By Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette:
AN AFTERNOON IN THE CITY
On Labor Day Sunday, Dave and I headed for a late-afternoon wedding at Powell Gardens east of Kansas City.
Before we left home that morning, I asked my Facebook friends, some of whom are Kansas City residents, to suggest things to see, do, and eat in the city on our way to the wedding, and they offered some great ideas.
From Emporia, we took I-35 into the city, and that trail is familiar to many of us. If you’re like me, you look for the landmarks along the highway, such as Esther Williams Pools & Spas in Olathe (Williams was a competitive swimmer in the ‘30s and later had a film career), and the unusual architecture of the U.S. Safety building in Lenexa, which, to me, looks like a standing rib roast.
Speaking of ribs, our first mission was to eat lunch. My cousin had suggested Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue on Brooklyn Ave. as a place to eat.
Usually, Dave and I aim for Indian or Mediterranean restaurants in Kansas City, but we’ve seen Arthur Bryant’s featured on TV and the place has 70 years of tradition going for it. Calvin Trillin, a Kansas City native who writes for The New Yorker, once proclaimed that it was “possibly the single best restaurant in the world,” so I figured it was time to sample this icon of Kansas City culinary history.
At the intersection a block from Bryant’s, Dave and I inhaled the fabulous aroma of barbecue. Inside, a fast-moving line snaked through the restaurant. A dozen or more newspaper articles about the restaurant hang on the walls next to the simple Formica-topped tables.
A menu board hangs above the counter and you shout your order to one of the cooks when he yells “Who’s next? Who’s next?” Meal options are limited to meats and a few side dishes: fries, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad.
I expected to enjoy the food. I wanted to like this place. But I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and its taste and texture just didn’t appeal to me. The finely-shredded pork was served as a mixture of meat and barbecue sauce. There was no separating the meat from the sauce, and I wasn’t crazy about the sauce.
Now, Dave on the other hand, declared Bryant’s original sauce to be fantastic. And he liked his order of burnt ends. Should I make a second attempt at Bryant’s, I’d try the sliced meat or the ribs instead of the pulled pork.
After lunch, Dave and I headed for downtown Kansas City, Mo., to check out the construction progress of the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The groundbreaking was in October 2006, and we’ve seen this structure at various stages. This building will add a new dimension to the city’s architecture. It’s located near the Crossroads Arts District, the Kansas City Power and Light District and the Sprint Center.
As one of the Facebook suggestions, Kansas City writer Nancy Pickard tossed out the idea for us to check out the south side of the public library’s parking garage in Kansas City, Mo. The garage has a mural of sorts, a 25-foot-high Mylar signboard showing a bookshelf with a number of popular volumes including “O Pioneers,” “Catch-22,” “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” and “Lord of the Rings.”
The signboard has suitably dressed up the side of the parking garage. They turned what would have been an ordinary, boring concrete wall into a huge and colorful bookshelf. And the steps into the structure are shaped like books.
As for the library itself, it’s in a gorgeous old bank. The Kansas City Public Library moved into the former First National Bank building at 10th and Baltimore in 2004 and it is one magnificent library that includes art exhibits and a café.
The scale is different in Kansas City. The library is enormous and downtown buildings are tall; they block the sun. Everything in the metro seems to be on a huge scale – large structures, hundreds of thousands of people, countless dining options, lots of cars, plenty of nice residences, as well as plenty of run-down houses and buildings.
Dave and I left the city for the quiet countryside. It was a beautiful evening for an outdoor wedding. We watched two young people, beaming with love and joy, share toasts as the sky turned pink with the Missouri sunset.
Copyright 2010 ~ Cheryl Unruh
Next time you’re at Arthur Bryant’s try the ribs & sweet potato fries…they’re my favorite.
Our very favorite BBQ place (although the meat is smoked and SO tender and tasty that we never use the sauce–which is always in little bowls on the table) is what used to be called “Smoke Stack” in Martin City, MO, but now is “Jack’s Stack”–maybe has the name Fiorinellis–or something like that. Order the “round up” which is served family style and they bring you coleslaw, crusty bread, fries, baked beans–the BEST–with chunks of meat–and platters of ham, pork, ribs, beef–did I say ribs? We usually get the onion rings, too that come in a “tower.” This was my DH’s favorite place to eat (and we tried out a lot of BBQ places) and it is oh-so-good! Yum! Let me know when you’re going and I’ll come, too!
Love the last paragraph, Cheryl.
“Dave and I left the city for the quiet countryside. It was a beautiful evening for an outdoor wedding. We watched two young people, beaming with love and joy, share toasts as the sky turned pink with the Missouri sunset.”
I had heard lots about Arhur Bryants and really really wanted to like it too…but found myself very underwhelmed. I much prefer Bobby D’s! I love their pulled pork and sauce. I have no idea if they make their own sauce or buy it, but I like it!
Man vs Food on the Travel Channel recently went to KC and went to Oklahoma Joes and watching that convinced me to try their burnt end sandwich! Next time I go up there we are planning on that and Strouds. Still haven’t tried that.
OK Joes is my favorite. Very close second is Jack Stack, and I prefer their beans to Joes. Arthur Bryants I like well enough but it’s not my favorite. I don’t know that I’d like that pulled pork either Cheryl. I like Gates pretty well but I’ve only been to the one on Main a couple times. Rosedale bbq is pretty good for something a little different. 7th street bbq is bland and requires plenty of sauce but the people are great. I’m going to try a new one this week, Brobecks in Overland Park. Bobby D’s is ok. I wasn’t too impressed when we first tried it but it’s growing on me. I’m not too sure about their sauce but last time I was there I could have sworn what was in the bottle on the table was KC Masterpiece. IF you ever find yourself in Sedalia MO try Kehde’s Barbeque. I love that place.
I’m glad you went to the library while you were there. I’m also glad you mentioned the move to the bank building. That was a big deal. A good part of my wifes time there was during the move. It was a huge improvement over the old library. Did you play a game of chess while you were there? They have a giant chess set outside, upstairs. Did you check out the vault?
Ya know I’ve heard about Powel Gardens for as long as I can remember and I have driven by at least a million times but, I have never stopped. I’ll have to do that some day.
I really need to hit up OK Joes!! I just called Bobby D’s about their sauce because I have wondered about it for a long time. She said they do buy their sauce, but it is not KC masterpiece.
Awesome! Thanks for asking. I wonder what it is. I know I have had other brands that were similar to Masterpiece. Can’t remember what they were.
BTW, go to Joes on 47th at lunch time. The line will be out the door but it’s amazing how fast they move people through there. You can be in line wondering where in the world you’ll sit and by the time you need a table one will open. 🙂 I haven’t tried the one in Olathe.