Some of the top-ranked places to eat out in KC are McCoy’s, The Well, and Lew’s Grill and Bar. They are all quite nice, but some people will definitely prefer one over another.

McCoy’s Public House is a fun place to get a tasty meal while you are checking out the Plaza or Westport area on foot or by car. Their mac and cheese with bacon is to die for, as is anything else they serve with cheese. This place is known for friendly service and reasonable prices, which might be the reason it is so popular. I was never sure what a ginger shandy was until I went to McCoy’s, but trust me you will be back for more. McCoy’s is informal and inexpensive, and you’ll be talking about the pretzel bites for many days after you visit.

The Well in Waldo is one of those places that have lots of televisions, super-nice waitresses, and customers who like to socialize, talk, laugh and eat fantastic hamburgers. If you wish to avoid the crowds and noise, try it out during the week when sports don’t dominate the airwaves. Not everyone seems to know that The Well also has a great Sunday brunch. Thank us later.

Lew’s Grill and Baris the ultimate neighborhood sports bar, complete with a dozen or so big screen TV’s, fast service and the best bar food around. If you want to go out and watch a sporting event, Lew’s is the place, because they are huge supporters of local sports and offer a real neighborhood atmosphere, with prices that won’t break your weekend budget. Heck, you could grab a handful of change from the sock drawer and go eat at Lew’s.

Lew's is a local favorite to get a good bite to eat for a great price.

So next time you’re in Kansas City, be sure you check out any – or all! – of these great eateries!

For the first time since way back in 1998, and for the eighth time in their team’s history, the Kentucky Wildcats are the national college basketball champions. On paper, and based on the Wildcats’ shooting ability early in the game, this contest looked to be an ultra-close match. In the end, as Ross Perot might say, the devil was in the details, and Kentucky ended up on top with a decisive 67-59 win.

Kentucky’s Anthony Davis started out slow but man oh man did he finish fast, with six blocks, five assists, 16 rebounds and a trio of steals. In fact, the phenom did not make a field goal until there was a mere five minutes and change left on the clock. Note that Davis had not scored a single point during the first half of the first half.

Named the game’s most outstanding player, the 6-foot-10 Davis was clearly a leader in every imaginable way for this world champion team. The bad news for the Wildcats is the fact that both Kidd-Gilchrist and Davis might turn pro next season, but that domino has not yet fallen.

Tom Robinson, the Jayhawks’ secret weapon, was chased around like a mouse in a cat’s lair throughout the game, but somehow managed to bag 18 points, 17 rebounds, and go home with his pride intact. Just. In the second half Robinson was a major factor in the typical KU comeback sequence, but the usual outcome for the Jayhawks was not to be, though Robinson and Company did whittle the Wildcats’ lead to a slim five points with less than two minutes remaining.

After Kentucky holed out with a quintet of free throws, the battle was all over but for hauling away the wounded and stunned. To paraphrase a thousand or so fans and players from around the college circuit, KU’s strategy of waiting to be down by 20 points before they get serious is not a smart game plan. It certainly did not work for them against a superior, braver, and more aggressive Kentucky team.

The production of “Nixon in China” performed by the Lyric Opera has been called stunning. Credit is given to the pulsating score, composed by John Adams, performed with authority under direction of Ward Holmquist’s baton, by the Kansas City Symphony. In combination with the physical production, inventive staging and extraordinary soloists, this opera is amazing.

The piece was originally staged in 2010 by director Michael Cavanagh for the Vancouver Opera. Most of the key design elements were brought from that production. The design elements resulted in unforgettable stage pictures drenched in color, making this both a visual and auditory combination experience for attendees.

Fragmented moving images represent the various places visited by the first lady. Further into the opera, a collage of rippling American flags become visible around the boundaries of the huge red People’s Republic of China flag. The music is reflected in the captivating mix of intimate and massive set by Erhard Rom. Vibrant lighting somehow becomes instantly subtle and vivid under direction of Chris Maravich.

Combine all of this magnificent imagery with an outstanding cast and the experience is unbelievable. The poetic, and frequently satirical, libretto of Alice Goodman is in perfect presentation for this production.

Baritone Maddalena creates a memorable figure of Nixon as he captures the bizarre mix of vision and triviality required for this role. Baritone Daniel Belcher plays the Chinese Prime Minister, Zhou Enlai, who brings acute lucidity to this role. The wry humor of Mao is brought by tenor Alan Woodrow.

