Hidden Ozarks: May 2021

THE SECRET HISTORY OF CHICKEN SPIEDINI, KC’S SIGNATURE ITALIAN DISH

HOW THE MAYOR DIFFUSED A STANDOFF WITH HOMELESS PROTESTERS AT CITY HALL

hidden ozarks 37

Camp Long Creek at Big Cedar Lodge

Mysteries, Myths and Secrets from the Lakes & Hills

TREASURE HUNTING A MASSIVE ANTIQUE SHOP

BEST TROUT FISHING HIDDEN NEAR BRANSON

ABANDONED MCMANSIONS GONE VIRAL

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KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

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M AY 2 0 2 1

50 HIDDEN OZARKS

42

68

74

Aspen Dreams

Mom’s Kitchen

Murky Waters

A mountain-modern home in Loch Lloyd.

12

KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

Perfecting her late mother’s rice recipe led to a realization.

A look back on the Covidera Ozarks season.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIM HORGAN

Mysteries, myths and secrets from the lakes and hills.

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In This Issue M AY 2 0 2 1

S WAY

35

T H E LO O P

21

TA S T E

Maker’s Mark Inside nationally renowned furniture designer Matt Castilleja’s studio.

Seen and Heard A look into the protests and policy changes in helping Kansas City’s homeless.

36 38 40

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26

Virtual Virtues

Aftershock

Online learning academies are the way of the future for some.

Therapy could help those still struggling with Covid symptoms.

42

Jewel Tones Paulina Otero’s jewelry makes a statement.

Rest Day

Pamper Mom this Mother’s Day.

Casual Animal’s airy new space is filled with creative touches.

Scenic Views

A modern and naturalistic Loch Lloyd home.

E V E RY I S S U E

05.2021

hidden ozarks

HIDDEN OZARKS

37

Camp Long Creek at Big Cedar Lodge

| MY MOTHER’S RICE

Mysteries, Myths and Secrets from the Lakes & Hills

| B A C K T O B A C K W AT E R

TREASURE HUNTING A MASSIVE ANTIQUE SHOP

BEST TROUT FISHING

O N TH E C OVE R

This month’s cover of Camp Long Creek at Big Cedar Lodge was shot by Edward Robinson.

HIDDEN NEAR BRANSON

ABANDONED MCMANSIONS GONE VIRAL kansascitymag.com

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KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

96 Backstory SPECIAL SECTION

79 Ask the Expert

A new Korean hot dog spot in OP.

Spring Chicken

How Kansas City’s chicken spiedini started.

90

Sprinkled in Love

New OP ice cream shop employs those with disabilities.

Go Wild

29 Calendar

HOW THE MAYOR DIFFUSED A STANDOFF WITH HOMELESS PROTESTERS AT CITY HALL

88

16 Editor’s Letter THE SECRET HISTORY OF CHICKEN SPIEDINI, KC’S SIGNATURE ITALIAN DISH

87

Dog’s Day

91 92 94

Newsfeed

The latest in KC food news.

Go Bananas

Pop-up bar celebrates Tiki culture.

Cue Card

Why are the great new BBQ spots opening in breweries?

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FROM THE EDITOR

16

KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

Kaitlyn McConnell WRITER

Many of the items in our Hidden Ozarks package were written by Kaitlyn McConnell, a seventhgeneration Ozarkian who runs OzarksAlive.com, a site dedicated to telling stories of local history and culture.

Kim Horgan

WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER

Other stories and images from the Hidden Ozarks package come from Kim Horgan, a Kansas City writer and photographer who enjoys cycling and hiking and has spent much of the last year social distancing on secluded Ozark trails.

Kathleen Wilcock WRITER

Two news stories related to the continuing fallout of the pandemic were written by Kathleen Wilcock, an intern from Liberty who attends William Jewell College.

MARTIN CIZMAR ILLUSTRATION BY DAVID BABCOCK CONTRIBUTOR ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOANNA GORHAM

A

sk twenty people around town to describe the Ozarks, and you’ll get thirty answers.

The geographic contours of the region are fuzzy, of course—some people in Kansas City mainly think of it as the shoreline around the titular lake; others conjure images of the misty hollows of northern Arkansas, where spring-fed creeks flow between white oaks.

