CommunityBuzz! - MCI BBQ DO VII --July 20-22, 2012

I know a lot of you have been craving BBQ, so sorry for the late start. Rob has been traveling a lot, so we both will be coordinating the Do this year. Not that it needs much coordination - most of us has attended this event enough times that we can stumble around town from restaurant to restaurant in a meat-induced haze!

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Friday, July 20th - 5pm-8:30pm (Happy Hour)

Fiorella's Jack Stack (FreightHouse, Crossroads Art District) 8:30pm
www.jackstackbbq.com
Reservation under: Chris Willers
- This is our traditional kickoff dinner, preceded by an extended happy hour while we wait for people to filter in. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu, so just bring an empty stomach!

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Saturday, July 21st - 11am until we fall into a food coma

-Oklahoma Joe's (inside the Diamond Shamrock gas station)--Mission Road---This one is on the Kansas side.
www.oklahomajoesbbq.com
- Get here early because this place fills up fast! A favorite is the Z-Man and the onion rings.

Danny Edward's
www.dannyedwardsblvdbbq.com
- Some of us tried this place for the first time last year. We walked away pretty impressed with the brisket.

LC's
- Easily located by the billowing clouds of smoke. The burnt ends are especially good here.

Arthur Bryant's
www.arthurbryantsbbq.com
- Another favorite. Try the sausage, brisket, and/or pulled pork.

Gates BBQ (the Original) on Brooklyn Avenue
www.gatesbbq.com
- "Hi, May I Help You?" - prepare to be yelled at when you walk in. Some people are fans of Gates, but my friends and I walked away several times, unimpressed.

- Foo's Frozen Custard
http://www.foosfabulousfrozencustard.com/foos_web/kcmag_best_2010.html
- It doesn't matter if you're stuffed by now or not. Frozen custard just fills in the cracks!

In between BBQ joints, many of us will be buying Christopher Elbow chocolates, going to Harrah's to try our luck at craps, or visiting one of many museums located in throughout the city.

------------------------------------------------
Sunday, July 22nd

- Vow to work off all those calories you've consumed the previous day! Or not - it's pretty much hopeless. You're on your own this day, and most people head for the airport this morning. If you're going to stay longer to sample more BBQ, keep in mind that Oklahoma Joe's is closed on Sundays.

Confirmed list:

Condition One
MCI777
gvdIAD
JayhawkCO
travelingsalesgirl
aviationkiwi +1
pinniped
amicus +1
SanDiego1K+1
lili
Beckles
susiesan + 1
HJsimpson
violist

I'm down for sure this year. I've had things going on the past two years and I haven't been happy about it. My roommate works at Jack Stack if we need to get anything organized there, let me know. Or for that matter, any other help you need.

Chris

Mr. Kipper and I are possible, but not quite to the probable stage. I have a conference the weekend before, so taking 2 Fridays off from work in a row is questionable.

I have a conference in BOS that weekend. Go with BBQ my friends.

Moving to KC.. Should be settled by then.. Count me in!

We hope to be there - but want to see some lower *A fares. :-:

SFOTerry & SFOMo

Very :cool: as AS is now serving MCI...however a bit steep for those dates (any really in the summer) as AS wants over 1K for the weekend. But will keep an eye on this. ^

Interested.

Unfortunately, I have other plans for that weekend (sigh). Oh well, maybe next year...

I'm very interested, although I don't know my summer schedule at this time.

Should include Danny Edward's as a BBQ stop. It is a favorite of us locals.

www.dannyedwardsblvdbbq.com

Hoping to attend

That's right! We went to Danny Edwards last year, not Big T's. First post updated. Thanks!

But Big T's is pretty good too.

Nice place to pick up some BBQ before the Royals game on Sunday. ^

I've got this on my radar. Hopefully, I'll have the dsicretionary funds to be able to attend this year since I missed the last one.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com

Some might consider Christopher Elbow's other shop Glacé Artisan Ice Cream (http://www.glaceicecream.com/) 4960 Main St., Kansas City, MO Just south of the Plaza Library on Main Street. Especially in July :D

Some might consider Christopher Elbow's other shop Glacé Artisan Ice Cream (http://www.glaceicecream.com/) 4960 Main St., Kansas City, MO Just south of the Plaza Library on Main Street. Especially in July :D

The beet and goat cheese ice cream is ridiculously good.

