KCRag Forum

Unpacking in our new house and I found a 1985 Town Squire edition of the Best and Worst of KC.

I have no recollection of many of the places mentioned (for instance)
- Best hamburger : Bentley's at Ward Parkway
- Best Singles Bar : Quincy's at the Adams Mark
- Best neat night spot : Chequer's in Wesport
- Best new night spot : Riley's in the OP Mariott (they seem to like suburban hotel stuff a lot back then)
- Best 24 hour fast food : Naugle's on Santa Fe in OP
- Best Traditional Sunday Brunch : Hugo's
- Best sit down Sunday Brunch : Remington's at Adam's Mark
- Best lunch bargain : Cattleman's BBQ house
- Best Place for jazz : 12th Street Rag
- Worst Place for jazz : Milton's
- Best Fried Chicken : Granny's at Corinth Square
- Best Décor : Rusty Pelican ( I do remember this place on WP)
- Best Coffee Shop : Alemeda's PamPam Room
- Worst Coffee Shop : Putsch's on the Plaza
- Best Shrimp : S&J Oyster (where was this place?)
- Best Irish Food : Ryan's Kerry House
- Best Donuts : Weavers

And many more.

Very few places mentioned survived to the present - a few that have - Best Mexican: Manny's, Best Romantic Dinner: the Raphael, Best Steak: Hereford House, Best gourmet Italian: Jasper's

Amusing to imagine visiting a suburban hotel for brunch or nightlife. Do people still do that? And Manny's is certainly a noble institution, but kind of laughable to imagine it was once revered as the best.

Oh, 1980s...

If I remember correctly, the Squire was a completely suburb-centric publication.

mean wrote:Amusing to imagine visiting a suburban hotel for brunch or nightlife. Do people still do that?
Oh, 1980s...

In small towns, yes.

S & J Oyster Bar was located at Ward Parkway Shopping Center, on the East side - South.
It was a great concept and well executed, but only lasted a couple of years.
It was rumored that the owners spent the profits partying, and then some....

Robin Williams said in the '80's that "Cocaine is God's way of telling you that you're making too much money."

Chequers' where Chubby's on Broadway is?

"Best new night spot : Riley's in the OP Mariott (they seem to like suburban hotel stuff a lot back then)"

There were two in South KC I visited and were quite popular. One was at the Ramada Inn on 87th & 435, the other by 71 and Longview Road (can't remember the hotel's name). I never did but a few would book a room for a night, or shorter, after spending time at the night spot.
And the Ramada's Sunday brunch was indeed quite popular.

loftguy wrote:S & J Oyster Bar was located at Ward Parkway Shopping Center, on the East side - South.
It was a great concept and well executed, but only lasted a couple of years.
It was rumored that the owners spent the profits partying, and then some....

Robin Williams said in the '80's that "Cocaine is God's way of telling you that you're making too much money."

I wonder if the owners survived god's "message" and moved the restaurant to Tulsa? I googled it and there were several references to a now closed S&J Oyster Bar in Tulsa.

mean wrote:Amusing to imagine visiting a suburban hotel for brunch or nightlife. Do people still do that? And Manny's is certainly a noble institution, but kind of laughable to imagine it was once revered as the best.

Oh, 1980s...

I was only coming of age in the 80's so to speak but I remember my mother insisting on going to Doubletree in OP for brunch and dinner on special occasions much to the chagrin of the rest of the family. I think the hotel entertainment generation was that of my parents (pre baby boom).

So Highlander, not to get too personal, but are you back in KC now?

Highlander wrote:Unpacking in our new house and I found a 1985 Town Squire edition of the Best and Worst of KC.

I have no recollection of many of the places mentioned (for instance)
- Best hamburger : Bentley's at Ward Parkway
- Best Singles Bar : Quincy's at the Adams Mark
- Best neat night spot : Chequer's in Wesport
- Best new night spot : Riley's in the OP Mariott (they seem to like suburban hotel stuff a lot back then)
- Best 24 hour fast food : Naugle's on Santa Fe in OP
- Best Traditional Sunday Brunch : Hugo's
- Best sit down Sunday Brunch : Remington's at Adam's Mark
- Best lunch bargain : Cattleman's BBQ house
- Best Place for jazz : 12th Street Rag
- Worst Place for jazz : Milton's
- Best Fried Chicken : Granny's at Corinth Square
- Best Décor : Rusty Pelican ( I do remember this place on WP)
- Best Coffee Shop : Alemeda's PamPam Room
- Worst Coffee Shop : Putsch's on the Plaza
- Best Shrimp : S&J Oyster (where was this place?)
- Best Irish Food : Ryan's Kerry House
- Best Donuts : Weavers

And many more.

