Visited: July 2017
I went to school in Missouri, so first let me specify that if you’re visiting Kansas City, you want to make sure you’re staying in Kansas City, Missouri. Not Kansas City, Kansas. 😉
Now that we got that out of the way, Jonathan and I spent a lovely weekend in Kansas City a few years ago for a wedding. (And by lovely, I mean it was 100 degrees and humid, so I don’t recommend you go in July. But spring or fall would be lovely! And it was still lovely for us because we got to catch up with old friends.)
If you only have a few days in Kansas City, these are our recommendations:
To Eat
Barbecue
Of course, you have to eat barbecue in KC. I think we had bbq for breakfast, lunch and dinner one day. We weren’t complaining. Here are our top spots, but definitely ask a local for their recommendations if you can:
Q39: The burnt-end burger was to die for, but I’m sure you can’t go wrong with any order.
Char Bar: If you want barbecue for breakfast, head here. I combined my favorite barbecue item (burnt ends) with my favorite brunch meal (eggs benedict) and it was delicious. Jonathan opted for brisket & eggs and was equally satisfied.
Jack Stack: This was not actually our favorite barbecue, but the sides were SO good. So if you’re a vegetarian and you’re still reading this, perhaps you should eat here!
I also want to mention two restaurants we didn’t visit: Joe’s and Gates. We missed Joe’s because we didn’t realize it was closed on Sundays, so don’t make the same mistakes we did! From what we heard, it’s the best. We heard mixed reviews from locals about Gates, but it is very well-known in the area, so I didn’t want to leave it out.
Ice Cream
On the recommendation of some friends, we headed to Betty Rae’s Ice Cream for a scoop (or two). We visited the location on Wornall Road (they have since opened another location in River Market), and it was near a lovely residential neighborhood with some beautiful homes, if you feel like taking a stroll with your ice cream cone.
Fun fact: The owners of Betty Rae’s met in college, during which they both worked at Sparky’s—my local college ice cream spot!
To Do & See
KC Streetcar
I’m a bit of a public transportation nut, but even if you aren’t, the KC Streetcar is free and worth a gander! We rode it from Union Station to the library (below), and we highly recommend it as a fun, free way to see downtown.
Kansas City Public Library
The Kansas City Public Library is famous for its bookshelf mural (above left), but the inside of the Central Library is also gorgeous (above right). There’s even a rooftop with a giant chessboard that is open to the public.
Note: The mural is not on the library itself but on the parking garage across the street (on the wall facing 10th Street). Now maybe you won’t have to circle the library multiple times in sweltering heat like we did!
No Other Pub
This could fit in to eat and to do, but we think the activities > the food, so here we are. No Other Pub is owned by Sporting KC (the local MLS team) and in addition to offering drinks and food, they have lots of fun activities, including shuffleboard, beer pong, ping pong, billiards, bowling and more.
This place was a great escape from the heat on Sunday afternoon, but if you come at night, and you can also enjoy the generally fun environment in the Power & Light District.
Union Station
It’s a gorgeous train station with special exhibits, restaurants and museums. You should go.
The Country Club Plaza
We didn’t visit the Country Club Plaza on this particular trip because we had limited time, but I had visited previously when I was in college. There is definitely plenty to see and eat at the Plaza, especially if you enjoy shopping, eating and/or drinking, and there are often festivals or special events.
I know this post just scratches the surface of all there is to do in Kansas City. We were just there for one weekend and part of that was filled with wedding festivities, but I hope this gives you some ideas for your next trip!
