It was a truly outstanding week in Kansas City in almost every way. I had the chance to spend time with many of you, which was tremendous. I got to show off my daughter. I got to eat a huge amount of great food. The Chiefs had a total meltdown which was fun for me. And there was actually a week of hope for the KU football program before it all came crashing down in the second half Saturday. Some highlights worth noting:
My dining agenda included the following:
Lunch at Papa Keno’s in Lawrence followed by a $2.75 Oatmeal Stout at Free State.
Dinner at Rudy’s in Westport.
Lunch at Jack’s Stack.
Dinner at the B’s residence (If you get Stacey to cook for you, it ranks right up there with the finest of KC dining experiences).
Lunch at the Classic Cup.
Dining on Waldo Pizza at the N’s residence.
Lunch at Arthur Bryant’s.
Dinner at Jalapeno’s in Brookside followed by a Guinness at O’Dowd’s.
Lunch at Jim G’s in Raytown.
Rehearsal dinner consisting of some of Jack Stack’s finest offerings.
Lunch at Oklahoma Joe’s.
Completed by a fine reception dinner at the Muehlbach.
About the only thing I missed was a stop at Taco John’s so I could scarf down some Potato Oles. We also stopped in Columbia for lunch Sunday on the way home, however in the interest of eating as quickly as possible, we went to Wendy’s rather than one of that fair city’s finest eateries. Pretty solid work, in my opinion. I think it rivals my week in KC last October, although that week was so epic that I don’t believe it can ever be topped.
Kudos to the government of the state of Missouri. I-70 was actually in halfway decent shape for the much of the drive, a nice change from the traditional moonscape you have had to navigate in recent years.
M. did wonderfully in the car. On the way out, she slept almost the entire ride. She was a little more fussy on the way home, but still made the trip with only one stop on her behalf. She also did quite well when we drug her out and about. I’m sure she’ll make up for all of this once she turns two.
I was quite impressed with the radio offerings in Kansas City. Well, I was impressed with the music 96.5 was playing all week. I can’t say the rest of the FM dial was any different than it has been in the past 4-5 years. The Buzz was coming strong with some excellent tunes every chance I had to listen. They wasted no time in getting U2’s new single into high rotation, which was nice. Have you heard “Vertigo” yet? Good grief, U2 is bringing it strong this time around.
One big downer to the trip was all the shitty political ads that pollute the airwaves in KC. I think the argument can be made that the KC media market is one of the worst for ads in the country. You’ve got two states in the market, and one of those states is traditionally one of the most evenly split between the parties. I found the mute button on the remote rather quickly so I didn’t attempt to rupture my eardrums to avoid all that crap. It was fun to critique the ads of the former associate of mine who is running for Congress. I found some of her assertions curious, to say the least. Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about voting for or against her so I won’t get into it too much.
Lying on my office floor are two large boxes of old cassette tapes that were stored away in my step-dad’s basement. I am eager to work my way through them in the coming weeks and share with you what I purchased between 1986 and 1990.
I’ve probably got more I’ll think of later, but that should get you started.