Ice Cream Day and Month
Not only is July 17 National Ice Cream Day, but July is also National Ice Cream Month—and Kansas City has no shortage of great ice cream places to help celebrate! Start with Betty Rae’s, one of the cult favorites in this town that always has fun and yummy combinations (like goat cheese, apricots and candied walnuts). Then there’s Foggi Ice Cream, where you get to watch your ice cream being freshly made with nitrogen. Their cookies and cream is a tasty choice. Next, try the Golden Scoop, which is a nonprofit ice cream and coffee shop that employs people with developmental disabilities. Their strawberry jam ice cream is a delicious top seller. One of our favorite dates is trying out a new-to-us ice cream place, even if it’s a 30-minute drive from where we live..
Drive-Thru Day
July 24 is National Drive-Thru Day, so in honor of that we decided to pay a visit to our favorite drive-through Italian place … at a car wash. Yep, that’s right. At a car wash. I’m talking about Dominic’s, one of the Northland’s best places for Italian food. They have a location in Burlington Creek off 64th Street, but the one we really enjoy going to is at a car wash on North Oak. Where else can you get great food and a good wash for your car? My husband and I are creatures of habit when it comes to Dominic’s. He likes the lasagna, and I like the shells with meat sauce. The thing that keeps us going back is that sauce. It manages to be both sweet and spicy, which in our minds is the best of both worlds. Honestly, it’s probably my favorite sauce from any Italian restaurant in KC. Coupled with some side salads and breadsticks, this makes for a great drive-thru meal.
Collector Car Appreciation Day
Collector Car Appreciation Day is July 9, and we think the best way to celebrate that is to hit up a cruise night in downtown Parkville. Held in the farmers market and city parking lots just to the south of the railroad tracks, cruise nights are a fun outing of looking at classic, restored and show quality cars while also listening to live music, exploring the downtown and just enjoying the weather. We often like to grab dinner or dessert after looking at all the beautiful cars, and we find it very entertaining to talk to the owners of the cars to find out more about their ride and what they’ve done to it. Besides Parkville, cruise nights have been known to show up in places like Liberty, Belton, Overland Park and Merriam. Check the calendar of events for the KC metro and you just might find a cruise night close to you.
Hannah Berry is a freelance writer who lives in the Northland with her husband. They love to explore Kansas City and try new restaurants and activities.