KC Retreats and Eats

Please forgive me, but there will be some overlap here from previous posts.

But, these places are so good that I wanted to revisit them.

We definitely make it a point to visit these places almost every time we go to Kansas City.

Here is a brief run down from our last visit which included a Blues Traveler concert at Grinders.

When we rolled into town late on Friday night, we checked into the Q.   The Q is a quirky, funky, green (as in ecologically friendly) hotel in the Westport area.     It is surrounded by many fun nightspots so after we ditched our luggage, we  set out.

One of our favorite meals of all times was dining on the sweet pea ravioli at Westport Cafe and Bar.   We love this little bistro restaurant with its subway tiles, faux Frenchiness, and handcrafted cocktails.     But on this night it was not meant to be.   After being seated, we waited for ten minutes until we got water.   It was another ten minutes before we walked out.   It is unusual for us to wait that long anywhere while being ignored, but dang it, those pea raviolis are fantastic and we thought they deemed a little more wait time before we gave up and walked out.    In defense of WCB, I have to say that I think there was an issue in the kitchen immediately prior to us getting seated.      We will be giving it another shot next time.

We wandered over to McCoy’s Public House and decided to sit outside.   It was a cool evening and we spent some time giggling at the locals who were bundled up—gloves, hats, and scarves.     We were just enjoying the coolness after the 100 degree heat at home.      Service was great and I had the special of the evening—a Greek sausage sitting on a bed of hummus with pita chips.    It was very tasty and I may try to duplicate this at home.

It was now after 10 o’clock and these two old people were getting tired so we retired to the Q.    However, the party had apparently started there without us.    As we entered, the lobby bar was crowded with revelers and they immediately started yelling, “Arch, arch, arch!” as the crowd parted and created an archway with their arms for us to walk through.

I had never been “arched” before.  :0

The next morning we visited the River Market and looked at all the fresh produce we wished we could lug home with us.   We did buy some Pappardelle‘s dried pasta.    I love this stuff and will post some recipes soon.

We also try to visit Planters (near River Market). It seems like every time we are there they are having a 50%-off seed sale!

We planned on meeting my sister and her husband at Julian in the Brookside area.   We have been here three times and we always have a great meal and Chef Tio ALWAYS makes time to visit with us.    It was so nice we again sat on the patio and got to whiff the lovely aroma of the homemade bacon being smoked.    Chef Tio dropped by our table and mentioned  that they make as much as possible from scratch.     She told us that when the Ruben is on the menu, it is a must EAT.    They brine their own corned beef and make their own sauerkraut.

Patio dining at Julian—the perfect day to dine al fresco.   (Pardon my thumb.)

We four, however, dined on the chicken pot pie, a Monte Christo (which looked a lot like my croque monsieur), flat bread,  and the “pork shoulder, roasted local squash & zucchini with house-made salsa verde.”   This latter was a most delicious and interesting dish.

Next, sis and I were off to do a bit of shopping in Brookside while we stashed the hubsters at Michael Forbe’s where they continued to eat because it was now Happy Hour and half price appetizers .   They had a  very tasty smoked trout snack which we shared after shopping.

The next morning, we met at Happy Gillis, a self-described cool hangout.    This is our second time to eat breakfast here and we love it.   Happy Gillis is a cross between an old-time diner and a funky, hipster cafe.    They have the usual breakfast fair and I can attest as to how good the house made granola is, but this time we decided to go all out with three breakfast sandwiches and the monster dish, “The Biscuit – BBQ Pork, Bichelmeyer Sausage, Bacon, Gravy & a Sunny Side Up Egg.”   The brother-in-law got this supreme breakfast and he could not quit talking about it (and he finished the entire thing himself as we all looked on).   After many cups of coffee, we decided we better vacate our table and let someone else enjoy a leisurely Sunday breakfast.

Wall o’ plates at Happy Gillis. The sis and I had fun finding grandma’s china pattern.

I love this: Abandoned Art of the Week at Happy Gillis

After breakfast we got in our respective cars and started our four hour drives in opposite directions.

We have got to meet like this more often!

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