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So is the patio open, or does everyone get a laugh whenever someone slams their face against the glass as they try to go through the locked door? And what is "smoking" a euphemism for? Do I want to know?
Spotted at the Caddy Shack, Kansas City, MO
Last Saturday (August 23), my friend B and I took a little road trip through north-central Missouri to visit some small-town taverns. This trip pushed tally of bars I have visited over the 500 mark. Sit back and enjoy the ride!
Bethany, MO
#1: Camaro's Lounge
22208 E Us Highway 136
Bethany, MO 64424
(660) 425-6665
[Map]
11:20am. Our draws (Bud Light & Busch Light) were the most expensive of the day, at $2.50 each. It may seem cheap to you, but that's really high for the small town bars we typically visit.
The building is divided into two well-distinguished sections: a steakhouse buffet on the west end and the lounge on the east end. The lounge is decorated with Camaro and racing themes, with a small stage in the northeast corner.
As we drank our beer we noticed a placard advertising a beer that we decided to try at our next stop...
#2: Toot-Toot Lounge
2905 Miller St
Bethany, MO 64424
(660) 425-6662
[Map]
11:40am. This is another place that is half buffet restaurant (very famous and apparently very good), with a seperate and well-isolated lounge.
You enter the bar through that door on the right in the photo. However, the bar is not downstairs, it's upstairs. And do you go up by way of stairs? Nope... you go up by way of the steepest ramp I have ever seen. We got a chuckle imagining how many people must have stumbled and rolled all the way down at the end of a good bender.
For our beer selection, we chose the beer we saw advertised at the previous bar: MGD64. A 12-ounce beer with only 64 calories.
"You sure you guys want this? It's only 3.2% alcohol..." our bartender asked us after he'd already opened them and put them before us.
You know those frilly fru-fru brands of bottled water infused with hints of fruit flavor? Now imagine one of those except instead of fruit it's hints of beer flavor. That's about what MGD64 is. Sorry, there's really no reason to drink this.
Anyone know what this thing is? It looked kind of like a bellows.
#3: Long Creek Saloon
205 S 16th St
Bethany, MO 64424
(660) 425-8650
[Map]
12:10pm. We had this down on our list as the "Double D Saloon" so it must have changed hands in the recent past. This place was pretty busy, filled with rough-and-tough looking dudes ranging in age from their late 20s to late 60s. One older guy near the door in this small room chatted loudly on his phone with some people who had apparently gone to the wrong bar while others shot him annoyed glances as they tried to pay attention to the episode of "Gunsmoke" playing on the TV.
Due to so many people being present we had difficulty getting interior photos without drawing attention to ourselves. I snapped this one quickly when 2 guys seated at the bar stood up for a moment.
We had planned to go to another bar right around the corner from here called "Right On Q", but it was undergoing EXTENSIVE renovation (looked like a major addition) and was not open.
Gallatin, MO
#4: Southside Tavern
903 S Main St
Gallatin, MO 64640
(660) 663-4094
[Map]
1:20pm. We had a hard time finding this place because the GPS unit in the car kept telling us it was on the downtown square. We could not find it anywhere, but we knew it existed because we had called ahead to confirm. Finally I checked Google Maps on my phone and noticed it was placing the bar a few blocks further south. We followed Google's lead and found the bar moments later.
"Did this place used to be further north?" we asked the bartender.
"Nope, it's been here as long as I can remember," she said.
"Actually it used to be down on the square," chimed a customer sitting at a nearby table. "About 3 years ago I think it was."
So it looks like B needs to update his GPS database. :)
At first this place seemed pretty run-of-the-mill, but it did have one thing in particular that made it unique: Coasters cut from carpet.
Jamesport, MO
#5: Jamesport Tavern
209 S Broadway St
Jamesport, MO 64648
(660) 684-9906
[Map]
2:15pm. We pulled into the Amish community of Jamesport, still disbelieving that there was actually a bar in an Amish town even though we had called and confirmed it.
I did a full write up of this place on my other blog so hop on over there for the full story. Here's the photos though:
After a long drive and passing several horse-and-buggies (which I idiotically didn't think to take any pictures of), we arrived in a town we visited last year in order visit a bar that wasn't open the last time we were in town.
