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
FLOAT & other weekend possibilities
FLOAT is from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday in KC Bier Co.’s biergarten (310 W. 79th St.). The summer festival, put on by Flatland and Recommended Daily, is an ode to the classic ice cream creation with a fun twist. We’ll be pairing The Sundry’s homemade sodas, Second Best Coffee’s nitro cold brew coffee and…
Order Up | The Peanut’s BLT
Order up is a new regular series that takes a layered look at drinks and eats across Kansas City. Got a dish you think we should feature? Drop us a note below or on Twitter @FlatlandKC.
Lidia Bastianich Checks In on Boys Grow
Goats bleat at the white fence as the car pulls up the gravel driveway at the Boys Grow farm. Chef Lidia Bastianich gets out and is met by John Gordon Jr., the executive director of the non-profit, who lives with his wife on a small house on the front of the property. A pair of…
Fiesta Kansas City & Other Weekend Possibilities
Fiesta Kansas City runs all weekend at Crown Center. The 16th annual event, put on by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City, is a great mashup of music, food and drinks. There’s also a jalapeno-eating contest and tortilla-rolling contest. It’s free admission before 4 p.m. and $10 per day ($20 for a weekend…
Fervere and Ibis Bakery Merge Daily Bread Menus
Fervere (1702 Summit Street) is about to embark on a new path forward. The bread shop, which opened on the Westside in 2000, will begin offering a regular assortment of pastries tomorrow. It’s a small, but subtle shift, at the bakery that was intentionally built to produce a limited amount of bread because of its…
The Westport Beer Festival and Other Weekend Possibilities
The Westport Beer Festival returns for its sixth year on Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. The event is in front of McCoy’s Public House and benefits AIDS Walk Kansas City. Try samples from more than three dozen breweries (Perennial Artisan Ales and Founders Brewing Co. among them), along with a few local distilleries (J. Rieger…
From Turner to Tokyo
This story was produced in partnership with The Pitch. Look for it in print right now. Missy Fitzwater asks Instagram: “Is it weird I like my black eye?” In the selfie, she’s 17 years old, apple-cheeked, smiling. Her brown hair is pulled back, messy, slightly out of focus. Her green eyes are a bit puffy, and…
Roller Food. Craft Beer. The Pairings That Were Never Supposed to Happen.
In the name of food science, we’re pairing roller food and craft beer. These six videos will help you discover beer pairings for everything from the Cheeseburger Bite Bite to a taco and cheese taquito. For this project, we engaged the nice folks at Boulevard Beer, who delved into the world of egg rolls and macaroni and cheese…
Green Dirt Farm’s Creamery Opening and Other Weekend Possibilities
What’s it called when we all scream for cheese? Green Dirt Farm is opening its creamery and tasting room (1099 Welt St.) this weekend in downtown Weston. It means more of their sheep’s milk cheese and yogurt, as well as cow’s milk ice cream (sheep’s milk ice cream is in the works for the future)….
Story’s Whole Roasted Pig and Other Weekend Possibilities
Story (3931 W. 69th Terrace, Prairie Village, Kansas) celebrates its fifth anniversary in style on Sunday with a whole roasted pig from 5 to 10 p.m. That pig will be turned into heaps of pork tacos with Santa Maria pinquito beans. The special dinner is $10 (the full dinner menu also is available). Make reservations by calling…