Kansas City is our 2nd stop in BBQ country (last month we were in the Dallas area) so we had to try BBQ here, for science. I did a little research and then Donna picked up the research ball and crossed the finish line. We ended up at one of the top BBQ places according to some list online that we could walk to, Chef J BBQ in the West Bottoms district. Our walk included walking over a long bridge that wasn't created with pedestrians in mind.
The Hereford Bull can be seen floating above the tree lines.
Hot and not much protection from traffic
This area hosts quite a few Haunted Houses in the fall including The Beast which is reportedly the best in the nation.
We arrived in the area of the BBQ place and there was a street fair going on, Bark in the Bottoms. The Bottoms appears to be an antique alley as well as a few other places. They set up some stalls, a bar, invited people to bring their dogs and called it a festival. Missouri Liquor laws allow alcohol consumption in public areas as long as there is a festival going on. More on Missouri Alcohol Laws in a post yet to come.
The BBQ joint is only about a year old but has a lot of good reviews and magazine accolades. There was a line out the door but we were assured it moved fast by some person on Yelp.
The bar for the festival that was going on
Magazine accolades
More magazine accolades
The prices were a bit cheaper than Hutchins's BBQ in McKinney. You can read about that visit here.
The space was a mixture of old brick and timber as well as new artwork
They have the meats
4 Meat Plate with Sausage, Ribs, Brisket, Burnt Ends, Blue Cheese and Bacon Potato Salad, and BBQ Beans as well as a side of spicy pickles that comes with everything.
The pulled Pork Sandwich with 3 sauces. All of the sauces were great.
e
I won't pretend to be a BBQ expert but after having 2 of what are reported to be the best styles of BBQ from 2 places that are reported to be doing it the best, dollar for dollar I'll take prime rib over BBQ. It was delicious but I prefer places like House of Prime Rib in SF and The Golden Steer in Las Vegas. We may have BBQ again on this trip but it won't be something that becomes a checklist item for each place we stay like Pinball and Breweries.
After eating we packed up our leftovers and explored a mid-century antique store. The walk home was hotter than the walk there and I had to keep our leftovers level so that that the grease didn't leak on our reusable bag. Getting back to the air conditioning was great. We had a few hours to relax and cool off before our evening adventure.
The American Jazz Museum
Later that evening we got ready and called a Lyft. We were heading to The American Jazz Museum. The museum is located in the 18th and Vine neighborhood of KC. It is small but there is a lot to see and do. We were able to get in free with our NARM Pass. It is also connected to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. We didn't have time to visit but will if we run out of things to do.
The museum started out with a 20 minute video about the history of Kansas City Jazz.
I found a new movie we need to watch
There were a lot of listening stations with great info on what you were listening to
This display was B-Flat
We learned about Soundies, early music videos in Coin-operated Panorams placed in various public spaces.
Here is a trailer for a whole movie about Soundies. I looked it up and you might be able to watch the whole documentary for free on Tubi.
After our museum visit we had tickets (free) to Friday Night Jazz in The Blue Room. It was a great experience and full of local flavor. Also the Boulevard Beers were only $4.
I had to take a look at the tap list so I knew what they had.
Getting Jazzy!
Myra Taylor wants my beer
There was a Corvette show going on outside the venue when we left.
It was a great day of exploring KC and some of the things that KC is famous for. We are really enjoying our time here and it has moved up on the list of places we would spend more time in. It's only Day 4 of KC and we have done a lot but there is still a lot more to do. One of my goals is to get a better idea of the neighborhoods in KC. I feel you can't get a good idea of the city unless you explore many different areas and since KC is so spread out, it's a little harder to do than a place like SF. If you went to SF and only saw the Outer Sunset, it would feel like a much different place than it actually is.
That's it until tomorrow. If you missed yesterday's adventure, you can find it here. We went to Kansas to go to an IKEA and went to an awesome museum.
No comments:
Post a Comment