Iron District
Kansas City is getting its first shipping container food and shopping complex in the Northland. Eight restaurants and four local retailers are now open at Iron District (1599 Iron St., North Kansas City, Mo.), an on-trend collection of 18 colorful shipping containers including Avobite, the city’s first avocado-oriented eatery. Other dining options include ice cream shop Snow Buh, breakfast and lunch joint Morning Day Café, plant-based eatery Kind Food, Cuban kitchen Plantain District, tiki cocktail outpost Tiki Huna, comfort food spot B-Rad’s, Safe Bakes pastries and Urban Café.
Panther’s Place
If you’re wondering where all the cool kids are hanging out these days, all you have to do is navigate to Panther’s Place (1000 W. 25th St., Kansas City, Mo.), a tucked-away speakeasy on the Westside. Getting to this hideaway can be tricky — the entrance is hidden behind an airstream in a Westside parking lot — but once you’re inside this plant-filled open-air oasis sipping a High Life and rubbing elbows with Kansas City’s hipster elite, you’ll feel like you’ve made it into the club. Hours vary, so follow on Instagram
(@panthersplacekc) to stay in the know.
Café Corazón
In late September, Miel Castagna-Herrera and Curtis Herrera opened Café Corazón as a reflection of the people, places and smells from their childhoods: Castagna-Herrera has an Argentinean heritage and Herrera is Mexican-American. Café Corazón (1721 Westport Road, Kansas City, Mo.) is a direct reflection of the Latin American cultures where so much of the world’s coffee is grown. Stop into this charming, brightly colored shop, and enjoy an ethically sourced café con leche, a concha pastry from Panaderia de las Americas or a delicious tamale from nonprofit organization The Tamale Kitchen. Café Corazón also serves yerba mate in the traditional gourd with a bombilla — something that’s hard to find outside of South America.
Urban Café
In addition to opening a location at Iron District and keeping their food truck running, Urban Café owners Justin and Rashaun Clark recently reopened their beloved health food-focused bistro on Troost, a few blocks down from the location that closed last summer. The new restaurant (5500 Troost Ave., Kansas City, Mo.) more than doubles the square footage and is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Don’t worry: Urban Café’s signature pork belly sandwich is still available.