Ozarkian custom, likewise, defy easy description. Is it rowdy pool parties or aluminum jon boats trolling for spoonbill? Is it secluded cabins or glitzy resorts? Is it a kitschy gift shop/church painted with doe-eyed cherubs or museums hung with $45 million Rothkos? Is it rough and tumble motorcycle bars or trendy bicycle-themed brewpubs where cyclists come from the coasts to ride the nation’s best mountain bike trails?

The answer, of course, is that it’s all that and more. We’ve got our own definition of Ozarkia, but we’re by no means arguing our definition is definitive. The Ozarks is a vibe. If you want to find the western border, drive down to Tulsa and then head east on a windy country road with your windows down and Chemtrails over the Country Club playing. You’ll have a moment—or at least I did—where you notice the soil suddenly gets thin and the smell of cedarwood gets thick. And then you’ll see a hand-scrawled sign advertising game roosters for sale. Welcome.

This month’s feature package is our look at 37 secret spots scattered around the Ozarks. Most of these spots are pretty far off the beaten path—one requires a strenuous four-hour hike or renting a canoe (and then doing a strenuous one-hour hike).

Some of the others are secrets tucked into well-known places—we’re pointing out a favorite spot at the Crystal Bridges Museum and explaining why you’ll find the best trout fishing in the region at a little lake east of Branson where no one swims.

To compile this guide to the Hidden Ozarks, our editors spent some time in the Ozarks this spring. But when it came time to share the stories, we mostly relied on the accumulated knowledge of true locals and folks who spend much of their free time there.

If you, like us, are itching to get out of town for a long weekend, the Ozarks really are the perfect place to do it—regardless Martin Cizmar of your tastes and interests, there’s someEDITOR IN CHIEF thing for you.

MARTIN@KANSASCITYMAG.COM

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NUMBERS FROM THIS ISSUE

5%

Students expected to remain in virtual school next year in Liberty, a district that will continue to offer online classes indefinitely.

PA GE 24

$80M Asking price for an abandoned Ozarks lake house that looks like a nineties shopping mall.

B E T T Y ’ S B AC K

Betty Rae’s is back. The beloved ice cream parlor, the consensus pick for the best in town, softly reopened its doors under new ownership on Easter weekend.

Betty Rae’s closed its locations in Waldo and the River Market district after a series of misconduct allegations from employees and the owner’s then-estranged wife.

The allegations ranged from the bizarre to the disturbing.

Betty Rae’s former owner ultimately confirmed many of the anonymous allegations in a sprawling 7,800-word confessional interview with The Pitch, which followed news of a sale to new owners. We were the first to report the reopening and also note our pro tip: Order from the meltiest buckets at Betty Rae’s so the flavors are far more pronounced than the hard-block frozen buckets.

“You really gotta try hard to screw something like Betty Rae’s up, and they did go down in spectacular fashion, but I am happy it’s back.”

—Reddit user uptonhere

PA GE 53

0

Number of ducks given by partygoers at a wild pool party at an Ozarks dock bar. A year later, we look at the aftermath.

PA GE 74

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KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

A People’s History of the Lake of the Ozarks by “true natives” Kent Van Landuyt and the late Dan Peek was instrumental in our understanding of the region for this month’s cover story. You’ll find an interview with Landuyt for this month’s Backstory.

“New owners are great.

Met one of them in prepping for an event and the ownership team is focused on the right things.”

—Reddit user ChiefKC20 “Yes! I went yesterday and thankfully the apricot/ goat cheese was still on the menu.”

—Ellen Gilbert Wickham

“

“I had an apricot and honeyed goat cheese ice cream beer float in KC Bier Co Dunkel. I saw God and she gave me a thumbs up.”

—Reddit user OdinsBeard “I hope they bring back the chicken and waffles ice cream. It was weird but my God it was delicious.”

—Reddit user liofotias “Which former juvenile delinquent community college dropout wrote this article? All ice cream flavors taste better when they’re less frozen.”

—anonymous commenter on TonysKansasCity.com

PA GE 96

BEHIND THE SCENES

Associate Editor Nicole Bradley shares her setup for her monthly appearance on Fox 4’s morning show. Tune in around 8 am on the first Friday of the month to hear Bradley chat about the month’s cover story.

