Just another enthusiastic endorsement for Gates BBQ. This may piss off hardcore Arthur Bryant fans but IMO Gates is much better. (Apologies to Bryant afficiandos, but to me the taste of celery salt is overpowering.) The people are friendly and the food is terrific.
I loved just noodling around the Plaza. Even if you’re a hardcore non-shopper like me there’s enough variety of places to be interesting. It was a blast to just plop down on a restaurant/bar terrace under an umbrella, sip refreshing cool beverages and just people-watch.
Union Station was neat; they did a great job on it. It’s a tad yuppie but fun anyway.
I think you may have meant to say Yi Yi’s, ands I’ll second that as well. More specifically, it can be found in Overland Park off Metcalf (around 119st -ish?) Definately look into directions.
I’m gonna have to disagree with the recomendation for Torre’s Pizza though. It’s just a dark, dank little all you can eat place with mediocre pizza. I prefer Joe’s, myself. (Just about 100 ft north of Torre’s and if you go there on Tues or Thurs for lunch, it’s a buck a slice. Mmmm mmm.
I’ve only been to Gate’s twice. It’s true, they do hit you with a “Can I help you” as soon as they see you, kinda like they do in McDonalds. Like when you’re 15 ft away, approaching the counter. Yes, you can help me, but can I step inside the restaurant before I order? I just felt a little rushed there.
A place that hasn’t been mentioned yet, that is reasonably priced with great food and a nice atmosphere is Jack Stack’s BBQ. Located behind Union Station.
It’s spelled Yia Yia’s, and they somehow decided to pronounce it Yah Yah’s. I have no idea if it actually means anything. I always get the two mixed up, but it’s off of either Roe or Nall, just east of Metcalf. It’s one of the PBJ group of restaurants, most of which are very good.
If you do go to World’s of Fun, you have to do the Ripcord. It puts all of the other rides to shame.
I also forgot the Levee, down in the Westport area. If Hothouse is playing, you’ll be able to see a fun, old R&B/Blues, cover band.
Wow! There ARE a lot more dopers from KC then I thought. I consider myself a KC doper even though I dont live there right now (but will in the future). Whoohoo! Go KC.
As previously mentioned, I also highly recommend the Plaza…so many excellent restaurants and the shopping is 10 times better than anything Rodeo Drive could offer. (Went to Rodeo Drive district once…it’s very overrated) My fave food places are Houston’s (The steaks there are EXCELLENT) for dinner, and the Classic Cup for breakfast or lunch. Chubby’s is also an excellent late night or early morning type eating place–YUMMY!!! Another great place for Mexican food is Rudy’s…very reasonably priced and awesome food.
Check out also Crown Center which is another shopping district in mid-town, nearby Union Station. Has some interesting shops and restaruants you won’t find everywhere.
If you are in town for awhile, you might want to consider a drive to Lawrence, KS, about 30 miles west of KC. Has a fabulous downtown with all sorts of shopping, from fancy to funky. Also lots of interesting restaurants and drinking establishments. If you go there, you MUST get a Yello Sub–ask anybody and they can direct you there. University of Kansas campus is beautiful as well.
There’s also a second incarnation of Yello Sub in the city, known as Planet Sub (just south of the Plaza). I don’t know if it’s as good as the original, but it’s pretty darned good.
And then there’s the Cow Parade (as seen previously in Chicago and NYC) going on now around town.
Some are better than others of course. And I’m just a teasy bit biased towards this one at the Crown Center: http://kansascity.cowparade.net/cow/large/641
See it now before it’s completely destroyed by unattended children…
It’s been 11 years since I lived in KC (we escaped to Chicago) but The Grand Emporium was a pretty cool place to see folks. It is (or was) a grungy little smoky club with lots of creepy-looking regulars, but man did they have an eclectic calendar. I saw people ranging from Eugene Chadbourne to the Indigo Girls there. My most foldly-remembered evening was the amazing Halloween when Poi Dog Pondering opened for They Might Be Giants. That was before PDP moved to Chicago. Now they live here, and I live here, and that’s STILL the only time I’ve seen them live. They’re just too popular here.
Anyway, try this URL:
Good luck in KC. “It’s a nice place to live, but I wouldn’t want to visit there” (my husband)