Chris

We have heard good things about this from local FT. How does one go about this? Meaning, what is a good area to look for a hotel, get together, etc. It seems most attendees know each other or are familiar. Do I just book a hotel, then drive Saturday AM to first location and meet up with everyone? Sorry for newbie questions, as I'm checking up on our summer schedule to plan this if possible.

your timing (at least for my schedule) is much better with this date. Its one of the few general times that I don't have to worry about weekend sports with the kids.

While I'm not even going to list probable, I'm definitely interested and will keep monitoring airfares

I love KC, love BBQ and want to attend big time..

anyone know if the Royals are in town?

anyone know if the Royals are in town?

Twins are in town for the finale of a 10-game homestand following the All Star game in KC.

Sat game is scheduled for 6:10pm, Sun at 1:10PM. FOX/ESPN may change those times.

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=kc#y=2012&m=7&calendar=DEFAULT

Count me in and +1. We will make the I-70 Jouney westward.

Put me down as a tentative +1. Will know more as it gets closer :)

This is, as usual, on our radar. One of these years we will actually be able to make it. I hope this is the year.

We have heard good things about this from local FT. How does one go about this? Meaning, what is a good area to look for a hotel, get together, etc. It seems most attendees know each other or are familiar. Do I just book a hotel, then drive Saturday AM to first location and meet up with everyone? Sorry for newbie questions, as I'm checking up on our summer schedule to plan this if possible.

Stay anywhere you want - we're scattered all over town. Friday night dinner is the meet and greet. After we're done scarfing down BBQ, we usually will do some adhoc planning for the next day. For instance, we all meet at Oklahoma Joe's the next day. At that point, you can join up with like minded individuals for various activities. Don't sweat not being part of the "in crowd". We're all friendly and welcoming.

I'm in. I've missed a couple of the recent ones due to travels...

Count me in for Friday night and Saturday lunch. We're going to the Royals game that night but I might meander back out to a dice table later if that's what's going down.

arollins, your best bet as an HH Gold is the Hilton President. Good hotel, walking distance to a lot of the downtown/Crossroads action. Also a Sheraton and Westin right there in the Crossroads, although I sort of like the President better - both as a hotel and the treatment you'll get with HH Gold vs. SPG Gold.

Count me in +1. :)

Also, if someone doesn't already do this, let me know if you all want the discounted Jack Stack BBQ gift cards, which are $79.99 at Costco (for $100 of gift cards). It' ll save us all the 20% off our meals.

I'm a maybe for Saturday this year after having to miss the last two years. I was just in KC for work for a few days and managed to hit Jack Stack (Plaza), Oklahoma Joe's, and Gates (Cleaver II) so I'm already looking forward to going back.

I've put SAN-MCI on fare alerts. Air fares are pricey pricey right now - but sure do love bbq.

Hmmm. A DO that's all about food. That sounds very much up my alley. I'm going to try to make it work in my schedule.

WAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

I'm so sad that I'm already committed elsewhere.

Just moved to Overland Park, KS late last year. I would love to attend this event (my very first FT DO!). Not sure what my summer schedule yet, so I'll throw my name in as tentative for now.

Tickets bought; we're committed.

SanDiego1K+1

I lived near KC for nearly 10 years. I can make this weekend. Please tell me more. Much as I would like to make Friday night - dont think it is doable unless I fly WN out of IND. Saturday is completely do-able. If I arrive Friday evening - a Saturday morning/lunch sounds very do-able.

If you go to the Ameristar on Highway 210 - there is the Great Plains Restaurant and an Arthur Bryants - and of course a casino

Friday, July 20th - 5pm-7pm (Happy Hour)
Fiorella's Jack Stack (FreightHouse, Crossroads Art District

So pardon me double checking - does this mean you are visiting both in MO - Freight House -(22nd street near the very sadly burned down Hereford House) and the Art District on 47th Street AKA The Plaza??

If I flew in to MCI and hired a car - were would I find you- there is a WN flight that could get me in due to being on Central Time

No, just the freight house location (22nd and Baltimore if I remember right). That IS the Crossroads Art District.

Chris

No, just the freight house location (22nd and Baltimore if I remember right). That IS the Crossroads Art District.

Chris

Yes you are right - I get confused because there is an art festival on the Plaza around October

I'm a maybe for Saturday this year after having to miss the last two years. My probability is increasing. I probably won't know for sure for another month, but it looks like I'll be able to stop in KC on my way either in from or out to a meeting on the west coast, which will help defray some of the currently obscene $191 RT airfare from either MDW or ORD.