If you’re looking for an opera that is out of the ordinary, but stunning and a sensory experience as well as entertainment, then you need to check out “Nixon in China” this season.

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This Kansas City Ballet season is a balance of the old and the new this year that is sure to delight, amuse, and amaze. Last season we saw premieres along with perennial favorites. This year ballet viewers can expect to enjoy a beautifully artistic season of performances.

This season, choreographer Karole Armitage will make a world premiere. Along with this, the season will bring an assortment of narrative-driven, contemporary and classical ballets. “Mercury” is classical ballet choreographed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett and is a ballet that encompasses music by Franz Joseph Haydn, drawn from five symphonies. Hayden’s music is studied in its bright and dark aspects in this moving performance.

Another major premiere and a regular audience favorite this season will be “Carmina Burana”, by Toni Pimble. This ballet is set to the music of Carl Orff and promises to do well this season. Along with that will be, from past seasons, Pimble’s “Concerto Grosso” set to the music of Ernet Bloch along with Jessica Lang’s pas de deuz  “Splendid Isolation III” accompanied by the music of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony will return to the stage.

Additionally, pas de deux “End of Time” from Ben Stevenson will take center stage. The music of Antonin Dvorak sets this beautiful story of a woman and man who must learn to survive as the last two people on Earth. “End of Time” has been gracing the stage since 2009 and is still running strong. A seasonal favorite each December, is “The Nutcracker”. Todd Bolender’s choreographed performances will surely delight as sugar plum fairies glide across the stage as a dreamy child joins the world of his toys.

In addition to these, Whietner’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” accompanied by the music of Felix Mendelssohn will surely entertain. Scenes from the classic Shakespeare play will be featured as two actors recite them, joined by two female vocalists and a women’s choir.  Also, look for  a few pop-culture ballets with Margo Sappington’s “Common People” and William Shatner’s “Has Been” collaborated with musician Ben Folds.

So if you’re looking for class and fun this year, be sure to check out the ballet. With great performances schedule for year round, you can guarantee something good is always playing.

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Kansas City is one of the Midwest’s cultural centers, with everything from music, major league sports, theater, art galleries, and a wealth of other activities for the visitor or local person to enjoy year round. Here is a summary of the best free things to do in Kansas City in the coming weeks.

If you act quickly, you can catch the Aria Final Round Concert on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at Olson Performing Arts Center. This show will, as stated, feature finalists in the contest, which has been going on all year. If you are not up for the contest circuit, have a listen to the Liszt 200 Series at UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. This is a lecture series which celebrates the composer’s 200th birthday year.

If you are over 21, there is always KC Prime’s Casino Bar Stage, where you can listen to great live entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights. Again, admission is free to this event and there is no cover charge either, so check it out!

In May, the Nelson Museum will feature “Acts of Nature,” sure to be a popular show that will feature artwork inspired by nature. If you have ever spent time in Kansas City in the month of May, you will know that this show could not have been timed better. The Nelson Museum will feature a similar show in August, when it puts on, “Landscapes East/Landscapes West: Representing Nature from Mount Fuji to Canyon de Chelly.” The show features art that has been inspired by natural beauty and all works will be two-dimensional.

If you have children, do not miss the Johnson County Museum of History’s KidScape, which features hands-on exhibits for little ones ages 3 to 9. KidScape is set up to look like a city street, where kids can walk around and meet various people from the region’s past. This is an ongoing event, and of course it is free, which is the best part for cost-conscious parents.

Another kid-friendly event is held from Feb. 11-14 at Paradise Park Family Fun center, where the Children’s Entertainment Center will have all sorts of holiday fun based on Valentine’s Day. Cards, cookies, and flowers are just a few of the things on hand for kids to enjoy. Like everything else on this list, it is 100 percent free of charge.

So, don’t delay, there are plenty of exciting and educational events in Kansas City that don’t cost a dime. For a more complete listing, check out a list from Kansas City itself of things to do this month!

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As the origin of many of America’s favorite forms of recreation, from jazz music to eating barbequed meats, Kansas City has a special place in the hearts of travelers. That’s why holiday season is so special. The city shows off its entertainment acumen with a strong list of fantastically fun things to do.

