Date Nights: Exploring the letter I in KC

Check out this month’s ideas for “i”nspiration for a great date!

Italian Delight

Italian Delight by Avelutto in Mission is a family-owned New York-style pizzeria. It’s cheap, comfort food ... Italian style. This place has been around for more than 33 years and is definitely no-frills and unpretentious. You order at the counter, and they deliver your food to your table that’s adorned with a plastic tablecloth that only looks like lace. It was our first time there, so we wanted to try some pasta, although I have heard that the pizza is excellent as well. I had spaghetti with sauce, and my husband had the lasagna. Both were satisfying, especially the sauce. It was some of the best I’ve had anywhere. The menu has something for everyone: soup and sandwiches, stromboli and calzones, various types of pasta entrees, whole pizzas or pizza by the slice, and salads. They also have a lunch special every weekday. We certainly would not hesitate to visit Italian Delight again in the future.

IMAX Theater

I is for IMAX—specifically, the Regnier Extreme Screen at Union Station that is managed by B&B Theatres, where they show first run movies and science and educational features. We had never been to this theater and decided to check it out one Saturday morning. We watched Dream Big: Engineering Our World in 3D. The 45-minute flick was narrated by Academy Award-winner Jeff Bridges and was actually very interesting. This was no boring science show for sure. I’m not normally a fan of 3D, as it has made me nauseous in the past, but this one was pretty tame. If you need some sustenance while in the theater, a full concession stand is right outside the doors. I didn’t previously know what kinds of shows this theater offered, but it seemed they had some pretty interesting ones that day, including one called Extreme Weather and one on the Mysteries of China. We will definitely keep this place in mind for future educational shows.

Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! I don’t care what time of year it is, I am always up for some good ice cream—and good it was at Fairway Creamery. The brainchild of chocolate connoisseur Christopher Elbow, Fairway Creamery is part doughnut shop, part ice cream parlor. One half of the place houses the doughnuts, which typically sell out by noon; the other half is home to Glacé hand-dipped ice cream, made-in-house soft serve, and hand-dipped cones made with chocolate. Of course, you will also find some boxes of Christopher Elbow chocolates for sale. The building is modern and comfortable with one whole wall made up of garage doors. Picnic tables offer seating for eating outdoors. My husband went for a combo of hazelnut espresso and coconut ginger, while I opted for the peanut butter chocolate. Oh, man. I’ve been dreaming about it ever since. So good! The only bad thing—or maybe good—is that it’s 30 minutes away from where we live.

Hannah Berry is a freelance writer who lives with her husband in Kansas City. They enjoy regular date nights and love trying new restaurants and activities.