My probability is increasing. I probably won't know for sure for another month, but it looks like I'll be able to stop in KC on my way either in from or out to a meeting on the west coast, which will help defray some of the currently obscene $191 RT airfare from either MDW or ORD.

Yeah, the KC-Chicago fares these days are a bit obnoxious, aren't they? :eek: For the first time in my life, I actually redeemed a one-way award for MCI-ORD and considered it a reasonably decent use of Avios.

I am keen to join in on this DO (My first DO).

Does anyone have suggestions on where to stay in Kansas for the DO?

If I do go, first time in Kansas!

Have you ever been to Missouri? ;)

If you take a look at the first post, you'll notice that the majority of the locations are in Kansas City, MO and not on the Kansas side of the metropolitan area.

The cheaper hotels are by the MCI airport and if you are renting a car, that's probably the way to go if you want to avoid parking charges. Otherwise, most people stay at the brands they are loyal to downtown or in some of the surrounding area.

In any case, I wish you good BBQ-hunting. This do is a great way to meet new people and make friends. I suggest you try and be a part of a "BBQ team" and split/share a few dishes.

Have you ever been to Missouri? ;)

If you take a look at the first post, you'll notice that the majority of the locations are in Kansas City, MO and not on the Kansas side of the metropolitan area.

The cheaper hotels are by the MCI airport and if you are renting a car, that's probably the way to go if you want to avoid parking charges. Otherwise, most people stay at the brands they are loyal to downtown or in some of the surrounding area.

In any case, I wish you good BBQ-hunting. This do is a great way to meet new people and make friends. I suggest you try and be a part of a "BBQ team" and split/share a few dishes.

I'd figure that would come up too: No, I've never been to Missouri either :p

All sounds good. The reason I was asking was because I was wondering if there was an official DO hotel or does everyone just rendezvous at said locations at specific timings? Official venue would help considering am a virgin of both the locale, and such events. Moreover, I would like to avoid the prospects of getting lost or in trouble (unintentionally, of course ;)).

Additionally, How do you join a BBQ team?:confused:

I was wondering if there was an official DO hotel or does everyone just rendezvous at said locations at specific timings?

The latter.

Additionally, How do you join a BBQ team?:confused:

Mingle a little bit and see if others are open to splitting/sharing plates with you. It's a great way to meet and get to know other FTers.

Mingle a little bit and see if others are open to splitting/sharing plates with you. It's a great way to meet and get to know other FTers.

Believe me, he knows whereof he speaks!

Btw: any chance that you and Calcifer might make a return appearance this year?

I was wondering if there was an official DO hotel or does everyone just rendezvous at said locations at specific timings?

We're returning after a recess of some years. Folks generally stay where they have hotel loyalty. In town hotels tend to be more expensive than airport hotels, but less commute (and more enjoyable in my opinion). We're at the Hilton President the first night. I need Hilton stays, and I believe it is the closest hotel to the Friday night dinner. We will switch the next night to the Sheraton, because I also need Starwood stays. There are generally FTers at both Starwood hotels. I think the Hyatt rebranded since I was last there.

The Sheraton Crown Center and Westin are connected to this space-age enclosed (and I hope air-conditioned) walkway that takes you to Union station where you walk through the station over the pedestrian bridge above the railroad tracks and like magic you are in the Jack Stack parking lot. Especially nice not having to drive when returning after an evening of heavy eating and drinking.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/members/lili-albums-random-picture4039-sheratonkc.jpg

wow thanks for all the information!

A few more questions I have:

Is driving / parking is expensive in KC?
Are the locations of all the BBQ close by to one another? (I tried google maps but It didn't help)
Are there any parts of town I should steer clear of?

I usually use HGP and MR, so the lack of a Hyatt there results in me looking at Marriott and I am
considering the fairfield inn since the downtown one is full. Would appreciate some thoughts on this.

Thanks!

Aside from Jack Stack, parking at all the other places are free are easy to find (just get to Oklahoma Joe's right when they open). You will definitely need a car for this Do. There are usually some people that are willing to share rides. That's usually worked out at the Friday night dinner.

. . .
I usually use HGP and MR, so the lack of a Hyatt there results in me looking at Marriott and I am
considering the fairfield inn since the downtown one is full. Would appreciate some thoughts on this.