Chillicothe, MO
#6: Saales Tavern
605 Webster St
Chillicothe, MO 64601
(660) 646-1600
[Map]
3:00pm. We arrived at what is usually a pretty dead time for bars.... the hours between lunch and the after-work crowd. Our bartender seemed bored and lonely. B and I played some trivia as we drank our Budweisers.
This place has the classic grungy dive bar men's restroom...
Particularly noteworthy is the wall that is so badly deteriorated that you can easy see out into the bar from the men's room. And, actually, you can see the toilet and urinal quite clearly from out in the bar, too.
The only other bar in town that we were aware of is a place that has had about fifty different names. This time around it was called "Rumors" and it was not going to open until 5:00.
So instead we pulled up to a Golden Corral for a quick but filling meal before heading on to the next town.
Due to a misunderstanding between the GPS, my map, and a road sign, we turned off the main highway too soon and wound up taking a smaller State highway to the next town. This "highway" was more like driving on a deteriorated sidewalk -- it was very narrow with potholes galore and grass growing between all the cracks. We were on this road for several miles and these photos do not do it justice. We could very well have been the only people to drive this highway all day.
Breckenridge, MO
#7: D&J Bar & Grill
645 W Broadway St
Breckenridge, MO 64625
(660) 644-5343
[Map]
4:40pm. The draws were full pints... which is pretty rare for a place like this where the pours are generally 10 to 12 ounces. So we played some more trivia to kill time while we drank from the textured glasses. We did learn that D&J were the couple who owned the bar, but they split up and "D" left town, but the "J" (Jodie) still runs the place.
Polo, MO
#8: Lincoln's Lodge
407 Main St
Polo, MO 64671
(660) 354-3129
[Map]
5:40pm. Right at the heart of downtown Polo, this place opens at 5am (though I doubt they start pouring drinks that early). It's 1/2 bar, 1/2 diner, and though it's all a big open area there was still a clear separation of the two halves.
On the TV pundits were discussing the presidential candidates, so naturally a mini presidential debate commenced among the older people at the bar. The best exchange in the conversation?
"What would you think if we did have a woman president?"
"I'd be fine with that, because at least she'd be giving the blow jobs."
Lathrop, MO
#9: Overtime Sports Lounge
619 Oak St
Lathrop, MO 64465
(816) 528-3860
[Map]
6:20pm. Lathrop used to have as many as 4 bars at once, by a year ago it was down to just two. Then last year one of the two burned down, leaving Overtime Sports Lounge across the street as the only remaining bar in Lathrop.
This place is pretty nice on the inside, with a polished stone (marble? granite?) bar top and high-backed leather barstools that were beyond comfortable. Unfortunately the guy next to me kept staring at me every time I picked up the camera so I couldn't get any good interior pictures.
On the way out of town we spotted Burma Shave signs on MO-33 but I couldn't get the camera out and turned back on in time.
Holt, MO
#10: Hilltop Tavern
Hilltop Bar & Grill
5288 SE PP Hwy
Holt, MO
816-320-2666
[Map]
6:45pm. This is a pretty big place and B used to hang out here and has known of some brawls breaking out. It wasn't too busy yet during our visit but a big group was on the way for a birthday celebration. We took in some Silver Strike, playing a Red Pin version of the game that we hadn't seen anywhere else before.
Lawson, MO
#11: Lawson Tavern
322 N Pennsylvania Ave
Lawson, MO 64062
(816) 296-3888
[Map]
7:20pm. The fact that this looks like a church is an optical illusion that I didn't notice until later.... the thing that looks like a cross is actually a bar sign viewed edge-on. :)
While we didn't play Silver Strike here, we noticed the high score on the machine was a pretty impressive 278. The stats for that game listed 10 strikes and a spare, with 6 of the strikes in a row. A friend later reverse-engineered this for us as strikes the first 6 frames, a 9-spare, 4 more strikes, and a 9 for the final roll.
Good thing I only wanted beer, as the idea of drinking probably-flat soda from 2-liters didn't appeal to me at all.
Excelsior Springs, MO
#12: Dani's Hitch Lot
****** MY 500TH BAR!!!!!!! ******
259 E Broadway St
Excelsior Springs, MO 64024
(816) 637-3264
[Map]
8:10:pm. It wasn't at all by design that my 500th bar turned out to be a brand new bar in the home town of two of my best friends, we had expected that to happen somewhere between Lathrop and Lawson. So to me personally I thought it was really cool that it worked out that way.
