Photo by April Fleming Do we praise Bon Bon too often here at The Pitch? We concede it is a possibility. When it debuted two years ago, the East Lawrence restaurant won us over with its innovative, Asian-adjacent Midwest dishes and its warm-and-friendly vibes. Little has changed since; if anything, each visit seems to deepen our love of the place….
(Courtesy KC Pinoy) Tuesday, December 31 If the end of the year has ambushed you and left you stranded without plans, it’s not too late to get in on a great New Year’s Eve party. Among your best dining options: KC Pinoy (1623 Genessee Street) is hosting a Bagong Taon Kamayan dinner: a celebratory, utensil-free meal all served on banana…
Back in the heady days of the late aughts, Kansas City hip-hop could accurately be described as divided into two camps. “It felt like there were two types of rap in the city: east of Troost and west of Troost rap,” Stik Figa says. “If you were east of Troost, it was all street shit. If you were west of…
The Wild Type had been quiet on the new music front for a while. Until last month’s release of Cooler Heads, an EP of demos, the last tune we’d gotten from the self-described “matriarchal synth-pop cult” was the single, “It Isn’t Love,” back in November of 2018. However, not only did we get Cooler Heads last month, but now we…
Dear Dan: I am a 60-year-old heterosexual man, and I am being told that I’m normal. I have been to several urologists, and they say I have no medical issues. But I’m having a hard time buying it, because for the last six months, my ejaculate has been extremely bloody. This is embarrassing, especially since oral sex—giving and receiving—has always…
Photo by April Fleming It’s a golden age for the sorta-upscale, fast-casual hubs known as food halls—fancy food courts, as many describe them. That’s true all across the U.S., and especially so lately in Kansas City, where every few months seems to bring news of a new hall opening somewhere in the metro. The best-known of these halls, Parlor, has…
Someway, somehow, we have already reached the close of yet another year. It’s time to say goodbye to 2019, but before we do that, we decided this was a most opportune time to take a look back and review the big headlines that came out of this year. There were a lot—some that even we the writers of the news…
(Courtesy Waldo Thai) Monday, December 23 Head to Waldo for a Christmas party at Waldo Thai (8341 Wornall Road). Chef Pam Liberda, bartender Darrell Loo, and their team are putting on an all-you-can-eat buffet, with selections including Thai charcuterie, fresh spring rolls with pork (Poh Piah Sod Tord), coconut massaman curry (Mussaman Nua Orb), stewed chicken with Thai chili (Yum…
Linh’s bakes crusty-soft baguettes fresh daily for its banh mi. // Photo by Zach Bauman Restaurants are theaters, at their core. Consider the “cast” of an average Kansas City restaurant, the flurry of waiters and backwaiters and hostesses working together like a syncopated chorus line. The set designer might be a swank design firm; the stage manager is a beleaguered…
An ordinance being discussed in KCMO would declare the area on the map outlined by the black, bold line as blighted. After 45 minutes of discussion over an ordinance that would approve a plan declaring the majority of Kansas City’s midtown area as blighted and in need of redevelopment last week, a city council committee decided to table the vote…
Courtesy of Making Movies Scottish Rite Temple. Always one of the city’s biggest parties, NYE at the Temple offers a six-hour open bar, four levels, five DJs, and “the largest balloon drop in the Midwest” for $69. This one usually sells out. See nyekc.com. Black Party at Studio Dan Meiners. A five-hour, $99 open bar with premium drinks, plus DJs…
Dear Dan: My husband and I (straight male/bi female couple) have been married 15 years. We are in our early 40s. When we met, he was inexperienced and crippled by shame from having grown up in an extremely sex-negative atmosphere. I have no hang-ups about sex and was happy to get him involved in some more adventurous stuff—but he quickly…
