The American Dream, in the 1950s, was to have the best of everything — it was even the title of a 1959 movie! And guess what, people still want the best of everything, even in a difficult economic climate. And, damn it, that’s what The Pitch wants you to have, providing lots and lots of enticing suggestions in this week’s annual…
Jackson County Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar confirmed today that, due to a budgetary shortfall, the county’s drug court has stopped accepting new clients. Kanatzar says he made the call to stop accepting new drug court clients in August. “We have a temporary — and I stress the term ‘temporary’ — slowdown of drug court clients until we get through our budget…
%{}% O’Fallon loon, birther (and Missouri state Rep.) Cynthia Davis is becoming a regular around Plogville. Every time she opens her mouth, something amazing happens. Like racism gets declared dead or starving children should get their asses to work at McDonald’s so they can score discounted meals. This week, Davis offered a bizarre explanation for the lack of traction she’s…
And once again, we bring you Friday Freebies, wherein we present things to do this weekend that won’t cost you any more than the gas it takes to get to ’em. In addition to the American Castrophe show with Adam Lee & the Dead Horse Sound Co. at Midwestern Musical Co., there’s the usual First Fridays stuff going on down…
Whether you are an insomniac or just looking to soak up some of the alcohol in your system, everybody has a weakness when the night turns into morning. In our annual Best Of Kansas City issue, readers deemed the Best Late-Night Food to be Chubby’s on Broadway, because as Charles Ferruzza wrote in 2000, “in midtown, no one ever needs…
Hey, listen up. I’ve been meaning to rave about Soft Reeds ever since I saw the newly revived local band play in late August at the Record Bar with Audiovox. Hardly anyone was there, but the Reeds were righteously on point with a set that kicked glam rock and prog pop into a mop bucket and sloshed the mixture all…
KCMO 710’s flaming conservative pundit Chris Stigall apparently interned for David Letterman. Check out this interview with Bottom Line Communications for stories of working for Dave, but don’t expect any tawdry details. Stigall didn’t see a thing. “It isn’t as though he’s running around the office like Benny Hill,” Stigall told Bottom Line. “There are literally just four to five…
You need plans. Fat City has a recycle bin full of event listings. In this post, all of our problems are solved. This weekend is the biggie — the American Royal Barbecue competition is back for its 30th year. More than 500 teams are expected to compete between Friday and Sunday. Gates open today at 3 p.m. Tickets, $13, are…
It’s Best Of Kansas City week here at The Pitch. No question the biggest issue of the year — full of profiles (KU center Cole Aldrich, urban planner Kevin Klinkenberg,chef Celina Tio and more). On the Plog, we’ve added video extras and a closer look at one of the readers choices: Best Media Personality and KSHB Channel 41 meteorologist Gary…
The “Best Nonprofit” in this year’s Best Of issue went to Midwest Music Foundation. In addition to last year’s Apocalypse Meow benefit for the Gaslights’ Abigail Henderson, they’ve started a series of concerts, called “Stay Tuned,” to raise money to start “LIVE. HEAR. NOW.,” “a television series, slated for production next year, showcasing the incredible level of musical talent within…
It’s getting hard to keep track of all the cancellations/postponements of late. First of all, more on that Passion Pit thing. The Star’s Tim Finn offers a thoughtful, firsthand account of yesterday evening’s apparently averted fiasco: But it also seems reasonable for the venue to get a chance to remedy the situation, which is what the Beaumont/Back Yard did. The…
The Sunday brunch rule: Pick up a plate and try everything One of the standard categories in the annual Best of Kansas City edition of The Pitch is Best Brunch. The combination of breakfast and lunch is an alluring proposition, particularly if it’s one of those fabulous all-you-can-eat affairs. Since buffets can be an expensive endeavor for some restaurants, the…
Update 3:43 p.m.: Officer Darin Snapp just called to say that there actually was no “controlled buy” wherein a cop dressed up as a UPS worker and hand-delivered someone’s stash only to arrest him seconds later. Police did seize the 40 pounds of pot, though. Live on paranoid fantasy!Over the last three days, officers with the Kansas City Police Department…
Angie, Victoria, Laura and Thalia were regular performers on Saturday nights at Bar Azul, this year’s Best Of Kansas City winner for Best Drag Shows. Photographer Michael McClure caught their beauty ritual at a tiny salon in Kansas City, Kansas. These four ladies are now performing on Saturdays at Daddy’s (1610 Main, Kansas City, Missouri), while Azul’s drag show still…
Mac-and-cheese: The real McCoy’s Macaroni and cheese falls into so many categories: soul food, comfort food, kids’ food, stoner savory, classic side dish, buffet staple, super-inexpensive meal (the cheap boxed version with the neon-orange powdered “cheese”) and easy-to-digest fare for senior citizens. It’s also a good dish for what ails you: When you’re not feeling well — fighting the symptoms…
In our Best Of issue, First Fridays at Midwestern Musical Company were declared “Best Free Music”, and with this show, it’s easy to see why. You’ve got American Catastrophe, one of the best purveyors of dark and gloomy Americana around, alongside up-and-comers Adam Lee & the Dead Horse Sound Company, and the show is free. Oh, and MMCo. is raffling…
We’ve gone down some crazy roads with burgers, and to some degree it feels like we’re reinventing the meat wheel. But it’s worth a debate. Can an outstanding set of toppings improve a substandard burger? Likewise, can poor toppings or sauces ruin an otherwise perfectly acceptable burger? The argument for toppings is always going to be centered around quantity (well,…
AEG president TIm Leiweke was right to downplay the rumors that the New York Islanders might get landlocked in Kansas City’s Sprint Center. Not just because the Islanders weren’t likely to skate into the Sprint Center. But maybe because Islanders owner Charles Wang is a little too unpredictable for Leiweke’s taste (not to mention Wang’s franchise sucks). Reuters reported today…
Let’s set aside any plausibility issues that might arise from the first scene in Lawrence novelist Laura Moriarty’s new book, While I’m Falling (Hyperion). It’s fiction, after all, so we have to just go with this opening, in which the too-predictable life of a Johnson County family is wrecked when the attorney father returns early from “a two-day seminar on…
I had never enjoyed a drink that requires me to perform five steps before I can even raise it to my lips. But this is the fun of Shirakiku’s carbonated Lychee Ramune drink — a Japanese soda in a codd bottle. In order to get at the carbonated drink inside the glass bottle, you must first remove the seal from…
Frankly Basic, the crisp, clean boutique in the Crestwood shopping center at 327 E. 55th St., is looking for a “friendly associate,” at least 18 years old, to work Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and either two days a week from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. or one day a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Perhaps an…
I want my baby back … is back. The Wall Street Journal covers Chili’s decision to revitalize the soul-crushingly catchy ad jingle. The tune, which has been lampooned everywhere from Austin Powers to Scrubs — is impossible to kill. It is the Freddy Krueger (who, in unrelated food news, also refuses to die) or Jason of jingles. Categories: Dining,…
Hallmark is cutting more jobs — somewhere between 225 and 250 jobs by the end of the year, the Kansas City Business Journal reports. The cuts were announced yesterday — hopefully in person, not in sympathy card form. No word on how many jobs in Kansas City will be lost. Add these cuts to the 750 jobs Hallmark announced in…