Dani's Hitch Lot opened this summer in the space formerly occupied by the Downtowner. However it is three times the size of the old bar... walls have been knocked down extending the bar into two adjacent buildings.
For those unfamiliar with Excelsior Springs, the Hitch Lot is a piece of land downtown that was gifted to the city around the turn of the last century by E.L. "Liv" Morse, with the stipulation that horses never be barred from the land. (Hence the name.) While technically it's probably still legal to tie up your horse there, nowadays it is set aside by the city as a safe place for teenagers to cruise and hang out. Dani's Hitch Lot, while borrowing the landmark name, is a few blocks away on the other end of downtown Excelsior Springs.
Oddly, B and I went back and forth asking for various beers we were in the mood for and they didn't have any of them. Since we were unable to make up our minds, the bartender gave us both Mickey's Malt Liquor.
#13: Centerfield Pub
115 Crown Hill Rd.
Excelsior Springs, MO 64153
816-637-2288
[Map]
8:45pm. This place is so new it doesn't even have signage yet (other than a pole sign facing the interstate) so we had to ask what the name was. This is also a pretty big place and was rather busy. We got some trivia in here.
Liberty, MO
#14: Corner Bar
200 E Kansas St
Liberty, MO 64068
(816) 781-5298
[Map]
9:30pm. With a little bit of time left, we stopped at tiny bar in downtown Liberty that was so dark when we pulled up we thought it had gone out of business. It was moderately busy inside. We got some Coors Light cans and decided to chill for a while, playing some shuffleboard and then some Silver Strike. Liberty's most well-known homeless guy came in and said hello to everyone while we played.
Outside the bar we saw a sign advertising Mexican Food. Take a look at today's Mexican menu.... what doesn't quite fit? :)
The men's room here is the epitome of a dive bar Men's room. It has enough fixtures that theoretically three peoople could be in here at once, but there's barely room enough for even 1 person to stand and still be able to close the door.
Once I get two more bars: one on Kearney and one in Cameron, I will have drunk the entire I-35 corridor in Missouri. Next up... I-29! ;)
Not quite. But when I heard there was a bar in the Amish town of Jamesport, Missouri, my friend B and I had to go check it out. Read the details at The Weekly Dive and find out why this sign was in the window:
Last night as an installment of our annual summer Bad Movie Night tradition, 112 minutes of the precious little time I have on this Earth was futilely squandered at a screening of "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" -- what could very well be the worst big-budget motion picture I have ever seen.
Top billing is given to Brendan Fraser and Jet Li, even though the latter is in the movie for about 5 minutes before being replaced with CGI effects and remaining that way until about the last 10 minutes of the movie.
This is a film that is just godawful in so many ways that to cover them all would take longer that it takes to actually watch the movie. So I'll highlight just a few.
For reasons that are inexplicable except perhaps to ride on the coattails of this summer's other disaster of a sequel, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Rick O'Connell (Brendan Frasier) and his new wife (now played by Maria Bello) are now retirees. Though you'd never guess from the makeup, which never succeeds and making them look any older than their late thirties. Their son Alex (Luke Ford) is a full-grown man now who looks so close to his parents in age that they must have conceived him when they were about 12 years old.
While Alex is in China digging up a mummy, his parents are charged with couriering an ancient artifact back to a Chinese museum. Little do any of them realize that their actions have been carefully orchestrated by the evil General Yang (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang), who intends to use the artifact to resurrect the mummy. "It was I who made the arrangements for it to be you two who brought me the artifact," a grinning Yang tells the O'Connells as he takes possession of the shiny jewel that contains water-of-life from Shangri-La.
Now, I don't know about you, but if I were wanting to resurrect an evil ancient mummy, the pair of people with a well established history of thwarting resurrected mummies would be the last people I would use as couriers. Any chump with a plane ticket and a carry-on bag could have done the job with no risk to my evil plans.
Of course the mummy does indeed come to life, and eventually the action moves to a mountain temple in the Himalayas. A battle ensues, and the mummy wins because he has mastery over the 5 elements: water, fire, earth, wind, and... metal. (Sorry, Leeloo, guess you were wrong about the Fifth Element.) After the battle it is a race between the good guys and the bad guys to the top of a nearby mountain. Somehow the good guys and 3 yeti, burdened with carrying a nearly-dead injured person, reach the top of the mountain before the magical-power possessing mummy.
