thursday, august 28. 2003
jayplay.13
Wyandotte Road, and California Pizza Kitchen, 4743 Pennsylvania Ave., all have homes at the Plaza. If you are looking for a place to spend an afternoon, this is it.
If you want more local flavor, check out The City Market located north of Downtown at 5th and Walnut streets. This is one of the largest farmer's markets in the Midwest. Here you can find the freshest produce and flowers and enjoy fine dining and shopping. The City Market features the third largest open air concert venue in Kansas City. Acts such as The Barenaked Ladies and John Mayer have played here. This Friday, Evanesence and Cold are on the ticket.
The City Market is also home to The Arabia Steamboat Museum. Here, treasure excavated from the Great White Arabia, which sank in the Missouri River more than 140 years ago, is on display.
If food is your thing, try the farmer's market. Every Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday, local farmers sell their produce from stalls in the City Market's open court. The farmer's market is open Saturdays from 7 a.m to 5 p.m.; Sundays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.and Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The best time to go is on Wednesdays when crowds are thinner and the market features organic foods and live music.
With its ornate 95-foot ceiling and grandiose 3,500 pound chandeliers, Union Station, located near I-35 and Pershing Road, is another gem of Kansas City. Built in 1914, this working train station was renovated in 1999, restoring the original décor. Shops and restaurants line the area. It also has a
dimensional and three-dimensional movie theater, a live stage theater and Science City. an interactive science museum for both kids and adults.
"Lots have not had the experience of going inside. A lot of people are under the impression that it is consumed by Science City, but that is only a fraction of it," Elmore says. "It is one of the grandest interior spaces in Kansas City. If you haven't seen it you need to and then you will be a life-long fan."
BARBECUE &
JAZZ
Barbecue is what makes Kansas City famous. Finger-licking, bib-wearing, need-a-wetwipe-when-you're-done barbecue. And the messier the better.
Barbecue is sacred here and there are a lot of good places to get it. But it all began in 1908. According to www.experiencekc.com, that was when Henry Perry began selling succulent ribs out of an old trolley barn at 19th and Highland streets. He charged 25 cents for a slab wrapped in newsprint. Local legends Charlie Bryant and George Gates got their start working for Perry and soon launched their own restaurants.
Charlie Bryant and his brother, Arthur, opened Arthur Bryant's at 1727 Brooklyn Ave. The restaurant is a favorite of columnist Calvin Trillin and Presidents Jimmy Carter and Harry Truman have eaten there. The secret's in the sauce when it comes to their great-tasting barbecue.
"The original sauce is totally unlike anything, anywhere. It's tangy and tart. You just
ve to taste it to know what I'm t a l k i n g a b o u t , " Willis Simpson, night manager, says. Gates and his son went in to business at around the same time, opening the doors
of Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q at 19th and Vine streets.
Other places that have made a name for themselves are KC Masterpiece Barbecue & Grill, 4747 Wyandotte St. and Fiorella's Jack Stack World Class, 13418 Charlotte St.
Jazz is another Kansas City tradition. Eighteenth and Vine streets is the historic part of town that has come to be equated with the jazz scene. Now home to the American Jazz Museum and the American Negro Leagues Museum, both at 1616 East 18th St., this is still the best place to learn about the history of jazz music, especially in its heyday in 1920s Kansas City. The museum showcases some of the legends that have graced this town, such as Charlie Parker and Count Basie. Attached to the museum is the Blue Room, one of Kansas City's premier jazz spots. Admission to the Blue Room is just $5.00. It is open Thursday through Saturday, 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and on Monday nights starting at 5:30 p.m.
Another great place to hear
jazz in Kansas City is Jardine's at 4536 Main St., just off the Plaza. Jardine's features live jazz bands five nights a week.
NIGHTLIFE
In the Roaring '20s Kansas City was known as the spot to have a good time. Not much has changed since then except the clothes. Party spots, such as Westport and the casino riverboats offer a good time for those who are 21 and older.
Although it's one of the oldest parts of Kansas City, Westport has still got appeal. In the 1800s it was the meeting point for the Oregon, California and Santa Fe trails and the gateway to the western frontier. Today it is still a meeting place for people and a gateway to music, alcohol and fun. During the day the area is a quaint shopping and dining district, but at night the music gets turned up and the clubs and bars that line Pennsylvania Ave. and Westport Road open their doors. Westport has everything, from Have a Nice Day Café, a topfory dance club, to Stanford and Sons Comedy House.
"If I were 25 or 30 again all I'd want to do is hang out in Westport," Elmore says.
If you don't want to dance the night away maybe you would rather press your luck on one of the four riverboats floating on the Missouri
River. These casinos offer a lot of opportunities for you to strike it rich. The largest by far is the Ameristar Casino. Inside, it offers two casinos with 3,000 slot and video poker machines and 190 gaming tables between them.These boats also offer restaurants, shopping and live entertainment.
Regardless of the cheesy jungle music that plays in the park's Africa section or the expensive concessions, the park still lives up to its name. Seeing the twists, turns and loops of roller coasters, such as the Orient Express and the 205-foot drop on the Mamba make your stomach do flips. Worlds of Fun will be open on weekends through October.
Just when you thought that there couldn't be anything else to do in Kansas City, you remember the tried and true favorites, such as Worlds of Fun.
Whether it's the crack of a bat, the crush of helmets and pads or the whoosh of a car speeding past that you crave, Kansas City has it. The Royals, Chiefs and NASCAR all have arenas in the Kansas City area. Baseball is starting to wind down and football is just getting started. However, both teams still have tickets available for their home games.
THERE'S MORE
R, which hosts events at the Kansas Speedway just off I-70 and I-435 still has tickets available for races coming up in October.