Kansas City!...

So after our great day in St. Louis, we hit the road bright and early for the REAL reason for our trip and headed to Kansas City to catch the Royals in action at their own stadium:)  And since they just HAPPENED to be playing the New York Yankees...it was a win/win for both of us;)

Buttt....after nearly 4 hours in the car, of COURSE the first order of business was to EAT! :)  And we didn't have to look too far for our "insider" KC tip....

And the ONLY entry for Missouri?????  Nope...not the Arch...but rather here:

"Arthur Bryant's is near-unanimously considered to be the best barbecue joint in town, or maybe anywhere"....Ummmmm...SOLD! :)

So we headed to the original Arthur Bryant's on Brooklyn Avenue and were met with yet ANOTHER line out the door;) ...

This scene is becoming all too familiar;)

Totally casual atmosphere, as nothing to distract you from the real reason you're there: THE GOOD EATS!

Well, aside from the smattering of celebrity pictures gracing the walls;)

We got the 'ordering tips' from the kind lady behind us (who knew anyone outside of the tristate area had 'ordering rules'), and when we heard the "NEXT!," we yelled our order into the small window and then handed over our plates....

To be piled up like THIS:

I figured Arthur Bryant's had some of the most "unphotogenic food" around...but one bite and you couldn't CARE less!  I chose the 'burnt ends' sandwich  (beef briskets charred ends)...

But one bite of the pulled pork that Scott ordered and the clouds parted and the angels sang.  THIS is the reason to come to AB's....it was just drop dead delicious.....I'm speechless...

The skin on fries were pretty darn tasty too, (and of course-so was that white bread, which collected all of the lovely sauce and juices!;) 

And who doesn't love a place that sells RED cream soda;)

We call this one: Satisfied customers!

Arthur Bryant's was worth ALL of the hype as far as we are concerned!  We just ate in silence...it was just THAT good....

After our near-food coma, we headed for our hotel and got ready for the game!! ;)

Where we got to enjoy the beautiful fountains in the park...

And the Hall of Fame...

All before heading to our seats...

And enjoying the game;)  This was the best of both worlds, as far as I'm concerned;)

Andddd....here's where we get to the REALLY 'excessive' part of the trip....but we were on 'vacation', right???  Soooooooo....since we held off on shelling out $10 for a bag of chips and a cup of cheese....after the game we headed to the popular chain in the area that we passed about 900 of on our journeys....

Marc Summers named the "Steak & Shake" steakburger the "Best Thing Between Bread", so that was enough of an endorsement to get us in there.  And something called the "Wisconsin Buttery" just sounded so ridiculous...I just HAD to get it....

And I would be positively lying, if I said this wasn't one of the best burgers I've ever eaten...ever.  No joke.  I can't even begin to describe how sickeningly decadent this was, but one bite and I just MELTED;) hahahahahahha....this was the closest to a "Double Double with Fried Onions" from 'In & Out Burger' that I've had since my days in LA.  Just SICK!!! ;)

And if your gonna go, you might as well go big, right???? ;)  I haven't had a milkshake in about four/five YEARS....and yet chose to have one on the day I ate not one, but TWO meat sandwiches and toooo many fries;) hahahahahhahahaha....but it was just oh-so-good!  I got a "strawnilla" which was (obviously) half strawberry and half vanilla...which was, magically, EXACTLY what I wanted, so I could NOT pass it up.  And, not gonna lie, I was happy with this baby!!

Scott, also, REALLLLLLLLY dug his "Special Dark Chocolate" shake.  In fact, he hasn't stopped trying to figure out how to make one ever since;)  Sad Fact:  WE LOVEEEEEEEED THE "STEAK AND SHAKE!!!!"  Sadly or Thankfully...the closest one to us is in Pittsburgh, but who knows...they might make it around to NJ one day;) hahahahahhahahaa.....

Andddd....the next day we capped off our trip with breakfast at the hotel, since we were a bit short on time:(   We stayed at the Hyatt at the "Hallmark Crown Center," which was SOOOOOOOO nice!!!

(and for the record:  we stayed at the Pear Tree Inn hotel in St. Louis....I couldn't say ENOUGH nice things about this hotel!  It was SUPER cheap, clean, right in the heart of downtown, a nice staff,  & came with free breakfast, Internet, parking & long distance phone calls.  Seriously, WHO does that now?????  Sparse in decor, but a HUGE bargain!  I highly recommend it!)

Anyyyyyway....back to breakfast!  We ate at the pretty "Terrace" restaurant...

Where I got the DELICIOUS cornflake & vanilla crusted french toast with orange butter....(see!  One non-meat meal!!;)

Buttt...not for Scott, who had a breakfast burrito with chirizo;)   hahahahahhahaa...

Loved breakfast, loved Kansas City, loved our whole trip!!  Our only regret was our limited time in KC aka. "The Paris of the Plains" (who knew???), but we couldn't have asked for a better time!  (ok, ok...maybe 20 degrees cooler would have been sweet too;) hahahahahhahaha....

Andddd...again:  Back to reality;)  Although we loved our dinner tonight!  We followed this recipe for  Zucchini ribbons with Saffron Couscous, but added a can of chickpeas and a bag of spinach to the couscous for extra BULK...

And topped with some grilled "zucchini ribbons"....we even swapped out the chicken broth for vegetable broth to keep with our "meat free few days" plan;) hahahahahahahhaha

Ok, ok...I think you've heard enough from me for the last 2 days;) hahahahaha...hope your having a great week!  Look at that:  It's already Wednesday! ;)  Hope you enjoyed our recap!!