Courtesy 4 Hands Brewing Company and McLain’s Bakery Tuesday, December 17 Around 5 p.m. tonight, Bier Station (120 East Gregory Boulevard), is offering three pours of 4 Hands Brewing Company beers, along with two paired macarons from McLain’s Bakery served with each beer. One sample duo: 4 Hands Tiramisu Milk Stout (with lactose, coffee, cacao nibs and vanilla) and a…
Photo by Chase Castor The sound in the council chambers was deafening—whoops, hollers, and chants from over 100 supporters of KC Tenants—on Thursday afternoon as the Kansas City, Missouri City Council voted to pass a tenants bill of rights package on Thursday. The resolution passed, 12-1 (1st District Councilwoman Heather Hall voted against) and the ordinance passed 10-2 (Hall and…
Photo by Zach Bauman You can throw axes in the Power & Light District now because irony is dead and we have killed it. In August, Blade & Timber, Kansas City’s first “axe-throwing experience,” moved from its ancestral home in the West Bottoms to a glossy storefront at 13th and Baltimore. The concept hasn’t changed. For $20 per person, you…
Verdant vibes inside the Westside’s Fox & Pearl. // Photo by April Fleming. For diners, 2019 has been a generous, heaping plateful of a year. Tons of interesting restaurants and bars—too many to name them all here—opened across the metro, offering everything from handcrafted pasta to vegan burgers to CBD cocktails to Burmese food. We even bagged a couple of…
Mills (left) and Pyles are officially open for business. // Photo by Zach Bauman. They’ve been selling books at Mills Record Company for a few years now—a small, highly curated section of mostly music-related works, small press poetry, and progressive political stuff. Judy Mills, who owns the Westport record shop, and Dylan Pyles, who’s been working there since 2015, are…
This month’s set of visually enticing local music videos features Flare Tha Rebel tackles code-switching, the Get Up Kids meeting up with Lou Barlow, Giants Chair diving into the past (and returning with a new record), and MB58 kicking it on an airplane wing—among other stunners. Flare Tha Rebel, “Fuh Wit’ Me” As a member of hip-hop collective Anti-Crew, Flare…
Dear Dan: My ex-girlfriend, who I dated for nine months, called me two months after we broke up and accused me of giving her HPV. She was going on, telling me how I needed to tell any future person I had sex with that I have HPV. I’m a 38-year-old man, and I’ve never had any signs or symptoms of…
Be it the intro to Fugazi’s “Waiting Room,” Ataxia’s “Dust,” or “Drop Foot,” from the new Messthetics’ album, Anthropocosmic Nest, bassist Joe Lally’s sound is instantly recognizable—an insistent but groovy fretwork that’s been worming its way into the ears of music fans for nearly three decades now. The Messthetics—Lally, drummer Brendan Canty (also of Fugazi), and guitarist Anthony Pirog—formed a…
Photo by April Fleming Monday, December 9 Certified Sommelier Tony Gatti will be on hand tonight for a four-course meal at Ragazza Food and Wine (4301 Main Street). Each course, prepared by chef Tina Warford and her team, will be paired with a unique selection of California wines. The meal begins at 6:30 p.m. (with a cocktail hour beforehand) and…
Photo by April Fleming Over happy hour at Julep last Wednesday, a digital fire crackled on a large TV, red Santa hats covered the backs of the barstools, and tabletops were wrapped like Christmas gifts. On closer look, though, the Westport cocktail bar wasn’t going for a winter wonderland vibe. The Santa in the mural on the window was clutching…
Country music, it seems, is back. Ken Burns’ new eight-part documentary on the genre is streaming into homes across the country, Kacey Musgraves won the 2019 Grammy for Best Album, the country supergroup the Highwomen (Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris, and Amanda Shires) has been lauded for addressing societal issues in its music (how far we’ve come from the…
Kelcie McKenney Kansas City, Missouri is on its way to becoming the first major U.S. city with zero-fare bus service. On Thursday, Mayor Quinton Lucas and the city council unanimously passed a resolution directing the city manager to fund fare-free public transportation in the next fiscal year budget. Zero-fare bus service has been a hot topic in Kansas City since…
