Outstanding dining continues to impress in Kansas City and beyond its borders

The Kansas City area has great dining diversity. Known primarily for its barbecue, Kansas Citians can travel the world with some international restaurants, as well as grab a good burger and fries.

We seek out local restaurants as often as possible when we travel. We’ll look at anything from a mom and pop café to a home-grown chain.

So, our recent trip to the City of Fountains landed us in some interesting restaurants. We started first with a visit for a late dinner at Char Bar in the Westport district. Westport is an eclectic combination of retail, restaurants and clubs. On our way to Char Bar, we ran into some younger people obviously heading off to the clubs (they were dressed for partying beyond a stack of ribs).

Char Bar is an adult’s playground. Its website describes it perfectly – “Smoked Meats and Amusements.” After enjoying a fabulous meal, customers can head out to the playground for some croquet or Bocce ball. The 10,000-square foot area is also home to a beer garden.

The restaurant smacks of fun and good times. The staff is friendly and attentive.

We started off with an order of hushpuppies. These aren’t your typical hushpuppies. They are stone grit fritters topped with beer blanc and a jalapeno jam. Very tasty!

I had the burnt heaven, which featured smoked burnt ends, smoked sausage, fried jalapeno, chipotle BBQ mayo and creamy slaw on an egg bun. It was a caloric nightmare, but I was willing to take the hit for the blog.

Lisa ordered the Sweet Caroline. It had pulled-Charleston-style chicken, Tillamook cheddar cheese and smoked bacon on a toasted hoagie. We shared a small serving of coleslaw.

We enjoyed our dinner at Char bar, and will plan to go back.

Saturday’s breakfast had us heading to the Country Club Plaza area. We visited Eggtc. (Eggcetera) on Main Street. The restaurant is located in an older building.

It was packed at about 8 a.m., so we ate at the counter. I kept hitting my knee against the brick wall beneath the counter. That didn’t feel good. The food made up for it. LOL.

Lisa ordered a quiche with a side of fruit. Funny story – when we started dating, Lisa said she’d make quiche for me. That was in 1996. Has she ever made quiche? You guess.

I had a steak and eggs. The steak was cooked perfectly (medium rare). The eggs were sunny side up, and the rye toast added a nice texture and taste. We enjoyed the meal.

After a long day of running around to different spots in the Metro area, we grabbed personal-sized pizzas from Pie Five near or hotel in Westport. The pizzas were excellent. We plan to try it again at home.

Sunday morning, we were meeting blogger friends in Lawrence, Kansas, for breakfast and a tour of their city. Even though, Lawrence is about 40 miles from downtown KC, the city is worth checking out.

And when in Lawrence, grab Breakfast at Milton’s café downtown. We enjoyed a great breakfast on their patio. The weather was perfect for it. Milton’s has a small interior for dining, so I actually felt more comfortable on the patio.

Lisa ordered her usual French toast with medium eggs. It was good, she said.

I had the Mexican hash with eggs. It consists of Chorizo, sweet red peppers, onions, and jack cheese. It comes with a side of salsa. Or, if you’re like me, you dumbly ask for ketchup. The server was excellent. She brought both salsa and ketchup. We all had a nice laugh. My breakfast was outstanding!

Later in the day, we grabbed lunch at the Country Club Plaza before heading home. Fiorella’s Jack Stack was the place of choice. It was our second time eating at a Jack Stack, but first at the Plaza location.

Lisa was a good girl and ordered a smoked turkey salad, with fat-free raspberry vinaigrette. It featured mixed greens, dried cranberries, goat cheese and maple spiced pecans.

I had a burnt ends meal, which featured my choice of meats (beef and pork). In addition to the fries that came with me meal (of which I tried a couple), we grabbed two small sides of smoked beans and cheesy corn.

We enjoyed our meal at Jack Stack very much. We topped the meal by splitting a carrot cake slice for dessert. When you visit Jack Stack, the carrot cake is a requirement, no matter how full a person is. It melts in your mouth. So good.

As always, we had a great visit with Kansas City’s restaurants and even our new friend in Lawrence. The great thing for us is that each eatery was a local establishment.

Disclaimer: Thanks to the Kansas City Visitors Bureau for the complimentary gift card to Country Club Plaza. However, all opinions and views are ours.