Atop the mountain they find Shangri-La, Michelle Yeoh, and the pool of eternal life. This pool is what the mummy is seeking, as he needs its waters to break free of the curse that causes him to keep turning into pottery. So several hours after the badly beaten good guys arrived, the victorious mummy finally shows up. And what's the first thing he does? Shoots a fireball directly at the pool of eternal life.... the very thing that is the most important to him! "He's back to full power!" Evelyn exclaims, with absolutely nothing on which to base that determination.
The mummy hops in for a swim, and perhaps we will finally see Jet Li, right? Nope... now he turns into a 3-headed dragon, kidnap's Alex's girlfriend, and flies back to his original tomb. Our heroes hop into a plane and do the same,
The action moves to the desert, near a ruined section of the Great Wall of China, where the mummy's original tomb was. Jet Li appears finally, briefly (before turning into a troglodyte for a while), and resurrects his army comprised of thousands of soldiers who are also made of walking flowerpots. To achieve immortality and invincibility, they must cross to the opposite side of the Great Wall. Thankfully Michelle Yeoh summons up an army of inept skeletons to slow their progress..
This begs a very important question: Who buried the mummy and his army, and what was their motivation? If it was someone evil, why would they not have simply buried the army on the other side of the wall so that they would already be immortal if they were ever awakened? If the burier was someone good who wanted to ensure this army would never rise again, then why bury them right next to the wall that gives them immortality? Why not bury them a thousand miles away? Or, better yet, smash them to bits?
Well, I won't ruin any more of the movie by telling you whether the mummy wins or whether Brendan Frasier wins. But the movie does end with an important historical fact about Peru.
To me, the only entertaining experience about this movie was the two rows of teenagers behind us who seemed to think this movie was somehow good. The laughed frequently at the "witty" comedy and cowered in terror at the "scary" molten-bronze horsies.
Hopefully this installment will finally kill the mummy franchise, and we can bury it, and hope that no one ever digs it up again, not even thousands of years from now.
My friend's "B's" younger brother "D" was in town this weekend. And when D is in town that always means one thing:
Barhopping Day Trip!
We started the day with breakfast at The City Diner and then hit the road. We had mapped out two alternate routes for one area of the metro we still hadn't tapped: southwestern Johnson County. Whether we'd begin in Spring Hill or Edgerton would be decided when we reached Olathe by what bar answered their phone first. Edgerton won the race.
Along the way, though, we made a last minute decision to proceed to Baldwin City. We knew of only one bar in town, but since there is a college there (Baker University) we figured there had to be more and decided it was worth the extra 20 miles round-trip. We figured right.
#1: Puckett's
309 Ames
Baldwin City, KS
[Map]
11:00am. After spending half an hour driving around the town to find all the bars and kill time, we decided we would begin the day at the place whose beer signs turned on first. Puckett's ended up winning that race.
Puckett's is in a converted gas station, with the pump canopy still in place in the parking lot. From the color scheme on the canopy it was likely a Texaco or a Phillips 66.
B ordered a PBR, D a Bud Light, and I ordered a Coors Light. Our beer was served in mason jars.
This was a surprising find. Usually you see these machines at Chuck E. Cheese or Dave & Busters, where you gamble for tokens. In this case it was filled with quarters. I wonder if this is even legal in Kansas.
#2: Salt Mine
301 Ames St
Baldwin City, KS 66006
(785) 594-2498
[Map]
11:22am. It took us quite a while to find the Salt Mine earlier in the morning, which is funny because it was right next door to Puckett's. Until the beer signs lit up we thought this was a house.
Like Puckett's it used dollar bills as wallpaper, but to a much greater degree. Unlike Puckett's, it seemed to be the college kid hangout as 7 students from nearby Baker University showed up in 7 different cars and sat together talking about their classes.
I had a Boulevard Stout, while B & D had Bud Light. The draws here were a little large, which is probably what draws the college kids, so we played some trivia while finishing our drinks.
#3: Wooden Spoke
203 1st St
Baldwin City, KS
(785) 594-2222
[Map]
11:40am. We were hesitant to enter because it looked too much like a Cracker Barrel. But inside we found a legitimate bar. We all had Bud Light.
#4: Tracy's Tavern
100 E 2nd St
Edgerton, KS 66021
(913) 893-9949
[Map]
12:10pm. This was almost our first stop for the day, as it was already open when we first passed through at 10:15, but we made a last-minute decision to press on to Baldwin City first.