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He said, ‘Mike, you don’t have enough chicken on the menu. I said, ‘We have chicken parmesan, chicken marsala—I mean, what are you going to do with it? It’s chicken.’”

—MIKE GORROZO TELLS THE STORY OF HOW AND WHY HE INVENTED CHICKEN SPIEDINI FOR THE LAUNCH OF HIS EPONYMOUS COLUMBUS PARK RESTAURANT

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THE SECRET HISTORY OF CHICKEN SPIEDINI, KC’S SIGNATURE ITALIAN DISH

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HIDDEN OZARKS

hidden ozarks 37

Camp Long Creek at Big Cedar Lodge

| MY MOTHER’S RICE

Mysteries, Myths and Secrets from the Lakes & Hills

B A C K T O B A C K W AT E R

TREASURE HUNTING A MASSIVE ANTIQUE SHOP

BEST TROUT FISHING HIDDEN NEAR BRANSON

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KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

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HOW THE MAYOR DIFFUSED A STANDOFF WITH HOMELESS PROTESTORS AT CITY HALL

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L E A D I N G T H E C O N V E R S AT I O N I N K A N S A S C I T Y

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHASE CASTOR

HEARING THE UNHOUSED In April, the city threatened a crackdown on a protest camp of unhoused people at City Hall. The protesters responded with a list of demands. The mayor sat down to listen, which may mean big changes to how the city handles homelessness.

BY A M I JA H JAC K S O N

KANSASCITYMAG.COM MAY 2021

21

“

THE LOOP HEARING THE UNHOUSED

A protest camp of the unhoused at City Hall got the attention of the mayor, who agreed to sweeping policy changes.

H

OMELESSNESS

has always been an issue in Kansas City, whether or not it’s been visible. Earlier this year, a group of unhoused people shook things up by setting up a protest at City Hall. It’s part of a national trend of homeless people demanding attention by setting up organized camps in prominent places—like the grounds of the Colorado state capitol in Denver and Seattle’s Denny Park.

In January 2021, a group called the Kansas City Homeless Union began a protest in front of City Hall.

James Shelby, known as Qadhafi, is the leader of the Kansas City Homeless Union. In April, when the city threatened to sweep the camp, the group responded by issuing a list of four demands: homes, jobs, water and a seat at the table as officials work on the issue.

“They keep us separated and divided,”

22

KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

Shelby says. “Everyone says that they are building for homeless people, but there have never been homeless people speaking for themselves— until now.”

By setting up in front of City Hall, it was impossible for political figures to ignore the group, says Shelby, who became homeless following his release from prison after twentytwo years.

“I became known as the homeless guy that couldn’t get a say because of my prior imprisonment,” Shelby says.

“My main goal has been to figure out how to deal with homeless people living on the street… I came up with the homeless [union] so that we can speak for ourselves instead of other people profiting from us.”

Shelby and his group say the current system is an “industry” that doesn’t help the homeless population.

“The homeless problem, from my point of view, is manufactured; it’s not an accident,” Shelby says. “They need to keep the homeless homeless

so that they can keep this multi-million-dollar industry alive. All they do is put money into homeless shelters, which do not help homeless people. [Shelters] hinder homeless people. We don’t need shelters. We need homes.”

In response, Mayor Quinton Lucas spent hours meeting with the group, later announcing a detailed plan that includes providing hotel rooms for people in the camps, giving vacant and land bank homes to homeless people and including people experiencing homelessness with work on city contracts, such as mowing.

The city is also looking at the feasibility of permanent camp locations with social services.

“While our work is far from done, these are important steps that will create safe short- and long-term housing solutions for those currently on City Hall grounds and beyond,” Mayor Lucas said in a press release. “We will continue working to provide wrap-around services, including replacement IDs and birth certificates, job training, mental health counseling and more.”

Estimates show there are about eighteen hundred unhoused people in Kansas City and eight thousand in the state.

In a normal year, Kansas City provides a grant of around $1.5 million paid out to homeless organizations around the city.

Shelby would like to see that change.

“They’re paying people to keep us homeless,” Shelby says. “Shelters are staying in business because we are homeless.”

For now, the KC Homeless Union is happy with the plans for progress.

