Kansas City was one of the wettest cities in America even during the Prohibition era. Taste of Kansas City Food Tours takes you back to the era of illicit alcohol with the help of four stops where guests are served either a Prohibition-style cocktail or the stop’s signature drink, plus a little pizza at the end to soak it all up.
According to local lore, there is a difference in the weather north and south of the Missouri River. In general, folks tend to think it’s a bit warmer south and it snows slightly more in the north. But is it true?
Celebrate Halloween and more with ten great things to do in Kansas City the weekend of October 27-30, including Symphonie Fantastique with the KC Symphony Chorus, the longest-running Halloween parade in the KC area, and a spooky transformation at Electric Park.
The legendary tailgate parties of Arrowhead Stadium are a maze of beer and barbecue. But, if you know where to look you can see distinct groups of people by zone.
Although the Waldo Water Tower is its neighborhood’s most notable landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places, it sat crumbling for decades.
The limestone shelf that Kansas City sits on and the rivers and springs that flow here have built a network of limestone caves that have provided storage and businesses for generations. There’s a living city of activity just below our noses.
The Normal Brand opened a hometown shop in 2019 and quickly expanded with a retail outlet in Nashville and, now, the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City (425 Nichols Road, KCMO, thenormalbrand.com). They just recently opened two more stores, in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood and in Denver.
Boston has the Citgo sign, Los Angeles has the Hollywood sign, and New York has the jumbotrons of Times Square. In Kansas City, we have Western Auto and Tension Envelopes signs. The city’s downtown skyline is brightened by the iconic silhouettes—even if most locals can’t tell you exactly what they’re advertising anymore.
There’s art everywhere in Kansas City. Here are the stories behind 16 special walls around town, some celebrating our history, others our sports triumphs and diversity.
At Acre in Parkville, Missouri, a French Laundry alum takes an understated approach.
A lot can change in sixty years. In the case of the Country Club Plaza, almost everything has. We unearthed a 1962 map of the shopping district—even in the early sixties it was an established institution—and then sat about tracking down the details on what happened to every spot marked on it.
Since 1995, the “We Always Swing” Jazz Series based in Columbia has been bringing internationally renowned jazz legends to Central Missouri. “At its heart, the series is an education project,” says Jon Poses, the executive and artistic director. “We want more people to be aware of how great this art form is so that more… Continue reading The ‘We Always Swing’ series brings jazz’s big names to Columbia
In the Caribbean, sofrito is a mix of herbs rich with onions, garlic and sweet peppers that’s used as a dip, a base for stews or a sauce with rice. One of the dishes sofrito often finds itself in—especially in Puerto Rico—is pernil (roast pork), often eaten on special occasions such as Christmas. At the… Continue reading Cafe Sofrito’s pernil sandwich has become a neighborhood favorite
A little over a year ago, Trisha Xue (@coolaunttrish) did her first pop-up selling vintage clothing and included some old crochet items her mom had made over the years. Soon after, the mom-daughter duo started creating skirts, checkered bags and other popular crochet items, and the brand Cool Aunt Trish was born. Xue says her… Continue reading These KC-made crocheted skirts have a comfy, retro look
Sharing recipes with family and friends is an age-old tradition we know and love. Whether it’s a recipe for a Thanksgiving casserole or a perfected pasta sauce, secret recipes are passed down. Wayne Moots is working to make a cookbook of recipes compiled from the Kansas City queer community. Inspired by the cookbook from influential… Continue reading Wayne Moots is looking to bring Kansas City’s queer community together with a cookbook.