Thanks!

The Fairfield Inn Union Hill in Kansas City, MO is a decent location. It has a complimentary shuttle bus that will take you downtown and to the Plaza area, which might be useful.

I was just reading my Twitter feed from the guy that use to own/run this place. He talked about a BUY. Wonder what he means? If his visit is/was a surprise, it certainly wasn't kept. ;)

Shameless plug below. :p

dh

I'll probably make at least the Friday night happy hour ... I'll have two newborns at home, which I guess gives me all the more incentive to be at these events.

A huge thank you to Condition One for putting this together. This weekend coincides with the Global Dance Festival (an electronic dance music festival.) which will be occurring in downtown KC (Midland Theatre) on Friday and Saturday. I will definitely try to make the Happy Hour on Friday before I head to the Midland. This should be a great time as always!

Is driving / parking is expensive in KC?
Are the locations of all the BBQ close by to one another? (I tried google maps but It didn't help)
Are there any parts of town I should steer clear of?


Driving/parking is comparatively cheap. Your base rate on a car, with a decent coupon code, should be in the $10/day range if not lower. You will then be slapped with over 100% in taxes, but you're still talking about a cheap rental car overall. (Without coupon codes, regular Orbitz search, plenty of $11-14/day cars for that weekend...)

MCI uses a shared rental facility, so the premium I'd be willing to pay for a first-tier brand vs. a second-tier one (e.g., National vs. Dollar) is minimal as long as you have the second-tier agency's expedited renter card. I've had hassle-free Dollar, Budget, and Alamo rentals at MCI before. On the other hand, I've had a Payless rental that was a royal pain in the a**, so I'd probably only go "second-tier", not third-tier. I wouldn't hesitate to book Dollar's $13/day "mystery car" if I didn't have a cheap National/Hertz option.

Parking is something I've never actually paid for in Kansas City, except at Royals/Chiefs games. I'd be disappointed if any Flyertalker actually paid for parking in downtown Kansas City on a weekend. :p I've stayed in downtown, Crossroads, and Plaza hotels and always found legal street parking.

The BBQ locations are a bit scattered. Not hours apart or anything...but definitely driving.

Oh, and after reading upthread a ways, other bits I'll add:

- MCI Airport is 20 miles north of the city. Staying at a hotel out there wouldn't be nearly as fun as being in the city.

- Downtown, Crossroads, or Crown Center is ideal. Plaza, Midtown, or Westport are all pretty good too. Union Hill is right uphill from Crown Center - that Fairfield Inn is a pretty good call for Marriott fans.

- The Sheraton in Crown Center is indeed the former Hyatt.

- If you're seeing Kansas hotels, you're *probably* looking at Overland Park. That's about 20 miles southwest of Kansas City. Again, not ideal unless you specifically want to be out there to visit friends or something.

- If you've never been to either Missouri or Kansas, you will visit both in the course of BBQ eating assuming Oklahoma Joe's is still on the menu. For OK Joe's, you have to go as far outside normal mealtimes as possible...and even then you'll still encounter a queue to order. Honestly, the only time I go there is when out-of-town friends who've seen it on the Food Network want to go.

Mr. Kipper has just confirmed that we will not be attending. He's headed out of town the following week, and I'm out of town the following weekend, so it's not going to work out for us this year. One of these years, we will make it there! :)

This is the first time I've heard about a FT get together here in KC. Yippee! Add me to the list for Friday evening at jack Stack for sure. I may be able to make some of the other stops.

There's currently a fabulous exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum, artifacts from various World's Fairs 1851-1939:
http://www.nelson-atkins.org/
This is one of the best exhibits they have ever had if you like that visiting art museums.

Also, there's an exhibit of artifacts from the Titanic at Union Station:
http://titanic.unionstation.org/
Very interesting if you have never seen this exhibit before.

I wouldn't stay by the airport. It takes 20-30 minutes to get to midtown/plaza areas. You should be able to find an inexpensive place in the city. A business associate always stays at the Holiday Inn Express in Westport when here:
http://www.hiexpress.com/hotels/us/en/kansas-city/mkcwp/hoteldetail
Central location for everything you might want to do as a tourist here in Kansas City.

Condition One,

Had no idea you were/are in KC. I was there a few weeks ago. I might send my friend along to the event on my behalf.

