I have to admit that I kinda misbooked this trip. I was craving authentic BBQ, particularly baby back ribs, and thought that was a Kansas City special rather than a St. Louis special. Oh, my silly brain! Nevertheless, I still had a great girl’s trip with one of my best friends, we still got BBQ, and I got to visit a new city.
Why Go?
I don’t think Kansas City is on anybody’s bucket list, and unfortunately, I have to say that it kinda makes sense. I think there’s a lot of charm and culture if you grew up there or are there on a business trip, but I don’t think it has quite the number of unique gems nor the food culture that other cities have. Of course, things change all the time, and it will be fun to see how this city changes and grows over time.
Where to Stay?
A car is definitely needed to get around so there is no need to stay downtown if the budget doesn’t allow it. We stayed outside the city in actual Kansas in a nice AirBnb that was about 20 minutes from everything we wanted to do. I would just recommend you stay somewhere where parking is included or free.
How to Get Around?
Like I mentioned earlier, a car is needed. Luckily, rental prices are reasonable (we paid ~$50/day) and gas is affordable (less than $3/gallon). AND we didn’t experience any traffic while we were there nor parking fees so it’s definitely the easiest way to get around especially since things are spaced out and there’s limited walking paths.
Day 1
The first day was mostly a travel day. We landed around 4, picked up our car, dropped our stuff off at the AirBnb, and got a last minute reservation at Farina. It’s a rustic Italian restaurant with a cold seafood bar. I recommend trying their spiedini if you won’t have a chance to visit Garozzo’s (originator of the spiedini). Otherwise, the pasta and drinks we got were good, but not the best. Afterwards, we drove to a close-by brewery, Brewery Emperial, before we headed back to get some rest. The brewery was quite spacious so there was plenty of seating and a good variety of beers to try!
Day 2
We started the day with BBQ at the iconic Joe’s KC BBQ after getting some fall lattes at Messenger Coffee. We got burnt ends, pork ribs, sausage, and mac and cheese. While the meats were tender, there wasn’t as much flavor on them as when the BBQ sauce was added. The highlight was definitely the burnt ends though if you only have stomach space for one meat!
Afterwards, we headed to Worlds of Fun and rode all the roller coasters. We were there during a heat wave so luckily, the longest line we waited in was only 30ish minutes. From a ranking standpoint, I would put Prowler first (huge fan of wooden roller coasters), then Mamba, Patriot, Boomerang, and Zambezi Zinger last. I think there was a couple we missed, but it was either closed or too long of a wait. Honestly, this park is actually fairly well-themed and worth the visit if you’re in Kansas City and a theme park fan.
After spending 4-5 hours in a theme park, we were ready for A/C and good food. We headed to Westport Cafe where I had the best scallop risotto I’ve ever had. The drinks were also fabulous and we learned why the bread pudding dessert was popular for a reason. I found this place via a random blog in my Google search. It was her favorite place and I thoroughly understood why! If you go to Kansas City, I highly recommend getting a reservation.
We also got a second dessert that night since we decided to stop by the popular Betty Rae’s since who doesn’t love ice cream?
Day 3
For our last day, we grabbed a sheep cheese charcuterie board at Green Dirt on Oak. It was really good and I believe we should have more charcuterie boards for brunches!
Then, it was museum time! I convinced my friend to go to the The Museum of Toys and Miniatures and wow, it was way cooler than I thought it would be. It’s the largest collection of miniatures in the world and miniatures are really, really amazing! It’s amazing to know someone took so much time to literally recreate the same thing (same ratio AND still functional) but just way, way smaller. The upstairs was a collection of “regular” toys so you’ve got your old-timey, slightly creepy dolls, gaming consoles that existed when you were younger so you feel really old, and older board games that were cool to see! We got lucky on a free day, but I do think it’s a fun speciality museum that’s worth a stop if you’ve got time. It’s also close to Nelson Atkins, the fine art museum, so it would be possible to do both in one day if you’re really into museums.
Extra Things To Do
If you’ve got extra time/days since opening hours are limited, here are my suggestions:
- Activities
- Nelson Atkins – free fine art museum
- World War I Museum and Memorial
- Food
- Antler Room – This was on a lot of “Best Restaurants in Kansas City” lists.
- Garozzo’s – This place is credited with creating the spiedini!
- The Italian Sausage Company – Italian sausages/sandwiches
- Earl’s Premier – seafood
- District Biskuits – big biscuits!
- Q39 – other popular BBQ choice
- Happy Gillis – biscuits
- Coffee Shops
- Rochester Brewing & Roasting Company – Credit goes to my friend who is a coffee fan! She mentioned that they also have a stout made from their coffee and beers!
- Origin Coi Nguon Coffeehouse – Credit goes to my friend who is a coffee fan!
- Parkville Coffee – Credit goes to my friend who is a coffee fan!
- Fitti’s Espresso – Credit goes to my friend who is a coffee fan!
- I also referred to this blog post for coffee suggestions!
- Breweries
- Casual Animal Brewing – Credit goes to my friend who has visited plenty of breweries and has great taste! She mentioned that this place has a couple of dark beers, sours, ciders, alcoholic seltzers & ales.
- Border Brewing Company – Credit goes to my friend who has visited plenty of breweries and has great taste! In addition to beers, she also mentioned that this place serves whiskey & cocktails.
Final Thoughts
While I have a list of extra things to do, I was pretty content with my visit to Kansas City. I’m glad I went, but I don’t think I’ll be planning a revisit any time soon.
Leave a Reply