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
Remembering McCoy’s: The Famed Public House Will Close in Westport on Dec. 23
My hand hit the side of the glass. It rocked back and forth before deciding to tip on its side, root beer cascading toward my daughter. McCoy’s Public House is where we spent my daughter’s seventh birthday. It’s where I knocked a full pint of the house root beer in her lap. It’s where a…
Holiday-Flavored Macarons, Charlie Brown at Worlds of Fun & Other Weekend Possibilities
Winter has its own food group. Dive into hot chocolate and caramel popcorn and all the foods that let you add a bit of cold weather insulation at WinterFest. Decorate cookies with Mrs. Claus, pop by the North Pole or catch Charlie Brown’s Christmas Spectacular. The winter-themed celebration runs through Dec. 31 at Worlds of…
Local Creator of Lucky Charms Beer to Shutter Brewery
The beer-brewing, burrito-slinging, cocktail-making, live-music-hosting coffee shop in North Kansas City known as Colony is closing the brewery portion of its business by the end of the year. “The brewery itself was very successful,” co-owner Zach Henderson said. “But there wasn’t an opportunity to grow with the current model.” The many-headed Colony has 10 taps,…
Tap List | More Bourbon Chocolate In Your Diet & Pale Lager for Wildfire Victims
Kansas City’s independent restaurant scene has been fueled by chefs over the past decade doing a simple calculation that they could afford to accomplish more here than on the coasts.. That same desire for cheaper real estate, an opportunity for ownership and the chance to return home could now energize the local craft brewery boom….
Friction Beer Co. Wants To Bring a Little Heat To The Crossroads
Nathan Ryerson and Brent Anderson know that some Kansas Citians may not like Friction Beer Co. when it opens in 2019. And they’re OK with it. “I think choice can be daunting to people,” Anderson said. “We don’t want to be everything to everybody. We want the people who love us to really love us.” The…
Missing Ragazza? The Italian Eatery Pops Up In The West Bottoms & Other Weekend Possibilities
Listen up, eaters. The second annual Kansas City Foodie Fest is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at iWerx (1520 Clay St., North Kansas City, Missouri). It’s a chance to meet and try bites from more than two dozen local food makers. Borgman’s Dairy Farm will bring cajeta (caramel made from goat’s milk), Common…
Tap List | The Day the Music Died: Rock & Run Brewery and Pub Closes
A brewery at the forefront of the recent craft beer boom has closed. After nearly five years in downtown Liberty, Rock & Run Brewery & Pub shut its doors last Tuesday. The following note was posted on the brewery’s site: “From all of us at Rock & Run Brewery, we are sad to say that…
Small Business Saturday, Local Pig, & Other Weekend Possibilities
We celebrate with cake. Butchers celebrate special occasions with charcuterie (bacon, sausage, ham and all the meats cured and sliced). After five years in the East Bottoms, the Local Pig (and attached sandwich shop Pigwich) is moving to the City Market in December. This Friday, it will be open in its original location at 2618 Guinotte…
Tap List | Limitless Brewing & Black Squirrel Friday
This is why you’ve been drinking all these years, Lenexa. Limitless Brewing (9765 Widmer, Lenexa, Kansas) is planning its grand opening Wednesday at 4 p.m. as long as the brewery receives its final permitting today. Limitless will open with a trio of brews on tap: Biere de Garde (strong pale ale), English session ale and…
Chef Carlos Mortera Wants To Feed The Whole Westside One Half-Chicken at a Time
Chicken isn’t supposed to be exciting. But don’t tell that to chef Carlos Mortera, owner of the newly opened Poi-o (1000 W. 25th St.) just off Southwest Boulevard. “This is a very personal restaurant,” Mortera said. “I wanted to bring affordable food to the Westside. I think it’s a great representation of what’s happening on…