Go to breakfast at City Diner down in the River Market. Good old greasy spoon.

OK, OK, here's some info you might actually be able to use:

Good places to eat BBQ:
BBQ is everywhere, I list all the joints here:
http://www.georgeblowfish.com/BBQ.html

Cool things to see:
WWI National Museum at Liberty Memorial (If you like war)
(Union Station right across the street is a cool building)
Steamboat Arabia Museum in City Market (north end of downtown)
Harry S. Truman Library in Independence (If you like history)
Negro Leagues Museum in 18th & Vine District (If you like baseball)
Nelson-Atkins Museum (If you like world class art)
Boulevard Beer Brewery Tour (if you like beer)

Other good stuff:
Shopping: Country Club Plaza, Legends by the NASCAR track.
Food besides BBQ: Savoy Grill, Plaza III, The Bristol (all expensive)
Not expensive: Dixon's Chili and Fun House Pizza are both good, also try Winstead's for burgers or shakes, Ponak's or Manny's for Mexican, Garrozo's or Cascone's for Italian.

Entertainment:
Knucklehead's is a great music venue. I played there with my band back in July. Also Grinder's in the crossroads district.
President, Phillips and Muehlbach Hotels downtown are cool old school hotels to have a drink.

Have fun!



Have fun, spend money, we need it!

The after hours place is the Mutual Musician's Foundation in the 18th and Vine district. Famous for after hours gigs. You were lucky to get to attend a jam session.

Here's the website:

http://www.thefoundationjamson.org/

Thanks for shedding some light on that! It's one of those sort of surreal experiences that happen when traveling that later (we'd been drinking a lot) the memories are so fuzzy that you begin to wonder if they really happened. Now that I see the building, I realize that it was in that building, not in a house... the booze makes things fuzzy. Anyway, I've actually posted about that experience once or twice on here trying to get insight into the night, and I'd always drawn a blank which was really leading me to doubt my recollection of the evening.

Jack Stack's on 95th have killer burnt ends.

The original Jazz restaurant is on 39th & Stateline...on the missouri side.

If you want BBQ & Blues, consider BB's Lawnside BBQ...2 birds, 1 stone.

Phoenix is a good suggestion for Jazz music, but so is Jardines & JJ's.

How the hell does a thread about cool/interesting/unique things to do in KC fall from the front page with only 20 posts? Good grief. You'd think it was football season.

The Red Balloon? The place that only takes cash?

The foundation is awesome...very interesting mix of people there & - last I was there - they sell you drinks out of a cooler (no liquor license for after 3:00am but they have been granfathered in to allow "under the table sales" until 6:00am)

Y'know, its funny, reading thru this thread, nobody even MENTIONS the Power & Light District or Westport, both of which were designed specifically for tourists coming to KC to have fun. I forgot to mention the College Basketball HOF at the Sprint Center, it's pretty awesome if you like college Basketball.

BB's Lawnside BBQ is a good place for blues and BBQ although its in kind of a bad part of town.

Also, if you like chicken try Stroud's, either in Fairway or North of the River.

Knuckleheads or BB's Lawnside for Blues and BBQ. If you're out on a Thursday night, make it BB's for sure. John Paul's Flying Circus is the shit. Decent rib special that night too. $9/half slab, $14/full slab.

Flea Market in Westport is good for some great burgers, beer and pool/shuffleboard/foosball.

Hoopers' shuffleboard isn't considered an actual shuffleboard table. It's a very very crappy table, and nowhere near level enough to even finish a game. Don't go to Hoopers specifically for shuffleboard or you'll be very disappointed...

Great bar otherwise. They have a huge selection of beer.

In all fairness, his OP made it clear that he wasn't wanting a typical touron experience.

If you like trannies, go have breakfast at Mama's Diner (the old Nichols Lunch) on 39th and Southwest trafficway. There's a waitress, I think his/her name is Nicki, and he/she's about 6' 3" with tasteful makeup and lee press on nails...

The food is great there, otherwise it wouldn't be worth the sideshow.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/mamas-39th-st-diner-kansas-city

yes, that's the one. He asked for dives....that's def one.