I'm in Kansas, where thoughts of Dorothy, corn, and tornadoes run rampant. Another new state for me, but it is very similar to every other midwest state.
This week we're staying at the Overland Park Marriott. Now, I'm sure usually this is a very nice hotel, and the rooms are quite nice. The bed is huge, a very comfy comforter, and a huge flat screen tv. Internet is not free, but that's pretty usual for nicer hotels. Unfortunately the hotel is under construction and I was woken up this morning around 8am to the lovely sounds of jackhammers and other lovely construction noises. Grant practically had to scream to say good morning when we walked outside. I'm up on the 6th floor, it shouldn't be that loud from the lobby! What else is annoying is the fitness room and pools are closed due to the construction, and I just don't feel like going to the Jewish Community Center two miles away to go work out. So, what should be a nice hotel, is really kind of an annoying place to stay and a cheap hotel would probably have been better. Until the construction is done, I'd avoid staying here.
Other than that, Overland Park is a nice suburb of KC. We'll probably be hitting up more bbq places while we're in the area, but since we were here a few weeks ago, not sure what else we'll be doing around these parts. I'll let you know!
*Special thanks this week to Lifetime Fitness for the week long pass!
Showing posts with label Kansas City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kansas City. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
KC: Part 2
KC Food:
We've gone to quite a few restaurants in the area, so I wanted to share my thoughts on them quickly.
Chefburger: Good lunch place. A great variety of burgers to get and they were pretty tasty.
Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant: This is a chain but I have never heard of it before. I've been on a sangria kick lately, and they had very good sangria. Food was moderately priced and pretty standard.
Fiorelli's Jack Stack: This is one of the BBQ places to hit in KC we were told. There are a few locations, and we went to the one by Union Station. I really enjoyed the ribs I got, although was kind of unsure about the cheesy corn. It tasted more like soup than corn. The bbq sauce was really good (I didn't try the spicy one, but the standard had a good flavor). The portions were huge and I wish I had a fridge in the hotel room to bring back the leftovers. This wasn't one of the "down home" bbq places in the area, but definitely good food that wasn't too pricey.
Flying Saucer: We tried to eat here twice, but couldn't find a place to sit. Apparently it's popular.
Maker's Mark Bourbon House and Lounge: This was probably the best meal I've had this week. Steak on Tuesday was half off so I got a Kansas City Strip, mashed potatoes, and loaded baked potato soup. It was all awesome. Everything was really fresh and was excellent. However, this place was really expensive. If the steak wasn't half off, it'd have to be a really special occasion to go there for dinner. I didn't try any bourbons, but they had plenty to choose from.
There were a few others I can't remember the name of or that are not in my brochure on the Power and Light district.
KC Arts:
I saw Phantom of the Opera at the Music Hall on Wednesday. The show was a Broadway Across America show and was a great performance. The Music Hall was a nice place to see a show, but the seats in the balcony were positioned so there was a person seated directly in front of you, not on any angle. Once the lights went down, you could see a ton of people and switching seats (it wasn't sold out) in order to see better. The actors were great, had awesome voices, and was probably one of the best touring shows I've seen. There was no one weak actor that is so typical with touring casts. The costumes and scenery were beautiful. The special effects were done well. I'm glad I knew the story already though, because I think I would have been a little confused at parts if I didn't. They seemed to rush the beginning a lot which made it fast-paced, but I think it lost some of the backstory.
Good week in KC, but glad to be heading home tomorrow. Back to Missouri in a couple weeks.
We've gone to quite a few restaurants in the area, so I wanted to share my thoughts on them quickly.
Chefburger: Good lunch place. A great variety of burgers to get and they were pretty tasty.
Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant: This is a chain but I have never heard of it before. I've been on a sangria kick lately, and they had very good sangria. Food was moderately priced and pretty standard.
Fiorelli's Jack Stack: This is one of the BBQ places to hit in KC we were told. There are a few locations, and we went to the one by Union Station. I really enjoyed the ribs I got, although was kind of unsure about the cheesy corn. It tasted more like soup than corn. The bbq sauce was really good (I didn't try the spicy one, but the standard had a good flavor). The portions were huge and I wish I had a fridge in the hotel room to bring back the leftovers. This wasn't one of the "down home" bbq places in the area, but definitely good food that wasn't too pricey.
Flying Saucer: We tried to eat here twice, but couldn't find a place to sit. Apparently it's popular.
