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
Oddly Correct’s Open Forum & Other Weekend Possibilities
Oddly Correct (3940 Main Street) is hosting an open forum tonight from 7 to 10 p.m. It’s a chance to chat about coffee with folks who enjoy drinking it and those who are employed by coffee roasters and shops in the metro area. This is also a chance to sample BKS Artisan Ales (read their…
5 Sips of Coffee That Will Have You Buzzing
We don’t just eat seasonally. There is a time and purpose for every coffee, as well. Whether you’re looking to warm up with a hot cup or stick to your cold brew ways, you’ve got some interesting new choices at coffee bars across the city. Here are five sips of coffee that will have you…
Downtown Lawrence Restaurant Week & Other Weekend Possibilities
Two restaurant weeks, one weekend. Whatever will you do? The answer is eat out. A lot. Kansas City Restaurant Week — more than 180 restaurants with $15 prix fixe lunches and $33 dinners — continues through this Sunday. Downtown Lawrence Restaurant Week debuts today and runs through next Saturday, Jan. 28. Twenty-two Lawrence, Kansas, restaurants will have special…
Torn Label’s Second Anniversary & Other Weekend Possibilities
Torn Label Brewing Company (1708 Campbell) is having a big week. Fresh off its release of cans, it holds a second-anniversary party at its taproom, starting at noon Saturday. Expect to see all 12 taps going, including its first-ever double IPA. Gustucide is an impressive 9.6 percent ABV and is hop-loaded. Also on offer: a barrel-aged…
Heartwood Pizzeria Pops Up at Plowboys BBQ
Jonny Doelling sat at the bar in a Miami restaurant, stopwatch in hand, watching pizzaiolos load pies into the wood-fired oven. Pizza In. Click. Pizza Out. Click. Over. And over. And over. Doelling was determined to discover the exact amount of time it took to get a perfect Neapolitan-style pizza. On a recent Wednesday afternoon…
On Tap | Brew Lab Prepares to Launch Own Brewery
After three years of helping would-be brewers learn how to make beer, Overland Park’s Brew Lab is getting ready to make a few beers of its own. The brew-on-premises shop is moving into a larger space in February, with plans to add a taproom, a brewery and a kitchen. “We want this to be a…
Happy Gillis’ Breakfast All Day & Other Weekend Possibilities
Happy Gillis Cafe & Hangout (549 Gillis St.) unveiled a New Year’s resolution — breakfast all day — that one hopes will last all year. “People would be on the verge of tears that they couldn’t get our breakfast sandwich,” co-owner and chef Josh Eans said. “We thought this could make people happy and make…
The Farmhouse’s Pajama Brunch & Other Weekend Possibilities
The Farmhouse (300 Delaware St.) is hosting its fourth annual Pajama Brunch on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The staff will be wearing pajamas and diners are encouraged to do, as well. Think about pumpkin flapjacks or the Midwest Croque Madame with smoked provolone, ham and a sunny side up egg. Reservations are encouraged…
Recipe | Cheery Mash Bars Reinvent a Local Classic
For many in Kansas City, the holiday season is not about red and green. It’s about shocking pink — impossible, neon pink. The kind of pink that is hidden beneath a crunchy circle of chocolate-enrobed peanuts. We’re talking about Cherry Mash, the singular candy still made in St. Joseph, Missouri, as it has been for nearly 100…
Betty Rae’s Closes (For the Season) & Other Weekend Possibilities
Some will tell you there’s a time and place for ice cream. I would tell you, as Les Miserables would also tell you, that time is now and the place is here. Betty Rae’s Ice Cream (7140 Wornall Road) is closing for the season tonight at 10 p.m. Our ice cream partner on this summer’s Float…