Things We Like in Kansas City Area

OK, Kansas City disrespecters--prepare for a sermonette!! Sure, if you just drive from the airport to World Headquarters you're not getting the BEST picture of Kansas City. That said, there's lots to like. Here's a list:

• BBQ. Best pulled pork sandwich and fries in the world are at Oklahoma Joe's barbecue in half of a converted Sinclair Oil station at 3200 West 47th street. (If you need trendy, attractive surroundings, your commitment to great barbecue is already subject to question.) We love the barbecue at Eagle Rib Shack and Goodwood's in Boise area, and we love the barbecue and especially the beans at Jackstacks in the Kansas City area, but you have not lived until you've had a super-moist and smoky pulled pork sandwich and a bag of crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside french fries. We also like Gates and a couple of others, but this is the best for pork barbecue. Amazingly good.
  
• The drive from Shawnee to NTS on 63rd via Mission Hills and Brookside. With much respect: this drive puts Warm Springs in Boise and Queen Anne in Seattle to shame. There are perhaps five square miles of beautiful, 1920-1940's era houses that look like a movie set: manicured lawns, mature trees creating a leafy tunnel for each street, interesting shops. It has been aesthetically healing to drive by these houses on the way to school. It's hard to imagine, but they will probably be even more attractive as the leaves begin to turn and Christmas decorations go up. Highly recommended.
• Craftsman-style houses. Perhaps it has a TINY bit to do with being "homeless", but we're finding ourselves drawn to the many craftsman-style homes in the area. They're much smaller than the houses above- they are a reaction to the perceived fanciness of the Victorian houses that preceded them. They are characterized by 1 or 1 1/2 story homes with a straight or bowed gable in the front, a porch, a fireplace, often built-in book cases. The homes we're looking at (many on The Paseo as you walk away from the NTS campus) are often poorly maintained and sad-looking, but you can still see the character underneath (it's a metaphor).
• The Jazz District. Remember the song "I'm going to Kansas City, Twelfth Street and Vine..."? Well the Jazz District hasn't preserved the WHOLE original section, but six blocks away, at 18th and Vine is a street that preserves the flavor of the original area. It has not only the Peach Tree restaurant, which serves the classiest "soul food" we've ever had, but the Blue Room, which features KC's best jazz (Ellis Marsalis was there last week); the American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum--all worth a visit.

Soooo--just a suggestion: if you feel yourself being dragged to Kansas City for a denominational meeting, consider an afternoon away from The Paseo or Troost exploring some of the interesting things to do in Kansas City. We're aware of the Plaza, the Royals (bless their hearts) and the Chiefs, but if YOU have suggestions for other things we should check out or want to arm wrestle about the best BBQ we'd love to hear from you.