Very few places mentioned survived to the present - a few that have - Best Mexican: Manny's, Best Romantic Dinner: the Raphael, Best Steak: Hereford House, Best gourmet Italian: Jasper's

"Town Squire?"
Must have been some suburban trash rag.
I was becoming an adult then and don't remember any of the places they mentioned.
I-35 and 119th was a wheat field (literally) then.
This would have been the real "Bests" to Kansas Citians.

- Best hamburger : Always was Westport Flea Market back then.
- Best 24 hour fast food : Sidney's (on Broadway), Town Topic or Humdingers
- Best Traditional Sunday Brunch : Oak Room at The Continental Hotel (Plaza)
- Best Place for jazz : Milton's or The Foundation
- Worst Place for jazz : The Levee
- Best Fried Chicken : Strouds
- Best Décor : Putches 210
- Best Coffee Shop : coffee was not a big deal back then
- Best Shrimp : Rockwood Country Club (Colonel Billy said so!)
- Best Donuts : LAMARS (only had Linwood location back then) or Bly's Pastry on Independence Avenue

grovester wrote:So Highlander, not to get too personal, but are you back in KC now?

Highlander wrote:Unpacking in our new house and I found a 1985 Town Squire edition of the Best and Worst of KC.

I have no recollection of many of the places mentioned (for instance)
- Best hamburger : Bentley's at Ward Parkway
- Best Singles Bar : Quincy's at the Adams Mark
- Best neat night spot : Chequer's in Wesport
- Best new night spot : Riley's in the OP Mariott (they seem to like suburban hotel stuff a lot back then)
- Best 24 hour fast food : Naugle's on Santa Fe in OP
- Best Traditional Sunday Brunch : Hugo's
- Best sit down Sunday Brunch : Remington's at Adam's Mark
- Best lunch bargain : Cattleman's BBQ house
- Best Place for jazz : 12th Street Rag
- Worst Place for jazz : Milton's
- Best Fried Chicken : Granny's at Corinth Square
- Best Décor : Rusty Pelican ( I do remember this place on WP)
- Best Coffee Shop : Alemeda's PamPam Room
- Worst Coffee Shop : Putsch's on the Plaza
- Best Shrimp : S&J Oyster (where was this place?)
- Best Irish Food : Ryan's Kerry House
- Best Donuts : Weavers

And many more.

Very few places mentioned survived to the present - a few that have - Best Mexican: Manny's, Best Romantic Dinner: the Raphael, Best Steak: Hereford House, Best gourmet Italian: Jasper's

No - at my company's request, I took one more gig before retirement. It will be of relatively short duration - hope to be in KC in a couple of years at the most.

NorthOak wrote:"Town Squire?"
Must have been some suburban trash rag.
I was becoming an adult then and don't remember any of the places they mentioned.
I-35 and 119th was a wheat field (literally) then.
This would have been the real "Bests" to Kansas Citians.

- Best hamburger : Always was Westport Flea Market back then.
- Best 24 hour fast food : Sidney's (on Broadway), Town Topic or Humdingers
- Best Traditional Sunday Brunch : Oak Room at The Continental Hotel (Plaza)
- Best Place for jazz : Milton's or The Foundation
- Worst Place for jazz : The Levee
- Best Fried Chicken : Strouds
- Best Décor : Putches 210
- Best Coffee Shop : coffee was not a big deal back then
- Best Shrimp : Rockwood Country Club (Colonel Billy said so!)
- Best Donuts : LAMARS (only had Linwood location back then) or Bly's Pastry on Independence Avenue

Agreed on the burger. Flea Market widely recognized as the best in town then and now. I don't know much about the Squire (I have no idea where I even got the copy I had) but its obviously suburban focused. But an equal opportunity suburban focused rag - From their choices, it didn't appear to be all about Johnson County.

