Kansas City does not have that many restaurants featuring conch on their menus. Obviously, the reason for that is that conch is not readily available in the Midwest. Cows are. It is also not on every single menu in Key West, Florida, due to the fact that it’s difficult to harvest. Divers use masks, snorkels and fins often from a small boat to find conch in shallow but increasingly deeper waters. Extraction of the meat has to be done by hand as well. Particularly popular in

A little over a year ago, Cutest and I merged our lives and homes, probably to our grandmothers’ horror for surely we were living in sin by moving into a condo on the Plaza.  Before and since, many of our friends have wanted to know why we chose that location. Here’s why. One evening as we walked toward the Sister City bridge that spans Brush Creek, I spotted a lady standing at midpoint, draped in a flowing white cape. Gathered at the bridge’s base were eight others, snapping

The other night, Cute and I went back to the 60s for an evening. Our dinner club hosts decided that the theme for the night was to be those glory days of the 1960s, maybe stretching into the 70s.   We were reminded of the old saying that if you can remember the 60s, you really weren’t there, but there we were anyway. It seemed like a short trip back although none of us were able to wear any of our 60s gear or even still had it. Cute and I went out thrifting but we started at

Here I sit, happily munching squares of chocolate that I selected from one of Christoper Elbow’s fine Valentine Day boxes, courtesy of Cutest.  “Love Day” has passed but not without lingering thoughts about how fortunate we Kansas Citians are to have our very own Valentine district. Let me expound. Often Cutest and I have motored up and down Broadway, paying little attention to the Valentine neighborhood. It is bordered to the west by Southwest Trafficway, to the east by Bro

I think our thousands of longtime readers would agree that Cute and I are pretty positive people. Our whole purpose in our blogs is to amuse you, often by trying to point out new places for you to try, whether they are experiences or venues or even museums. Recently in an effort to head off the February blahs, we went to Atlas9, knowing virtually nothing about it, except where it’s located, near the Legends.  None of our friends have been, at least not that they’ve told us. W

Long time readers of our secret blog, secret in that only a handful of our friends know about it, no doubt have observed that Cutest and I prefer to seek entertainment that is not always front page news. Entertainment can be grouped under dining and beverage consumption, which we don’t usually write too much about, and events and assorted observations of both regional and long distance travel.  It doesn’t take much, as you know, for us to enthusiastically write something. As

Cutest here. (Not pictured above) You may not be aware of this exciting news but TODAY is “National Plan for Vacation Day.” Created in 2017 by the   U.S. Travel Association   via its "Project: Time Off" initiative, this day is supposed to remind you to map out your vacations for the entire year.  I’m suggesting you add Puerto Rico to your list for this year. You’re probably aware we just came back from there, too early, and we recognize that nobody really wants to hear about

Cutest and I recently returned from Puerto Rico, U.S.A.'s 51st want-to-be state. (Actually the island’s population is about evenly divided on that subject.) Moving on. We enjoyed escaping the cold, gray and near lifeless landscape of KC for a month. Unfortunately we came home too soon. As I sit in our office trying to keep my fingers warm enough to type this blog on my iPad, snow swirls outside my window which struggles to keep the 0 o  air temperature on the other side. All

It’s a raging battle.  A huge dispute.  People aligned on separate sides, violently struggling for the truth.  National bragging rights are at risk. However, the majority seem to favor one of two contenders. Only in the pursuit of historical truth I, Cutest, have so far sampled three of these controversial concoctions.  Today we walked to the Caribe Hilton, where I was determined to research piña col adas in a city and country (well, commonwealth) famous for them.  This loca

Cute here for my 2025 blog wrap-up edition. Let me say up front that I do enjoy the Christmas season. I listen to the carols, and much to the chagrin of Cutest, I attempt to sing/howl along. We watch a broad spectrum of holiday themed movies, from Miracle on 34th Street to Die Hard  and The Ref . Sorry, Hallmark holiday shows haven’t made the cut. Since we're not having snow this Christmas . . . And here's a puzzle for you: which picture doesn't belong? We drive through the P

