America's marvellous Midwest: A finger-lickin' trip down memory lane in Kansas City



I left my heart in Kansas City. That reads like a Tony Bennett song or a film noir. In fact, I left it in Chicago, next door, and it was taken, not left. A younger me followed a damsel across states in pursuit of, well... something.



I lived in Kansas City, Missouri during my undergraduate study and have returned seven years later.



Not in Kansas: Kansas City is actually the largest city in the state of Missouri

The agrarian Midwest with its farms, prairies, parkways and plains; the immeasurable plateau of fields and roads like concrete arteries. In the spring months, the skies sequence downwards like a Rothko, from blazing reds and bruising purples into bronzed and burnished yellows.

All that is good and honest about America grew out of the Midwest. Those middling states are different from the bookend states. Missouri is deep-rooted and to a degree, happily secular. Many who leave eventually return; to settle, raise families and rediscover the bond.

Chow down on authentic KC barbecue: Arthur Bryant's is one of the city's most popular BBQ haunts

I was welcomed into the homes of my old friends and enjoyed rediscovering barbecue, Kansas-City style. The city has over 100 barbecue restaurants, all intestine-busting barbecue benders with good, local Boulevard beer.

The meat is slow-smoked over wood and covered in a thick tomato and molasses-based sauce. It's a plate of bovine delight and being a visitor, I'm removed of all guilt, so can lip-smack, finger-lick and enjoy pulling apart the burnt ends and brisket.

The smokey bouquet of Hickory hangs heavy in the air. Thick cuts of meat are slathered using local 'Midwest tomatoes' to create, in the words of Rich Davis, founder of KC Masterpiece Barbecue Products and owner of KC Masterpiece Barbecue & Grill, 'a sauce that doesn't fall off the meat into the fire.'



Nuts for beer: David and friends hole up in The Peanut, the 'oldest bar and grill in Kansas City'

Henry Perry's restaurant (now the legendary Arthur Bryant's) on 18th and Vine became a cultural point in the 1920s during the heyday of Kansas City jazz. The jazz district today is sadly a shadow of its former self with the majority of musical entertainment uprooting itself downtown to the Sprint Center and Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

Culture shell: Architect Moshe Safdie designed the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the Kauffman Center ( www.kauffmancenter.org ) is a striking addition to the downtown Kansas City skyline, it's two slated-shell roofs resembling that of the Sydney Opera House. The inside reveals an expanse of new, shiny whiteness like walking into a sugar cube. The north façade of the building is sheathed in stainless steel and lined with sweeping glass, revealing a 180-degree panoramic view of colourful downtown.

FOOD THOUGHTS: THE BEST PLACES TO EAT AND DRINK

Baristas with style: The Quay coffee house serves up artisan brews Best Burger: Town-Topic

In 1937 Claude Sparks opened a little diner in downtown and began selling hamburgers for 5 cents each. 76 years and Town-Topic are still producing the best burgers in town. The Triple-Cheeseburger and Patty-Melt-on-Rye are worth exploring.

Best BBQ: Arthur Bryant's

There are endless locations where you can find Kansas City-style barbecue, but locals will tell you that the legendary Arthur Bryant's on Brooklyn Avenue is the best. American journalist and food writer Calvin Trillin declared in Playboy magazine that "...the single best restaurant in the world is Arthur Bryant's Barbeque at 18th & Brooklyn in Kansas City. Best Cocktails: Manifesto (downstairs at The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange)

A 48 seat, downstairs speakeasy that takes a labor-intensive approach to making drinks with the finest spirits. Recently earned a spot on Eater magazine's top national 38 cocktail bars. Al Capone once took a wee there! Best Coffee: Quay Coffee

New start-up from young, coffee bean enthusiasts in the River Market district. A long service bar means you can watch the beans being churned and the freshest coffee drip-serve instead of machine-made. Direct trade coffee is roasted through close relationships with their suppliers. Best Bar: Flying Saucer Draught Emporium

Originally founded in Texas in 1995, the Saucer has expanded and its Kansas City branch in the Power & Light District offer 76 brews of tap with hundreds more in bottles. For a more authentic and local-feel to the area, The Peanut on Quality Hill is a beloved KC watering-hole and my favourite bar in the world.

Sporting Options: Sporting Kansas City

In 2010 the Kansas City Wizards soccer team moved to a new stadium in Sporting Park and re-branded themselves as Sporting KC. Last year they won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup by beating Seattle Sounders FC. The stadium was renamed in January after the Livestrong Foundation and Sporting KC ended their agreement.

Hidden Gem: River Market Antiques

This 5-floor industrial building on the corner of 5th and Wyandotte is the perfect place to rummage for antiques and relics. Merchandise ranges from 1950s American neon signage to taxidermy, music memorabilia and shelves and shelves of LPs, books and vintage posters.

New restaurants and bars such as The Jacobson and The Reiger Hotel (with its fantastic prohibition basement bar) sit alongside old dining institutions such as Town Topic, Arthur Bryant's and The Peanut in a juxtaposition between twenty-first century bistros and old-school diners and dive-bars.

While The Plaza maintains its status as the high-end eating and shopping district, with eminent thoroughfare Ward Parkway voted in the Top 10 Streets in the country by the American Planning Association, it's Downtown that's seeing a money injection. The Farmers Market, Crossroads Arts District and “First Fridays”, in which art galleries open their doors and offer wine and baked goods to interested stragglers, are all examples of the city's urban maze.

Red mist: The Kansas City Chiefs play at the Arrowhead stadium

The Power and Light District bulges with 'artists' and a younger vibe of voguish hipsters. The area is growing through independent shops and businesses, such as Quay Coffee in the River Market. Old buildings are being reformed into stylish high-rise apartments, art galleries and meet-and-greet lounges and while the city's sports teams, The Chiefs and The Royals, both remain firmly rooted to the foot of their professional tables, college sports thrive and the colours of Mizzou, Jayhawks, Wildcats and The Roos splash across the city in local support.

Kansas City boy: David, pictured, won't leave it so long to return...

Perhaps it's this development and status as a creative and newly thriving location that Google choose to test their new Fiber speed here - a connection 100 times faster than broadband. Out of all the cities in the nation, Google cherry-picked Kansas City, MO, now a super-speed-led Fiber base, allowing you to “Poke” and “Tweet” in a millisecond.

I'll be back, within another seven years. The barbecue is the best in the world and the art and coffee is excellent. The local beer is as good as anything I've had in America and there's a bubbling enthusiasm in the city. Kansas City natives love Kansas City, and I get why.

Travel facts

David travelled to Kansas City with United Airlines (www.united.com) via Washington Dulles. Prices start from £727 per person for return flights (with changeover).



Rooms at the Hotel Phillips in Downtown start from £119, www.hotelphillips.com