Paul, check out Jax Fish House on the Plaza. Also, Story in Prairie Village is fantastic.
Mexican, try Margaritas or Mannys on SW Boulevard. Decent, but not great Mexican food here in KC
KC has great Mexican food, but you’ll have to go to KC Kansas. The tex-mex is strong on the MO side. There are tremendous taquerias on the KCK side. Camino Real makes the best el pastor I’ve ever had. Not fancy, but delicious. Might not want to hang out over there after dark, but a good lunch spot.
Port Fonda is also good in Westport. As Jim said, very hipster and limited menu, but well-executed.
Bump for BBQ recommendations
LC’s, Gates, Arthur Bryant’s? Others?
Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que which used to be Oklahoma Joe’s - gas station location on 47th Ave.
Joe’s Kansas City or Q39 are great spots for BBQ
Looking for brisket and burnt ends specifically.
Chris - not a KC resident, but I still have pleasant day dreams about the burnt ends at
Gates.
Don’t go to Gates. For burnt ends go to Arthur Bryant’s. IMO Bryant’s has the best burnt ends I’ve ever tried. Also, they have great rib tips. I never got anything else there. For anything else I’d suggest Joe’s KC BBQ (formerly Oklahoma Joe’s, in what is one of the most puzzling name changes of all time as it was so successful under the old name). I haven’t tried Q39 but hear very good things.
The only place that takes a reservation is Q39 so that’s Friday night when we arrive. If the lines are crazy for dine in at the other places, I’d consider takeaway. Any downside?
I’ve heard many people swear by the burnt ends at Jack’s Stack. Ate at the Plaza location and wasn’t a big fan.
OK Joes (or Joe’s KC whatever it is called now) was the best BBQ I’ve had in KC. I have heard Q39 is really good. Never been.
Bump for an update - my wife and I are flying out to St. Louis later this week to pick-up a new truck and drive it back home. We will be staying in KC the first night, at the Weston Crown Center. I’m a big fan of experiencing the local specialty when on the road - it sounds like either Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que or Jack’s Stack are the ticket?
We will be on the downslope of a red eye (and I can’t sleep sitting upright), purchasing a truck and then a four hour drive to get into KC. So ease and lack of wait are probably a necessity.
I thought jacks stack was okay. The huge crown ribs were the best thing. I’ve had better burnt ends. Maybe I’m just more of a pork bbq guy. It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t “special” imo.
Thanks Chris - Looking at the map, the Freight House location of Jacks Stack is very close to our hotel, so that might be the deciding factor. I’m more of a pork BBQ guy as well, but we’ll probably do one of the samplers to get the full experience.
Joe’s could be a long wait depending on when you get there.
Since I got some ideas from this thread, I thought I’d give a quick report from a Labor Day weekend trip. We had great barbecue at Q39, which has the major advantage of taking reservations (I don’t handle hour plus waits well). It was very humorous when talking to people about it the next day to find that some folks view that as the “fancy” barbecue place.
We had wanted to go to Bluestem but couldn’t get in, and instead went to Rye, their new Southern comfort food outpost. An excellent meal but not upscale (specialty is fried chicken). Our upscale meal was at Story, which was a big disappointment, service issues not overcome by food that was just okay.
Hey all, if you come to KC, reach out via PM and I will always see what I can do to help with logistics and reservations - it’s a small town! (Some have already)
Tried and true for lunch - Andres, only a couple of blocks south of the plaza. Only 2 (different each day) things on the lunch menu, and their Quiche Lorraine. Deserts are wonderful. I could go on. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/51288085/andres_menu.pdf
Oklahoma Joes, for BBQ, or the original Arthur Bryants, on Brroklyn. If you don’t like vinegary/peppery sauce, get your bbq with no sauce and use the sweeter (or vinegary/peppery sauce) at the table. I only get burnt ends at both. Arthur Bryant's Barbeque Restaurant - Best BBQ in Kansas City
Oh, and I can’t leave out LC’s BBQ. Great BBQ there too!