Saturday Morning at the Kansas City River Market

Entrance to the Market

Kansas City River Market or The Kansas City City Market , whichever you call it, is a great place to begin a Saturday morning excursion. My daughter and I recently started our weekend off here. I love the energy and diversity of people and products all in one place. She loves the fresh fruits, veggies and unusual offerings--squash blossoms anyone?

On this particular morning, we had no more than gotten started at the City Market, when a rain storm hit. One would think that this would send people scurrying from an outdoor venue, like the River Market, but in fact people just kept coming. As soaking wet people crowded into the stalls and under the awnings, it looked like a scene from an exotic foreign market. It just added to the excitement for us.

After we put our fresh corn, eggplants, and other assorted produce in the car (this day it was cool enough to get by with this), we decided to check out the little grocers and stores around the perimeter of the market. I don't know this, I'm just guessing, but I think you'd say the produce part is the Kansas City City Market or farmers' market, while the shops and restaurants are the Kansas City River Market.

Kate loved Carollo’s Italian Gourmet Grocery with its big crocks of olives, array of meats and sausages, and the display of every type of olive oil imaginable. She loves to cook and thought this was pretty close to heaven.

Another place for aspiring chefs, and fixture of The Kansas City River Market area is Planters (no, not the peanut people)Seed & Spice Company. Check them out. They carry whatever you could possibly want in the way of bulk spices, seasoning mixes, oils, extracts and gifts. They started out in 1924 serving the needs of farmers bringing their goods to the City Market, and while they may continue that tradition, they also now serve the urban and suburban dwellers' needs.

Planters Seed and Spice Co.

I was particularly taken with Vintiques . It’s a bright, clean store (I’m not the type that appreciates the dark, dank, musty smelling type of antique store) that holds, as the name suggests, a wealth of vintage and antique items. I was drawn to the front door of the shop by old metal lawn chairs that reminded me of the pale yellow ones my grandma always had on her patio. Inside the store there was glassware, jewelry, furniture and more. I really liked the black and white glassware from days gone by, and kept thinking my friend Laney would love to have some of those for her black and white kitchen, with its pops of cherry red.

Just one more note on Vintiques--please don't miss all the unique art work. Check out their blog (click their name above) for lots of great images!

We continued to wander around the River Market for quite a while, looking at beautiful imports, fresh flowers and funky clothes, until we decided it was time to move on. The Steamboat Arabia museum would have to wait until another day.

Steamboat Arabia

When we left the River Market, we headed south through downtown, midtown and the Plaza. We decided to get a salad at this great locally owned restaurant called The Mixx . It’s located next to the new Plaza Library and just across from the Kansas City Board of Trade, 4855 Main to be exact. The have the best salad offerings in town (okay, best next to the fresh produce at the City Market). It’s sort of like a gourmet salad bar, but the ingredients are kept on the other side of the glass, so the guy ahead of you in line isn’t germing up your food. Also, they mix, hence the name, it up for you, so every bite is amazing! I love, love, love the champagne honey vinaigrette!

While we were eating, we decided we should check out the new library. However, we were still damp from the rain and getting chilly by this point. Luckily for us, right inside the door to the library is The cafA', a nifty little coffee stand with the best gourmet hot chocolate. It did the trick to warm us up.

This beautiful new branch of the Kansas City Public Library system seems to be a hot place to hang out. There were scads of kids and teens in their own areas doing activities geared to their interests. There were adults from every walk of life, and lots of families enjoying this space. They have rows of computers available for use, as well as wifi for those that choose to bring their own laptops. To top this off, there is a beautiful view from the windows of The Country Club Plaza. You can check out, no pun intended, all the happenings here: http://www.kclibrary.org/plaza Kate and I decided to make use of our visit by finding a recipe for our fresh eggplant. (Hey, I bet you could research more about The Kansas City River Market/Kansas City City Market history here.)

We left the library, headed to our local grocer, and finished off our day with a yummy eggplant parmesan, fresh from The Kansas City City Market.

That was our day. However, there are a whole lot more things for you to see and do in and around the Kansas City River Market/Kansas City City Market. Get out there and tour my town!

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