“The city heard us and responded, and we’re grateful for that,” Shelby said at a press conference. “That’s not the end.

That’s a first step of the beginning of resolving the issue.”

JAMES SHELBY, KNOWN AS QADHAFI, IS AN ORGANIZER OF THE PROTEST CAMP AT CITY HALL IN KCMO. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHASE CASTOR

The homeless problem...is manufactured; it’s not an accident.”

TH E LOOP EDUCATION

HOME ED Even as most students return to classes, online learning is here to stay.

BY K AT H L E E N W I LC O C K

W H E N T H E C O R O N AV I R U S PA N D E M I C H I T, Kansas City-area schools scrambled to move classes online. Ultimately, every public district in the area ended up with some sort of virtual learning program, a few of which remained in place into April 2021.

While the pandemic seems to have an end in sight, virtual learning does not.

Many school districts already offered virtual academies that served a handful of students, but with virtual learning working better for some students and parents, the programs are expanding.

According to advocacy group National School Choice Week, online schools are seeing an enrollment increase between forty and sixty-four percent.

Kansas allows districts to set up separate virtual districts, but it’s a thorny issue for some districts. In March, Shawnee Mission decided against offering remote learning next fall, meaning students will have to attend school inperson or transfer elsewhere, upsetting some parents. Asked by our news partner Fox 4 about their plans, Blue Valley and Olathe school districts both said they are still working through possibilities.

In Liberty Public School District, virtual learning has been popular with students and parents who have changed their schedules during the pandemic, says Dr. Jeanette Westfall, assistant superintendent. “We’ve had some families that have been on the move. The parents just have to be in different places in the country, and they were able to go with them and still go to school here.”

In Liberty, there are still more than two thousand virtual students enrolled

24

KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

“

I found it really hard to talk to my teachers when I needed help because I felt like I was bothering them when I emailed them, and it was just too awkward.”

this April. Next year, they expect it to be between three and four hundred, about five percent of the district’s total.

Westfall shares a comment from a student on the subject: “I have to visit my dad who lives far away, so doing online school lets me spend more time with him during the school year instead of just over breaks.”

But while the flexibility of taking classes from anywhere is prized, maintaining a sense of structure is key, Westfall says. The district was worried that students who broke completely free from the school’s schedule would struggle to transition back to in-person learning if they wanted to do so, so the district decided to have virtual school follow a firm schedule. Along with having a regular class schedule, students can also participate in sports and fine arts in-person.

It’s not without pitfalls.

“I found it really hard to talk to my teachers when I needed help because I felt like I was bothering them when I emailed them, and it was just too awkward,” says a Liberty virtual student we spoke to. “I also never talked to my classmates, especially not in breakout rooms. It got lonely after a while.”

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KANSASCITYMAG.COM MAY 2021

25 ERCE 21035297

TH E LO O P HE A LTH

SMELLING FAULTS Doctors are developing specialized therapy routines to restore lost sense of smell in Covid patients.

BY K AT H L E E N W I LC O C K

It’s a new field. Olfactory training was pioneered by German psychologist Thomas Hummel. Back in 2009, Hummel published a study in which he directed patients to smell four essential oils (rose, lemon, clove and eucalyptus) and try to identify them. This training was done twice daily for twelve weeks. Hummel’s technique was effective, so when Covid patients started reporting loss of smell, other doctors looked to Hummel.

Doctors are treating your brain, not your nose. As far as doctors can tell, the loss of smell after Covid is caused by the brain and associated neurons not firing the same way they did before infection. Doctors are trying to retrain them and rebuild the pathways, says Dr. Jennifer Villwock, an otolaryngologist (commonly known as an ENT) at KU. The treatment regimen involves “consciously recalling the scent” as a patient inhales because “linking these things together should strengthen their connection.”

DID YOU K NOW ?

Early studies show that olfactory therapy is over 50% effective.

F

O R M O S T P E O P L E , the loss of smell that comes with a cold or allergies is familiar. It’s also one of the most common symptoms of Covid-19— and, for some, one of the longest-lasting. As we emerge from the pandemic and doctors grapple with how to help Covid long-haulers, olfactory retraining is becoming a hot topic.

