As it turned out, one morning wasn’t nearly sufficient to explore Kansas City, Missouri. Although our decision to reroute our road trip through Missouri was relatively last minute, it took no time at all to research and compile an extensive list of things to do and places to eat in this new-to-me city.

While we barely scratched the surface, we were very pleased with the experiences we had in our limited time. We started the morning with breakfast empanadas and a dulce de leche latte at Cafe Corazon before heading over to City Market for the activities we’d prioritized. Here were our favorite experiences.

Historic City Market

Established in 1857, the historic city market still functions today as a central locale for pop-up farmer’s markets as well as established grocers, retailers, and restaurants.

We arrived as market vendors were just opening their doors to find ample free parking. We wandered the storefronts and spent more time than expected in Al Habashi Mart, perusing the various spices, nuts, and canned offerings. We ended up with a bag of mixed nuts and one of mixed coated peanuts. Both snacks were delicious and lasted us about half-way through our road trip.

Arabia Steamboat Museum

A highlight of both our time in Kansas City and our road trip overall was the Arabia Steamboat Museum, which is home to the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the world.

When the mighty Steamboat Arabia sank near Kansas City on September 5, 1856, she carried 200 tons of mystery cargo. Lost for 132 years, its recovery in 1988 was like finding the King Tut’s Tomb of the Missouri River. The discovery was truly a modern day treasure-hunting story at its best. The artifacts are preserved and displayed at the Arabia Steamboat Museum, located in the historic City Market. From clothing, fine china and carpentry tools to guns, dishes and children’s toys to the world’s oldest pickles—the collection captivates visitors of all ages. 

https://www.1856.com/

The museum is well-organized and the story is easy to follow. We watched a series of videos that explained how more than 400 steamboats sank in the Missouri River during the steamboat heyday of the mid-1800s and how a group of local men decided to take on the treasure hunt of finding and exhuming the Arabia in the 1980s.

The history alone was fascinating. What I can’t quite put into words is the vast quantity of artifacts that they discovered and are still in the process of cleaning, cataloging, and preserving. We spoke with one of the curators, who is part of a team that has been working on this process for decades and still has 60 tons of artifacts they have yet to go through!

Riverfront Heritage Trail 

Due to spending more time than we imagined in the steamboat museum, we had less time than I had hoped to walk the 15-mile Riverfront Heritage Trail than winds along the Missouri River.

From the city market, it’s an easy, couple of blocks walk to the trailhead and the Missouri River Viewing Deck, which offered great views of the Town of Kansas bridge to our left and Heart of America bridge to our right, as well as the cityscape behind us.

It was a lovely day, and I imagine the trail is even more enjoyable – and visually appealing – during other seasons when the trees, grass, and flowers are in bloom.

Kitty’s Cafe

While Cafe Corazon was my eatery pick, Kitty’s Cafe had been on Brian’s list for quite some time. It did not disappoint! Established in 1951 by a Japanese-American couple – Paul and Kitty Kawakami – who settled in Kansas City, this walk-up eatery is best known for its pork tenderloin sandwiches.

The sandwich creation process remains faithful to tradition, involving thinly sliced pork tenderloin enveloped in a hearty tempura batter, then deep-fried to perfection. The result is a symphony of textures and flavors, with three crispy tenderloin pieces nestled beneath layers of crisp iceberg lettuce, aromatic white onion, succulent tomato, and the cafe’s signature homemade hot sauce.

https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2023-09-10/kittys-cafe-continues-a-tender-kansas-city-tradition-through-its-pork-tenderloin-sandwich

Brian ordered it, I tasted it, and we both agreed it’s well worth going out of your way for this sandwich – YUM!

Fun morning in Kansas City – I’m sure we’ll be back!

Next Time

• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
• American Jazz Museum
• TWA Museum
• National WWI Museum and Memorial
• National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
• Union Station
• Loose Park
• Ewing and Muriel Kauffman Memorial Garden
• Country Club Plaza
• Money Museum
• Vine Street Brewing, Missouri’s first Black-owned brewery 
• Boulevard Brewing Co. 
• Chef J BBQ
• Harp Barbeque
• Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Q
• Arthur Bryant’s Barbeque
• Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbeque 
• Yoli Tortilleria, Sonoran-style tortillas, James Beard winner 
• Tom’s Town Distilling Co.