Dining, Drinking, Destroying Doldrums?

I, Cutest, have to admit that the possibility for summer doldrums and even boredom do exist in July and August in Kansas or Missouri. Or the Midwest - or possibly anywhere. When I was a kid and told my mom I was bored, bored, bored, she gave me a household chore to do. That stopped me from telling her that. My primary alternatives, although I had a job from age 16 on, were reading, movies, walking to the Mission shopping center when there was actually something there, or going to the Roeland Park swimming pool in the caves.

That was then and don’t get me wrong: really, I am not bored. But this last week has not presented a plethora of fun, fun little trips or escapades I think you’d be interested in although Cute and I find ourselves somewhat easily entertained.

So I thought I would tell you about three new (to us anyway) dining and drinking experiences around town.

The first is the quickest, the slightly strangest, and absolutely the most difficult to find. It’s hard to find in the best of times, but with all the construction going around in the area, it’s almost impossible so you really have to want a challenge. It is also the hottest.  Panthers Place is on the West Side, off Southwest Boulevard, supposedly on 25th Street is a bar. Describing it is difficult but let me just say that an Airstream is involved, much foliage, and chairs that somewhat precariously perch on broken cement and mulch.  It is a small place, and we think the owners said, “Hey, here’s an empty space that we can put a rain forest in and serve drinks.”  It is also, unusal in Kansas City, not air conditioned - but there are a couple of fans. Most people do not spend a long time there and there are many Mexican restaurants within walking distance.  Did I mention that parking is also a challenge?  Again, you really have to go there to understand its quirkiness and appeal.

Our two pictures do not do it justice so I took the third from their website. Or maybe get a better idea of the place: https://panthersplacekc.com/. 

If you haven’t meandered around the Missouri river and the new women’s soccer stadium with the almost most forgettable name ever (CPKC Stadium; I get the KC part, but CP stands for Canadian Pacific for Pete’s sake), you’ve probably missed the second place, Two Birds One Stone (thank you, Drake).

This is a very casual eatery with decent bar food and if you sit outside, you can watch the walkers, joggers, birds, and our nice brown Missouri River which is currently moving right along.  Cute is enamored as he brings his new mosquito and fly snapper, entertaining all around.  You will be stunned by the amount of construction and housing around the place as the revitalization of the area is going full tilt. The website is https://www.twobirdsonestone.com/.

My third you may have read/heard about and I’m a little bit in love with it.  The New York Butcher Shoppe and Wine Bar is cozy and friendly and all the meals we’ve had there have been just delicious. They do two things there that I have not seen elsewhere in KC: you can buy a really good bottle of wine, or a cheaper one, also good, and they will serve that bottle to you at your table.  You buy that wine at retail price, not restaurant price. They will also do the same thing with their amazing steaks which you order at their appetizing meat, etc. counter.  They charge 20 bucks to cook it and the sides and serve that to you.  You can also just buy these things, along with many prepared foods and necessary food items, and take it all home. So smart!   BTW, their oysters, which I normally hate, come in a jar. And oh yum.

When you go, have my namesake cocktail which Billy created just for me one night (when I felt a craving for a chocolate martini) and they put it on the menu. Scrumptiously chocolatey. Whoo hoo. Their website is https://local.nybutcher.com/kansascity.

And yes, now we're making a too-hot-day-to-go-outside-list which doesn't include Netflix. Tune in next week!