On what was the coldest night of winter I hope, Cute and I decided to discover the lit wonders of Christmas. This was not the first time we deliberately set out to gaze at the splendors that people create on the outside of their homes for the holiday season but it was the first time we took snacks and warming fluid.   We stayed relatively close to home and we didn’t have a list of best neighborhoods to review, but somehow we managed to see impressive and homey displays.   We’

A  CHRISTMAS HOMES TOUR TALE Some decorations require an explanation. Here is one: "This is Buster. He was acquired on 46 and Troost in 2021. He then endured major surgery on his tail and teeth. He got a makeover by a man named Tommy who paints mortorcycles locally." Many a way there is to add to the Christmas experience. Giving to charities, taking a child to visit Santa Claus, inhaling a REAL fir tree, making sugar cookies and going on a Christmas homes tour! Now admit

Not ours. Lakewood Country Club's. As many of you are aware, Cute and I moved in together about a year ago just before Christmas. Our lives together in our new place began with the sheer and utter chaos that moving and combining two old(er) lives involves.  There was really no Christmas at home, just (unfun) boxes and weariness.   So we feel like this is our first Christmas together in our own place. Cute determinedly and repeatedly made trips to the storage unit, hauling u

After three years of street construction, including the maze of orange cone dispersants, Kansas City’s streetcar extension to the Plaza recently opened. With customary dignitaries, confetti and exploding aerial color bombs (one might have thought it was a baby gender reveal), the street cars could now roll past Union Station all the way to the Plaza and UMKC. To help keep our band of merry readers informed, Cutest and I road-tested a north-bound street car from the Plaza. Co

When not searching for our local alligator or admiring the pelicans, Cute and I sought amusement wherever we could find it during our Sanibel stay.  One fun place was The Bubble Room, a long-time hang-out on Captiva, the (posh) island connected by a bridge to Sanibel. The Bubble Room is not posh, but it  is entertaining.  Established in 1974, it has weathered several hurricanes and recently reopened (again) in July, about three years after Hurricane Ian and its destructive b

Escaping to an island and its beaches is healthy for one’s body and soul. Whether you are retired or unfortunately still part of the employed community, sand and surf can fix a lot of what ails you. Cutest and I have been soaking up, literally, the glories of the beaches of Sanibel, Florida. This barrier island is the shell capital of the U.S., if not the world. Doing the Sanibel Stoop requires bending at the waist while your eyes attempt to discover that one elusive shell mi

" To market, to market, to buy a fat pig" is a folk  nursery rhyme that is based upon the rural tradition of going to a  market  or  fair  where agricultural produce would be bought and sold.  The tradition continues today, with maybe fewer pigs and hogs being sold, but at places you know like the Kansas City, Brookside, and Overland Park farmers’ markets. On Sunday, Cute and I attended the Sanibel farmers’ market which is a once weekly event from October until May. It's bee

Thanks to Wikipedia (we do contribute) for the photo -- I didn't see a single manatee this time. Cute here, writing this week’s  blog as I sit in a canvas beach chair alongside Cutest, on one of the sunny and shell strung beaches of Sanibel, Florida. Days before K. C. weather turned dark, wet and gloomy, we jumped ship and drove south to Florida. At least Sola, my dog if you haven’t been paying attention, and I motored 1500 miles to Sanibel Island. A few days later Cutest boa

Being retired, whatever that means, I (Cutest here) am no longer part of assorted business networking groups that I used to unfaithfully attend. Between more corporate gigs, I used to be, and meet, many entrepreneurs and was often inspired by their stories. I just saw evidence that entrepreneurism is alive and well, if one is willing to work really hard.   At the Union Hill Garden Tour several months ago, we met a young woman who was selling baked goods in front of her home. 

Here is a recipe for a delicious fall day: Start with a sky full of sunshine, add crisp, fresh air, mix with a 12-stop walking wine tour, then blend with Cutest by my side.  It was delicious.   Westport’s third annual Wine Walk commenced on a blue sky Saturday afternoon. Most locals before leaving their thirties probably have tales to tell of their adventures in Westport. Except for the Labor Day weekend art show or a Sunday brunch, Cutest and I now typically give Westport a