Questions (again) for Yearly Kansas City Visit

You have been to http://bierstation.com/ I am guessing? I like Gomers and Lukas for bottleshops but they aren't new of course. Curious to see what you gets for responses.

You might get even more input here http://www.craftbeerkc.com/

 

I'm assuming no BBQ places again for this year? (If so, Q39 or Danny Edwards for lunch right near Boulevard!) I didn't win last year but I'll try again with the recommendations of Asian noodles and dumplings at Blue Koi or Room 39, both along West 39th. I'll also throw out Char Bar in the Westport neighborhood. Granted, they have BBQ but also have some good smoked meats and southern dishes on the menu and have a cool outdoor patio with some fun game setups out there.

If you can't tell, I'm partial to the W 39th/Midtown/Westport area of town. I was down there over the July 4th weekend and Westport seems to be going through a revitalization so it may be worth it to just hit up the area and explore what's around.

 

Martin City Brewing Co - Pub Side for great beer and food! Bier Station is one of the coolest beer bars in the city; they did a killer job of hosting Zwanze last year. For just food (BBQ) I vote Char Bar, Q31, Jacks Stack, or Gates. Bottle Shops on the KS side - Tipsys in Mission, MDL on 95th, Lukas in Overland Park, Rymann in Lenexa, and Gomers KS. For MO bottle shops - Gomers Midtown (Westport), Lukas MO, Royal Liquors on 103rd, Hy-Vee in Lees Summit. If you are looking for a nice sour beer, a local brewery called Cinder Block has an amazing peach sour on right now. Other than that, Martin City does some cool BA dark beers, but there isn't much else good being made locally IMO.

 

if you want a break from BBQ, i went to rye in leawood for lunch when i was in town a couple of weeks ago and loved it. beer-wise, nothing too crazy, but a decent sized selection of very good (mostly local) beers.

 

Port Fonda in Westport is one of my favorite local restaurants.

 

Heh, apparently I "won" last year but didn't end up reading the thread afterward to notice. Oops.

Beer updates: since your last visit, Cinder Block is really killing it. They've got a Peach/Apricot sour that's completely and utterly amazing. Torn Label is a new opening as well, and is great.

I mentioned last year that The Rieger is the best restaurant in the city and stand by that recommendation. A good example of why it's my favorite is a recent meal I had. I ordered several things including a tomato salad and really didn't expect the highlight of the meal to be the tomato salad. It was so simple, but the amazingly fresh tomatoes paired with a sauce made from sous vide egg yolks and basil was out of this world. I'm going there again tonight just for the tomato salad. Do yourself a favor and check it out. They also have a world class cocktail program, if that floats your boat.

 

I'm making a trek to KC in a few days. Lukas or Gomers in MO are the best all around bottle shops?

 

I'm also making a trip to KC as part of a baseball road trip starting this weekend. In addition to the primary KC hot spots for beer, I wanted to visit a brewery in Kansas. I did a ton of research to see what the closest would be since our time is limited in KC. BA lists Flying Monkey as being in KCKS but further review tells me that location is either closed to the public or closed altogether? Any insight?

 

If you liked Pigwich, the Local Pig people have a spot in Westport now. Il Lazzarone is a new place doing Neopolitan pizza in the River Market. They have a good beer selection as well. We had dinner at Novel on the Westside recently and really enjoyed it.