The sites and good eats of Kansas City

Monday afternoon my husband and I arrived in Kansas City, Kansas for four days of relaxing, going to the local attractions like the World War I Museum and Contemporary Art Museum, and enjoying some vegan eats.



The first place that we dined at was the Chipotle Mexican Grill at Village West Pkwy. http://www.chipotle.com/ Suitable and tasty food for everyone. If you are vegan just make sure to order the veggie burrito with black beans. My burrito had a lot of flavor, lime white rice, black beans, grilled vegetables, salsa, lettuce and guacamole. There are several Chipotle locations in Kansas City area so if you are not able to find one location you'll be able to easily find another.

Our second day visiting in Kansas City for lunch my husband and I dined at the Blue Bird Bistro at 1700 Summit. http://www.bluebirdbistro.com/ Their menu has items like Tofu Fries, Green Curry and Black Bean Burger. Meat eaters may enjoy the Bison Burger or the Seasonal PB&J. I decided to order the Black Bean Burger made with mushrooms, onions, carrots, corn and a hint of jalapeno served on a toasted organic, whole wheat bun. I was able to enjoy my burger with some veganese, and mustard and ketchup for my freshly made potato chips. My husband ordered a vegan dish as well, the Seasonal PB&J made with pecan butter and organic house made preserves. Very tasty food that is satisfying and worth the extra drive to get there with street parking.

My husband and I enjoyed Blue Koi Noodles & Dumplings for dinner at 1803 w. 39th st. http://www.bluekoi.net/ At first look this restaurant looks like a hole in the wall, street parking and was difficult to find where the restaurant was located at first. Once there on entering I was amused by the Buddha face door handles, Buddha statue by the booth and open space. We ordered the Krunchie Veggies that came with two different sauces, spicy and mild made with coconut milk. They were fresh, packed with flavor and my husband even enjoyed the fried cauliflower. For the main course my husband ordered the Fire Bird Duck, which is a boneless roasted duck sauteed with chili pepper, scallion with bamboo strips. I enjoyed the Blue Koi Vegan Delights that is a dish served in a vegan broth with noodles, diakon, cabbage, carrot, tofu bows and thin tofu. This meal was very memorable for me being that it was a great vegan broth soup filled with tasty vegetables. My husband even enjoyed eating some of my vegetables along with his meal. Keep in mind that the Fire Bird can be ordered with tofu instead of duck and is the spiciest dish on the menu.

The third day in Kansas City we attempted to dine at a cafe called Seed but once we finally found where it was located we realized that the cafe was closed, even though the website was still active online. Cardboard in the windows, lights turned off and a closed sign next to the door.

We decided instead to drive down to Westport and dine at McCoy's Public House for lunch. http://www.mccoyspublichouse.com We first ordered the Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, I enjoyed the Sonoma Vegan Wrap made with roasted portabella mushroom, red pepper hummus, wild greens, tahini vinaigrette, roma tomato, red onion, cucumber and sprouts in an herb flour tortilla wrap.
My husband enjoyed a the Big Fat Greek Pasta with feta on top, other than the feta it was completely vegan. The next time we visit Kansas City we plan on dining at McCoy's again. Best hummus and vegan wrap I've had in a long time. There are many great items to choose from on the menu and if you come for happy hour you can enjoy their $2.50 pints.

The last day that we were in Kansas City we enjoyed some pizza for lunch at Waldo Pizza at 7433 Broadway St. http://www.waldopizza.net One of the largest variety of toppings I've ever seen where you can order a pizza with vegan mozzarella, almonds, roasted corn, sundried tomatoes, or even crab meat. I of course decided to order the traditional hand tossed 10" Waldo Specialty, Waldo Veggie pizza which comes with mushrooms, onions, green and red peppers, artichokes, topped with some vegan mozzarella. This pizza alone can feed two people easily and depending on how many ingredients you order on your pizza, you may want to eat it with a fork. My husband ordered the 10" Honey Wheat pizza with two ingredients, some italian sausage and mushroom, of course mozzarella is standard but he could have ordered his pizza with some goat cheese, asiago or even ricotta. My husband enjoyed one pint of beer called Black and Gold which is one beer floating on top of another beer. Waldo pizza even has vegan cupcakes on their menu and because of that we decided to order one for dessert. We ordered the vegan lemon and macadamia nut cupcake but then received the cappuccino cupcake by mistake. We received two cupcakes for the price of one due to the mistake. We took the extra cupcake, three pieces of my pizza and my husband's last two pieces with us in ToGo boxes. When we were about half way home we enjoyed our left over pizza and cupcake. Waldo pizza has the best vegan pizza I've ever eaten at a restaurant. Their pizza is packed with flavor and cupcakes are fluffy, moist and delicious.

Our vacation in Kansas City was wonderful and it was refreshing to visit a city that has a variety of great tasting, vegan eats.