Oktoberfest You won’t go thirsty at Kansas City Bier Company’s annual Oktoberfest, which returns to Crown Center on October 7 and 8. Among the offerings are traditional lagers in the style of Munich and Vienna, plus a Hef, an IPL and even a cider. They’re poured by the plastic stein to a crowd of ten… Continue reading The best KC events in October 2022
Jordan and Emily Fox bought their home on Southwest Boulevard in 2017. The house had an attached garage with a dirt floor that had previously been used as a motorcycle workshop. After four years of renovation, the Foxes debuted the former garage space as the Garden House (@gardenhouse.kc) this summer. Now, it serves as an… Continue reading A local duo turns a former motorcycle workshop into a modern retreat space
You can never tell the secrets a tortilla holds. I am not referring to what this deceptively plain wrapper carries between its folds: the al pastor licked with heat and pineapple or some impossibly tender cochinita pibil. I mean the hundred thousand mysteries packed and pressed and flattened into the unleavened bread: the ancient process… Continue reading The third wave of masa has arrived—here are 3 people redefining the tortilla in KC
Ashton Bethel started making home decor during the pandemic as a hobby. Now, she has her own business: High Noon Pottery (@highnoonpottery). Typically, Bethel makes each piece with the eighties and nineties in mind—specifically, the funky and colorful aesthetic of the movie theaters and malls of the past. This time of year, however, she does… Continue reading These local mugs are perfect for your PSL
When you think about wine, do you picture Missouri? If not, a new documentary by TasteMAKERS hopes to change your mind. “I fell in love with Missouri wine early on,” says Cat Neville, the Emmy-winning producer and host of TasteMAKERS who is best-known to KC foodies as the longtime publisher of Feast magazine. “Being so… Continue reading A new documentary will put Missouri wine in front of a national audience
Here are nine great things to do in Kansas City the weekend of September 29 to October 2, including the biggest barbecue in the world, a mashup of Oktoberfest and Dia de los Muertos and the Violent Femmes with the symphony. American Royal World Series of BBQ How many barbecue contests are there in the… Continue reading 9 things to do in KC this weekend, September 29-October 2
As a little girl, designer Maureen Lindstrom would switch out the pillows and comforter on her bed as often as she could. “I was always redecorating my room,” Lindstrom says. “I always wanted to try something new.” Even though Lindstrom majored in accounting in college and worked in sales for a bit after school, design… Continue reading Designer Maureen Lindstrom gives new life to a home in Blue Hills Estates
It’s soup season. Here are 11 BOWLS of comfort around KC, including the revival of an iconic steak soup and life-changing clam chowder. WORDS MARTIN CIZMAR, NATALIE TORRES GALLAGHER, MARY HENN PHOTOGRAPHY ZACH BAUMAN, CALEB CONDIT, REBECCA NORDEN Soup for All The soups at Housewife in Grandview have developed a cult following. It’s an iconic bit of television, known even to those… Continue reading 11 Essential Soups in KC—From Show-Stopping Clam Chowder to Bone-Rich Ramen
While the venues and music may look and sound quite a bit different than they did in the heyday of Kansas City jazz, live jazz has been ubiquitous in KC for a century now. From the more surprising spots (two grocers) to the new ones (two Main Street cocktail bars), check out the fresh and… Continue reading New and unusual places to see live jazz in KC—including two grocery stores
Rain or shine, something Kansas Citians have been able to count on for the last thirty years is turning to KSHB 41 News and watching chief meteorologist Gary Lezak tell them what to expect. But with Lezak’s retirement quickly approaching, we’re left wondering what’s next for Kansas City’s favorite weatherman Lezak—who was named the best… Continue reading Here’s what meteorologist Gary Lezak has planned after retiring from KSHB 41
André’s has been making quiche since 1955, and not originally by choice. “The concept that my grandparents came over here from Switzerland with was exclusively pastries and chocolates—1955 Kansas City was not ready for a shop that just did that,” says owner René Bollier. “They didn’t really understand what my grandfather was doing, what made… Continue reading The Ultimate KC Quiche Now has Burnt Ends
