The best cocktail Madeline Buechter ever had was a seafood-washed martini created by Affäre’s bar manager Chase Ihde circa 2018. “We had this octopus bacon on the menu, and Chase had the idea to take the butter from cooking off the octopus and the scallops and wash it with gin, then pair it with a… Continue reading Hospitality expert Madeline Buechter talks fat-washing, front-of-the-house philosophies and her perfect day in KC.
Strong and substantial yet light and airy, a new structure at the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens was inspired by nature—just as it should be. The new welcome center is named LongHouse to both honor the project’s major donor Janet Long and pay homage to Native American and Scandinavian communal structures of the same… Continue reading OP Arboretum and Botanical Gardens’ new visitor center takes its cues from nature.
Get in touch with your salty side and embrace the textures and feel of the ocean with mermaidcore—the latest trend in identity play that’s perfect for the waning days of summer. Unlike its predecessor Barbicore’s bright and brash colors, mermaidcore is about romantic, subtle, ocean-like textures and textiles. The opal sheen found inside of seashells… Continue reading Summer’s Last Splash: Elevated Mermaidcore
Unbeknownst to many Kansas Citians, KC has one of the most established vintage and antique markets in the country, where treasure seekers can find everything from a 1940s felt fedora to the perfect mid-century coffee table. We talked to experts who own some of KC’s best vintage and antique spots to get their insight on… Continue reading We talked to KC treasure-hunting experts on where and how to find the best vintage anything.
Here are ten great things to do in KC this weekend, July 27-30, including: 1776: The Musical at Starlight, Kansas at the Midland, and the Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo live. 1776: The Musical Based on the book by Peter Stone, 1776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards. The show is… Continue reading Ten Things To Do In KC This Weekend, July 27-30
Lisa Hamblen began showcasing her traditional Korean cuisine in a series of pop-ups at the Lenexa Public Market last year. Next week, her Korean food concept Kimchi and Bap will open as an official food vendor in the Lenexa Public Market (8750 Penrose Lane Lenexa, KS) on August 3. Serving traditional and authentic Korean cuisine,… Continue reading Korean Food Vendor Opens Next Week In The Lenexa Public Market
Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Alba Laredo moved to Kansas when she was just two years old. Soon, she began excelling in the arts, dabbling in every art form and entering competitions at six years old. Now, Laredo primarily focuses on ceramics, mixing her proud Mexican heritage with her designs, which she sells at Monarca Art… Continue reading Mexican-born Kansas-based potter Alba Laredo fuses her passion for culture and pottery
Just an hours drive from Kansas City you’ll find the peaceful setting of a country inn with the fine dining you’d expect from a 5-star resort.
At the beginning of the year we broke the news that Of Course Kitchen and Company (7753 W. 159th st. Overland Park) had plans to open in south Overland Park’s Bluhawk shopping complex. Chef Swetha Newcomb’s south Asian-inspired restaurant will officially throw open its doors August 3rd and reservations can be made here. Of Course will be open for dinner Tuesday… Continue reading Highly Anticipated South Asian-Inspired Restaurant Is Opening Next Week And Taking Reservations
Jax Fish House serving up sustainable seafood in Kansas City
KC is no stranger to the sushi variety maki rolls, rolls cut into singular bite-size pieces, but temaki, rolls shaped by hand in the form of a cone or log and meant to be bitten into, have yet to make an appearance. Until now, that is. Kata Nori Hand Roll Bar (404 E. 18th st. KCMO) will be the first of… Continue reading Coming to the East Crossroads: KC’s first hand rolled sushi bar
The upscale KMRA Tasting Club has been the creative outlet of Chef Forrest Wright for the past eight years. With no social media or website to promote his events, Wright’s theatrical and experimental dinners have remained exclusive and available to only those in the know. However, the KMRA Tasting Club has grown in popularity and… Continue reading Exclusive KC tasting club is ready to open its doors to the public
Here are nine great things to do in KC this weekend, July 20-23, including: Rock of Ages, Ziggy Marley and Ann Wilson. Crown Center’s WeekEnder series Crown Center’s free family event summer series continues this weekend with a live musical performance by Damien Gunn Band and an outdoor screening of award-winning box office hit, The… Continue reading Nine Things To Do In KC This Weekend, July 20-23
When Lucky Boys (1615 Genessee st., KCMO) added homemade pizza to its menu during the pandemic, the specialty menu item (available only on Tuesdays and Thursdays) became an instant hit. But the West Bottoms dive bar’s small kitchen didn’t lend itself well to large production. Owner Justin Norcross’ solution? Open a pizzeria just two buildings… Continue reading West Bottoms Lucky Boys dive bar owner opens pizzeria just two buildings away
When I meet Dwight Tiller to interview him, one of the first things he says is, “I remember ironing linens together.” We both attended Johnson County Community College’s culinary program circa 2016. Hospitality management classes have a way of bringing people together: taking turns collaborating and managing every aspect of the school’s weekly luncheons can… Continue reading Dwight Tiller talks food trucks, KC community and his perfect day.