Corey Green’s art career took off when his clever Balloon Vases sold worldwide. The vases use latex balloons framed in acrylic designs to indicate when the water supply for a centerpiece needs to be refreshed. The Midwestern artist is originally from southeast Kansas, but he studied at the Savannah College of Art and Design in… Continue reading Artist Corey Green has a new show at Ninth and State
Here are eleven things to do in Kansas City the weekend of October 20-23, including a Horror Play Festival, Dia de Los Muertos Celebration, and eerie, immersive installations in the woods at Powell Gardens. Buster Keaton’s The Cameraman Screening and Book Event Buster Keaton’s 1924 classic, The Cameraman, will be screened with live musical accompaniment… Continue reading 11 Spooky-ish Things To Do in KC This Weekend, October 20-23
Crossing the Kansas River is a daily occurrence for many people in the city. It’s a familiar blur on the drive to work along a bustling interstate. Despite being a key feature of the city’s natural topography with a history closely tied to the city, KC’s second river is regularly overlooked, along with its surrounding… Continue reading The forgotten Kaw riverfront could become the city’s next great public space
Arrowhead Stadium is over-the-top. The Guinness-certified loudest stadium in the world is home to a team with a record-shattering offense in front of an audience that starts pounding beers before dawn. It’s also one of the toughest places in the world to serve barbecue—facing a massive, rowdy crowd of hungry fans with high standards. Todd… Continue reading Two new pits take over the toughest gig in barbecue: Arrowhead Stadium
Nigella Lawson’s new book, Cook, Eat, Repeat, opens with a rapturous love letter to anchovies. “Few other ingredients arrive in the kitchen with such confrontational pungency and yet manage to imbue so many dishes with transformational subtlety,” Lawson writes. “The anchovy’s initial attack lies in its fierce and uncompromising saltiness, it’s true, but it packs… Continue reading Why Nigella Lawson loves anchovies and brown foods
Tailgating and Football season are here! It’s the perfect time to add a few crowd favorites to the mix of your next tailgate or watch party. These fan favorites have one secret ingredient, Williams Seasonings, a Midwest favorite for more than 70 years. Williams is a go-to resource for quick and easy seasonings that are… Continue reading Tailgating Time! Winning Recipes with One Secret Ingredient
Six facts about the new statue of President Harry Truman now on display at the U.S. Capitol. One in Ten: There have been forty-six presidents of the nation, but just ten of those men are represented by a statue in the Capitol Rotunda. President Harry Truman’s statue was installed in late September, with George Washington… Continue reading Why the new Truman statue in D.C. is a big Harry deal
It’s another big fall weekend in KC. One of the era’s defining acts, Lizzo, comes to town to play the T-Mobile Center while Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills come to Arrowhead for one of the most hotly anticipated regular season football games in memory. Here’s that and more to do in KC this weekend.… Continue reading Lizzo, the big Bills game and more to do in KC October 13-16
Boulevard’s Tenpenny ale was originally brewed in the early nineties for the grocery stores of Kansas. At the time—and indeed until 2019—Kansas only allowed beer with up to 3.2 percent alcohol by volume on supermarket shelves. Tenpenny was a classic English bitter, a style that founder John McDonald came to love while whiling away afternoons in… Continue reading Boulevard resurrects a much-missed English pub ale after 20 years
Method Man Kansas City’s best barbecue will be available in a restaurant “before the end of the year,” as first reported here at Kansas City magazine. Tyler Harp opened his pop-up in the back of Raytown’s Crane Brewing back in the spring of 2019 and has since twice topped our biannual survey of the city’s… Continue reading The return of Justus Drugstore and more KC food news for October 2022
Its another busy fall weekend in Kansas City, with the monthly First Friday art walk in the Crossroads, yet another Oktoberfest, a screening of a 1922 horror classic silent movie with a live score and the annual Troostapalooza festival. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vulpes Bastille (@vulpes.bastille) First Friday at Vulpes… Continue reading 7 things to do in KC October 6-9
Inside Kansas City’s 8 most haunted places Inside Kansas City’s 8 most haunted places Words by Taylor Drummond, Isabella Ferrentino, Lauren Fox and Kim Horgan Belvoir Winery and Inn/Odd Fellows Home 1325 Odd Fellows Road, Liberty The Odd Fellows compound in Liberty has a long-running reputation for being haunted. This chapter of the Independent Order of… Continue reading Inside Kansas City’s 8 most haunted places