We violated our 1-drink-per-bar rule by ordering a pitcher of Busch Light due to the price. This gave us a lot of time to discuss video games and game systems. Our bartender, who bore a vague resemblance to Ron Jeremy, gave us a wealth of tips about bars to visit in Gardner and Olathe.
#5: BJ's Oasis
132 E Main St
Gardner, KS 66030
(913) 884-2107
[Map]
12:10pm. This was the darkest bar we went to by far. We were blind for a few moments upon entering, then re-blinded when we stepped back outside.
We all had Bud Light draws.
I took a break to use the restroom. The restroom area had an exterior sink and 2 unmarked doors for the toilets. While I was taking care of business I noticed that all of the graffiti was in women's handwriting.
"I don't know if it matters which door you choose," I said upon returning, "but if it does, I choose poorly."
B & D started snickering, both having chosen the correct door. I went back for another look and discovered that the men's room was indeed labeled, in marker, but the text was visible only if standing directly in front of it.
It was here where I noticed I had lost the last stylus I had for my phone earlier in the day.
"Do yourself a favor when we get back," D said to me. "Get on E-bay and get yourself a 20-pack of styluses for about four bucks. Problem solved."
"I'm an Idea Man," D added. "This has been today's episode of 'Life Improvements'."
We all dug the antique cigarette machine. It was currently empty but the owner said it does indeed still work.
We wondered if the fact that the Merit-Thon machine was facing inside the bar, and placed in a spot inaccessible to customers, was a reflection on how busy this place is.
No checks unless Hoot approves! Turned out our bartender was Hoot himself, but we had cash so no matter.
No bar is complete without a ceramic turkey.
#6: Tumbleweeds Saloon
615 E Main St
Gardner, KS 66030
(913) 884-9594
[Map]
1:20pm. Everyone keeps trying to sell us more beer than we want evern though we're fine with paying a higher price for single draws. We ended up settling on a mini-pitcher of Bud Select.
#7: Wally's
808 E Main St
Gardner, KS 66030
(913) 856-3885
[Map]
1:50pm. We got a round of Bud Light and played Silver Strike with a nearby stranger (the guy on the far right in the first photo below). I bowled my worst game in nearly 2 years.
#8: Austin's Bar & Grill
245 N Moonlight Rd
Gardner, KS 66030
(913) 856-6965
[Map]
2:15pm. Like Wally's, another strip mall bar & grill chain. I had a Guinness, while B & D had Bud Select. B&D opted for 20oz draws since they were cheaper, so we played trivia in order to allow them time to finish.
#9: Double Nickel
189 S Rogers Rd # 1614
Olathe, KS 66062
(913) 782-4140
[Map]
3:00pm. I nearly used the women's restroom for the second time today! Luckily I was corrected by a passing server. In my defense, the doors of both restrooms were propped open, hiding the signs. Though B&D both insist there was exterior signage that I overlooked.
#10: Jobsite
1318 E Park St
Olathe, KS 66061
(913) 782-2449
[Map]
3:30pm. I had a Bud Light while B & D both had Bud Select. We found a Silver Strike machine, where I proceeded to bowl my second worst game in nearly 2 years. At least I managed to use the correct restroom on the first try.
Note the stripper pole...
D found a bar game that dispenses porno DVDs as the prizes! We couldn't decide between "Peter Girls" and "Heat Strokes" though.
Bad news... the machine ended up eating B's quarter.
Our next stop was Grumpy's... a place we had been anxious to visit based on the name alone. But to get around Olathe's smoking ban it had become a private club. They wanted $10 from each of us plus a 10 day waiting period. We didn't have that long to wait.
#11: Mullligan's
911 S Parker St # D
Olathe, KS 66061
(913) 764-3884
[Map]
4:25pm. This was also a private club, but we were allowed in as guests. The bartender insisted on selling us a pitcher of Bud Light. Since we weren't sure if we were in here on the up-and-up we decided to be sneaky about photos so I couldn't get any good pictures. The place was actually much busier than it looks in my picture.
We didn't want to drink all that beer so after one each we gave the remainder of our pitcher to a group at a nearby table.
#12: Brickyard
1001 S Weaver St
Olathe, KS 66061
(913) 780-0266
[Map]
4:50pm. Another private club. After showing the bartender our out-of-state (Missouri) IDs, we were allowed to sign in as new registrations.