Highlander wrote:Very few places mentioned survived to the present - a few that have - Best Mexican: Manny's, Best Romantic Dinner: the Raphael, Best Steak: Hereford House, Best gourmet Italian: Jasper's

Presumably the Hereford House is the downtown one that burnt down?

longviewmo wrote:

Highlander wrote:Very few places mentioned survived to the present - a few that have - Best Mexican: Manny's, Best Romantic Dinner: the Raphael, Best Steak: Hereford House, Best gourmet Italian: Jasper's

Presumably the Hereford House is the downtown one that burnt down?

I think it was the only one at the time.

NorthOak wrote:"Town Squire?"
Must have been some suburban trash rag.
I was becoming an adult then and don't remember any of the places they mentioned.

I was only 12 and still remember plenty of those places.

And I don't think the Town Squire was a suburban trash rag - whatever that is. It was more of an alternative press - I believe started by Tom Leathers - who eventually spun it into the Sun papers. But I could be misremembering.

grovester wrote:If I remember correctly, the Squire was a completely suburb-centric publication.

The Squire was a Tom Leathers newspaper publication from the late '50s into the '90s. He created the Country Squire for the area south of 75th Street, Between Troost and Metcalf. As the area became less "country", it was renamed into simply The Squire in the later years. The Squire in the '80s expanded to cover The Plaza and points south to Grandview and Stanley, including all of JoCo in the I-435 loop. It was a good local rag, similar to the Shawnee Mission Post is today.

missingkc wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2016 8:54 pm Chequers' where Chubby's on Broadway is?

Chequers was Vic Fontana's new place where Fanny's used to be. I was one of the DJ's there. Appx 4000 Central. Looks to be an empty lot now on Google streetview.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0542859 ... 384!8i8192

AlbertHammond wrote: ↑Tue Jan 03, 2017 12:26 pm

grovester wrote:If I remember correctly, the Squire was a completely suburb-centric publication.

The Squire was a Tom Leathers newspaper publication from the late '50s into the '90s. He created the Country Squire for the area south of 75th Street, Between Troost and Metcalf. As the area became less "country", it was renamed into simply The Squire in the later years. The Squire in the '80s expanded to cover The Plaza and points south to Grandview and Stanley, including all of JoCo in the I-435 loop. It was a good local rag, similar to the Shawnee Mission Post is today.

Correct -- Good memory

From the original list, what did Leathers have against Milton Morris? Milton's was great until he died, which was around this time (1983), so maybe The Squire was bemoaning its twilight years (closed and demolished for the Glover Plan in 1989).

Someone upthread mentioned that coffee wasn't a thing. LOL. This is a confusion with what Starbuck's became. Coffee shops back then were really more daytime bars, where families were welcome. They would have table service plus a counter, and a full liquor license. BTW everyone smoked tobacco everywhere back then also. The Pam Pam at The Alameda Plaza did this concept the best.

That Oyster Bar place that was near Ward Parkway Mall -- it was the Miami Vice party scene of KC, someone also correctly attributed that upthread. The biggest single scene however was Woodside Racquet Club.

Fancy brunches took place at Country Clubs or at Hotels, and the Adams Mark by the Truman Sports Complex, and the Doubletree and Marriott in OP near I-435 were the "new" hotels then. LOLOLOL for that memory. I think the last big hotel to open in the KCMO urban core until much later would have been the Crown Center Hyatt circa 1978. The Plaza Marriott opened in 1995 or so. The 1980s were the era of malls and big hair and the completion of the interstates, opening up vast suburban landscapes.

I went to many proms in the 1980s, Pem Day-Sunset Hill (merged in 1984) 1986 Prom was at the KC Club at 13th and Baltimore, every other one was in a faraway suburb. SMS was at that Doubletree, IIRC, in 1985. My school SME had it at some entertainment complex in Lenexa LOL, but we all went to the Plaza afterward.

The 1980s were not good to downtown KC -- nobody went down there except for Bob Jones shoes. Even Crown Center had a tough decade.

"The 1980s were not good to downtown KC -- nobody went down there except for Bob Jones shoes. Even Crown Center had a tough decade."

Crown Center didn't have a tough 80's. Friday night concerts were a big draw. Maybe not 1st tier entertainment but the area was always packed that evening. The Ice Terrace was also busy in the winter. Kaleidoscope was popular with kids. Friday nights at the Hyatt. Shops were busy, restaurants were busy, hotels were busy, office areas were busy. Of course back then Crown Center wasn't thought of being downtown, it was considered to be close to downtown, a valid option of not being downtown.