In March, KU’s medical system opened the area’s first long-hauler clinic to deal with lingering brain fog, fatigue, shortness of breath and the loss of smell and taste. Olfactory training—like physical therapy, but for your sense of smell—is among the offerings. Here are five things you should know about it.

26

KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

Consistency is key. At KU hospitals, Villwock has patients consciously recall the scent they are smelling before and while they smell it. Like physical rehabilitation, it’s all about repetition. “The more training sessions completed, the better the results,” Villwock says. “This is a true training regimen, just like going to the gym.”

The stronger the smell, the better. The most effective treatment does not involve getting a patient to try and pick up on a faint whiff of an obscure scent. Rather, studies show that strong scents smelled consistently work the best. Anyone working to restore loss of smell at home should ask for help picking strong, common scents. “If you have no sense of smell and are training on essential oils or household products at home, I would recommend confirming with someone in your life that what you are training on is a strong odor that is representative of that scent,” Villwock says.

Other options are limited. Because the field is so new and has been understudied, there are no other treatments that have been subjected to randomized, placebo-controlled studies, Villwock says. Among the other treatments being looked at are oral supplements like zinc, alpha lipoic acid and omega-3s. Doctors are also looking at topical steroids to decrease nasal inflammation and topical theophylline, which relaxes and opens air passages. “With larger trials, this may become an option in the future,” Villwock says.

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Art and nature are always available At Crystal Bridges and the Momentary

Crystal Bridges | Five centuries of American art The Momentary | Contemporary visual & performing arts

W H E R E YO U WA N T TO B E I N M AY

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEREMEY THERON KIRBY

May

15

GO: Blades Tribute night at Cable Dahmer Arena, 19100 E. Valley View Parkway, Independence. 6 pm. Tickets $12-$40. kcmavericks.com

SADDLE UP

Normally, minor league hockey season is wrapping up right about now. But with the pandemic pushing the start of the season back, things are just now heating up at Cable Dahmer Arena, where the Kansas City Mavericks are making a lateseason push for the playoffs thanks to a strong April from veteran forward Darik Angeli. The

Mavs became the longest-running hockey club in the city’s history this season, and they’ll honor the past record-holder on May 15. On that night, the game against the Allen Americans team from Texas will be the Blades Tribute game. In addition to special jerseys for the Mavs, the gamegoers will be able to buy a limited edition Charlie Hustle T-shirt honoring the Blades. — M A R T I N C I Z M A R

KANSASCITYMAG.COM MAY 2021

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T H E B E AT C A L EN DA R

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May

Kansas City Ballet at the Starlight Theatre

Barrel Club, Tequila May 5 CHAZ ON THE PLAZA, 325 WARD PARKWAY, KCMO.

The Barrel Club is a new series of spiritfocused dinners and tastings at the Plaza’s landmark nightspot, Chaz. In May, they’re featuring tequila with this event that finds the Mexican agave-based spirit paired with a multi-course meal.

1

KC Monarchs Pop-Up Shop May 1 - 31 LEGENDS OUTLETS KANSAS CITY, 1843 VILLAGE WEST PARKWAY, KCK

After losing a season to the pandemic, KCK’s minor league baseball team is back—with a new name. Through a deal with Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the team now bears the name of the city’s legendary Monarchs ballclub.

You can score new team gear at this pop-up shop at The Legends.

Global Table Fundraiser May 3, 10, 17 and 24.

SINGLE EVENING TICKETS ARE $100, FOUR EVENING TICKETS ARE $400. JVSKC.ORG.

Jewish Vocational is hosting its ninth annual global table fundraiser. On four Monday evenings in May, they will feature carryout from refugee and immigrant-owned restaurants including standouts Blue Nile Cafe and Fannie’s West African Cuisine. Participants will also receive a toolkit of activities to engage with throughout the evening.

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America’s pastime has long exemplified our society’s best and worst traits, and both will be examined in this show that Lyrics Opera is producing in partnership with the Negro Leagues Museum. The seventyminute revue features songs by Count Basie, Ahrens and Flaherty, Rusty Magee, William Schuman, Kander and Ebb, and Alan Menken, along with documentarystyle narration looking at the history of the game.

May 21 and 22, 8 pm STARLIGHT THEATRE, 4600 STARLIGHT ROAD, KCMO. $35.

