Top 10 Foodie Destinations in Kansas City

July 6, 2011

midnight

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 $9.50/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!”

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:

Pryde's of Old Westport (www.prydeskitchen.com 115 Westport Rd, KCMO. 816.531.5588). Pryde's, a family owned Kansas City original since 1968, specializes in gourmet housewares and kitchen & home accessories. You'll discover unique selections of cookware, bakeware, kitchen gadgets, and tools for preparing food from every culture and cuisine.
A Thyme for Everything (www.athymeforeverything.com 229B SE Main Street, Lees Summit, MO· 816.554.3755). This quaint shop in Lee's Summit's Historic Downtown shopping district, offers gourmet ingredients, kitchen tools, and cookbooks. Many of their products encourage your budding jr. chefs... including Sassafras Kids Cooking Kits, Real Kitchen Tools for Kids by Curious Chef, cookie cutters, kids' cookbooks, and more. The shop also offers Cooking Classes by area chefs and cookbook authors for adults and children.
Function Junction (www.functionjunction.com 3rd Floor - Crown Center, 2450 Grand Blvd, KCMO. 816.283.3033). Function Junction, a Kansas City company since 1977, specializes in "cool cooking stuff." The unusual and unique is the name of their game. The shop also offers cooking classes and special events for the foodie-in-you to learn new techniques and ideas. Bonus Tip: Plan your day with our Hot Tips for FREE Family Fun at Crown Center.
Williams-Sonoma (www.williams-sonoma.com 2 KC Locations: Leawood Town Center Plaza 5204 West 119th St Spaces 2105 To 2100 Leawood, KS. 913.345.1989 & Country Club Plaza 4764 Broadway KCMO. 816.561.4358). Founded in 1956, Williams-Sonoma, Inc. is a nationally recognized retailer of gourmet cookware specializing in high-quality stylish products. The local stores also host special events and classes.
Kitchen Thyme (www.mykitchenthyme.com 4169 North Mulberry Dr., KCMO. 816.587.9100) Kitchen Thyme features a unique blend of kitchen accessories, top-of-the-line cookware, bakeware, gadgets, cookbooks, and gourmet food items. One of their featured products is Shawnee made Vita Craft Cookware. Kitchen Thyme also boasts an Olive Bar with samples of extra-virgin olive oils and balsamic vinegars.
Now You're Cookin' (109 Main St, Parkville, MO. 816.505.2338). You'll feel like you stepped into grandma's kitchen with the cozy shop right next to Christmas on Main Street (a shop that specializes in holiday decor year-round, just as the name suggests). Now You're Cookin' sells kitchen gadgets, cookbooks, and decorative items. Bonus Tip: Read our Guide to a Parkville Day Trip for more fun ideas while you're there!

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.)

Dream Dinners (119th & Metcalf. 913.491.6733) offers Kids in the Kitchen workshops on Wednesdays (July 13 & August 10, 2011). Kansas City kids can cook up delicious selected kid-friendly entrees and enjoy additional activities. Use this KC Parent Dream Dinners ad to save $25 on your registration! Best of all, they'll bring home delicious and healthy meals the family will enjoy, all while learning great kitchen skills in a supervised environment where you aren't responsible for the clean up! If the Wednesday workshops don't work in your schedule, consider a parent-child date night where you'll work together to select healthy freezer meals to make and take just for your family. Visit Dream Dinners to learn more.
The Culinary Center of Kansas City (www.kcculinary.com 7920 Santa Fe Drive, Overland Park, KS. 913.341.4455) offers over 450 contemporary classes and demonstrations in the culinary arts for all ages, interests, and skill levels. Learn ethnic cooking, baking, basic kitchen skills, gourmet recipes, and culinary classics.

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:

Planters (www.plantersseed.com City Market District: 513 Walnut St. KCMO. 816.842.3651). With wooden floors and original seed drawers, Planters brings new meaning to the word "original" with their old-fashioned general store atmosphere. Planters offers a vast selection of spices, mixes, teas, coffees, and vinegars. We're especially fond of the salad dressing mixes, bar-b-q rubs, and popcorn seasonings. Bonus Tip: Tour the nearby Arabia Steamboat Museum while you're there.
Penzeys (www.penzeys.com 7937 Santa Fe Dr. OPKS. 913.341.1775). Penzeys Spices sells top quality spices from around the world. With over 250 herbs, seasoning blends and spices this is the place to go for hard-to-find spices and top quality products.
Dean and Deluca (www.deandeluca.com 4700 W. 119th Leawood, KS. 913.498.3131). Dean & Deluca specializes in gourmet treats for cooking from around the globe. The founder's dream was "a place that would offer customers a sumptuous celebration of food, a place to experience all of the pleasures that cooking and eating can bring." With a store focused on handcrafted products and artisan foods from around the world, Dean & Deluca offers an overwhelming variety of foods begging to be tasted and tried in new recipes!
Trader Joe's (www.traderjoes.com... TWO KC Locations opened July 15, 2011: 8600 Ward Parkway, KCMO. 816.333.5322 & 4201 W 119th St., Leawood, KS. 913.327.7209). The nationally acclaimed store opened their first location in 1958 and finally, Kansas City will be home two locations! Famous for selling innovative, hard-to-find, great-tasting foods at affordable prices, this is the shop KC moms have been buzzing about.
888 International Market (www.888intlmarket.com 10118 W 119th St. Overland Park, KS. 913.341.8700) This is the largest International Market in the Kansas City area with authentic grocery items from around the world.
The Baker's Rack (www.onestopbaking.com 13416 Santa Fe Trail Dr., Lenexa, KS. 913.492.9777) The Baker's Rack offers a large selection of cake and candy molds, decorative items, toppings, and ingredients for candy making and cake decorating. This is the place for hard-to-find shapes, colors, and flavors for your next celebration.
Sweet Supply Shoppe (www.sweetsupplyshoppe.com 11136 Antioch Rd. OPKS. 913.385.CAKE). Dedicated to providing the best supplies and ingredients for cake and cookie decorating and candy making, the Sweet Supply Shoppe is a dream shop for the sweet tooth!

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 exhibits for kids on Crown Center’s 1st floor or visit Kaleidoscope to complete 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.

Pick a Peck of.... Blueberries, Blackberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Peaches, and Apples... Oh My!

For city kids, the novelty of picking your own fruit right off the bush, tree or vine is not only educational, but fun as well. For a city mom, the novelty of sharing this experience with children, without the responsibility of farming, is a true treat! In Kansas City, we enjoy many “U-Pick Farms” across the metro.

Enjoy the Best of the Best of Kansas City Restaurants

And of course, when you're in the mood to savor the best flavors prepared by someone else... you can enjoy the most delicious local foods at our favorite restaurants and shops:

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