When we go to – or more often through – Kansas City, we tend to stop at the same place: Gates BBQ. Every once in awhile, we diversify and go to: Arthur Bryant’s BBQ. Or a handful of other restaurants like Lidia’s (Italian). Last weekend, having just had very good bbq in Eureka Springs, we decided to try something different. (Plus both Gates and Lidia’s were closed on Memorial Day.) So we drove along Southwest Boulevard, an quasi-industrial area on the west side that has long had eclectic restaurants and more recently Mexican restaurants and finally settled on El Patron, which turned out to be a terrific choice. We had very good fajitas – the best I’ve had in ages – that included chorizo and grilled shrimp (plus chicken and steak and lots of grilled vegetables) and sat on the outdoor deck upstairs at the rear of the building. We’ll be back! (The margaritas and mojitos looked great – we didn’t try because we had a 3 hour drive ahead, back to Des Moines.)
Category Archives: Missouri
Dining options in Kansas City – branching out to Mexican food!
Filed under Kansas City
a few St. Louis ideas
A few St. Louis ideas, by request:
– The last two times I went, we spent most of our time around Wash U. and went to a Cardinals game.
– I went to the old garden district one very hot sweltering day for lunch.
– then there’s the arch of course. and a new-ish downtown sculpture garden near by.
– The beer garden (Busch beer) we went to was at Grant’s Farm but doesn’t appear to be open until april: http://www.grantsfarm.com/TheBauernhof.htm
– fun fact re The Hill neighborhood (italian) in St. Louis (which I haven’t been to):
“It’s so crowded nobody goes there anymore.” This was said by Yogi Berra about Ruggeri’s (a Hill neighborhood restaurant) where he and Joe Garagiola had worked as waiters, which had become so popular that his old friends couldn’t get in anymore.
Filed under Missouri, Uncategorized
Kansas City Ballet and new Kauffman Center – more reason to go to KC
So I was about ready to jump in the car and drive to Kansas City after reading a NYTimes review of the Kansas City Ballet’s new ballet “Tom Sawyer” performed in the new Muriel Kauffman Theater (inside the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts) but thought it wise to check first to see if it’s still happening.
And alas, the last performance was Oct. 23 (so why did the story run on Oct. 25….grrrr). (“Tom” is reportedly KC Ballet’s first new production and likely “the first all-new, entirely American three-act ballet,” according to the NYTimes which gave the production, the dancers and the new performance space thumbs up.)
Anyway, the ballet company and the Kauffman Center- which we have watched being built during our frequent trips through downtown KC – are now on my list for early May when there’s a performance of work by four famous NYC Ballet choreographers. (Apparently KC Ballet and NYC Ballet have a longstanding relationship. Who knew?) During its Masters of American Dance production May 4-13, the KC Ballet will perform work by four famous choreographers: George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Peter Martins & Todd Bolender (Bolender, was a former Balanchine dancer and artistic director of the KC Ballet.)
Filed under dance, Kansas City
Midwestern hotels to check out
Also from a recent issue of Midwest Living:
– Chicago – Elysian, Ritz-Carlton, Hotel Palomar (rat pack-esque doormen!)
– Columbus, Indiana, Inn at Irwin Gardens
– Novi, MI, Baronette Renaissance
– Shell Knob, Missouri, (wherever that is), Stonewater Cove
– Dubuque, Hotel Julien
– Kohler, Wisc., The American Club
– Custer, S.D., Custer State Park Reunion Cabin
Filed under Chicago, Illinois, Indianapolis, LODGING, Michigan, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin
restaurants to check out all over the Midwest
Found a copy of the Jan/Feb 2011 issue of Midwest Living on the library’s sale rack – so scooped it up since there’s always good recommendations on things to do in this neck of the woods. Here’s some restaurant recommendations:
– In Indianapolis, Recess (soup!)
– In Chicago, Gilt Bar and Restaurant on Magnificent Mile.
– Woodbury, Minnesota (where we have friends!), Apertif (rotisserie chicken) and in neighboring St. Paul, Heartland (clever meat and potatoes) and Clearwater, Minn., Nelson Bros. Restaurant (yes, at a restaurant on I-94; fritter french toast w/wild rice sausage)
– Omaha, Hiro 88 (sushi and more in the Old Market district)
– Madison, Wisc. L’Etoile (longstanding haute green cuisine in new location)
– Kansas City, Glace Artisan Ice Cream (peanut butter ice cream with swirl of strawberry jam…) and Succotash
– Traverse City, MI, Soul Hole (southern food in Old Town)
– Iowa City, Blue Bird Diner (Sunday brunch)
Filed under Chicago, DINING, Illinois, Indianapolis, Iowa, Iowa City, Kansas City, Michigan, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Omaha
Bike adventures near Iowa
It’s March first and even though it’s foolish to believe this suddenly warm Spring-like weather will last, it has got me daydreaming about spring – and even summer. With that in mind, here’s a few bike rides I hope to do when the weather warms – and maybe you will too:
– In Wisconsin: The Great River State Trail, the La Cross River State Trail, the “400” State Trail and the most famous of them all, the Elroy-Sparta Trail (which reportedly includes long railroad tunnels that require travelers to use flashlights.)
– In Missouri: The 225-mile Katy Trail (good for inn-to-inn biking, which reminds me of my trips as a kid with my family with Vermont Bicycle Touring). It goes past bluffs and tourist-friendly towns (according to the DM Register) along the Missouri River between Clinton and St. Charles (near St. Louis.)
Filed under bike trails, Missouri, Wisconsin
Romantic getaways in Iowa-area
The DMRegister today has some ideas for romantic get-aways in Iowa and beyond. Some I know about (Honey Creek Resort in Moravia, Ia. and Suites of 800 Locust in DM). Here are some I didn’t know much about for future reference.
Greenfield, Ia: The Brass lantern at Windcrest Farm. //mysite.verizon.net/res18ndl/ which has the added bonus of a heated indoor poor. (Things to do nearby: Henry A. Wallace Country LIfe Center and Prairie Preserve in Orient; ken Sidey nature area, south of Greenfield; John Wayne Museum in Winterset – and the Bridges (of Madison County) of course.
Red Wing, Minn: The Golden Lantern Inn (things to do: get your fill of famous Red Wing Pottery at the museum and mall of th same name.
Kansas City, Mo.: Hotel Phillips
Galena, Ill: The Inn at Irish Hollow
Filed under Illinois, Iowa, Kansas City, LODGING, Minnesota
From Wright,Ks. back to Des Moines
No weather problems this time – and smooth sailing the entire nine hours, for which we were grateful, especially given what friends and family are dealing with on the East Coast. We stopped in the slowly reviving town of Greensburg – which was devastated by a tornado several years ago – at a hip looking coffee shop, then onto Wichita where we opted for our favorite Vietnamese restaurant, Saigon, which was packed and has the world’s fastest service, and pleasant service, and mighty good Bun (all around us people seemed to be ordering what N and I ordered #45 Bun – noodles, shredded lettuce – with char-broiled pork and a fried spring roll. We stopped at N&J, our favorite middle eastern place, to pick up some humus and homemade chips and one, just one, piece of baklava, to bring home. In Kansas City, we dropped by Gates to pick up ribs to take home for dinner. Yes, it’s all about the food. Good to be back here, although it’s at least 20 degrees colder and a lot snowier than Kansas.
Filed under DINING, Dodge City, Kansas City, Kansas misc, Wichita
