The Jet Set Life
The Jet Set Life
Best Food in Kansas City
Kansas City is well known for their delicious barbecue, but Kansas City, MO is not just a culinary one trick pony. Kansas City, MO offers dozens of unique and high quality cuisines that will impress and delight. Here are my picks for the best food in Kansas City. In this round-up, I cover the best food in Kansas City for every meal so that you have a good idea of where to eat on your weekend getaway!
Blog Post / Transcript:
https://www.jetsettingblonde.com/blog/best-food-in-kansas-city
To Connect with Brittany:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejetsetblonde/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thejetsetblonde
Website: https://www.jetsettingblonde.com/
Custom Travel Planning with Brittany:
https://www.jetsettingblonde.com/custom-travel-planning
FREE Resource - 50 Best Destinations for Childfree Vacations:
https://www.jetsettingblonde.com/start-here
79 - Best Food in Kansas City===
[00:00:00] Hello, beautiful friends. How are you doing this week? Today. I want to talk about the best food in Kansas city, Missouri. I recently had the opportunity to go to Kansas city, Missouri for the first time back in may. And it really blew me away. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. So I know that we all know that Kansas city is known for their delicious barbecue. But there's a lot more than just barbecue there. And I want to share with you some more options beyond good barbecue. And Kansas city does not fail. They offer dozens of unique and high quality cuisines that will impress and delight. So we'll start with coffee. And move all the way for every meal through dessert.
Starting with coffee. There is made in [00:01:00] KC cafe. Madan KC cafe is an adorable spot for local goods, gifts, apparel, and coffee. It's a great spot to get coffee, plus a souvenir. And made in KC has several locations that serve. Coffee and breakfast treats and things like that. I visited the one on river market and it's inside of this little trolley and it's really cute. It's it's inside of a 73 year old street car. Now it is pretty warm in there. If it's. There's like a little AC box, but there's also a patio and maybe you want to stop. Early in the morning when it's not so hot. They're open at night as well. For those of you that need to stay up late and popular menu items include the cereal, milk steamer, and the honey lavender latte.
Another amazing coffee spot is messenger coffee co. [00:02:00] It's a great spot to get some work done and to get some beautiful city views because they have a rooftop actually. They are farm direct certified. So this company is committed to discovering new coffee bean farmers from literally around the world from places like Ethiopia and Guatemala. If you're at the crossroads location, try a heavenly baked item from Ibis bakery, which is also located inside the three story building.
And I just loved the architecture and the design of the overall. Building that I was in. This was the crossroads location. They have this beautiful white and black tiling on the floor. And there's all these green plants everywhere and there's wood accents. And it's a very modern building, very modern staircase, very angular. And geometric and it was just a great spot and I really liked it how [00:03:00] unique it was to the area.
All right, moving on to breakfast. We have the farm house. The farmhouse is a farm to table restaurant in the river market area, serving fresh food from local farmers in Missouri and in Kansas. Brunches served Wednesday through Sunday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM and reservations are recommended for Saturday and Sunday, brunch, their menu changes frequently, but one of their staple menu items is the giant homemade cinnamon roll. And it's seriously huge. It was like the size of my hand. And I have pretty big hands. It comes out warm and gooey, and it's perfect for splitting at the table. Also, they have mimosa towers. So those were pretty awesome. And you'd actually go through that faster than you would think.
Another great spot is parlor. Parlor is Kansas city. Missouri is first modern food hall. It's a collection of seven eateries inside of a three-story building and it [00:04:00] offers a variety of cuisines like Filipino, Korean food, American food, and Mexican food. There are also two bars onsite. Parlor creates a comfortable space to unwind and relax in. They have a lounge, a library, a den, and a second story garden patio that's covered, insulated and heated. Though they're open during the week parlors party, brunch is going to be your time to visit for breakfast, but they are open for lunch and dinner.
On Sundays parlor offers bottomless, mimosas, bloody Marys and beermosas from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM. DJ max groove plays upbeat music on the upstairs garden patio. Select kitchens offer brunch specials.
