Jonathan Bender
Reporter
Jonathan Bender is a former KCPT Food Content Editor and the founder of the Recommended Daily. He is the author of "LEGO: A Love Story," "Cookies & Beer" and "Stock, Broth & Bowl." He lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where has judged the American Royal World Series of BBQ, eaten sandwiches for a month, and pitched grain as a brewer’s assistant — all in pursuit of learning more about what Kansas Citians eat and drink.
Stories by Jonathan Bender
West Bottoms Whiskeys Found a Home on 13th Street
A wolf howl splits the afternoon quiet as a truck slowly backs up to a loading bay in the West Bottoms. The garage door at 1321 13th St. rolls up and Alex Lindsey steps out to see what’s happening in the shadows of Kansas City’s haunted houses. There’s chalk drawings on the concrete floor behind…
Tap List | KC Bier Co. is Bringing Oktoberfest to Crown Center
There will be a little more oomph in the oom-pah-pah at KC Bier Co.’s Oktoberfest this year. The festival, now in its fifth year, is moving from the Waldo brewery’s bier garden to the plaza at Crown Center. “We ran out of space at the brewery,” KC Bier Co. founder and managing partner Steve Holle…
Wiener Dog Derby & Other Weekend Possibilities
Strawberry Hill Blocktoberfest is from noon to 9 p.m. Friday on Sixth Street between Ann and Tauromee in Kansas City, Kansas. The festival, put on by Better Block, is meant to re-envision Sixth Street with bike lanes, pop-up shops, a beer garden and street art. The Liberty Fall Festival is in historic downtown Liberty, Missouri, and runs…
Order Up | Doughboy’s Iced Donuts
Order Up is a regular series that takes a layered look at drinks and eats across Kansas City. You can see previous selections here. Got a dish you think we should feature? Drop us a note below or on Twitter @FlatlandKC. — Follow @FlatlandKC on Twitter and Facebook for all your food news.
Tap List | Gluten-Free Beers, Ciders & Mead in KC
The narrative on gluten free beers is, at times, an unfair one. They are often relegated to the corner of the cold case reserved for non-alcoholic beer or seen as an oxymoron. But gluten-free, locally-produced options have increased dramatically in Kansas City over the past five years and that means we need to be having a conversation…
Troostapalooza & Other Weekend Possibilities
Troostapalooza, a festival hosted by the Troost Street Collective, is from noon to 7 p.m. at 30th Street and Troost Avenue. The family-friendly fest will have performances (The Phantastics, Marcus Lewis Big Band), a pop-up craft fair, pickleball, skateboard demonstrations and food trucks (Urban Café, Pita for Good). The Plaza Art Fair is Friday (5 to…
Tap List | Crane Brewing Keeps The Beet Going
Crane Brewing Co. has always marched to its own “beet.” And this year, it’s more than 1,000 pounds of beet, roughly one per bottle of Beet Weiss, according to co-founder Michael Crane. “The beets were not overly earthy or tart,” Crane said. “This batch has such an incredible sweetness.” Beet Weiss, the brewery’s fall seasonal,…
Sauced & Lost & Other Weekend Possibilities
Think Corn Mazes aren’t hard enough? The Liberty Corn Maze (17607 NE 52nd St., Liberty, Missouri) is hosting Sauced & Lost, a craft beer and wine tasting inside of a corn maze from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday. There will be six stops, each with a different craft beer or wine sample, that you can find by…
Tap List | 3 Trails Brewing In the Works in Independence
The thousands of visitors that flock to Independence for the Santa-Cali-Gon Days Festival next year may find an unexpected surprise in the beer garden: an Independence, Missouri, brewery. 3 Trails Brewing, which is in the process of building out its space at 111 N. Main St., hopes to open by year’s end on Independence Square. And the…
Midwest Tea Festival & Other Weekend Possibilities
The Paris of the Plains Cocktail Festival kicks off today and runs through Sunday. It’s a mix (pun most certainly intended) of seminars, tastings and bartenders competing. It’s a chance for you to nerd out on spirits, mixers or simply watch others make you well-balanced, interesting cocktails. Karaoke and mixology get mashed-up tonight at the…