Enjoy!

Hussein

I don't live in KC. I've just been to the Do enough times that I know the routine :) Most of the other people on the list could have organized it just as easily!

UA does not want us to come this year. :(

UA does not want us to come this year. :(

http://milepoint.com/forums/threads/teh-penalty-box.23581/page-2528#post-1434463

UA does not want us to come this year. :(

All domestic fares from KC have gone up lately. I used to be able to get to ORD for $139 RT pretty much religiously, now they're always $240 or so.

Chris

UA wants about $500 from SFO. :eek:

Ever since Southwest used up their fuel hedges that were keeping fares low and then raised their prices, all the airlines out of KC raised theirs too. I've never seen fares to places I go regularly this bad. it's keeping me home, except for award travel. That's why I'm so happy this BBQ do is in my hometown. I can't wait!!!

UA wants about $500 from SFO. :eek:

Double :eek:

About ten months ago, I could commonly get MCI-SFO r/t tix for $250. Sometimes they were even lower! Part of that may have been the competition from F9 (who have since dropped the route).

Ever since Southwest used up their fuel hedges that were keeping fares low and then raised their prices, all the airlines out of KC raised theirs too. I've never seen fares to places I go regularly this bad. it's keeping me home, except for award travel. That's why I'm so happy this BBQ do is in my hometown. I can't wait!!!

+1

Luckily the BBQ is only a 35 minute drive from Lawrence :drool: :)

I'm trying to convince two friends from the Bay Area to attend this Do, but with UA asking $550, there's no way! I've got Yapta alerts set up, but I can't say I'm optimistic that fares will drop significantly.

I'm trying to convince two friends from the Bay Area to attend this Do, but with UA asking $550, there's no way! I've got Yapta alerts set up, but I can't say I'm optimistic that fares will drop significantly.

On US, $408 now, and on UA down a touch to $514.

Chris

If you don't see your name on Post #2, please PM me and I'll add you. This is to get an accurate headcount for the Friday night dinner.

Thanks to JayhawkCO for setting up the reservation!

Bump. We'll be adjusting the reservation for Friday night as necessary next weekend. If you need to be added or removed from the list (Post #2), please PM me. Just two more weeks!

Add me to the airfare to MCI is keeping me out of this do

I've followed airfares to MCI for some time now and they are flat out ridiculous. I refuse to pay $300 + for a < 1000 mile flight

Bump. We'll be adjusting the reservation for Friday night as necessary next weekend. If you need to be added or removed from the list (Post #2), please PM me. Just two more weeks!

When we get to Fiorello's what name is the reservation under? Do we have a private room reserved or just general population? Is the restaurant providing happy hour snacks or are we just ordering off the menu?

+1 to all of the groans about MCI airfares. Getting hard to go anywhere these days except on awards. If I have to buy revenue tickets for leisure, I'm looking for ways to squeeze value out of companion certs like those from US and DL. Or go international out-of-season where the markup vs. what we're used to paying hasn't seemed all that bad. Did MAD in December 2011 for $775 R/T; the cheapest I ever got it before Christmas was maybe $650 about ten years ago.

Even when Southwest announces a systemwide fare sale, we don't seem to get much availability out of MCI. MCI-MDW fit their recent $49 range, but few flights were actually available. (We managed to get one Chicago weekend booked in late October when demand for a Chicago weekend should be a little lower anyway.) It used to be that AA and UA would match WN promos on their ORD flights. Not this year: AA did some limited matching of the fare but with a R/T requirement and UA didn't even attempt to match the fare. :(

Sorry to hear bad fares are hosing people's plans for the Do... Maybe in future years we'll have to gather in October or April...

When we get to Fiorello's what name is the reservation under? Do we have a private room reserved or just general population? Is the restaurant providing happy hour snacks or are we just ordering off the menu?

This reservation is under my name, Chris Willers. They don't have a private room that can accommodate the 20 people that we're going to have unless we book it for essentially 50+ people, so we'll be a whole bunch of tables pushed together in the middle of the main dining space. They actually don't normally take large party reservations for the main dining room on Friday nights but yours truly pulled some strings and got it done. For dinner, we'll just order off the menu, but if people want something a little different for appetizers and such for happy hour, there's a nice Austrian place next door that has nice cocktails/appetizers called Grunauer that we could hang out at beforehand also. We can kind of play that by ear based on when people plan on arriving. The reservation is at 8:30 (the best I could do), so snacks for some might be a good idea.

