Kansas City's Ninth Street has changed in a half-century, but the Humdinger hasn't.
This hot afternoon called for a cold milkshake. Not one of those bland boring (and probably chemical-laden) shakes at one of the conglomerate fast-food restaurants, but something a little more eccentric. Maybe a pineapple milkshake or a pina colada version. The 51-year-old Humdinger Drive-In at 2504 East Ninth Street (it's between Olive and Prospect) serves those flavors every day, along with banana, chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and bubble gum.
At noon today, it was standing-room-only inside one of the last drive-in restaurants left in Kansas City's urban core (Harold's Drive-Inn at 1337 Admiral Boulevard, dating back to 1958, is the other); neither has a drive-through window. You park, get out of your car, go inside and order at the counter.
The line was long enough at the Humdinger that I had plenty of time to peruse what may be the very longest drive-in menu in the city.
Some of the finest smoke in Blue Springs, Missouri, is in the parking lot of a cigar shop. A hand-lettered white sign that says "BBQ" and has a red arrow will point you to Three Pigs BBQ, which is regularly parked in the lot outside the Cigar Merchant at 809 N.W. Highway 7 (the corner of Highway 7 and N.W. Mock Avenue). If it's not raining, you can just roll down your windows and let the hickory and oak smoke guide you to the red trailer with a black-and-white checkered awning.
Peanches is still taking reservations, but you don't always need one.
Chef-restaurateur Ray "Pete" Peterman's decision to limit service in his midtown restaurant, Peanches (900 West 39th Street, 816-709-3032), to patrons with reservations proved controversial from the beginning. But Peterman, perhaps the most iconclastic - and sometimes combative - chef in Kansas City, stuck to his principles for months.
Now that Peanches is nearly a year old, Peterman has dropped the policy of no walk-ins. Customers without reservations can now get a table. It wasn't an easy decision.
Rawxies will win over vegans and non-vegans alike.
Just as bacon is the gateway drug for carnivores, Rawxies may become part of the germination for the vegan movement in Kansas City. The heart-shaped cookies that exist in the space between food bar and dessert are a KC product created by Callie England. In a nice counterpoint, the raw, vegan, gluten- and soy-free cookies are made in an East Bottoms space just a few blocks from the Local Pig.
Let's take a minute to think about the Royals' plan off the field.
There is an art to building a good baseball-watching lineup. You need a proper mix of salty and sweet with just the right influx of beer to ensure that you're not having to miss any action. The Kansas City Royals' home opener is today at 3:10 p.m., and with the new season there are, of course, new concession options.
The Royals are bringing back nachos, Topsy's popcorn and limeades, Sheridan's frozen custard, and hot dogs (including the Dugout Doghouse, which sells bacon and blue-cheese dogs), but Aramark has called up a few prospects that it hopes to still be selling in October.
Rozzelle Court was once the only art museum restaurant in the city. It now has competition.
My review this week revisits Cafe Sebastienne, the sophisticated bistro inside the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. It's the only restaurant in a metro museum that offers full-service dining every day that it's open. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art's celebrated Rozzelle Court offers full-service dining only on Friday nights, and Cafe Tempo, in Johnson County Community College's Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, doesn't employ a waitstaff.
All three of those museum restaurants are appealing, and each has its own executive chef with a distinctive style. Cafe Sebastienne feels more like a traditional restaurant, Rozzelle Court gives off a theatrical vibe, and Cafe Tempo is sort of an upbeat coffee shop. Each also has its fans.
The Umpire's Wrap is the right call at The 9th Inning.
True sports fans understand two great truths about the NCAA men's basketball tournament: It totally legitimizes day drinking, and you're not doing it right if the beer isn't accompanied by fried food or cheese. Fat City has bellied up to a couple of sports bars in search of the next place where you either forget about your bracket or blow your future pool earnings.
You can have lunch at Peanches - without reservations.
Chef Ray "Pete" Peterman's iconoclastic Peanches restaurant at 900 West 39th Street will finally begin lunch service next Wednesday. The lunch hours will be from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and - hold on to your seat - reservations will not be required for the lunch shift. (The dinner business is still reservation-only.)
Before the dance floor shows up at 9 p.m. on Saturday nights at the Point (917 W. 44th St.), there will be burgers. Good You, the food truck and mobile kitchen from chef Kelli Daniels, is now serving its burgers and bar snacks at the West Plaza pub.
Daniels' signature deviled eggs are joined by soft pretzels, fried pickles served with Sriracha aioli, and five wood-fired pizzas. When it comes to sandwiches, the Joel (pictured above), housemade corned brisket, Brussels-kraut, provolone and special sauce and the fried egg (prosciutto, smoked tomato jam, garlic aioli and cheddar) should compete for a spot on your plate. As for specials, Wednesday has been two-for-one burger day. The Good You had previously been at the Green Lady Lounge after a run at Czar Bar.
The only true way to mark holidays is with food. And so before we are inundated with green beer, the St. Patrick's Day season returns with the limited release of Farm to Market's Irish Soda Bread. The savory loaf is made with buttermilk, golden raisins, and chunks of butter before being dusted with raw sugar (which you will happily lick off your fingers while eating a slice). And like Boulevard's Irish Ale (out now), the bread is as solid as in years past. (Farm to Market dropped two loaves off at The Pitch's offices before the release date.)
The Irish Soda Bread will be on sale tomorrow through Sunday, March 17. It's sold at Hen House, Cosentino's markets, the Hy-Vee in Prairie Village and Overland Park (135th and Metcalf), and Whole Foods. It may be better the second day, lightly toasted with a bit of blackberry jam.
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