A median the size of 0.17 acres runs along Broadway Boulevard in Old Westport. Its official name: Pioneer Park. The park’s tip, near Westport Road, is expansive and flat—physical features suitable for dancing. A reproduction of a mid-nineteenth century map illustrating the three trails of westward expansion sits in the little park and delineates the… Continue reading KC dancer Leo Gayden aims to encourage new dancers through music.
Let your inner child take over when you walk into Reyna’s Mexican Bakery and dart toward the colorful bread section. If you arrive early enough, you might snag a fresh-out-the-oven concha, a traditional Mexican sweet bread roll with a crackled, seashell-like topping. About the size of your hand, conchas have a subtly sweet taste reminiscent… Continue reading Shell Out
Here are ten great things to do in KC this weekend, July 13-16, including: Breakaway Music Festival at Azura, Tears for Fears at Starlight and Strang Hall Beer Fest. But I’m a Comedian This nearly sold-out queer, body-liberated showcase of comics and burlesque and drag performers is hosted by Brittany Tilander at KC favorite, Crossroads… Continue reading Ten Things To Do In KC This Weekend, July 13-16
Singer-songwriter Jass has swiftly made a name for herself in Kansas City’s music scene––and beyond. She performed at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans in July and opened for bassist Thundercat at Grinders KC the following month. In October, she was a major draw at the second annual Troostapalooza. From clubs to community… Continue reading From Bel-Air to Boulevardia Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jass is an artist to keep your eye––and ear––on.
The wildly popular Café Cà Phê (916 E. 5th St. KCMO) has been steadily growing since its 2020 pop-up origins in the West Bottoms. The Vietnamese coffee cafe opened its first brick and mortar shop last August. Now after a successful first year, the business is bringing it back to its West Bottoms roots and adding… Continue reading KC’s First Vietnamese Coffeeshop Adds a Second Location in the West Bottoms
Quiet luxury isn’t as stuffy as minimalism, but it’s more polished than the coastal grandmother aesthetic we saw trending earlier this year. In many ways, it is the opposite of fast fashion, focusing on mindful shopping and investing in pieces that can be worn after fads have cycled. This trend celebrates the art of subtle… Continue reading The quiet luxury trend is taking over KC
The biggest advantage of an automatic-fed pellet smoker is that you’re not supposed to have to think much about them. Fast Eddy Maurin thinks about them a lot. The former Kansas City firefighter and purse-chasing competitive barbecue cook has been involved in the pellet scene since 1990, when he met the first seller of wood… Continue reading Former KC Firefighter tries to crack the code on the perfect pellet.
Westport Café’s (419 Westport Rd, KCMO) longtime Executive Chef Romain Monnoyeur recently brought on Chef Thomas Milesi, a fellow Frenchman, to elevate the beloved bistro’s traditional menu. Milesi is from Menton in the south of France and brings a Mediterranean sensibility with him. More refreshing fare such as marinated and slow braised pork belly, shrimp… Continue reading Just in time for Bastille Day, Westport Café’s new chef brings a Mediterranean flare
In thinking of all the yummy Korean food around KC for this issue, I got to thinking about my time living in Los Angeles and the wonderful Korean spa experiences I had there. While KC might not have a plethora of Korean spas, there are many spas offering similar Eastern beauty techniques for relaxation and… Continue reading Alternative Eastern beauty treatments are taking over the KC spa scene
Korean-American artist Sunyoung Cheong has called Topeka home for more than a decade. When she first moved to the states, she landed in South Carolina, but soon found her way to Kansas when her husband received a professorship at Washburn University. Soon, Cheong began taking classes at Washburn and transferred to KU, where she received… Continue reading Artist Sunyoung Cheong fuses tradition and technology to create her pieces and teach her students
There are only a few reminders left of Prairie Village’s equestrian past. We’ve got a few noble-looking horse heads marking the Town and Country subdivision entry, and there’s the Paddock Court neighborhood. Oh, and then, of course, there’s a horse gravesite smack in the middle of a very quiet cul-de-sac. It turns out that the… Continue reading No Horsing Around
The Holladay Distillery in Weston, Missouri, recently celebrated the highly anticipated release of Ben Holladay Bourbon. This six-year-old, bottled-in-bond, Missouri bourbon is crafted with the same mash bill that was developed by distillery founder Ben Holladay in 1856. The Holladay Distillery is Missouri’s oldest distillery and has remained American-owned throughout all 166 years of its… Continue reading KC’s newest bourbon is also its oldest—here’s the story of Holladay Bourbon
Chosun Korean BBQ 12611 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park & 7800 Shawnee Mission Parkway Overland Park, chosunkoreanbbqkc.com Tucked away in strip malls, both locations of this family-owned business are slightly pricier options for Korean barbecue. Traditional Korean BBQ tables await those choosing to do their own grilling, but regular tables are also available for those wanting a… Continue reading Kansas City’s K-Cuisine: A Guide to the Metro’s Best Korean Food
With Korean BBQ, everyone has a chance at being a chef. It’s a fun and delicious interactive experience where diners cook their own marinated and sliced meats over an open grill at their table. But the collective experience can also be intimidating for first timers. Fear not! The best advice for handling Korean BBQ is… Continue reading A Beginner’s Guide to Korean BBQ
In the popular K-drama Business Proposal, a group of coworkers watch in awe as their fellow colleague, actor Lim Ki-Hong, stands at the end of a table and proceeds to flamboyantly pour six glasses of his own innovation: the Dynamite shot. Hong proceeds in a near-dance as he expertly bursts open bottles of Jinro soju… Continue reading The Spirit of Soju: Get to know the world’s most popular spirit.