Add me to the airfare to MCI is keeping me out of this do

I've followed airfares to MCI for some time now and they are flat out ridiculous. I refuse to pay $300 + for a < 1000 mile flight

Figure out a way. I thought we could have a nice match.com discussion.

Chris

This reservation is under my name, Chris Willers. They don't have a private room that can accommodate the 20 people that we're going to have unless we book it for essentially 50+ people, so we'll be a whole bunch of tables pushed together in the middle of the main dining space. They actually don't normally take large party reservations for the main dining room on Friday nights but yours truly pulled some strings and got it done. For dinner, we'll just order off the menu, but if people want something a little different for appetizers and such for happy hour, there's a nice Austrian place next door that has nice cocktails/appetizers called Grunauer that we could hang out at beforehand also. We can kind of play that by ear based on when people plan on arriving. The reservation is at 8:30 (the best I could do), so snacks for some might be a good idea.
Chris

My husband might come but he works until 6:00. He could make it in time for dinner. What time are we beginning to gather for happy hour? Was it earlier than the dinner reservation?

My husband might come but he works until 6:00. He could make it in time for dinner. What time are we beginning to gather for happy hour? Was it earlier than the dinner reservation?

From Post #1
-------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, July 20th - 5pm-8:30pm (Happy Hour)

Fiorella's Jack Stack (FreightHouse, Crossroads Art District) 8:30pm
www.jackstackbbq.com
Reservation under: Chris Willers
- This is our traditional kickoff dinner, preceded by an extended happy hour while we wait for people to filter in. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu, so just bring an empty stomach!

-------------------------------------------------------

Happy Hour has been at the Jack Stack patio bar, inside near the fireplace, and once at the bar next door I can't remember the name of. I don't recall appetizers, but everyone orders and pays for their individual drinks. Same with the dinner.

We're very easy to spot. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Going to have to miss this again this year, unfortunately. The old folks have been sick and I've been burning up PTO lately going back and forth to visit them before it's too late to do so.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com

I believe Jack Stack has an outdoor patio. If it isn't too hot, could someone arrange to have that for us for the happy hour, like a private room? If not, I'm liking the idea of happy hour at Grunauer next door then moving over to Jack Stack for the meal. German food to cleanse the palate for bbq! And don't forget Lydias is also next door. I know they have a patio for private parties because I've attended one there.

My business closes at 3:30 on Fridays so I can be there anytime, early. What time is everyone else arriving?

Unfortunately, there won't be enough people to merit a private room. The purpose of the Happy Hour is to serve as a gathering point, as many people will be trickling in from flights landing in the late afternoon or early evening.

This was in the local paper Kansas City Star today, about Oklahoma Joe's:

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/07/11/3699347/gas-station-gastronomy-dots-the.html#storylink=misearch

Anthony Bourdain loves the place!

Going to have to miss this again this year, unfortunately. The old folks have been sick and I've been burning up PTO lately going back and forth to visit them before it's too late to do so.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com

I would have liked to talk to you, William. I've never met someone who is a social media specialist. I will be staying at one of your properties in Nov. after a cruise, the Sheraton Lisboa. I used cash + points for 2 nights, got 40eu special rate for one night. Unfortunately, there were no points options for an executive room, my preference.

I will join y'all Saturday at Oklahoma Joe's (my favorite). See u all next weekend.

A huge thank you to Condition One for putting this together. This weekend coincides with the Global Dance Festival (an electronic dance music festival.) which will be occurring in downtown KC (Midland Theatre) on Friday and Saturday. I will definitely try to make the Happy Hour on Friday before I head to the Midland. This should be a great time as always!

Busy week, indeex!

We have Kaskade Wednesday night, GDF Friday and Saturday night.

Sporting KC is also at home on Saturday for those that want to check out the new stadium.

Dress lightly-the temperature here in KC this weekend is going to be over 100!
Pack accordingly.

Just got an email from National. Daily rentals are running at 12$/day. Which translates into about 28$/day after the MCI collections of taxes.

Check out Last Minute Specials at National.com

Also see Hertz. Similar pricing.

I would have liked to talk to you, William. I've never met someone who is a social media specialist...