Moving on to lunch, we have king G decked in green and gold. King G brings a modern take on. Classic neighborhood bar and deli. The deli has [00:05:00] 15 items on the menu with a full list of unique deli sandwiches, such as tamago Sando and all grown up PB and J. Fan favorites include the pastrami on rye and the Italian muffaletta meats and breads are locally sourced from black hole bakery. I tried the Turkey and Swiss, heated. And it was a solid choice that did not disappoint. The G in king G is a reference to king Cambrinus. This who was known in folklore as a symbol for beer brewing and joy.
And we can't not include some barbecue on here. So great spot for barbecue is Jack stack barbecue. They started in 1957 today it's in its fourth generation of family ownership. They're the largest Hickory wood fired cookery in the us. And they offer the most extensive barbecue [00:06:00] menu in Kansas city. From beef burnt ends to lamb ribs. Though their barbecue is wonderful. They feature over 11 Hickory smoked meats on the menu. I'm personally more of a sides kind of girl. So my favorite dish was actually the cheesy corn bake. It's a cache casserole dish filled with smoke, ham and cheese. Don't leave without having a moms' carrot cake cupcake. They are made from scratch daily, with homemade cream cheese frosting. And you wouldn't think that a barbecue could a place could ACE desert, but they really were phenomenal.
Now for happy hour, we've got to do a speakeasy. And I recommend swordfish Tom's swordfish Tom's offers an authentic Kansas city speakeasy experience. Unmarked in a back alley, swordfish Tom's is located in a basement, a few blocks from union station. They don't accept reservations or take calls. So [00:07:00] you'll just have to show up. And see if you get in. We got dropped off by an Uber at location and it took us a little bit to kind of actually figure out which alley to go to, but we figured it out. So when you arrive, the space is dimly lit and it only allows a maximum of 30 people inside. So there could very well be await. And there's a small waiting area. Once you go down these stairs and luckily we didn't have to wait long. But if you do have to wait. You are told. That there's a weight by the color of the lantern that's showing in the waiting room. So if this lantern in the waiting room is green. Then you can knock three times and be allowed in. However, if it's red, that indicates that the speakeasy is at capacity.
Our group of three arrived around 5:00 PM on a Friday, [00:08:00] and we were able to get in, but I'm sure later as the day, his evening went on, we probably. Would've found it difficult to get in. Swordfish Tom's exclusively focuses on craft cocktails. I was having trouble deciding. So I was able to ask the bartender. What they would recommend. They asked what my flavor profile was and they created a cocktail that I really loved. And I don't know what was in it. It was good. So this place is truly a hidden gem and it's worth the visit. The atmosphere feels vintage and authentic to the prohibition. There's this large boiler on the right of the space upon entry. And everything's got exposed brick and you know, mix-matched vintage furnishings. And the big thing to note here is that swordfish Tom's is cash only, but they do have an ATM inside. If you need to pull some money out.
Another great spot for [00:09:00] happy hour is Percheron rooftop bar. Percheron rooftop bar is the seasonal rooftop bar inside the crossroads hotel, which is a great hotel by the way.
It offers beautiful 360 degree views of the city from 8:00 PM to close. The rooftop is for ages 21 and up. The rooftop bar is styled like a beer garden with modern lounge sofas, community tables and patio games. The menu includes craft cocktails, rotating freight, frozen drinks. Craft beers, wines and light bites. Check their website for the special event calendar. Sometimes they host ticketed, live music events. The night that we were there, there was a. I think it was a Beatles cover band and we, we didn't. Get tickets because we had other plans, but I heard them practicing earlier in the day and they were awesome.
Next for [00:10:00] dinner. We have another place inside crossroads hotel because I truly loved it. It was so, so good. The restaurant is called Lazia and it's a chic, Italian amazing restaurant. I tried 12 different dishes from their Italian menu. We had kind of like a. Taste testing menu. And I can honestly say that they were all cooked and seasoned to perfection. Like I kid you not, the bread alone was enough for me to come back. Like I could have just sat there and eaten the bread with the dips. It was so good.