Korean chicken is one of those things that, like pizza or barbecue, means different things to different people. It’s consistently battered and fried, but that batter is sometimes especially thin, other times extra thick and crunchy. Sometimes KFC—the clever name given by many American aficionados—is tempura-battered. Cornstarch is common, too. Potato starch, sometimes. But when… Continue reading Chicken Hunt: A survey of KC’s Korean fried chicken scene
Literally translated to “small dishes,” banchan is a staple of Korean cuisine. Don’t think of them as appetizers, though. The snackable condiments, typically served cold or at room temperature, are meant to be enjoyed throughout your entire meal to provide contrast, texture and heavenly flavor combinations. Lisa Hamblen’s business name Kimchi and Bap (8750 Penrose… Continue reading Pass the Kimchi
Like banchan and rice, K-pop and karaoke are just meant to be together. The wildly popular music genre fits right in with South Koreans’ love of private karaoke rooms, or noraebang, the Korean word for karaoke that translates to “a song room.” Unlike America’s version of karaoke, where folks stand on a bar stage in… Continue reading K-Pop and Karaoke
Every Wednesday night, live from Kansas City, Kansas, three somewhat unlikely K-pop aficionados blast the airwaves with the upbeat, colorful music. Airing on 90.1 FM KKFI and known as Hallyu Wednesday, the programing is made up of two alternating K-pop radio shows—“Rhythm and Seoul” and “Eastify”—that share the same Wednesday 7 to 9 p.m. time… Continue reading Seoul Train: Riding the K-pop wave in KC
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum keeps hitting home runs. From its humble beginnings thirty-three years ago in a one-room office at the Paseo YMCA to its own facility, the museum is making moves. Museum officials recently announced their “Pitch for the Future ‘’ campaign, which aims to raise $25 million to build a new thirty… Continue reading The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum launched a $25 million campaign for a new building.
Here are nine great things to do in KC this weekend, July 6-9, including: two nights of Taylor Swift at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Legally Blonde the musical and pop-rock duo Sparks. ‘No ticket, no problem’ Taylor Swift experience In partnership with Empress Gin, rooftop bar Percheron will be offering a ‘No ticket, no… Continue reading Nine Things To Do In KC This Weekend, July 6-9
Just as the men in her family had, Ashley Cole joined the Air Force, and for a while, she says, everything was perfect. Cole was going through a difficult time when she decided to enlist. “I come from a family that served in the military, but when I was about twenty-five and going through a… Continue reading Mission: Promise Kept For female veterans at Stephens College, the future looks bright.
KC Bakery Wins James Beard Award It’s time to pop Champagne and stock up on some award-winning tortillas. KC’s popular Yoli Tortilleria (1668 Jefferson St., KCMO) took home the James Beard award for Outstanding Bakery. When Yoli Tortilleria owner Marissa Gencarelli took the stage in Chicago to accept the award from chef and TV personality… Continue reading What’s new in kansas city food & drink July 2023
Break Free The national touring Breakaway Festival returns to KC for the second year in a row, bringing some of the biggest names in electronic dance music, along with festival favorites like silent disco, food trucks, outdoor bars and other fun summertime activities. Breakaway originated in Columbus, Ohio, and co-founder Adam Lynn says the cities… Continue reading Best events in KC July 2023
