My friend visited Kansas City in August for the Royals-Cardinals game and I took the opportunity to show her some of my favorite places.
Friday Night: Dinner and Hotel
I’m a long-time vegetarian, but that’s no reason to not take a visitor for BBQ. There are a lot of options, but I ended up picking Jack Stack. Jack Stack has been around since 1957 and I have memories of going there for special dinners for years. They have expanded over the last 65+ years and now have locations in Martin City, Overland Park, Kansas City-Freight House & Country Club Plaza, Lee’s Summit, and Lenexa. We went to the Lee’s Summit location and I was very glad I had made reservations online as there was a huge line, even though it was only 5:00 p.m. We enjoyed our dinner and then I picked Benny up from daycare and went to my hotel for the weekend. Benny and I stayed at the Candlewood Suites Kansas City-Independence (in the weird part of the metro where Blue Springs, Kansas City, Lee’s Summit, and Independence all blend together). My first choice is usually an IHG brand and is often Holiday Inn Express, but the one in Lee’s Summit doesn’t allow pets. It was a nice hotel and worked well for us for a short visit.
Saturday: A packed day of activities
On Saturday morning I took Benny back to daycare and picked my friend up to head to the Kansas City Zoo. It was a hot day in August and we saw a few animals outside, went to the stingray and penguin areas inside, and then headed to our next stop. The Kansas City Zoo is 202 acres and there are over 1,700 animals, so we barely scratched the surface, but I have a Friends of the Zoo membership that covers the cost of admission for me and one guest. I prefer to visit parts of the zoo during a visit instead of the entire zoo since it is so large and the FOTZ membership helps allow shorter, more frequent visits.
Once the heat became too much for us, we went for a drive down Ward Parkway and around the Country Club Plaza before heading to Union Station. We took the KC Streetcar to our next stop, Taps on Main. Taps on Main has a variety of beers to sample, but we loaded up on water with pretzels and beer cheese. I compare all pretzels and beer cheese to Mountains Walking Brewery & Pub in Bozeman, MT and these are a close second!
After our snack, we walked to Afterword Tavern & Shelves for a drink and relaxation in a nice, air conditioned space. I learned of this spot from the Pub Pass, which allows you to purchase a passport style booklet to have a beer at 25 different places around Kansas City for $25. (I didn’t complete my passport last year after having a year of health issues, but I hope to find new places with the pass for 2024) Afterword Tavern & Shelves was more our vibe. Even thought it was around noon when we were at Taps on Main, there were already loud groups ready to have several drinks, including a bachelorette party. I stayed on the couch, content to relax, while my friend did browse the books and make a purchase.
I made myself get up from the couch eventually and headed to another of my favorite places to eat, Strang Hall, in Overland Park. My favorite restaurant of all-time was Nikko Japanese Steakhouse in the Overland Park Marriott. Numerous birthday celebrations were held there and I was shocked and saddened when it closed. A few years ago, Tora Zushi opened up in Strang Hall and they have a dish, Nikko Fried Rice, based on the fried rice from the old restaurant. If they served it with the ginger sauce to add as you wish, it would be perfect, but it’s still pretty good even without that. Strang Hall is a collective with different kitchens and styles of food and it is fun to order from different places as well. We had just enough time after lunch to stop at one of the area Half Price Books locations for a little used book shopping.
We went to our respective hotels to shower and change before the Royals-Cardinals game. It was objectively a good game with two bad teams, but I hate losing to the Cardinals, so I was unhappy with the result. I did have a good seat, the same one that I had for Opening Day, and we went to Craft & Draft before the game started. It was also Mizzou Night and Chase Daniel was at the game, and I got to introduce my friend to the beautiful Kauffman Stadium, so there were some positives.
We only had Friday night and Saturday before the game to fit in some of my favorite things in Kansas City, but I was happy with the amount of things I was able to squeeze in and show my friend.