getting to know the usa: kansas city

Ribs and Brisket at Oklahoma Joe's

Captain Obvious alert: the USA is huge.  While I've gotten to know a lot of American cities, I am ashamed to say that there are still plenty that I have not even visited. Recently, I've been on a mission to do something about it, and this "Getting to Know the USA" series is an effort to highlight the many cool and wonderful things to see, do and eat around the country.

Let's start off with Kansas City.

First, there are two Kansas Cities - one in Missouri (KCM) and another in Kansas (KCK). But, they are close to each other so if you want to visit all 50 states, it would be easy to tick off two states in one visit.

Second, the food, and especially the barbecue, rocks. Seriously. KCM has a storied barbecue history - every fall, it hosts the American Royal World Series of Barbecue, which is the world's largest barbecue festival!  Plus, it also hosts a Kosher Barbecue Festival.  So, it is unsurprising that the BBQ joints along the Kansas and Missouri border are delicious. These are my favorites:

• Oklahoma Joe's at the Shamrock station in Kansas - the lines are always out the door but if you get there around 10:30 am (they open around 11 am), you should be able to get a table. When I ate there, the pulled pork sandwich was meaty, the brisket sliced thin and had a nice pinkish ring from the smoke, and the ribs were perfectly cooked (BBQ aficionados will tell you that if the meat is falling off the bone, that thing is overcooked).



Ribs and Burnt Ends at Arthur Bryant's

• Arthur Bryant's at 18th and Broadway in Missouri - when I went, the lines were not as long but, dare I say, the ribs were even better than the ones at Oklahoma Joe's, which is hard to beat.  The burnt ends (as in the burnt ends of the brisket) open-faced sandwich was doused in a slightly sweet BBQ sauce and the meat was surprisingly tender.

If fried chicken is your thing, Stroud's in Kansas is a must try. During my visit, I ate crisp chicken pan fried in lard -- I never said the food was healthy -- with a side of gravy, which was peppery. The pork chop at Stroud's was also worth the trip. I opted for the chicken fried pork chop (not the broiled one).  The light flour coating the chop provided a great crispness that paired well with that same peppery gravy.  To wrap things up, I also had not cloyingly sweet Cinnamon Rolls. Just remember, I said "not cloyingly."  They're still sweet but oh so delicious.  Although I thoroughly enjoyed my meal at Stroud's, I am glad it is nowhere near my home in Los Angeles because I'd be tempted to go everyday.

Chicken Noodle Soup, Pork Chops,
Fried Chicken and Cinnamon Rolls
at Stroud's

If a little bit more high end is your thing, Celina Tio, who has won a James Beard Award among other accolades, has a few restaurants in KCM that are worth visiting.  Her restaurants include Julian, the Belfry, and the Collection.  (I should note though that my husband and Celina are friends but, we still paid for our meal and I would recommend her cooking even if they didn't know each other.)  

Third, KCM has a lot of culture. Who knew? I certainly didn't. Two museums - the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - have some fun, albeit, small collection of artwork ranging from Egyptian and Asian art to stained glass to works by Manet, Rodin, Gaugin, O'Keefe and Warhol, to name a few.  Plus, they're both free to check out.  Yay!  For paid museums, the Jazz Museum and Negro Leagues Baseball Museum offer fascinating history into very American inventions.  These places are great to check out while walking off all that food you will inevitably eat while visiting the city.

I didn't go to the Philharmonic, the Ballet or the Opera while there -- because I'm not that cultured -- but I have it on good authority that they're top notch.

Fourth, the city has a lot of interesting history on display for free -- including President Harry Truman's employment application at the Savoy Hotel, and mob history at the Majestic Restaurant and at Union Station.

Country Club Plaza in
Kansas City, Missouri

Finally, Kansas Citians are really, really nice -- at least the ones that I met.  As an example, I really wanted to visit the Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which were in the same building.  But, when we went on our last day in the city, which happened to be on a Monday, they were both closed.  Luckily, we met a gentleman who worked there.  He let me in to the Jazz Museum (the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum was padlocked) and allowed me to browse the exhibits.  I did not get the full interactive experience -- the gadgets were turned off -- but I still appreciated the items previously owned by Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, and Ella Fitzgerald (including Ella's concert poster sketched by Pablo Picasso), to name a few.  In any other city, I would have been out of luck.

If you've visited KC or have additional travel tips for visitors, please share your thoughts below.