Anyone familiar with Kansas City?

[AnnaSue]

I should have posted this thread sooner, seeing as my husband and I are leaving on a road trip tomorrow morning! Somehow I got busy this week though and now have a lot of stuff to do today. Anyway, we will be staying one night in the Kansas City area, and are wondering it anyone happens to know of any hotels that are located near the Royals stadium since we will be catching a game there while passing through, or if you recommend any other area nearby to stay (not super fancy - we'll just be there overnight). We would also be interested in hearing any good restaurant recommendations if anyone has any. Thanks for any help! :)

[beacooker]

I'm only vaguely familiar with KC - I lived there for a few years when I was a kid. No idea on hotels, but I think the place 'must-eat' place in KC is Arthur Bryant's bbq. If you ever watch any of the shows on Food Network about bbq restaurants, they always mention Arthur Bryant's. It's not exactly a high-class establishment, but their food is fabulous!!

[Holly in KC]

ACK. I've been typing for about 15 minutes and poof. Gone.

Lets try again.
Hotel:http://www.adamsmark.com/kansascity/index.asp. I've never been there, but it is literally across the street from the sports complex.

First - there are many that enjoy Bryant's, but take the warning that it is "not exactly a high class place" very seriously. It's not my kind of place. (Pics: so you can decide for yourself...http://www.rbjb.com/rbjb/ab2.htm) If you want to experience KC BBQ, I'd go the gates route. http://www.gatesbbq.com/

Second: other restaurant ideas. We have lots of variety ... so if nothing interests you from the list below, ask at the hotel! They should have lots of suggestions.

What is nearby (at least reasonably so) is anything in "Midtown" or "Downtown" or "Plaza". If you haven't every been there, the Country Club Plaza is worth a visit. http://www.countryclubplaza.com/

There are several very nice restaurants on the Plaza(if you change your mind about not wanting anything too fancy, Plaza III Steakhouse can't be beat!! http://www.dineoutinkc.com/plaza3/ Alternatives that are a little less formal, but are very, very good include: Grand Street Cafe (one of my favs), http://www.kcrestaurantguide.com/grand.htm or Figlios (italian) http://www.kcrestaurantguide.com/figlio.htm

There are also several good restaurants on Southwest Boulevard (midtown area). Lots of good mexican can be found here. Non-mexican choices are: La Bodega (Spanish tapas - another one of my favs). http://www.labodegakc.com/

Another midtown choice would be Lidia's. I love this place. Lidia Bastianich - of NYC and cookbook fame - owns it. http://www.lidiasitaly.com/restaurants/kansascity/lidias_kc.html

Other good Italian choices would be Garozzo's (just east of downtown, kind of a pain to find, but very good)http://www.garozzos.com/ Cascones (not as quite as good... more of a family place)http://www.cascones.com/ or Milano, which is in Crown Center http://www.sfwa.org/awards/2002/crowncenter.htm

Here are some other links you should check out:
http://www.kansascitycooking.com/index.html (Check out "critical cooking" for restaurant reviews, and "hot links" for links to a number of KC restaurants

http://kansascity.citysearch.com/

Hope that helps!

[Jill123]

I used to live in the KC area and there's an Adam's Mark right across the street from the stadium. My family stayed there years ago, but it was really nice. I don't know if it still is.

Arthur Bryant's IS fantastic, but depending on when you're planning on catching a bite, it's not in a very good part of town. It's not much to look at either, just a "hole in the wall" -- a hole in the wall with the best ribs ever!

There's the Plaza (just down the highway a bit) that has a lot of nice restaurants and some swanky shopping too! (I can't remember how to get there from the stadium -- I'll get the info and post again!)

[Jill123]

I'd just listen to Holly. Sounds like she's got it under control! :)

[Holly in KC]

Oops! I just reread your post, and noticed your were looking for a hotel that wasn't super fancy, not necessarily for a restaruant that isn't super fancy. Here are just a couple more ideas for you:

The American Restaurant is pretty high end, but very good.
http://www.theamericanrestaurantkc.com/

A mid-town favorite is Cafe Allegro http://www.cafe-allegro.com/frame.htm

Le Fou Frog http://www.kansascitycooking.com/lefou.htm is fun and different. Wonderful crusty French Bread, and a fun place to people watch.

Haven't been there in a while, but JJs is also good (Plaza) and has a wonderful wine list. http://www.zagat.com/Search/Details.asp?VID=1&PID=1&LID=41&LSID=10753&BRW=21&NDPH=Plaza&RID=5456

And, I haven't been there yet, but Pierpont's at Unions Station (near Crown Center) is also supposed to be very good.
http://www.kansascitycooking.com/pierpont.htm

A wonderful, very romantic (not too dressy) option is The Grill on Groadway. SO asked me to marry him in the parking lot!! WONDERFUL fish (order the one of the specials if you go here... don't order from the menu). http://www.kansascitycooking.com/thegrille.htm

[AnnaSue]

Thanks so much beacooker, Holly in KC and Jill123! All of your information has been very helpful, and I am printing all the responses out right now to take with us when we leave in an hour or so. Holly, I know how it is to type something and then have it disappear.. especially lately since our computer keeps crashing for some yet unknown reason. Thanks for retyping everything though.. I really appreciate it! :)

[Holly in KC]

Hope you are having a great trip... let us know how it went when you return!

[andrea]

sorry i didn't see this sooner... where did you go???

[AnnaSue]

Thanks again for everyones help! We got home on Thursday night, and will be home for a couple days before taking off again. The hotel Holly recommended was very nice, and extremely convenient! The location was perfect. Unfortunately, we ended up getting delayed out of a military base in Oklahoma where we had gone to see a graduation ceremony for a family member, and we thought we weren't going to make it in time for the game. We had planned to get into Kansas City much earlier, and my husband had his heart set on trying out that Plaza III Steakhouse. By the time we got to the city it was 7:15 though, and the game was supposed to start at 7:00. I guess it kind of worked out well that a huge thunderstorm rolled in right as we got there since the game ended up being delayed and didn't start until 9:00. We don't really follow the American league as much (we're big Cubs fans!), but like to catch a game in other cities whenever possible since we love baseball, and this one was pretty much on our way home. By the time the game ended it was too late to find the restaurant, but I did try a Gates BBQ sandwich at the ballpark, and it was really good! We'll keep all the restaurant recommendations though, because I'm sure we'll be back again. We love to travel!