Fox and Pearl
To many, Kansas City will always be a cow town. The city’s culinary scene was largely defined by the Black pitmasters who established its barbecue traditions, the cattle ranchers who thronged the Kansas City Stockyards (the second-largest in the country after Chicago), and the Mexican immigrants who helped sustain the local meatpacking industry.
Barbecue and butchery are still critical parts of the restaurant scene. But the city’s palate has broadened thanks to an influx of creative chefs expanding the idea of what makes Midwestern food. Today, you’re as likely to stumble across a hand-pulled noodle shop or a vegan lunch counter as you are a brisket sandwich.
The common thread of Kansas City’s dining scene might not be a single ingredient or style of service, but an inclusive Midwestern hospitality that infuses even the most high-dollar dining rooms with a casual warmth. White collars aren’t common here — they’re too vulnerable to barbecue sauce stains. Whether you’re touring the high-end tasting rooms in downtown KCMO or the casual carnicerias in KCK, every restaurant on the list will work hard to make you feel right at home.
The only tourist sin locals won’t forgive? Forgetting which side of the state line you’re on.
Liz Cook is a freelance writer based in Kansas City, Missouri, and the creator of the experimental food newsletter Haterade.
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