What's Happening, KC?

This weekend is Valentine's Day- one of the most commercialized holidays of the year. Let's be real it's not about love, it's about something much greater- chocolate. We aren't talking about just any chocolate here, you have to get the good stuff. If you want a delicious VDay treat and to support local, make a stop at Christopher Elbow Artisanal Chocolates  in KCMO or Cocoa Dolce in Overland Park. 

 

 **We were going to begin this post by sharing with you all the background of Valentine's Day. However, after Wikipedia-ing (that's a legit verb) Saint Valentine's Day, we were unable to focus on learning the origin because our brains are focused on chocolate. Shocking, we know.**

 

Chocolate Ale, Boulevard Brew Co

Cocoa Dolce & Christopher Elbow offer handcrafted, modern sweets with unique flavors that are so visually pleasing you almost don't want to eat them. Almost... Christopher Elbow also teamed up with Boulevard to create KC's beloved Chocolate Ale. Both confectionaries are a little more expensive than the average assorted boxes of chocolates, but are worth the $$$ for a special occasion.

 

For those of you into bondage watching movies about bondage and semi-love stories, 50 Shades of Gray is out this weekend. We suggest trying out Cinetopia in Prairie Fire. (Cinetopia is across the street from Cocoa Dolce. We just made your Valentine's Day plans too easy.)

 For those celebrating "Single's Awareness Day" or for the couples who still know how to have a good time, celebrations for Mardi Gras by way of a pub crawl will be going on in the Power & Light District. More details here. 

 

Next Friday, February 20th- Kansas City is hosting the Midnight Underground Circus at Municipal Auditorium. There will be circus acts, carnival games, a DJ, bottomless beer (thanks Boulevard), and a special musical performance. We're not into clowns, but this sounds like a different kind of circus that we're up for and we already have our tickets! The tickets are originally $62, but with the offer code "Facebook" you get 20% off!

 

Regarding the holiday this weekend: Fellas, DO NOT forget to get your ladies the basics. Good chocolate and flowers. Cause if you forget....there is a good chance she will forget to sleep with you for the next couple weeks... You've been warned.

 Hope Cupid shoots ya in the butt,

 

- K & J

#keshandjac and let us know your Valentine's plans

 

 

How to Have a Successful Pub Crawl

Kansas City has so many good bars you cant just choose one! This past Saturday, #keshandjac went out for a friend's birthday celebration. He had the fabulous idea (well Jac had the idea and suggested it to him) to do a pub crawl. This was a great opportunity to check out multiple hot Kansas City spots.

Stockyard fries-Nom Nom Nom

It started at Julep, a cocktail lounge, on Pennsylvania in Westport. Their motto is "Bringing class and kicking ass" which I can't disagree with. It has an intimate setting and specializes in whiskey drinks- takes you back a few decades. Next stop Beer Kitchen- Sadly, not everyone made it here, but we made it a point to. Beer Kitchen is one of our favorite spots in Westport with amazing food and endless beer selections. I will say it may not be the best choice for a great pub crawl since it is more resturant-esque. We stopped here for dinner because we've have both made past mistakes of doing heaving drinking on an empty stomach- never ends well.

How well do you know KC? Can you guess where this is

Stop three was The Foundry (we missed out as we were still filling our bellies)  But from past experiences this is a great place for a large group. You can rent out the upper level or just hang around the bar- very spacious, reasonably priced, and FYI they also have some good eats (it almost always comes back to food with us)

















After Foundry we headed to Harry's. Harry's has a great patio- unfortunately even though the weather was amaze balls this weekend, it was still a bit too chilly to sit out there. The pub crawl had SO many people it was overcrowded in the bar so we opted to leave a bit before the rest of the group and head to the next spot and a Westport staple- Kellys Westport Inn.  

 If you have never been here, you need to. Saturday nights are filled with cheap beers, live music, and a balloon artist. (this is completely genius. what drunk person wouldn't want a balloon animal?) If you are feeling competitive they also have pop-a-shot and darts towards the back. And of course- Pizza. (Again with the food). Finally, we made it to the last Westport stop- Buzzard Beach.* This place has its pros and cons- PROS pool table & jukebox where we get to pick the tunes. CONS it smells like a portapotty.  After this, the party split a bit....The last stretch of the crawl was to head to O'dowd's on the Plaza. Although we are big fans of O'dowd's (amazing upstairs patio, even better dance floor) we weren't really into the idea of finding a taxi to get there because at this point in the night we needed to either go home to sleep or dance. Obviously we were responsible and went dancing...so we headed over to Firefly lounge. All in all the pub crawl was a success. And most importantly the Birthday Boy had a great time-- as seen below.

Maybe too much fun....

We are very supported of pub crawls, whether they are scheduled events like the Crawl for Cancer or Waldo Crawldo- or a bit more impromptu like our experience last weekend. We think everyone should partake in one or five a year. If you are super jelly of our good time and want to have one of your own- here are some tips for a successful pub crawl.

1. Have a schedule but don't keep it too scheduled. It's probably a good idea to have a back up plan if your group is unable to get into a certain bar/restaurant. i.e. the group was too large for Beer Kitchen. 

2. Don't expect everyone to stay the entire night. The birthday boy made it clear that he would not be offended if people showed up late or left early. Don't get caught up on everyone being at every bar with you especially if you have a large party. Just party.
3. Do something unique. Give your party a theme, make shirts, or even button (as seen below)



Look at that alliteration!

 

4. Don't take too many shots. We did not follow this rule and our bodies regretted it the next day. Do as we say, not as we do.

Follow us on Twitter @keshandjac & #keshandjac when you crawl around KC.