As the name implies, hot pots are hot. How hot? My server can’t tell the exact temperature of the rich broth tossing dried chiles around at a rolling boil on the induction burner in front of me, but she points to a recent battle scar on her chin. “I bent over and got too close,”… Continue reading How to Hot Pot—Five Tips for Beginners
For forty years, the low-slung but striking Vine Street stone buildings on the periphery of Kansas City’s historic Jazz District have sat vacant, boarded up, surrounded by a chain-link fence and splattered with graffiti. They stood as a constant reminder of what was once a bustling neighborhood. Five years ago, a trio of like-minded local… Continue reading How a striking building in the Jazz District was gutted to become a cultural destination
The Overland Park Farmers’ Market has been named the nation’s favorite after a poll by the American Farmland Trust. It’s a big award and came after a major election: More than 10 million votes were cast in the contest, which included finalists from five regions covering all fifty states. The contest ran between June 21… Continue reading Overland Park Farmers’ Market wins top national award
In June, Missouri quietly overhauled its elections—and it could dramatically impact November’s general election. H.B. 1878, signed by Governor Mike Parson and hailed as a win for Republicans, strips the state of a presidential primary, prohibits certain voter registration activities and requires voters to have photo ID, among other things. The bill went into effect… Continue reading Missouri is ending its presidential primary among other voting restrictions
Lyric Opera of Kansas City Presents Carmen Even after a century and a half, Carmen is still that femme fatale. The popular opera tells the story of an ill-fated romance, touching on themes of jealousy, obsession and bullfighting. Performed in the original French with English subtitles. September 24–30, 7:30 pm. Muriel Kauffman Theater. Plaza Art… Continue reading 9 things to do this weekend in KC, September 22-25
Shanita McAfee-Bryant knows the recipe for success. From creating new recipes within her family’s kitchen to winning Cutthroat Kitchen, a popular Food Network game show, McAfee-Bryant looks to use her talents to help those within her community through food advocacy and to bridge the divide in Kansas City with gumbo. During the pandemic, McAfee-Bryant had… Continue reading For Shanita McAfee-Bryant, gumbo isn’t just food—it’s philosophy
Dr. Meena Singh describes her career path as having fallen into her lap. The KC native set out to fill a hole for those in need of specialized care that was otherwise hard to come by. Now, she has found her calling in the field of dermatology—changing lives in the treatment of hair loss as… Continue reading Kansas City’s Dr. Meena Singh takes on TLC with new show ‘Bad Hair Day’
While the tourism industry walked on eggshells in 2020, the 130-year-old Elms Hotel in Excelsior Springs began a bold renovation of the property, which in its heyday was a speakeasy that hosted mobsters like Al Capone. After closing several times under different owners, in 2019 Hyatt bought the Elms “with a vision that included a… Continue reading The Elms Hotel & Spa in Excelsior Springs debuts a major renovation
Until recently, cookbooks either focused on utilitarian recipes or begged for admiration with gorgeous photos of meals you might attempt on a long weekend. The easy availability of internet recipes has led to the near-extinction of the classic how-to book, with today’s cookbooks getting prettier and sometimes growing into mini-memoirs. Bartending books have likewise evolved,… Continue reading The new Monarch Bar Book has us sippin’ on gin and lacto-fermented fig syrup
Kansas City’s best barbecue will be available in a restaurant, “before the end of the year.” Tyler Harp opened his pop-up in the back of Raytown’s Crane Brewing back in spring of 2019. We were early fans, and by that fall the pop-up earned the top spot on our biannual survey of the best barbecue… Continue reading Harp Barbecue to open a standalone restaurant before the end of the year
Family Farm Opens at Louisburg Cider Mill It’s hard to believe it’s that time of the year again when everything turns into pumpkin spice and things come alive at Louisburg Cider Mill. Starting this weekend, you can get your fall on. Venture through a ten-acre corn maze, explore ten acres of pumpkin patch glory, see… Continue reading 10 things to do in KC this weekend, September 15-18
A bitter fight over stormwater management and a duck pond shows what can go wrong with HOA covenants, which an expert calls “some of the strongest documents in our legal system.” Read headlines in Kansas City for a while and you’re bound to see nasty fights involving Homeowners Associations. Last year, homeowners in Lido Villas,… Continue reading Why HOA rules inspire such bitter fights around KC
