1617 Main Street
Kansas City, Mo.
Normally we wouldn’t review this because it’s primarily an upscale Japanese restaurant, but as it turns out, they have a cool bar area with live DJs (not those pesky dead ones). After 10 is reverse happy hour with great deals on appetizers and booze (including martinis). A great side note about this bar is that their matches turn toilet water BLUE. The perfect Bathroom match! (Don’t ask Ike how he knows this.)
417 E 18th St
Kansas City, MO 64108
(816) 472-5454
Five star Cheese whiz Grinders, some of the best thin crust pizza in KC and PBR on tap at a reasonable price makes Grinders the best artery clogging, heart attacktastic binge night destination. Start or end the evening out here with great food surrounded by all the Art District misfits! Ahhh Weirdos!
20 E 5th St
Kansas City, MO 64106
(816) 471-7427
Dive-Bar-B-Que!!!
Hungry? Need a great secret dive-esque bar to binge on beef and booze? Try Winslow’s! This is slowly becoming one of our all time favorite hangouts to meet and drink with some of KCs oddest folks.
1531 Grand Blvd.
Kansas City, MO 64108
816.221.2244
This Martini bar gone rogue is KCDrinkers #1 escape bar to conveniently walk away from the Power and Light district. It has everything a cockeyed lush could want including bathrooms and a bar with both beer and liquor. Make sure to wear all black or they might point and laugh at you.
817 Westport Road
Kansas City, Mo.
816-931-1986
Good fun (including darts and pinball), good food, beer a plenty and if for any reason you’ve been wanting to drop acid and don’t have the money or the connections, stare really hard at the flea market booth contents. You’ll get much the same tripped-out effect. Can you believe they almost replaced this Westport staple with a Hooters? Thank God that fell through.
4050 Pennsylvania Ave.
Kansas City, Mo.
816-931-2224
This is a terrible winter hot spot, but the summer is another story. Hot people playing volley ball in swimming attire while you drink on a deck and think you’re on an island somewhere (until you see all the filthy people shuffling up and down Pennsylvania Ave. and remember you’re in KC).
7438 Wornall Road
Kansas City, Mo.
816-523-9964
It’s small, it’s a pretty dirty, and for a lot of regulars, it’s just not the same without ‘Scary Mary’ – one of KC’s more infamous bartenders. She nearly cut me off once, not for over-drinking, but because “huh uh, honey… you drank that last pitcher too slow!” When some guy popped the cue ball on the table, she came running from behind the bar with a hearty “Hey, you want me to pop your balls on the table like that? Then don’t do that to mine!” That’s when I knew Waldo would be one of my regular bars. (Special thanks to Scientist Ken)
1340 Village West Pkwy (Legends Shopping Area)
Kansas City, Kan.
913-788-7771
This is an O’Dowds for Plaza-phobes. A little less character, and no chance of striking up convo with Tim Grunhard in the pisser. There is a patio in lieu of a deck, but the same tasty Irish concoctions at
emergency-ATM-run prices. Strong drinks create a fertile atmosphere for picking up Blue Valley divorcees, and the private booths will shelter your Guinness-numbed ass from further humiliation. Bring
friends. (special thanks to “g”)
529 Walnut
Kansas City, MO
(next to Harry’s Country Club)
Maybe you have heard of the intriguing “ICE BAR” here? More like a snooty restaurant with a very small portion of the bar that has ice on it. It was really just a little too scary inside to explore. A great
classy joint if you want to get laid, just not the kind of spot to belly up to the bar and do shots. Who wants to freeze their nipples off that way anyway? WARNING: $$$$.
400 East 31st St.
Kansas City, Mo.
816-753-9990
One of the hippest looking bars in KC, the Dog is a visual treat for the eyes. Remember to bring your own crowd, because it’s the only way to have a party in this trendy joint. And don’t forget to wear all black, not goth black, just lots of black, you’ll stand out if you don’t. I give Velvet Dog 3rd place in my martini ranking. This used to be a super cool, low key place but then it blew up, and now, if you go
there on a weekend, it looks like someone took a plane-load of L.A.s finest nightcrawlers and dumped them inside. Way too much Maxim Hair Color going on.
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