MagicFest Kansas resource
Not sure if this is the place, but I figure if people are going to the MagicFest in Kansas city (Overland Park, KS) they might want some good food recommendations. KC is known for its BBQ so if you like that, you are in luck!
Location: Overland Park convention center
map link: https://www.google.com/maps/place/60...8!4d-94.654905
Depending on where one is staying (assuming anyone here is travelling to this) there are all the usual fast food/chain type places but if you want to venture out a bit here are some recommendations close to venue, and some not so close (all map directions are from the convention center). I'll keep the map locations to within ~15 minutes:
Food:
Joe's KC BBQ (highly recommended). One of the best in the city, and all the locations are all consistent and delicious. expect a line, but it moves faster than you think it will.
map to closest location: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...38.9153235!3e0
Map to original location farther away (down town ish - its in a gas station, seriously. Worth it if you have time, just because its a gas station!): https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...39.0444482!3e0
Burnt Ends BBQ. Newer establishment. very close to convention center
map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...38.9136875!3e0
Other popular BBQ joints in the city - Arthur Bryants (downtown location), Gates and Sons (downtown location) Danny Edwards (downtown, only open on Mon-saturday during lunch 11-3), LC's BBQ (Sketchy part of town, not to be confused with LC's Hamburgers), Hawg Jaw bbq (North of the river), Jack's Stack for a fancy and pricey sit down, or Q39 for a newer but very delicious, albeit semi fancy and semi pricey, establishment. to be honest, you can throw a dart at a KC map and hit within a block of a BBQ restaurant. If you want more recommendations, let me know. I used to keep a spreadsheet of all the BBQ places i had gone to.
Most of the good Mexican joints are downtown on Southwest Boulevard, but there are some kinda close that I can vouch for:
Bonito Michoacan - Its in a Mexican grocery store/meat market. Small dining area but the tacos are my favorite. so good I've never bothered trying anything else. Its about 15-20 minutes away.
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...38.8826897!3e0
Margarita's - Its a chain. not sure if local or not, but kinda close and I really like their salsa for some reason. Your mileage may vary. I'll take Bonito's (above) over this any day of the week but I used to go here when I worked near here.
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...d38.986024!3e0
Other location downtown is fine as well.
Chipotle (of course!)
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...38.9125716!3e0
Others downtown: KC Taco company (river market district), Manny's, Margarita's, and many more on the Southwest boulevard through down town.
Wings: The Peanut. There are several locations around, all are perfectly fine. Note - it takes 20-30 minutes per order of wings, so don't expect this to be a quick stop. Well worth it though. I wouldn't reccomend bringing cards here :).
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...38.8990831!3e0
Italian: I don't think there is much of an italian restaurant scene here - I think most are north of the river in the Gladstone, MO/North KC area. So i don't have any good suggestions here. Sorry.
Obligatory shout outs a bit further away:
Burger joint - Westport Flea Market consistently gets rated high for their burgers, and for good reason. Note - if you venture here, it is cash only. Its located in the Wesport area, which includes plenty of night life as well. Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...39.0509057!3e0
BB's Lawnside BBQ. They have live blues music nightly and a mix of BBQ and southern Cajun food on the menu.
map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...38.9727969!3e0
Night life:
This one can be tricky because everyone has different tastes and may not be keen on certain aspects, so I'll keep it general.
Country Club Plaza - more upscale fine some fine dining mixed in, with your safe run of the mill mix of bars (obligatory sports bar, irish bar, etc). Has free garage parking.
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...39.0417613!3e0
Westport (same as the Westport Flea Market above). Little bit older feel, has more hole in the wall type bars as opposed to the more upscale plaza. parking is a little more challenging but there are a few places to park for free.
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...39.0524993!3e0
Power and Light: If you want to go hang out with 22-25 year old professionals who are blowing their early career money on booze, this is the place for you (I know, because I did that). There is garage parking for 2-3 bucks (if there is a concert they will say its 10, but if you tell the attendant you are just going to the bars you pay the reduced rate). Mix of chain bars as this is a development owned by a company that does these in other downtown areas (St. Louis, Baltimore, that I know of). If you are coming from St. Louis, its another ball park village type of thing. Dozen or so bars, they have a weird cover thing going now where you pay to get in after a certain time, but then its good for any bar in there. The 2-3$ parking garage is on 13th street between walnut and main. You will park underground. And you will pay the most for your drinks here, most likely. But they have mechanical bull riding, club type bars, piano bars, pizza bars, often have live music in the courtyard, the works. I've had plenty of fun nights there.
map:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...39.0977632!3e0
Crossroads: A few blocks south of power and light is an area they are trying to revitalize. lots of new bars/breweries popping up with outdoor patios and what not. There is also an arcade bar called Up/Down in this area. Plenty of food options as well. Not sure on the parking situation here. I think it may be challenging. Sometimes have live music in the courtyard of a place called Grinders.
