Home of the One and Only Kansas City #BBQBible!
Home of the One and Only Kansas City #BBQBible!
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FCS: Best of 2024
No matter how aware I am of it, this exact article sneaking up on me is becoming a bit of an annual tradition. I am always thankful for this time to reflect on the year that was. So as I recount the “Best of 2024”, and the “Biggest Loss” of the year, it is important to remember that the places named within were not necessarily the very best in KC of a given category or that they were brand new, they were just the best of things that were brand new to me. That distinction is always important.
Devan’s Dozen: Donut Edition
Donuts are a heap of wistfulness, deep fried in nostalgia, and glazed with childlike innocence. They have a way of transcending time and space to transport a person unlike any other food. There’s just something about donuts that makes everyone a kid again. And everyone has their favorite types and flavors. After over a decade of searching for the city’s best donuts, I decided to finally do a Devan’s Dozen for that food which a dozen comes most natural. These are KC’s best local donut shops.
Head for the Hill
A few years ago, when I proposed a Monopoly board layout for KC and included Strawberry Hill, a friend asked, “What’s a Strawberry Hill”. This vibrant Slavic and Latin American community in KCK has a rich history and is full of fantastic spots but even those who may have been to one or two spots have never dug in. Hopefully this highlight reel of Strawberry Hill favorites changes that.
The D-Word
Yesterday, hundreds of thousands descended upon Kansas City to celebrate something we have not seen in modern memory - the crowning of a professional sports dynasty. Even Mother Nature seemed to agree this day was special and gave us the proper weather. A day that was virtually perfect quickly turned sour and a day later, I still struggle to process those thoughts as I quickly pieced them together.
Once Upon a Time… in Kansas City
Have you ever wondered how it came to be?
That the default for American BBQ flavors is straight-up KC?
Not vinegary like Carolina or packed with Texas heat.
It’s KC sauces the people reach for - thick, tangy, and sweet.
So why does America associate BBQ with the Kansas City sort?
You will understand after reading these three barbeque shorts.
The Fountain City Foodie’s Guide to the World Capital of BBQ (KS)
Setting out to try every single Kansas City barbeque spot, it can be easy to know where you start, but where does one finish? There’s no set checklist of every BBQ joint in the metro. There’s no order guide of what you must, and mustn’t get! That is, there wasn’t. As I recorded my own decade-long pilgrimage through the Q Capital, one friend joked this was a “BBQ Bible”. Not only did I confirm it, I got a little carried away with the concept.
Part 2 / 2 explores the 5 Kansas counties that comprise KC.
The City Board
Earlier this year, Hasbro Gaming and Top Trumps USA announced the release of a Kansas City Edition of Monopoly for the first time in over 25 years. As someone who loves this game and loves this city, I was so excited. But quickly excitement became disappointment as I learned about the nature of property placement in these city edition games. Yet still, I held out hope that this game would be a good thing for KC. With the release of Monopoly: Kansas City Edition yesterday afternoon, this is my first look at the board.
A Tale of Two Whiskeys
It is the very best of times for now is the age of bottled-in-bond bourbon in Kansas City. Just a few weeks apart, two iconic KC distilleries (Holladay and J. Rieger) have released a bottled-in-bond bourbon. How is it that a bourbon can be made outside Kentucky? What does it mean to be bottled “in-bond?”? What is the story behind these bourbons? How do they taste? All these answers, and so much more, lie within.
Pay to Play
When I first published "Mr. Monopoly Goes to Kansas City", I was excited. The announcement of a Kansas City Monopoly board had sparked my imagination. Not only was I happy to share my board but I anticipated the conversations that would follow. It was in the follow-up that I learned how disappointing the actual board will likely be.