How nice. I will be making a return to this event some day, God-willing, but you'll probably find the BBQ to be more interesting than I am. :)

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

spgchampion@starwoodhotels.com

Check out Last Minute Specials at National.com

Also see Hertz. Similar pricing.

Great tip on National last minute special. I found that easily. And it saves us $25 over what we initially booked.

It was a bit tricky to find the Hertz rate. It appears that they have a separate site, called Hertz weekender. And the comparable Hertz rate is prepaid. I might be driving National for the first time in years.

Great tip on National last minute special. I found that easily. And it saves us $25 over what we initially booked.

It was a bit tricky to find the Hertz rate. It appears that they have a separate site, called Hertz weekender. And the comparable Hertz rate is prepaid. I might be driving National for the first time in years.

Yes, Thanks for the tip Bachovas. I used National saved $15 over the Hertz rate I already had. Amazing rates for Kansas City, which always seemed a high rate city with all the taxes. On the other hand, for my pre-DO Nashville visit the rates are totally ugly, it being mid-week.

If anybody is looking for an inexpensive airport hotel the 4 Points is down to $59 as reported upthread. (often $119). I'll be staying there Saturday night, so if anyone wants a ride out there you can join me in my $11++ National rental.

For anyone flying into Kansas City and driving from the airport, be aware of a major traffic issue. If you have looked at a map of how to get to downtown or Jack Stack Restaurant, 169 Highway, also referred to as the Broadway Bridge route, is closed for road repair.

You will have to stay on I-35 south and cross the Bond Bridge to get to downtown. Same thing will apply going north back to the airport. The detour won't add any time to the travel other than more traffic on this route. There are 3 ways to get across the river from the north and now there are two while 169 Highway is being repaired.

Susie

Hey, I know I'm not necessarily the point man on all of this, but the reservation at Jack Stack is in my name and I'll be getting there early. If people get close or have any questions at all, I'm off from work all day and you all can call me at 913-579-1430. (I also don't have any particular fear of my putting my phone number on a public forum.)

Chris

Planning to sit at the bar at Grunauer to take advantage of their Happy Hour. Goes from 3 to 6. Will try to get there relatively early!

http://grunauerkc.com/wunderbar-menu.htm#HappyHour

Thanks for the heads up on the bridge closure! I'll be landing around 5pm, and will be checking into my hotel first, so bug Chris if you have any questions :) See you all tonight!

Dinner at Jack Stack was excellent, as always! For those that missed dinner, we're still planning on meeting at Oklahoma Joe's at 11am tomorrow. From there, we'll decide on the rest of the day's schedule. From conversations tonight, it sounds like we'll take a BBQ detour and check out Stroud's fried chicken after OK Joe's.

Thanks again to Chris for getting us a private room. See you guys tomorrow!

What a delicious start to the weekend. Looking forward to more bbq tomorrow - and fried chicken - and frozen custard.

LC's at 4pm!

Burnt ends wowed at LCs again.

For those with AMEX cards registered to Foursquare, you could sync it with both the Oklahoma Joes and LCs offers: $5 off on a $10 purchase or more.

Yeah, the burnt ends at LC's were so good that I teared up! Or maybe it was because of all that smoke :) Another great year of BBQ! For those of you who missed the Do due to high summer airfares, my apologies. We'll schedule next year's around the April/May timeframe. Until next time!

Yeah, the burnt ends at LC's were so good that I teared up! Or maybe it was because of all that smoke :) Another great year of BBQ! For those of you who missed the Do due to high summer airfares, my apologies. We'll schedule next year's around the April/May timeframe. Until next time!

The burnt ends were good, even after overdosing earlier at OJ's and Stroud's. And we certainly know LC's isn't outsourcing their smoking :) The burnt ends at Jack Stack were quite nice and thank you JayHawk for arranging the private room.

It was good seeing old friends and meeting new. Some quite interesting conversations everywhere.

Great weekend - many thanks Condition One, JayHawk and others for arranging and organizing.

Great weekend - many thanks Condition One, JayHawk and others for arranging and organizing.

Ditto from my husband and me.

I always enjoy meeting FTers who are new to me. I'm had a lot of fun learning more about Bachovas, meeting susiean and her Sherpa husband ;), and was truly impressed that vegetarian HJsimpson drove from Omaha to talk miles and points.

My husband and I tried two barbecue places that Anthony Bourdain extolled recently, not on the schedule for this weekend.

