Wyndham Wisdom

KC's Secret Spice

Though everything's up to date in Kansas City, it's hasn't lost it's soul

Over the past few years, Kansas City, which straddles the state line between Kansas and Missouri, has embarked on one major civic improvement after another. In 2006, the recreated National WWI Museum opened, and last year saw the expansion of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. This year the city is busy rolling out the redevelopment of eight square downtown blocks.

But for every flashy new building or attraction that has gone up since the millennium, another has been diligently landmarked or restored. It's now just as easy to gawk at avant-garde architecture as it is to walk through a restaurant door and feel as if you've traveled back in time to the 1920s, when Kansas City was golden with jazz.

RETRO-ACTIVE
Much of Kansas City is built on a grid, and the most exciting neighborhoods lie more or less in a row, beginning on 47th Street--from the outdoor shopping and dining district, to Country Club Plaza, past downtown to the River Market neighborhood, which sits on the banks of the Missouri River.

The northern tip of the city was originally settled by trappers and traders. More than 150 years later, the City Market's farm stands are still where people go to buy produce direct from the source. The action begins bright and early every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, from March until cold weather sets in (usually October). More than 140 farmers and merchants come here to sell vegetables, honey, herbs and flowers, as well as hand-beaded bags and live chickens. The circumference of the market is lined with antiques shops and ethnic markets carrying spices, meats, cheeses and goods from around the world. Just outside is the unassuming Cascone's Grill, where it's worth the weekend wait for a generous serving of eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy.

For another trip down memory lane, head two miles south to Union Station, a majestic Beaux-Arts building that dates back to 1914. A lengthy restoration was completed in 1999, and while the train tracks are still active, Union Station now draws more sightseers than commuters. They come for the Smithsonian-affiliated Science City, where kids can dig for fossils, solve a crime or launch a rocket; and for the fine restaurants beneath its soaring tiled ceiling.

Book a table at Pierpont's, at the eastern end of Union Station. The space looks just as it did 100 years ago, with high deco ceilings, long mirrors and antique chandeliers, as well as the original women's and children's waiting rooms. Like its sibling, the renowned Hereford House, Pierpont's serves premium steaks such as Kobe beef rib-eye, and also flies in fresh fish daily. During the weekday happy hour (4-6 p.m.), $4 cocktails are paired with $4 appetizers like focaccia sliders and flash-fried calamari served with smoked tomato sauce and horseradish cream.

MOVING DOWNTOWN
During the 1970s and '80s, downtown Kansas City suffered as its suburbs flourished. By the '90s, the city center had become a veritable ghost town. Then in 2005 the city embarked on an ambitious $850-million project intended to reinvigorate downtown business: the Power & Light District. The largest new development in the Midwest, it's named after the Kansas City Power & Light building, a deco structure that was the tallest in Missouri for nearly half a century.

The District is already active at its center, where a dozen-odd new restaurants and bars surround a covered outdoor concert and video-projection space that holds 6,000 people. In the last few years, those city blocks have been swarming with locals and visitors at night. The 18,500-seat Sprint Center arena, a glassy, bowl-shaped building, has also been completed. Next to come: the restoration of the art deco Midland and Empire theaters, to be transformed into a music hall and a six-screen movie house, respectively.

Kansas City found itself on the national stage when the expansion of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art garnered unanimous praise. Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker, called the Nelson's new Bloch Building "one of the best museums of the last generation." Its five translucent glass boxes look like futuristic warehouses next to the original 1933 Beaux-Arts structure. For maximum dramatic impact, drive by the museum at night, when the Bloch Building glows ethereally beside the imposing historic structure.

The Nelson isn't the only Kansas City museum to find itself in the limelight. More than 80 years after the dedication of the Liberty Memorial, the city constructed the National WWI Museum under its base. Congress has designated it the nation's official WWI museum.

The entrance is a virtual field of poppies, representing the ones that bloomed in Belgian battlefields during the war. Look up through the glass above to see the towering Memorial, then look down to see its reflection in the glass. The rest of the museum is just as beautifully designed.