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...39.0930392!3e0
Waldo: One of my favorite areas to hang out, this location has a handful of locally owned bars/restaurants (more of the former), a chipotle, a wine bar, and a place that infuses their own liquor if that is your sort of thing. Lew's is my recommendation at Wornall and 75th. Plenty of free parking for most locations as there are parking lots scattered throughout (some may be behind buildings).
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...38.9938949!3e0
"Downtown Overland park": Small area that has some damn good wings (the Peanut, another location). Also has a couple other bars and a new brewery there (Brew lab) and ample free parking. But when I say a couple other bars, I mean only a couple other. I think there are 4 or 5 total.
Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...38.9855605!3e0
Obligatory shoutout to my favorite haunt: Drivers Sports Bar. Total hole in the wall bar, small with limited tables/bar seating, a couple pool tables, and bar darts. The bartenders bought it from the owner and are slowly renovating it and improving it. If you like poorly lit, kinda sketchy but not really sketchy bars, you will like this place. Can't say i've ever had their food lol. Map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...2d38.97939!3e0
Breakfast place nearby:
Jerry's Cafe: Amazing, tiny mom and pop type place. Maybe has 15 tables total? If you can avoid the morning church crowd, i highly recommend this. huge portions. They have lunch and dinner food, but i've never been for that.
map: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Over...38.9412783!3e0
There are other breakfast/brunch places (Waldo has a couple, The Peanut in downtown Overland Park does as well), but you can probably google as much as i can tell you about them. Jerry's gets my endorsement though.
BEER!
Boulevard Brewery is the big one here in town. They do tours of course, I think its a few dollars but you get a bunch of samples along the way/at the end, so if you have time to kill one morning its pretty neat. There are a lot of other micro brews starting to pop up in the city, most in downtown areas so not very close to the center, but you can google search them since this is such a personal preference item.
Other things to note: Uber is pretty popular here. I think it was one of the test cities so it has a pretty good hold and is generally readily available in most areas. I have never used Lyft so I can't comment on them.
Hopefully someone can make use of this! If you have a particular area you are staying at, feel free to post and I can try to give recommendations for that area.
Re: MagicFest Kansas resource
Awesome! I love tips like this. Thanks for all the work you put into this.
Re: MagicFest Kansas resource
Great work. I maybe should do this for GP ATL or at least get help on it since it's legacy.
Re: MagicFest Kansas resource
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Megadeus
Great work. I maybe should do this for GP ATL or at least get help on it since it's legacy.
I actively avoid being downtown whenever I can though so it's a bit tough for me to make recommendations, lol.
Overland Park is kinda similar to what Gwinett is for us; you pretty much need to get a ride to go to any food.
Re: MagicFest Kansas resource
Quote:
Originally Posted by
haganbmj
I actively avoid being downtown whenever I can though so it's a bit tough for me to make recommendations, lol.
Overland Park is kinda similar to what Gwinett is for us; you pretty much need to get a ride to go to any food.
OP is definitely in the suburbs, there aren't going to be any real walking distance food options worth talking about (unless the convention has tricks up its sleeve, which I doubt).
Happy to help the community and I have a bit of KC pride I suppose despite being a transplant. I know if i was travelling i'd take up people's advice for things to check out if i was in the city for a period of time and was able to get away for a bit. If people get something out of this great, and if not, it will be somewhat externalized for future users in future years. Insomuch as these places stay in business haha.
edit: Added Q39 and Jack's Stack to the BBQ section.
Re: MagicFest Kansas resource
Arthur Bryant's for BBQ. Boulevard for beer.
Re: MagicFest Kansas resource
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ronco
OP is definitely in the suburbs, there aren't going to be any real walking distance food options worth talking about (unless the convention has tricks up its sleeve, which I doubt).
Happy to help the community and I have a bit of KC pride I suppose despite being a transplant. I know if i was travelling i'd take up people's advice for things to check out if i was in the city for a period of time and was able to get away for a bit. If people get something out of this great, and if not, it will be somewhat externalized for future users in future years. Insomuch as these places stay in business haha.
edit: Added Q39 and Jack's Stack to the BBQ section.
Yeah definitely. I "lived" in a hotel in Westport for 2 years. Q39 is a good recommendation for sure if you wind up staying near there.
I'll throw out a suggestion of Char Bar too if you're up in that area, great outdoor seating.
If you rent a car or drive Westport also has plenty of free parking; hell most of KC does honestly.
Re: MagicFest Kansas resource
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fox
Arthur Bryant's for BBQ. Boulevard for beer.
Not sure how i forgot to include boulevard, but its there now!
