Sweet Visit

My parents came for a visit last week and I had to do some serious considering about what to show them, where to take them, what to feed them (in my family this is always the largest concern). I forgot to take many pictures but I tried to hit all the important Kansas City spots...

According to an informal poll, Oklahoma Joe's is the best in Kansas City for barbecue, followed by Arthur Bryant's. Arthur Bryant's serves their pulled pork with a pile of Wonder Bread AND they have sweet tea- I went to college in the deep South and I have a fondness for sweet tea. However, Oklahoma Joe's is in an actual gas station and their ribs are not to be believed.

 There is no table service at Oklahoma Joe's. You are left to contemplate the menu while standing in a line that sometimes reaches out to the sidewalk. 

I opted for a slab of ribs, a pile of pulled pork, and Texas toast (made from Wonder Bread). Delicious. 

Another big food hit was Genessee Royale. It's in one of my favorite neighborhoods, the West Bottoms which deserves it's very own post (and will get one soon, since I did some poking around there last week). Genessee Royale is my favorite place for Saturday brunch (Sundays are for Record Bar) and they are home to fried chicken on a biscuit with gravy, my favorite ginger beer, and according to my mother, the best coconut cream pie. 

Matt and I also had my parents over for dinner. This was a first for me, and since my mother is an amazing cook, it was a little stressful. In the end, I went with grilled pork since I've made it before and it's extremely undemanding:

GRILLED PORK

Get some pork tenderloin, preferably organic. To be honest this pork was from Costco and it was still great. Put the pork in a dish, pour olive oil over it along with a fistful of herbs, salt and pepper, and minced garlic. Marinate for at least 3 hours. Preheat your grill (we use charcoal) and grill for about 13 minutes on each side. 

I also like to quarter small potatoes, drizzle them in olive oil and herbs, wrap them in tinfoil and grill them with the pork. In order for for them to be done on time, you have to put them on the grill as soon as the charcoal is lit. 

Since my parents mostly don't drink, I made them limeade- their favorite. I used a Mark Bittman recipe for salty limeade. Next time I would add a tiny bit of cayenne pepper and perhaps vodka. 

Note: It takes a long time to manually squeeze this many limes. 

And this is all the juice you end up with! It was worth the effort, though. I made strawberry shortcake for dessert and we had some friends over so my parents could meet them- all in all a lovely time. 

My parents just HAPPENED to come when the Yankees were in town- my dad is a huge fan. So we went to my first Kansas City baseball game and the Yankees won, naturally....

Some other highlights that I don't have photos of- a bike ride with my father, a trip to the amazingly old- fashioned department store, Halls, and on the last night dinner at a sweet French bistro.