Woodyard Bar-B-Que (http://www.woodyardbbq.com/) - good, not great - beans were terrific, cheesy corn was ok, ribs weren't nearly as tender as Oklahoma Joe's and elsewhere

BB's Lawnside BBQ (http://bbslawnsidebbq.com/) - open on Sunday when many of the bbq joints are closed. We really enjoyed the blues music (recorded) and ambience. Blacked ends didn't compare to LCs. bbq sundae has awesome beans and coleslaw and ok pulled pork. Menu was really diverse with a number of Cajun offerings. I wouldn't go just for the bbq, but it could be a great place to go for a group when they have live music. They have live groups every day, just not right at noon on Sunday when we were there. There is a modest cover charge for live groups.

As so much of the talk was about all the other amazing gourmet restaurants in Kansas City, perhaps at the next do it can be a combo barbeque and notable KC places do. Chris JayhawkCO seems to have connections...

Susie

Not BBQ related but the answer to a discussion some of us were having at LC's regarding car rentals. (Info from National attendant at the car return.)

Why do you get a giant bundle of both keys and both fobs permanently bound together? Used to be one key set was kept in the rental office, one with the car. When cars were dropped of at different locations, office key had to be mailed to new location and car couldn't be rented until key arrived. Sort of explains drop-off charges (which National doesn't have). Now both sets are kept with the car at all times. Need both sets when cars are sold eventually. Reduces office chores also, but if you lose the keys, you lose $525 worth of keys.

What if you forget to put the keys in the drop box after hours and take them home? You get charged car rental for every day the keys are not back at the facility. Attendant pointed to a car parked nearby and said it had been sitting there for two weeks and the person who dropped it off was getting billed full rate each and every day.

Now back to the BBQ discussion.

Just wanted to pop my head in to say hello and thank you all,
especially organizers Condition One and JayhawkCO.

This thread is making me hungry.

While I was busy getting drunk on vendor supplied free booze in BOS this past weekend it looks like y'all were having a great time. Hope to be apart of the MCI do next year!

Speaking of next year, I spoke to some "regulars", and the first weekend of April (5-7) looks good for us. Plus, we can take advantage of First Friday. Any other DO conflicts around that time or anything? We wanted to hold it in the spring, as many people couldn't make it last year due to high summer fares.

Speaking of next year, I spoke to some "regulars", and the first weekend of April (5-7) looks good for us. Plus, we can take advantage of First Friday. Any other DO conflicts around that time or anything? We wanted to hold it in the spring, as many people couldn't make it last year due to high summer fares.

The Horse & Bourbon Do III is that weekend as well, although I don't know that it would affect many who would attend this one. :)

Speaking of next year, I spoke to some "regulars", and the first weekend of April (5-7) looks good for us. Plus, we can take advantage of First Friday. Any other DO conflicts around that time or anything? We wanted to hold it in the spring, as many people couldn't make it last year due to high summer fares.

Anytime before April 24 works for me. We are going to stay in the US for a change for a vacation, go see the Grand canyon and national parks out west.

The Horse & Bourbon Do III is that weekend as well, although I don't know that it would affect many who would attend this one. :)Raises hand.

I've wanted to get to both of these over the years with no success and this year committed early to Kentucky. We have an office up the road in Louisville and will stay with that one even if they schedule this for the same weekend.

BTW, I would not be completely deprived since there is some damn good BBQ in Kentucky.

Raises hand.

I've wanted to get to both of these over the years with no success and this year committed early to Kentucky. We have an office up the road in Louisville and will stay with that one even if they schedule this for the same weekend.

BTW, I would not be completely deprived since there is some damn good BBQ in Kentucky.
I've been trying for a few years to get to the MCI BBQ DO, but each year, something happens. Mr. Kipper and I have a reason to venture to Kentucky, and the Horse & Bourbon Do sounded like it might be a good time to visit. Right now though, things are very up in the air, in part because we're also trying to plan a hunting trip out west, and my schedule is only "so" flexible at work. :)

Sounds like we need to deconflict with the Horse and Bourbon Do then. So how about the second weekend of April?

If this splits off I'd like to be kept in the loop. Sounds delicious- have a brief layover in MCI (1 hour or so :() in late February enroue to AUS ;) but would like to experience it FT style (as a DO :D)

Please continue all 2013 BBQ Do discussion in this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/communitybuzz/1417937-mci-bbq-do-viii-april-12-14-2013-a.html