Maker's Mark Bourbon House and Lounge: This was probably the best meal I've had this week. Steak on Tuesday was half off so I got a Kansas City Strip, mashed potatoes, and loaded baked potato soup. It was all awesome. Everything was really fresh and was excellent. However, this place was really expensive. If the steak wasn't half off, it'd have to be a really special occasion to go there for dinner. I didn't try any bourbons, but they had plenty to choose from.
There were a few others I can't remember the name of or that are not in my brochure on the Power and Light district.
KC Arts:
I saw Phantom of the Opera at the Music Hall on Wednesday. The show was a Broadway Across America show and was a great performance. The Music Hall was a nice place to see a show, but the seats in the balcony were positioned so there was a person seated directly in front of you, not on any angle. Once the lights went down, you could see a ton of people and switching seats (it wasn't sold out) in order to see better. The actors were great, had awesome voices, and was probably one of the best touring shows I've seen. There was no one weak actor that is so typical with touring casts. The costumes and scenery were beautiful. The special effects were done well. I'm glad I knew the story already though, because I think I would have been a little confused at parts if I didn't. They seemed to rush the beginning a lot which made it fast-paced, but I think it lost some of the backstory.
Good week in KC, but glad to be heading home tomorrow. Back to Missouri in a couple weeks.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Kansas City, Missouri
Week 2 of my two week Missouri trip, and now we're in Kansas City until Friday. We're staying at the Holiday Inn, formerly the Aladdin Hotel, in downtown KC across from the convention center.
So far, I like Kansas City. It's been awhile since I've been in a downtown area and this is a nice city, small, clean, just enough big buildings without being crowded. We got here yesterday when they were playing the NCAA games a few blocks away at the Sprint Center so things were crazy last night. We went to the Power and Lights district, the popular area with a bunch of restaurants and bars by the stadium. Something like 40 bars in a two block area. I really like the middle section with the Live! stage that had around 10 bars and restaurants that were all in an enclosed square that you could walk around with your alcohol, bar hop, listen to the bands playing in the middle, watch the NCAA games, etc. We mostly stayed at Angels Rock Bar which had good music and some entertaining random acts by the bartenders such as swinging on swings over the crowd, dancing on the bars, and swallowing fire.
We'll see what other events the week brings. I'm going to see Phantom of the Opera on Wednesday since the Music Hall is pretty much across the street from the hotel. It's awesome being with walking distance of so many things.
The Holiday Inn/Aladdin Hotel is cool. It's an older building, so it has some style in the lobby and they make the rooms look pretty stylish, if on the small side. When we checked in we were given free glasses of champagne while we waited five minutes for the rooms to be done. That was a nice welcome. Free internet, valet parking, room service (which is particularly pricey), dvd players in the rooms, flat screen tv, big comfy beds (although not as good as the Hilton's), restaurant, lounge, spa, decent exercise room, and free business center with fast computers. Also, the Kleenex was folded into a rose and one of my towels was folded into an elephant! Last big plus, we can walk to the store from here too.
If you've been here before, please recommend what barbeque place to go to. There are a ton to choose from, and I hear this is the place for bbq.
So far, I like Kansas City. It's been awhile since I've been in a downtown area and this is a nice city, small, clean, just enough big buildings without being crowded. We got here yesterday when they were playing the NCAA games a few blocks away at the Sprint Center so things were crazy last night. We went to the Power and Lights district, the popular area with a bunch of restaurants and bars by the stadium. Something like 40 bars in a two block area. I really like the middle section with the Live! stage that had around 10 bars and restaurants that were all in an enclosed square that you could walk around with your alcohol, bar hop, listen to the bands playing in the middle, watch the NCAA games, etc. We mostly stayed at Angels Rock Bar which had good music and some entertaining random acts by the bartenders such as swinging on swings over the crowd, dancing on the bars, and swallowing fire.
We'll see what other events the week brings. I'm going to see Phantom of the Opera on Wednesday since the Music Hall is pretty much across the street from the hotel. It's awesome being with walking distance of so many things.
The Holiday Inn/Aladdin Hotel is cool. It's an older building, so it has some style in the lobby and they make the rooms look pretty stylish, if on the small side. When we checked in we were given free glasses of champagne while we waited five minutes for the rooms to be done. That was a nice welcome. Free internet, valet parking, room service (which is particularly pricey), dvd players in the rooms, flat screen tv, big comfy beds (although not as good as the Hilton's), restaurant, lounge, spa, decent exercise room, and free business center with fast computers. Also, the Kleenex was folded into a rose and one of my towels was folded into an elephant! Last big plus, we can walk to the store from here too.
If you've been here before, please recommend what barbeque place to go to. There are a ton to choose from, and I hear this is the place for bbq.
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