Ups and Downs: Recent KC Trip

View of the County Club Plaza (Kansas City, MO)

Business travel can be good and bad. Traveling to a spot with good public transport and staying in a walkable part of town, make it much more bearable. On a recent trip to Kansas City I had neither. Sometimes we stay at The Country Club Plaza. It's a walkable part of town with decent restaurants, a French macaron shop, a great cheese shop, and some shopping options. It's also in the city proper, so I can visit with friends. This time however, we stayed across the border in Kansas. It was a little too far to expect anyone other than my closest friends to make the trek. With only an Applebee's across a busy street, I'm at my co-worker's mercy. Luckily, one night they wanted to hit a local pizza joint that I adored.

I hadn't been to Waldo Pizza since I moved away that four years ago. I can truly say that this pizza could be a last meal for me. The Choice Cut with Scimeca's sausage, thick bacon, and all kinds of other meat. The hand tossed chewy crust. The gooey cheese. Once I couldn't have dairy for two weeks. The first day out of that hell, I got a Waldo's Choice Cut.

Aside from the pizza, the beer list is quite extensive. From odd balls like Kelpie (one visit at $1/bottle) to barrel-aged goodies like Left Hand Wake Up Dead, this spot has it covered. They have bottles, cans, and a great tap selection.

I let the boys chat with the vendor while I enjoyed my meaty pizza and choice brews. One of the guys tagged along for a ride through my Waldo experience. He shared the meat-covered pizza and savored my beer selection. Good times.

The Firestone Walker Union Jack was the last one I had, but it was worth writing about first. Only because I had it with my delicious pizza.

Union Jack (Firestone Walker)
Look and Smell: This gold-amber brew had a frothy white head when I poured it from the bottle. It smelled like fresh hops.

Taste: It was a very balanced brew. It started with the earthy/sweet malt, which balanced out the well-rounded hops. I tasted pine and citrus with floral hops. The aftertaste was all hops. It was a nice IPA.

From the Firestone Walker site:
Union Jack abounds with hop aroma and character. In fact this well balanced, west coast IPA is double dry hopped, giving it more and more of the grapefruit, citrus hop aroma and flavor it is known for. Overall it utilizes over four pounds of pacific-northwest hops per barrel.