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Favorite Foodie Destinations in Kansas City

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Do you make it a habit to keep Bon Appetit, Rachael Ray, Gourmet Magazine, and Cooking Light on your nightstand right next to your most current copy of KC Parent Magazine? Can you spend hours searching for the best recipes on the internet? Are you raising a future Emeril or Julia Child? If you are a foodie at heart, we've rounded up our favorite foodie destinations for decadent family fun right in the heartland!

An Edible Garden... a feast for the eyes and a delight for the taste buds!

Enjoy a visit to Powell Gardens Heartland Harvest Garden (www.PowellGardens.org 816.697.2600. 1609 NW U.S. Hwy. 50, Kingsville, MO). Powell Gardens is open daily (except major holidays) with admission ranging from $4 to $10/ea. Powell Gardens features many wonderful gardens, but one of the most educational for children is the Heartland Harvest Garden. Set on 12 acres, the Heartland Harvest Garden is the largest edible landscape in the United States. After a visit, children better understand where their food comes from and they enjoy sampling foods at the tasting stations, which are open during growing season. “On any given day, you're likely to find several things to try, from basics like strawberries to more unusual items like Yard-long Noodle Beans,” Callen Zind says. “With more than 2,000 types of food plants, we can almost guarantee there will be something to surprise you!” This summer, the Fairy Houses & Fairy Forts exhibit magically captivates children and inspires their imaginations to go home and create! Read our review of Fairy Houses & Fairy Forts.

Kitchen Gadgets, Cookbooks, Tools... Foodie Shops we LOVE!

Kansas City boasts many delightful shops specializing in the best gadgets, tools, and tips for the budding chef in you! A few of our favorites include:

Learn to Cook and leave the mess behind!

If you're interested in learning new cooking techniques, but you'd love to leave the mess behind, consider whipping up new recipes in someone else's kitchen! (Note: also check the shops listed above for classes.)

Sugar and Spice and everything nice.... it's all in the ingredients!

Every good chef values the importance of fine spices and ingredients and you can find the best of the best at these local shops:

Farmers' Markets... a Growing Trend

Visit a local Farmers' Market. Kansas City is home to over thirty farmers’ markets. They range from small markets selling exclusively organic produce to The City Market with over 140 local vendors. You can purchase fruits, vegetables, plants, herbs, homemade soaps, baked goods and even live animals. Discover new foods from emu sausage to lemon cucumbers, artisan breads to quality vinegars. Read our Guide to Kansas City's Farmers' Markets to discover the market for your palate. 

Banana Milk, Fresh Made Cheese, and Spotted Cows

Take a tour of the Shatto Milk Company (www.ShattoMilk.com 816.930.3862. 9406 N. Hwy 33, Osborn, MO) a working dairy farm and milk bottling company offering tours to groups of any size. Call 816.930.3862 to schedule a tour or attend a special event. Tours are $5/ea. (for those 2 and up). The Shatto family has farmed their land for more than 120 years, 70 of those as a dairy farm, with the milk bottling company opening in 2003 and the cheese making factory opening this year. Kids love Shatto's trademark milk... coming in many unique flavors including root beer, strawberry, orange crème, banana and traditional whole or chocolate milk. Your family will enjoy petting calves, milking cows and meeting the famously happy herd. Watch through a window as milk is processed and bottled, and end your tour sampling delightful flavors!

Creamy, Decadent, Sensational... Chocolate!

Tour Chip’s Chocolate Factory (2nd Floor - Crown Center 2450 Grand Ave., Suite 239, KCMO. 816.421.0012. www.ChipsChocolateFactory.com), a true treat for the senses! From the delicious aroma of warm chocolate to the tasty samples, to the beautiful artistry of fudge makers preparing handmade confections in copper kettles and forming it on marble slabs, Chip’s is a delight for all ages. Kansas City Fudge was originally developed by the Chip’s team more than 27 years ago. With a vision for entertaining and educating, the shop was designed for live demonstrations, which are offered daily. Visitors also can schedule a private tour for groups for a full experience in “Chocology” with tastings and souvenirs. Bonus Tip: Be sure to visit the special FREE Dinosaurs: Land of Fire and Ice exhibit for kids on Crown Center’s 1st floor or visit Kaleidoscope  and read our Tips for the Best Day at Crown Center to plan your day.

Pass the Cheese Please... the Sheep's Milk Cheese that is!

Tour the Green Dirt Farm (www.GreenDirtFarm.com 816.386.2156. In Weston, MO) a working sheep farm on the bluffs of the Missouri River Valley. The farm is open for tours Wednesday-Sunday. Tours are $8/ea. (for those 2 and up). Sturdy closed-toe shoes are important for the pasture walk. Call 816.386.2156 or email tours@GreenDirtFarm.com to make a reservation. Green Dirt Farm offers an educational tour unlike any other. Guests learn why grass is the best food for the 150 ewes on the farm, how important healthy soil is to the environment and what makes the cheese so good. Visitors also learn about pasture rotation while watching the dairy sheep graze on the hills. The highlights of the tour though, are the final steps: watching as the sheep are milked, the cheese is made in the kitchen and tasting samples! Green Dirt Farm makes high quality cheese while paying close attention to the environment and welfare of animals. Green Dirt Farm is one of only two sheep dairies in Missouri.

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