Holiday time means carriage rides on the Plaza. While you can rent a carriage almost any time of year, the chilly weather and threat of picturesque snowfall makes a January ride a must. And you won’t be straining your wallet either, as you cruise through the gorgeous Country Club Plaza and see all the sights.

Since the weather has been unseasonably warm this winter, there is no better time to tour nearby Independence’s historic areas like the Truman home and many others. And if you are a tourist, Kansas City is one of the best museum and art gallery locations in all of the United States. That’s not hometown hype either, as many national cultural surveys rank K.C. at the top of their lists year after year.

From December through January, many of the local playhouses host holiday-themed shows and revues. There is never a shortage of theatre fare if you are in Kansas City. Crown Center, the American Jazz museum, the Kauffman Center, and the American Heartland theater all have special holiday or Christmas-themed shows.

Two of the biggest Christmas season events in Kansas City are free. Namely, the Mayor’s Christmas tree and the Plaza lights. People come from all over the world each year to witness the lighting of the Plaza, and have been doing so for over five decades. In fact, many cities around the globe have imitated the tradition, bedecking a local shopping area with Christmas lights and hyping the lighting ceremony like there’s no tomorrow.

Looking like some morphed, American version of the Sydney Opera House, Kansas City’s latest arts and entertainment venue has finally opened its doors. The jaw-breaking moniker, and the full, proper name of the new location, is The Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts. The building will feature opera performances, dance events, theater presentations, and musical shows of all kinds. It officially opened its doors on September 16, 2011.

Like no other single work of architecture, the building has dramatically transformed the city’s look, mixing in this bit of new age, deconstructionist bravura against a backdrop of Midwestern corporate geometric glass-and-steel practicality. There is no question, when one first views the structure, that it is an arts center. Indeed, no one would mistake it for the region’s newest bank, or accounting firm, that’s for sure.

Moshe Safdie, the designer, has all at once put Kansas City at the forefront of the national arts scene, delivering not only a technically advanced structure, but also a work of art in itself. There is no type or size of performance that cannot be accommodated by the Kaufman Center. Everything from comedy revues to Broadway shows will visit its stages. And they all will take place inside a scientific wonder. In fact, the center itself could pass as a giant exhibit in a science museum.

The center will host several resident companies of artists, namely the Kansas City Ballet, the Kansas City Symphony, and the Lyric Opera. One part of the building features a glass roof, glass walls, and a gigantic arched canopy that gives wonderful views of Kansas City’s skyline. Maybe the only negative point of the view from here is that you cannot see the Kaufman Center as it takes its place among Kansas City’s unique, recognizable skyline. Now that the building is up and operating, that skyline is forever changed.

The region of confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers drew the attention of settlers, as well as the U.S. government, from the early 1800’s. Because of the rich soil, profitable fur trade, and excellent geographical vantages for forts, the Kansas City area grew from a tiny trading post into one of the largest cities in the U.S.

Before Lewis and Clark reached the area in 1804, there had been a handful of French traders and trappers, who made war plans with their Indian allies against

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the Spanish, but that activity was extremely limited. As well, no real, permanent settlements saw the light of day until after Lewis and Clark’s arrival.

When Louisiana became a state, Missouri spent another decade being cut up and surveyed, until it saw statehood for itself in 1821. The new district saw rapid growth with the relocation of Indian tribes and a large influx of French settlers, among others. The next few years witnessed the founding of Jackson County and the city of Independence, still major players in the political landscape of Kansas City. Chouteau, a French trader, and his settlers spoke French, which was the first language of most of the inhabitants of early Kansas City.

In 1833, Calvin McCoy opened trading posts near what is now the Westport area. His posts, as well as Chouteau’s, were integral to the establishment of Kansas City as a crossroads for travelers who were on their way further west, to California, Oregon, and points north. In 1850, the county incorporated the

Town of Kansas. One year later, the area got its first telegraph line and newspaper. Thus, between St. Louis and California, the Town of Kansas was one of the very few populated areas where travelers could buy provisions for the long trip ahead.

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Rapid growth and expansion through the Civil War, as well as World War I, saw Kansas City grow to something of a boom

town by the 1920’s, and it has since established itself as the heart of America, a crossroads for travelers and a home to many corporate communications giants.