-K&J

*Sorry! No link for Buzzard Beach they do not have a website #oldschool

Evidence of an eventful night:

 

 

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler

You can walk into Jimmy Jigger's to get to Jazz.

As much as we all rave about the barbeque around here, we have to give credit to the Cajun cuisine Kansas City cooks up, too. I recently went to one of my favorite restaurants during Restaurant Week. Unfortunately, I hadn't been there in a few years, but it was just as good as I remembered. This Cajun food spot I'm referring to is Jazz.

Jazz- a Lousiana Kitchen is located in the 39th Street West district near Q39. Stepping into the door of Jazz makes you feel like you've traveled to The South. With the live band, Cajun food, hurricanes [alcoholic drink, not natural disaster. Even though you will be a disaster after drinking too many. If you know what I'm sayin'], and graffiti wall give off a N'awlins vibe.

 



Indiana Jones and my sidekick enjoying the live band at Jazz

 

It took a weird amount of time for me to decide what I wanted to eat while I was there. With jambalaya, gumbo, Cajun fried shrimp, and fried catfish on the menu, I didn't even know where to start. I asked the server what she loves the most and she suggested the Chicken a la Mer.

  

Thank you nice server lady for the suggestion because it was nothing short of amazing.

 

LDye immediately decided on the Alligator Bites when he saw them on the menu. Alligator is scarce in KC. FYI: Gators are not native to the Midwest. Good thing because I'm not interested in battling those monsters on the daily.

That shit's scary.

 

Since we have jobs and can't actually make a day trip to New Orleans, Jazz is where you will find us on Mardi Gras.

 

Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler {Let the good times roll},

K

 

 

P.S. There's another Jazz located on Village West Parkway in Legends



A Hurricane courtesy of Pat O'Briens in NOLA



 

#FlashbackMonday LDye and I in actual NOLA in 2012



 

 

 

 

Brrrrrrrrr

Before we drink away the sorrows of what seemed like the longest work week of our lives (amiright?) or eat them away...we have to get our work out on. This helps us rationalize our consumption choices. As we previously mentioned in our first Friday Fit Day post, we like to find races around Kansas City and the metro to motivate ourselves. Best part- most races also give back to a charity. #twoforone. If you are on the prowl for a good race- and are willing to freeze your ass off -we have a race for you!

Kansas City is hosting the Polar Plunge tomorrow morning at Shawnee Mission Park Lake. "What is the Polar Plunge?" you ask. In short you run a 5k then throw yourself in the lake. The cost for this one is bit more than most (they ask that you raise a minimum of $75 per person) but proceeds go to the Special Olympics Kansas! A great charity that affects many lives in a positive way.

The temperature will be in 60s tomorrow which is perfect running weather...but you are kidding yourself if the you think the water will be anywhere close to warm.

Thank you, iphone, for allowing us to check the current weather and forecast with the click of a button. Does anyone remember calling the 844 hotline to check the weather and time back in the day?

We both wanted to sign up for this one, but we'll be volunteering at a work charity event tomorrow morning. We're not too sad about it. Playing board games with senior citizens sounds a bit better than battling hypothermia. Okay "hypothermia" may be a bit of an exaggeration. Get out and race if you can! We definitely support those of you brave enough to partake in the plunge.

Our advice to you all (because we love ya): 1.Bring a change of clothes because you won't want to walk around in a wet outfit all morning 2.Know how to swim. Don't drown, guys.

#keshandjac when you experience new places in KC and comment below to let us know what your weekend work out is

Good luck & stay warm,

-K&J

*Online registration is closed, but you can register at Johnny's Tavern on Ridgeview in Olathe the morning of the race. If you don't want to run, but would still like to donate, check out the link above to learn about the virtual plunge

tomorrow we're going to mix things up. We will be bar crawling to celebrate a friend's birthday. We will post photos of the places we go with hints of where we are and you can comment/retweet if you think you know where we are. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and keshandjac on Twitter to play.

It's Only Here 12 Times Each Year

This funky Midwest weather is really playing with our emotions- as per usual. Only here can it be a snowy, 19 degrees on Wednesday then expected to be 65 by Saturday. Shorts and snow boots, anyone?* Thankfully, the weather won't be too miserable this weekend so we can all get out and enjoy First Fridays.
 

 The First Weekend of every month encourages us to support small businesses in Kansas City with shopping, eating (food trucks!), art walks, concerts, etc. We love all of those things so why not support local vendors?

Where to go:

The Crossroads - Every First Friday of the month, the Crossroads offers special art gallery events

The West Bottoms - A marketplace open each First Friday Weekend of the month that offers vintage and reclaimed items. If you're wanting to get some cute new furniture or -fellas**, if you want to get a unique Valentine's Day gift for your girl- you can check out some of the flea markets/antique stores in the West Bottoms such as Bella Patina.

Bella Patina- Three floors of antiques furniture and décor. There's a restaurant on the third floor so you can break for lunch. It's located in the West Bottoms amongst several other warehouse stores, but it deserves a special shout out because you can easily lose - in a good way- hours of your day in this place.

 

#keshandjac and comment below to let us know what shenanigans you get into this warmish weekend.

We're so close to the weekend. Stay strong, friends! We can do it.

-K & J

 

*Just kidding. Don't be that guy- or gal- who wears shorts in the winter when the temp reaches 60 (you know who you are). It's still winter. You can thank Punxsutawney Phil.

Not actually Phil. Actually Bill Murray.

 

**Sorry to worry you, but Valentine's Day is less than two weeks away and you likely needed the reminder. You can thank us later.