A recent visit to Urban Provisions reminded me that I don’t make it to the East Bottoms enough. Located on an industrial street corner where trains rumble up and down the nearby railroad tracks, the cozy general store is packed with one-of-a-kind goods, all locally sourced or American made. I lost track of time sniffing the richly scented soaps and…
The committee that oversees Cliff Drive earlier this year launched an online petition soliciting support for closing off vehicle traffic along the scenic byway in Northeast Kansas City. The idea emerged out of no small amount of frustration by members of the Cliff Drive Corridor Management Committee, who regularly watch the work of volunteers, who try to clean up the…
Taylor Swift is coming to Kansas City, but fans will have to hold their breath for another 10 months before she plays back-to-back dates at the Sprint Center next September. On the heels of her most successful album release yet, Swift has announced plans to embark on a massive six month North American tour beginning in May. The 24-year-old pop…
One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories dates back to my earliest years in Kansas City, when I dined by myself at a Chinese restaurant and ordered all the dishes I loved — and a few exotic cocktails. I had to take a taxi home, but that was its own pleasure. There’s nothing better than a mess of cold Szechuan beef to…
Like a booze-fueled mirage, Taco Bell appears in my line of sight only if I’ve had at least three strong drinks. Come that fifth shot, there it is: a hazy, nacho-cheese-colored beacon, lighting up a cloud that rains watery hot sauce. Until very recently, in fact, I’d never eaten Taco Bell sober. (And really, how often have you?) But then…
Name: Shanley Cox Occupation: Blogger, Eat It Kansas City Hometown: Topeka Current neighborhood: Brookside What I do (in 140 characters): For work, I write for a local advertising agency. For fun, I write about the KC food scene on my blog, Eat It Kansas City. What’s your addiction? Foodstagramming (posting photos of my food on Instagram). People make fun of…
The bright-purple building at 101 Southwest Boulevard that has long been home to soon-to-relocate Hamburger Mary’s will next be Up-Down, a bar and arcade featuring vintage video games from the 1980s and ’90s. As soon as Hamburger Mary’s owners Erik Christensen and Jeff Edmondson complete their move from the Crossroads to the Uptown Theater (3700 Broadway), targeted tentatively for the end…
Dylan Mortimer enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1998. A pastor’s son from Ferguson, Missouri, he’d been drawing and painting since age 9, and much of his art was informed by the conservative, Christian environment in which he was raised. “The church was really supportive of me doing art, so when I got to art school here in…
With the stream of outstanding musicians graduating from UMKC’s Conservatory of Music and Dance, jazz studies director Bobby Watson has contributed more to KC’s jazz revival than probably anyone. Internationally, Watson is recognized as one of today’s great alto saxophonists, and he has always delivered consistently inventive arrangements — from his time with the legendary Art Blakey Jazz Messengers through…
%{}% %{}% Loretta Lynn Long before the rosy-cheeked country pop of Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves, there was Loretta Lynn, an example against whom all would-be country stars must be measured. Often called the Queen of Country Music, the 82-year-old Lynn has enjoyed an illustrious career spanning more than five decades. And it’s no wonder: Each time you hear “Don’t…
%{}% %{}% When Sara Morgan talks about her idol, Loretta Lynn, excitement almost overcomes her. Morgan met the 82-year-old queen of country music by chance in September, on her first trip to Nashville, and the experience still leaves her a little speechless. “I had never been to the Ryman , so I was already overwhelmed, you know, as a country…
Coda Bar & Grill is empty, give or take the bartender. It’s a frigid Tuesday afternoon, and Kasey Rausch and I have just sat down on stools and stripped off our top layers of protection against the vengeful cold. Rausch props an elbow on the bar and rests her cheek in her hand. She has pulled the brown waves of…
%{}% %{}% If adorable false-nose nuzzling is at the top of your Christmas list, save an evening for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical. The Coterie Theatre’s production, adapted from the 1964 television special, is, in a word, charming. It’s also, this season, one of the only places where you’ll get to see men in clingy velour reindeer suits doing…
Dovetailing nicely with the debut of Sonic Highways — Foo Fighters’ eight-part HBO documentary series that looks at legendary U.S. recording studios — and the release, last week, of their new album of the same name, comes news today that the band will visit Kansas City next year. Deep into next year: The middle-aged rockers will be at the Sprint Center…
If you’re a folk musician and you haven’t yet applied for the 2015 Folk Alliance International Official Conference Showcase, today is the day. Get ready to fork over the very reasonable $40 application fee and fill out some quick paperwork here. In a few short months, you could be performing alongside some of the most talented folk musicians from around the…
Ray Merrick has been employed by the state of Kansas for 14 years — first as a state rep, then as a state senator, and now as speaker of the House. In that capacity, people sometimes ask Merrick tough questions, like what to do about Kansas’ massive budget shortfall. The Republican opened up to The Wichita Eagle on this very topic…
Harry Truman, perhaps the best-known politician to hail from Missouri, once quipped that the buck stopped with him, which was to say that the former president accepted responsibility for major decisions. Jay Nixon, a Missouri politician of considerably less stature, seems to have no idea where the buck stops when it comes to potential civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. With…