The highlight of this meal had to be the hand pulled mozzarella demonstration by a woman who's named is mozzarella Madame KC. She comes in. With this little cart. And she taught us how to prepare the perfect mozzarella cheese ball paired with a summer beet salad. It was so cool. I'd [00:11:00] never seen anything like it. It's like their version of table-side guac, but way more interesting and fun. Because you get to pull and like ball this, this little mozzarella. So. It was really great. And then also what made our dining experience even more special was that we dined in a private room. And that private room was the office of Tom Pendergast. And Tom Pendergast has a very unique history in Kansas city. He was the leader of a Kansas city political organization.
Known as the Pendergast machine, he was kind of like the head of a mob, the Pendergast machine controlled local government and the democratic party in Kansas city and Jackson county, Missouri during the progressive area era. And the, during the great depression. So because he was a bit of a mobster, Lousia actually plays gangster, rap [00:12:00] music, and don't worry, like it's not. It's not like a crazy environment. It's just really unique. I loved every detail and every flavor of this restaurant from the aperitif at the start of the dinner, all the way to the Italian wedding cake cookie at the end.
Another great dinner spot is golden ox. It's located inside the first floor of the historic Kansas city livestock exchange building. Golden ox is a delicious spot for dinner with steak and seafood. This restaurant first opened in 1949 and catered to ranchers and farmers who brought their cattle to the stock yards. Much of the building's historical integrity has been preserved, including lighting, fixtures and flooring. Our group shared a sea food themed list of appetizers, including Caesar salad with anchovies escargo mussels and oysters, Rockefeller. They were all heavenly, but my favorite was [00:13:00] probably the mussels. Then we all split the largest steak on the menu, which is called the drover. It's a giant 56 ounce Midwest, Angus ribeye bone-in and dry aged to perfection it's as it serves two to three people, but we were able to split it among four females. All of the stakes are cut and aged in house. They're also cooked over flame to get a nice sear. We tried five of the steak sauces, including the ox signature steak sauce. The chimichurri the Bernays, the port wine Bordelais and the green pepper corn Demi glaze. I'm huge fan of peppercorn. So that was my favorite. And there was no surprise there. And as for the sides, don't pass on the lobster, Mac and cheese.
Now for dessert, you can stop by Christopher elbow chocolates. In between bourbon and wine tastings or barbecue, you [00:14:00] can stop here for some truly high-end sweet treats. Christopher elbow is a nationally recognized chocolate here who specializes in creating handcrafted gourmet chocolates, bond, bonds, and confections. He has a storefront in Kansas city and in San Francisco. And they ship nationally within the U S. They have 24 signature flavors, as well as changing seasonal flavors that are really unique and different. Fan favorites include fresh lemon, Rosemary and Fleur de SEL salted caramel. Not only do these chocolates taste incredible, but they're also interesting to look at with bright colors, shapes, and patterns.
We tried the floor to sell inside the store. It was the original flavor developed by Christopher elbow. After one bite, it was clear to see why these chocolates took off in popularity. I took home a little pack of four, the Aztec spice, the seasonal strawberry margarita, the [00:15:00] fresh lemon and the Rosemary. Last year in 2021, they produce 2.7 million chocolates. Another spot for dessert. And our final spot on this list is frozen gold. Frozen gold is a quote gold mine for desserts paired with an Insta worthy setting. There are two locations, one in Kansas city, Missouri, and the other in Colorado Springs. Styled with bright magenta pink colors, the frozen gold store serves ice cream treats and pints to go. Vegan options are available. Interesting ice cream cone creations include the silly rabbit with vanilla soft serve trick cereal, and a rainbow cereal milk soft core center. And the PB puffy with chocolate soft serve Reese's puffs and a peanut butter soft core center.
So if I made you hungry yet. What would you add to this list of best food in Kansas city? I'd love to know. [00:16:00] Either jump over to my blog and comment over there. You can comment on the podcast and screenshot it and let me know. Or you can always reach out to me on Instagram at the Jetset blond. With that. I hope you have a wonderful week and I will talk to you soon