KCBALLET.ORG.

After a long break because of Covid, the Kansas City Ballet returns for two evening performances at the recently renovated Starlight Theatre. The shows at Swope Park feature brand new works, and first responders get free tickets as a gesture of appreciation to the community.

Baseball: A Musical Love Letter May 7, 8, 13 and 14, 7:30 pm LYRIC OPERA, 718 E. 18TH ST., KCMO. $30. KCOPERA.ORG.

Jurassic Quest Drive-Thru May 14 - 30 ARROWHEAD PARKING LOT, 1 ARROWHEAD DR., KCMO. $49 PER VEHICLE. JURASSICQUEST.COM.

Gas up your yellow and green Ford Explorer: The Jurassic Park drive-thru experience is coming to town in May. Jurassic Quest gives people the experience of seeing life-size dinosaurs with an audio tour and chats by the “trainers” behind the animatronic beats.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY RESPECTIVE VENUES, KC BALLET PHOTO: DANCERS K ALEENA BURKS & LIANG FU. PHOTOGRAPHER BRETT PRUITT & EAST MARKET STUDIOS

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T H E B E AT A RT S

World-renowned jazz trumpeter Hermon Mehari hosts new radio show on KCUR.

BY A M I JA H JAC K S O N

in Kansas City, and so does Hermon Mehari.

Mehari, a jazz trumpet player, grew up here and has been involved in jazz music for the majority of his life. His latest album, A Change for the Dreamlike, was released in 2020 and topped the iTunes jazz charts.

Mehari is now based in Paris but is hosting a new Saturday night show, The Session, on KCUR, where he hopes to showcase African American jazz and introduce the genre to those who are unfamiliar with jazz music.

JA Z Z H A S D E E P R O OTS

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What was the motivation behind wanting to start this podcast? I am from Kansas City, and since I left, I told myself that I wanted to keep a foot in Kansas City. Quite literally that meant me coming back and performing, but since performing in Europe, my career has gotten crazier.

It’s beautiful that this radio show gives me a platform to musically stay connected to Kansas City.

What feedback have you received regarding The Session? My first show went super well.

People all over were excited when the show was first announced. The show is for Kansas City but also has the opportunity to be heard anywhere. I have gotten a lot of positive feedback. It’s the feedback that I was aiming for, people who are being exposed to jazz music who have not been exposed before. I had people who had not known me at all and have come across my show.

What are some of your favorite Kansas City memories? Places like Broadway Cafe because I was going every day. Also [now closed] YJ’s Snack Bar is memorable because we used to eat there all the time and play there also.

What do you hope that the music show will bring to the Kansas City community? There are a lot of people in Kansas City that know me and like me, but in order to be more global, I couldn’t cater specifically just for the Kansas City artist. In each show, I play one Kansas City artist.

It’s almost like an easter egg. It goes to show how much Kansas City artists are on the same level as other international artists. Although I have these ambitions for the show, and people being exposed to new stuff, the basis of the show is it’s supposed to be a good time and to enjoy it.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSEPH BOLOGNE

NEW SESSION

Describe your experience setting up The Session.

It’s been half a year that we have been working on this project. [KCUR] reached out to me and gave me the opportunity to mold the show that I would want to do. The initial idea was to start with a jazz show, but then it evolved into playing Black music that I love all over the diaspora. I have quite a big musical vocabulary and access to so many records and knowledge.

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C U R AT I N G A B E A U T I F U L L I F E

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMANTHA LEVI

BUILDING BLOCKS

Matt Castilleja is fascinated by the physical qualities of materials and is constantly pushing the limits of what they can do within and beyond the walls of his River Market studio.

The furniture maker’s background in architecture and studio art sparked a drive to combine different styles of furniture design to create his collection of modern and minimalist tables, chairs, credenzas and more. “I pull a lot of concepts from ancient buildings and primitive methods of construction and work those ideas with a more contemporary design lens,” Castilleja says. “I don’t believe in anything new—everything you see is just an interpretation of something else.”

In his work, Castilleja uses solid marble components, exotic woods and metals like brass and bronze to create boutique pieces, which can be seen around Kansas City, at high-end showroom Una Malan in Los Angeles and in projects in Manhattan and the Hamptons for several NYC interior designers. mattcastilleja.com — M E G A N F O L M S B E E

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Jewelry designer Paulina Otero creates contemporary wearables influenced by the architecture and textiles of her native Cancún.

