A school-cafeteria pairing that became a Kansas City classic: a yeast-leavened cinnamon roll served as the side dish to a bowl of chili, often at lunch counters and meat-and-three rooms.
The cinnamon-roll-with-chili pairing came out of Kansas City school cafeterias in the 1960s, where chefs scaled bakery-counter rolls for school lunch programmes and paired them with chili as the protein. Stroud's, which had been serving cinnamon rolls with fried chicken since 1933, helped cement the format. The combination spread to truck stops and lunch counters across western Missouri and eastern Kansas.
3 editor picks for Cinnamon roll with chili in Kansas City, ranked by editorial score. All Kansas City signature dishes · Cinnamon roll with chili across every city.
Stroud's Oak Ridge Manor ★ 4.6
north-kansas-city · 5410 NE Oak Ridge Rd, Kansas City, MO 64119
Stroud's Oak Ridge Manor is the Kansas City pan-fried chicken anchor, set inside a restored 1840s log-cabin homestead that became the second Stroud's in 1983 after the original 85th and Troost room opened in 1933.
Heirloom Bakery and Hearth ★ 4.6
brookside · 401 E 63rd St, Kansas City, MO 64110
Heirloom Bakery and Hearth in Kansas City's Brookside is Scott and Kate Meinke's destination bakery and breakfast counter, with cheddar-herb biscuits and the city's best Pop-Tarts.
McLain's Bakery ★ 4.3
waldo · 201 E Gregory Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64114
McLain's Bakery in Kansas City's Waldo has run since October 1945, making it the city's longest-running independent bakery. Cakes, doughnuts and sweet rolls anchor the case.