Devoured pop-up was scrolling Instagram during her years in the kitchen at Webster House when she came across a giveaway for a RoccBox backyard pizza oven run by Instagram-famous Toronto chef Matty Matheson. The post asked followers to like, comment and… Continue reading Devoured serves some of the best pizza you’ll ever eat, made in a backyard oven won on Instagram
Some of my most memorable college days in Iowa City started with a piece of pizza for breakfast before tailgating on a Saturday morning. And it wasn’t cold, leftover pizza ordered the night before. The pizza I speak of is formulated for breakfast and doesn’t come from a pizza joint you’ll find anywhere on this… Continue reading Where to get Iowa-style Breakfast Pizza in KC
They say even when pizza is bad, it’s good. That makes determining great pizza difficult. How can something so simple and so satisfying spur coastal rivalries and inspire such divisive emotions? And how do you put everything aside—all the variations in technique and crust and style—and crown one pizza best of them all? If you… Continue reading Pie of the Year: Grandma Pizza at Clay & Fire
Pizza Shuttle is an institution. For Jayhawks of a certain age, the restaurant (invariably pronounced with an “i” in place of the “u”) was an oasis—virtually the only place in Lawrence to get hot food delivered after the bars closed. Ordering it, though, wasn’t just a way to placate stomachs filled with cheap beer. It… Continue reading I’m a KU alum who lived off Pizza Shuttle. I just tried it again for the first time in decades…
Guy’s Deli Patrick here: I was honestly never a huge fan of the old Joe’s, though it did save my life on numerous occasions after 25-cent beer night at Harpo’s. When Guy’s took over the window at Kelly’s Westport Inn, the new owners said they were keeping the old Joe’s Pizza Buy The Slice recipe.… Continue reading Kansas City Pizza Slices, Ranked
Easy Inn In the aftermath of a January snowstorm, long after the plows had cleared the roads, I ordered a pizza online from Sarah’s on the Hill. When I arrived at the quiet KCK corner to pick up my dinner, I encountered a lone figure hunched over the deadbolt at the door to Sarah’s, fumbling… Continue reading The best Kansas City style pizzas
Norcini Norcini opened at the end of 2019 in Strang Hall by the self-taught chef Chad Tillman, a master butcher with over twenty years of experience. The quick and casual spot offers sandwiches and “artisanal” pizzas inspired by the Neapolitan tradition—the dough is cold-fermented for seventy-two hours before being hand-tossed and wood-fired, but it takes… Continue reading The best traditional Italian pizzas in KC
As a St. Louis native living in KC, I’ve heard just about every jab—we St. Louisans care too much about where we went to high school, we think too highly of our baseball fandom and, yes, we no longer have an NFL team. Fair enough. But I refuse to stand idly by while people badmouth… Continue reading Where to Get St. Louis-style Pizza in Kansas City
The owners of Providence Pizza come from Rhode Island, a state that has its own local style of red-top square-pan pizza. It makes sense, then, that they gravitated to the Motor City’s style of pie—red on top, fat but airy in the middle, with the cheese crisped against the edge of the pan. A few… Continue reading There’s Only One Detroit-style Pie You Need to Know in KC.
Grimaldi’s 5601 W. 135th St., Overland Park The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883. Grimaldi’s Pizza opened under it, on the east bank of the East River, in 1990. It gives you some sense of how much cajones the Grimaldis have to stamp their boxes with “the Pizza that made the [century-old] Brooklyn Bridge famous.” And… Continue reading The best New York-style pizza in Kansas City