BY M E G A N F O L M S B E E

B

Where do you draw inspiration from? My inspiration comes from a lot of sources, one being Mexican modern architecture, mainly because of its colors and shapes. I think a lot about the house I grew up in and the playful furniture that I had in my bedroom. I also think about water a lot and the colors of the sunsets.

Growing up in a city like Cancún really impacted my relationship with nature.

Using transparent materials such as plexiglass makes

contemporary jewelry maker Paulina Otero says she draws inspiration from many of her memories of growing up in Mexico. In her studio at collaborative Midtown art space Cherry Pit Collective, Otero uses eccentric materials, colors and shapes that have caught the attention of many local shops and galleries. Read about Otero and how she developed her statement colorful crystalline jewelry design style.

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KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

me think of the way water reflects the colors of the sky.

I’m drawn to tile patterns as well, specifically tiles from the Yucatan region.

Do you have a favorite piece of work? In terms of accessories, I’m obsessed with the Flower Cloud Hoops from my most recent collection, Bloom. I wear them every day. In terms of textiles, my favorite piece is titled “Birth.” I made it when the pandemic had just started and I had to move my tufting frame to my apartment, which was quite an adventure.

The piece is made out of a combination of tufted wool yarn, handmade felt and quilted fabric. “Birth” has participated in two very important exhibitions and has been awarded by the Surface Design Association.

Are you working on anything new you can share? I really enjoy working with other creatives and am currently in the stages of building a furniture piece with woodworker Zac Jurden.

There will also be another collaboration release with the artist Jason Pollen, who I will be designing a jewelry collection with using a combination of vintage fabrics and plexiglass.

G O : Find Otero’s work on her Etsy

shop, PaulinaOtero, or purchase and commission pieces via her Instagram @paulina_otero_accessories. Or find pieces at Dear Collective (3566 Broadway Blvd., KCMO).

ORN IN CANCÚN,

K A N S A S C I T Y FAVO R I T E S Dear Society/ Dear Collective and Duet “These shops are an experience to walk into.

They inspire me every time I go in there.”

Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Sherry Leedy and Haw Contemporary “These galleries do a really good job representing local and international mid-career artists.”

The Filling Station “It’s right next to my studio and I can just chill there for hours.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMANTHA LEVI

A JEWELED JOURNEY

What’s your origin story as an artist? My mom is the one who first introduced me to jewelry making. I would sit with her after school, and we would make jewelry together for hours.

As I got older, I went to an arts boarding school called Idyllwild Arts Academy [in California]. Even though I left Mexico and moved to a new country, I was very excited to be in the U.S. After developing more skills as an artist, I decided I wanted to apply to art colleges, and that’s how I eventually moved to Kansas City. I got my Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Kansas City Art Institute and graduated from the Fiber department.

S WAY T R EN D S

TAKING IT EASY Even Keel Bath Bombs Made with natural clays and essential oils blends, this set comes with six pretty bath bombs to help Mom relax with a nice soak in the tub. They’re laced with botanicals, which makes them pretty to look at while stored on the bathroom counter before use. $30, goldenandpine.com

Since 2006, w make quality, from unique

After a hard year for many moms—from juggling work and homeschooling to keeping families safe and healthy—Mother’s Day is extra special this year. Show appreciation for Mom on May 9 by treating her to these gifts. And if you’re looking to ditch Amazon and shop small or local, you’ve come to the right place.

BY N I C O L E B R A D L E Y

We’re expand with the Ami opportunity t community o that gathers t local wine.

Amigoni Wine Membership Wine Club members get discounts, invites to events (when the pandemic is no more), first access to new wines and bottle subscriptions at this Stockyards District winery. We recommend their sparkling pinot grigio. $140-$500 based on membership level, amigoni.com

Our wine clu just member creating a rel environment Amigoni win to the next le small-batch b wine releases service.

