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
An I-70 cold brew-collaboration comes today to the River Market
Kansas City and St. Louis are developing an esprit de café. Over in the River Market, Quay Coffee will bring back its I-70 toddy collaboration today. It’s a cold brew — coffee grounds that are soaked in cold water — available by the glass or in 16-ounce growlers, made with coffee beans roasted by Blueprint Coffee out…
Ask for it three-way or five-way, just don't ask for ketchup
Sometimes it is about the size of the dog. Back in March, Ronnie McGowan – a Tulsa native that has lived in the Kansas City area for the past two decades – looked around the local landscape and saw something missing from the hot dog spectrum. Kansas City had cocktail weenies and foot-long dogs, but…
Dude, where’s my food truck?
A jogger circling Macken Park in North Kansas City stops to catch his breath and does a double take as he glances at the parking lot on his left. An impromptu dining room has sprung up with five white highboy tables a few feet from contractor’s trucks and minivans. A dozen people are eating lunch…
Slap’s BBQ hits the KC Barbecue scene
A few cars trickle into the Slap’s BBQ parking lot at 535 Central Avenue as the clock hits 2 p.m. on a Thursday in summer. Three men walk through the door, pausing briefly to read the sign on butcher paper taped to the front, which informs them that the line forms to the right. But…
Working overtime at the Double Shift Brewing Company
Aaron Ogilvie sits at the dark lacquered tables inside the Double Shift Brewing Company – his microbrewery and taproom slated to open in less than 48 hours at 412 E 18th Street. The tables, built by his hand, resemble indoor picnic tables with long benches. He runs a hand through his hair and exhales slowly….
A City of Pop-Ups
If Joe West was ever going to have his own restaurant, he knew he had to get out of the kitchen. The chef, formerly of Bluestem and 801 Fish, has spent the past several months cooking his way across the city in a series of pop-up dinners that he hopes leads to a more permanent…
A “Campground” in the heart of the city
Most people see a shed in their backyard and think about storing garden tools or a lawnmower. But Chris Ceisel and his wife Cristin Llewellyn had a very different vision in 2011. They saw a bar. “It was this intimate space where people keep repeating to us that it ‘felt like they were no longer…
Bringing farmers-market energy to a local KC cafe
The sidewalk ends in hard-packed dirt at 1708 Oak Street. There are triangle impressions left by the tires of earthmovers as contractors work on the courtyard in front of Howard’s – a new grocery and café concept from Craig Howard that is slated to open later this summer. “This opens us up to a whole…
The Field of Dreams and Wine
The Berggren family just wanted a new home for their pumpkin patch. Logistics Park Kansas City and the BSNF intermodal were set to come online in Edgerton, Kansas, two years ago and the KC Pumpkin Patch was going to lose its lease in neighboring Gardner. “My folks have always wanted to run the pumpkin patch,”…
A KC incubator for food and flavor
After two decades in the tile and flooring business, Shannon Kimball made the decision to pursue his barbecue business, Firebug, full-time. But when he headquartered at a 6,000 square foot building on Troost, he knew that it was likely too large for just one business. That's how Flavor Trade, an incubator for KC food entrepreneurs,...