As we entered the bar we noticed a tough looking guy standing outside in hot pants. D asked the bartender about it and she was puzzled at first, then realized what he was talking about.
"Haha! That's the owner!" she laughed. "We're always kidding him about it, telling him Daisy Duke called asking for her shorts back."
If you're a guy and need to take a crap, you're S.O.L. here. By the way, make sure no one is behind you when you are taking photos in a men's room. Kinda embarrassing.
After the Brickyard we took a dinner/liver/BAC break to reset our systems. Once we were refreshed, we headed back northeast.
#13: Pickering's Pub
11922 S Strang Line Rd
Olathe, KS 66062
(913) 782-6464
[Map]
6:00pm. A pretty generic strip mall bar & grill. Twice B and I were left to solve The Mystery of Disappearing D. It finally turned out he had somehow found a restroom behind the kitchen rather than the well-signed set of restrooms behind us.
Due in part to our recent meal, stomach volume was beginning to be an issue and we were having trouble meeting our quotas. We decided to skip a few nearby places in order to allow digestion to continue to work.
#14: Final Approach Bar & Grill
7955 Frontage Rd
Overland Park, KS 66204
(913) 648-6005
[Map]
6:45pm. Formerly Mulvaney's Beef and Brew, I thought Google Maps was wrong when it identified this place as Final Approach. Nope, it turns out the owner of the popular Tiffany Springs bar of the same name bought Mulvaney's to open a second location. Our bartender was a transplant from the original location.
Incidentaly the original location has been sold, though it still operates as Final Approach as well.
Stomach volume was still proving problematic here.
#15: Jackson's Bar & Grill
7405 Nieman Rd
Shawnee, KS 66203
(913) 766-5225
[Map]
7:20pm. This was an unexpected bonus find and turned out to be one of our more entertaining stops.
As D sipped his Bud Light and B & I sipped our Coors Lights, a news story was on the TV about the suicide of the alleged anthrax mailer.
I wondered aloud if we'd ever know the real reason behind the attacks, and B wondered if the government would even allow a suicide note to be published in the media. He used an analogy of "What if a scientist died and left a suicide note describing exactly what is really at Area 51?"
"Did I hear you correctly?" came a voice from the end of the bar. "Did you say you've been to Area 51?
"No, no," B said, "I was just using that as an example. I was..."
"Oh that's cool," the stranger interrupted. "I love talking about Area 51, that's one of my favorite topics."
"Oh yeah?" B replied. "Then you need to talk to this guy," B said, pointing to his brother, D. "He's a scientist and knows all about that stuff."
B then excused himself from the conversation while I pretended to receive a phone call.
The ensuing conversation was priceless. You can read the highlights of it here: Drunk Science featuring This Dude
#16: Billski's
5831 Merriam Dr
Shawnee, KS 66203
(913) 831-2337
[Map]
7:50pm. We entered a neighborhood where I fully expected to find bonus bars, and this was the first such find. This was another bar where the bartender insisted on selling us a pitcher, even though he would have made more money selling us draws and it would have been no more work for him.
Behind my head was a display of autographed baseballs that someone had draped a set of Mardis Gras beads on. B mistook this for some sort of game and tried to get D to remove and rearrange the balls.
Just as we told the bartender would be the case, we did not wish to finish our pitcher and gave the second half to two women sitting at the bar. Not only did the bar get a couple bucks less from us than they would have if they had sold us what we wanted, now these two women had extra drinks that no one was paying for. Oh well.
#17: Chief's
5541 Merriam Dr
Shawnee, KS 66203
(913) 831-3250
[Map]
8:20pm. As we stepped inside we were met by two women who were sitting just inside the front door, and one of them asked B if I was his dad. This irritated me to no end, since I am only a year older than B. Naturally, B hammed this up for the entire visit, calling me "pops" and putting his head on my shoulder to tell me how much he loves his dear old dad.
Further up the road we found another bonus bar called Marty's. But when we stepped inside we were confronted with a $2 cover charge. We have a very strict rule against paying at the door in order to then pay for beer inside, so we left.
#18: KC's Neighborhood Bar & Grill
10201 W 47th St
Shawnee, KS 66203
(913) 262-7211
[Map]
8:50pm. We were about to give up on finding this place, because the neighborhood was just seeming way too residential and we figured we had to have bad information. We were stunned when suddenly, there it was, in a tiny strip mall anchored by a gas station.