On the first Friday of the month, head to the Crossroads Arts District at 7 p.m., when more than 40 art galleries open their doors and ply the public with wine and cheese. Afterward, venture into the historic Freight House and get a table at the David Rockwell-designed Lidia's, chef Lidia Bastianich's first foray into the Midwest. The famous Italian cookbook author oversees a menu of top-notch pasta dishes (including an all-you-can-eat daily trio) and an excellent three-course market brunch on weekends.

GET YOUR GROOVE ON
You can't talk about Kansas City without mentioning jazz and barbecue. Both go back to the 1920s, and they're as much a part of the city's identity as cheese steaks are to Philadelphia or grunge is to Seattle.

In the 1920s Kansas City's dance halls and speakeasies were filled with blues and ragtime singers, and their numbers only multiplied in the '30s. While Prohibition kept most cities dry, the liquor continued to flow in Kansas City, so out-of-work musicians flocked here from all over the country to play clubs that still had patrons. The city saw the likes of Count Basie, Andy Kirk and Joe Turner, not to mention Charlie Parker, one of Kansas City's own.

The epicenter of the jazz district was at 18th and Vine, where the Blue Room stood. Just down the street, local and national musicians perform at night in the American Jazz Museum (1616 E. 18th St.). In fact, live jazz can still be heard all over the city. At the Majestic Steakhouse, you can get a Kansas City Strip while listening to a jazz band (request a seat downstairs). On weekends, head over to the Mutual Musicians Foundation, where performers gather in the late evening after their sets to jam.

As jazz flourished, Henry Perry, now known as the father of Kansas City barbecue, was smoking meat over hickory wood in a pit outside a streetcar at 19th and Highland. His slow-cooked meat, served wrapped in newspaper, gained such a following that it quickly spawned a trend--carried out most notably by Charlie and Arthur Bryant, George Gates, Otis Boyd, John Harris and Sherman Thompson. All started restaurants of their own.

Every Kansas City resident has his or her favorite among the 100-odd area barbecue restaurants, usually based on subtle differences in the flavor of the sauce and the length of the smoking. Arthur Bryant makes all the "greatest barbecue" lists, but Gates is the best, with its paper plates, home-cut fries, turkey-on-bun and tangy sauce. Be warned: The minute you enter one of these red-roofed restaurants, no matter how many people are already in line, the person behind the counter will immediately yell, "Hi! May I help you?" Make sure you shout your order over the noise or you'll be yelled at again. It's worked this way for 60 years, and whatever the future of KC holds, it will likely work this way for at least as many more.

EAT

WINSTEAD'S
This diner has been serving steakburgers and the
best shakes in the city since 1940. Various
locations; winsteadskc.com; dinner for two, $15*

STROUD'S
Off the beaten path, the James Beard Award-
winner makes fried chicken that's worth the drive.
5410 NE Oak Ridge Dr.; 816-454-9600;
dinner for two, $50

CASCONE'S GRILL
17 E. 5th St.; 816-471-1018;
dinner for two, $8

LIDIA'S
101 W. 22nd St.; 816-221-3722;
dinner for two, $60

PIERPONT'S
30 W. Pershing Rd.; 816-221-5111;
dinner for two, $90

GATES BAR-B-Q
See gatesbbq.com for locations; lunch
for two, $25
*Prices cover a three-course meal for two, not including drinks, tax or tip.

STAY

RAPHAEL
A boutique hotel across from Country Club Plaza,
built in 1927 in Spanish Renaissance Revival style.
325 Ward Pkwy.; 800-821-5343; raphaelkc.com;
doubles from $184

HILTON PRESIDENT
In 1926 it was called the President Hotel; now
it's the 213-room Hilton President, restored in
time for the opening of its neighbor, the Power
& Light District. 1329 Baltimore;
816-221-9490; hilton.com; doubles from $139

SHOP

COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA
Designed in 1922, this 15-block al fresco Spanish
-style shopping and dining area was the nation's
first planned shopping district. Ward Parkway and
Southwest Trafficway; countryclubplaza.com

CROWN CENTER
Three levels of shops and restaurants surround
Hallmark Square, which displays the Mayor's
Christmas tree during the holidays.
2450 Grand Blvd.; crowncenter.com

Published: Endless Vacation May/June 2008 Issue