Day-by-day eating plans for Kansas City. weekend classics, family routes, vegan plans, on-a-budget editions.

Day-by-day plans

Kansas City BBQ crawl: the holy trinity in one day ★ 4.7

First-time visitor focused on barbecue1 day

A focused one-day route through the three canonical Kansas City BBQ counters: Arthur Bryant's for the original, Gates for the sauce, Joe's Kansas City for the Z-Man sandwich. Plus a stop at Char Bar for the patio.

  1. Day 1: Saturday: four BBQ stops and a cocktail closer

    Morning
    Start at Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que in the working Shamrock gas station, 3002 West 47th Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas at 11:00 sharp. Order a Z-Man sandwich and a side of burnt ends.
    Afternoon
    Drive to Arthur Bryant's at 1727 Brooklyn Avenue. Burnt ends sandwich on Wonder Bread with the rust-coloured sauce. Skip the sides; conserve room.
    Evening
    Hit Gates Bar-B-Q at 1325 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd. Beef on bun and a half slab of ribs to share. Finish at Char Bar's beer garden in Westport with a Boulevard draft.

Kansas City weekend: the classics, done right ★ 4.6

First-time visitor, two days2 days

A weekend built around Kansas City's defining places: BBQ canon Saturday, Crossroads coffee and Italian Sunday. Steak at Golden Ox, brunch at Westport Cafe, dinner at Lidia's.

  1. Day 1: Saturday: market mornings, BBQ lunch, steakhouse dinner

    Morning
    City Market on Saturday at 09:00. Pick up a Romano sandwich from Carollo's Italian Deli or coffee at Thou Mayest River Quay.
    Afternoon
    Lunch at Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que. Z-Man sandwich, side of burnt ends, eat in the parking lot if the line is too long.
    Evening
    Dinner at Golden Ox in the West Bottoms. The Kansas City strip steak, shrimp cocktail, and a stop at Voltaire next door for a glass from the eclectic cellar.

  2. Day 2: Sunday: brunch, coffee crawl, Italian dinner

    Morning
    Brunch at Westport Cafe on Westport Road at 11:00. Brioche French toast with the complimentary cocktail.
    Afternoon
    Walk the Crossroads coffee corridor: start at Messenger Coffee's three-story flagship on Grand, move to PT's Coffee on Southwest Boulevard, finish at Cafe Ca Phe on East 5th for a Vietnamese iced coffee.
    Evening
    Dinner at Lidia's Kansas City in the Crossroads. Sunday dinner runs 16:00 to 20:00 in the converted railroad-house dining room; the pasta tasting trio and grower-Italian wine list are the move.

Kansas City coffee and bakery day ★ 4.5

Coffee and pastry-focused traveller1 day

A walking and short-drive route through the city's third-wave coffee scene and best bakeries. Crossroads coffee, Westside bread, Brookside biscuits.

  1. Day 1: Saturday: roasteries, bakeries, slow morning

    Morning
    Start at Messenger Coffee's flagship at 07:30 for a filter coffee and an Ibis Bakery sourdough. Move to PT's Coffee on Southwest Boulevard for a second espresso.
    Afternoon
    Drive to Banksia Bakehouse on Main Street downtown for a pork and fennel sausage roll and a Lamington. Stop at Cafe Ca Phe for a Vietnamese iced coffee on the way back.
    Evening
    Finish in Brookside at Heirloom Bakery and Hearth for a biscuit sandwich and Pop-Tart. Pick up a cake doughnut at McLain's Bakery on Gregory Boulevard to take home.
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