Wild and Quirky Downtown Shawnee is fast becoming one of Johnson County’s top nightlife destinations. Now, it’s getting a new bar with a fresh concept that’s unlike any other in KC. Wild Child will be a “bright, quirky” bar with wine, cider and cocktails with little or no alcohol. Wild Child comes from Jay Sanders,… Continue reading What’s New in Kansas City Food and Drink for September 2022
Pitmaster LT’s BBQ Sauce has roots in a local pit, but unless you’re a hardcore ‘cuehead or your happened to live off 87th Street in Lenexa, you probably don’t remember LT’s Finest BBQ, which closed in 1999. “He had great food,” Brian Tooks says of his dad Luther Tooks’ spot. “It was just a classic… Continue reading Pitmaster LT’s sauce aims to become KC’s next hit barbecue sauce
The kick-off of the Chiefs season in a big game against the Cardinals, one of the city’s largest arts festivals and one of country music’s biggest stars at the T-Mobile Center make for a big fall weekend. (Oh, and there are gyros, too.) Riff Generation The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra kicks off its fall season… Continue reading 13 things to do in KC this weekend, September 8-11
How fentanyl is pushing the opioid epidemic into new, more dangerous territory and why Kansas saw the nation’s second-highest increase in overdose deaths last year WORDS BY Mary Henn It was the middle of last April when Shelby Wahl was found curled up at the bottom of a locked closet in a home that wasn’t hers. She had been living… Continue reading An Inside Look Into Kansas’ Current Fentanyl Crisis
The U.S. Women’s Nation Soccer Team is eyeing a three-peat in next year’s world cup, which will be held in Australia. The team looked like champions in a 4-0 romp over Nigeria on Saturday at Children’s Mercy Park in KC, where a near-capacity crowd of 14,502 came out to watch the USWNT, which has already… Continue reading Photos: U.S. Women’s National Team beats Nigeria in KC
Baba ganoush is made from roasted eggplant, but it tends to be creamy and beige. The “real baba’’ at Hummus and Pita (8039 Santa Fe Drive, Overland Park) is a different beast altogether. It’s darker and chunkier, but it retains some of the purple fruit’s original form after being smoked, mashed and blended with pomegranate… Continue reading Behold the ‘real baba’ at this new Overland Park restaurant
Small salaries, student loan debt, political agendas, angry parents—and an important job to do on top of it all. Teachers have been struggling with these things for years, and it’s starting to show through staffing shortages in both Kansas and Missouri. Missouri now has a solution, but is it really fixing the problem, or is… Continue reading Kansas and Missouri both face extreme teacher shortages–Missouri has a controversial solution
In March of 2019, Adam Larson found himself at a crossroads: The saxophonist didn’t end up in the doctoral program he’d planned to start, and he received notice of a hefty rent increase for his New York City apartment just after his second child was born. “My wife and I sat down and wrote down… Continue reading Saxophonist Adam Larson is headline the Prairie Village jazz fest in support of a new album that pays homage to KC
Historically, flowers have belonged to the colorful seasons of spring and summer. But according to Kansas City TikToker and florist Lexi Nardini, there are some autumn floral trends beginning to surface for the upcoming season. Nardini graduated from Mizzou last year with a major in event management, a plant science minor and a floral design… Continue reading The ins, outs and how-tos of emerging flower trends from Kansas City’s floral TikToker
When Border Brewing opened in the Crossroads, it was the first brewery in a neighborhood that’s now as dense with brewtanks as any in America. “The neighborhood has changed so much in just seven years,” says brewer and owner Eric Martens. At the new Border Brewing, which took over a space that had been a… Continue reading Border Brewing is now pouring super-limited one-offs every Thursday
After a topsy-turvy two years, gas prices are finally falling and unemployment is down. But a cloud still hangs over the American economy as inflation hits historic highs in the United States, leaving consumers and businesses to navigate uncharted financial waters. “The U.S. economy hasn’t dealt with sustained inflation since the early 1980s,” says Erik… Continue reading What local finance experts think about inflation and our topsy-turvy economy