This place too was a private club. We were asked repeatedly for club IDs but kept pretending not to hear. After a while it was forgotten about.
Just before we played some free games of Silver Strike and Bags, the bartender demonstrated with B's PBR that the Guinness Surger actually works with any beer... except that it has the side effect of making non-Guinness beers go flat.
By now, digestion had run its course and we were all getting a second wind. Hooray!
#19: Double T's Roadhouse
1421 Merriam Ln
Kansas City, KS 66103
[Map]
9:40pm. After getting extremely lost (only Kansas would have a 47th Street curve around on itself and then intersect with a perpendicular 47th Avenue) we finally got back on track and found our way to a cluster of biker bars I had been excited for a long time about visiting.
So imagine my disappointment when we stepped inside and were hit with a $2 cover charge.
We left, but then B said "Hold on, let me talk to them."
D and I waited outside for B to inevitably be thrown out. And waited. And waited. Then the door opened.
"We're good, come on in," B said. We were stunned.
It turned out the owners, Tony and "Taco" (the T's of Double T's were seated just inside and agreed to let us come in to buy a drink and see the place as long as we left before the band finished setting up.
Formerly a club called Ms. Kitty's, Double T's was quite nice on the inside and had a good stage area. Unfortunately for us the band set up pretty quickly so we were not able to stay for long.
Thank you, T & T!!
#20: The Hitching Post
1328 Merriam Ln
Kansas City, KS 66103
(913) 677-3949
[Map]
10:10pm Across the street from Double T's, and thankfully lacking in a cover charge. Getting here was a bit tricky though as the high humidity kept fogging up our windows. :)
B & D played darts, while I tried repeatedly to use the men's room only to have someone beat me to it each time. (I know I should have stood and waited but I had other things I wanted to be doing.) When I finally did get to go inside, I found that the condom mechine also dispenses erotic photos. Once I discovered that I was careful not to touch anything in there.
We next tried to head down to the third biker bar in the area, Kick Stands, which was a little way down Roe. Upon arrival we were hit with a $2 cover, and since the band had already started we knew there would be no talking our way out of it this time. Kick Stands will have to wait for another day.
#21: Jaywalkers
3916 Rainbow Blvd
Kansas City, KS 66103
(913) 671-7464
[Map]
11:00pm This wasn't on our planned route but we decided to knock this one out since we were in the general area. It was probably the lamest of the places we visited, it was packed with the "see and be seen" crowd. Though there's something kind of ironic about going to a converted fast-food restaurant to see and be seen.
D argues with his brother about something...
Originally we had planned to finish the evening at the Power & Light District and take a cab back. But it was getting late, and since we were each taking turns paying the tab we'd have to visit another 3 bars in order to re-even it all back out. We ended up calling it a night at this point.
Naturally, though, I couldn't finish the night without making at least a token visit to Zoo Bar, so after B & D were safely at home I made a 12:20am stop at my favorite home-away-from home. :)
Just 12 more to go and I hit the 500 mark!
UPDATE: I just got a tip that it may have been closed just for a massive overgrowth trimming project, though another person thought it looked like the roadway was torn up. I'll check later and report back tomorrow.
UPDATED UPDATE: SORRY! I was given bad information and should have confirmed it myself before posting. It turns out today's closure was temporary for some much-needed brush clearing. My source had seen bulldozers and thought they were tearing up the road surface. Sorry everyone! Sorry CIMO!
This week on The Weekly Dive I take you to the place that I consider to be "my other living room". One block from the Power & Light District, Zoo is one of the few neighboring businesses to enjoy an overall net gain in business since the P&L fully opened. (It did drop some, but the Sprint Center opening had already brought so much new business that they had to extend hours, add staff, and expand the inventory... so the next effect is still way more business than a year ago.)
Though it's right next to the Sprint Center, it's hard to find and tricky to get to. But it's a place worth making the little extra effort.
Click the link below to see the full story.
The makers of the Drunk History videos should consider branching into Drunk Science after the science lessons of the guy we met while out getting a beer last night.
"I have a theory. This can't be the only planet in the solar system. This [pause] just can't be the [pause], it can't be the only planet God created in the entire Galaxy. I mean, he's like a smart dude.""As for Area 51, if an alien didn't really crash there, then why won't the government let us all walk in and look around?"
"I'm just saying, this can't be the only planet out there. I mean, I'm not a religious man, but God is smarter than that."