Join us on ou special perks exclusive acc the Amigoni

Four Ferns Puzzle Puzzles are all the rage nowadays—and some even double as table or wall art. Lemonade Pursuits’ one-thousandpiece puzzles are the works of women artists that are perfectly frameable when finished. $30, lemonadepursuits.com

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KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

Zum Glow Lavender Candle Your favorite local soap company makes candles, too. The candle is made from soy wax and lavender oils, which can be lit to promote relaxation and a good night’s sleep. $16, indigowild.com

Super Mom Card Wish your mom a happy Mother’s Day via snail mail with a card from local paper goods shop Hammerpress.

This gold foil-pressed card with a colorful, hexagonal pattern is sure to make her day sweeter. $6, hammerpress.net

PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED BY RESPECTIVE WEBSITES

Personalized Initial Necklace A mother herself, Jennifer Cervantes started jewelry company Tough as a Mother to empower others through their journeys of motherhood.

The dainty gold initial necklaces are a way for Mom to carry her children with her every day. $45, toughasamothertribe.com

Photo: Alexandra Katsorelos McAndrew Shot on Location at The Venue, 4800 W 135th St, Suite 108, Leawood, KS thevenueinleawood.com

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KANSASCITYMAG.COM MAY 2021

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AS UA L A N I M A L

expansion started when brewery owner Kyle Gray was taking out the trash two years ago.

“One of the women that works behind us was out there and asked if I knew what was going on, and I said, ‘No—what’s up?’

She told me that the next-door space owners were retiring,” he says.

Kyle, who operates Casual Animal with his wife, Lara, had been eyeing the warehouse next door since they closed on their Crossroads brewery space in the summer of 2017. The previous owners had owned the warehouse for fifty years and primarily used it for storage.

Now, the skylight-vaulted ceiling space is open as an extension of Casual Animal’s original taproom, equipped with a second bar, spaced-out seating, vintage floor rugs and garage doors—perfectly timed during a period where people are itching to get out but don’t want to sit in a crowded bar.

The design aesthetic of Casual Animal’s new space needs no Instagram filter: The colorful mural artwork was done by Kyle himself (he worked as a designer for twelve years), and a few of the tables and furniture pieces were built with the help of Kyle’s carpenter-contractor brother.

Plants that canvas the room were propagated by Lara, the cuttings of which she says come from a conglomerate of generous friends and neighbors, and they represent “a community coming together to make the taproom feel alive.”

“There’s been a lot of positive feedback with that new side,” Kyle says. “It’s only been open for a few months and it already feels like it was an appendage we were missing before.”

CONCRETE JUNGLE Casual Animal’s dashing new space is a product of owners Kyle and Lara’s creative talents.

BY N I C O L E B R A D L E Y

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KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

GO: Casual Animal Brewing Co., 1725 McGee

St., KCMO

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CALEB CONDIT AND REBECCA NORDEN

BREWING’S

Happy Mother’s Day! MAY 9TH

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KANSASCITYMAG.COM MAY 2021

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MOUNTAINS CALLING This Loch Lloyd home is a naturalistic escape.

1

BY N I C O L E B R A D L E Y P H OTO S BY M AT T H E W A N D E R S O N P H OTO G R A P H Y

W

H E N I T C A M E to building and designing this house in Loch Lloyd, Kendra Miner looked to the great outdoors for inspiration.

The local interior designer, who has been in the business for thirteen years and owns Evolve Interiors, is known for her modern and transitional design.

The homeowner approached Miner with a clear vision for the home: Aspen.

“When he decided to build this house, he had a house in Aspen, and he was really drawn to that kind of mountain-modern feel,” Miner says.

“A lot of what we did here was try to make the exterior and interior of the home join together.”

See how she took tips from Colorado to create this stunning home.

1 GREAT ROOM When it came to the great room, the priority was the view over the lake.

“This whole back wall of windows is commercial glass windows because the natural light and the view were absolutely number one on his priority list,” Miner says.

Miner wanted to keep the home’s style organic by keeping colors neutral so that different materials like metal, wood and stone could stand out. This can be seen through the custom-fabricated metal fireplace, stainless steel-striped doors and tongue and groove ceiling—which continues to outside soffits to blend the interior and exterior.

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2 STAIRS “When we started this project, these were actually going to be cantilevered stairs, where they are attached and come out through the wall,” Miner says. Instead, CR Custom Ironworks put the stairs on a metal stringer and added custom handrails, glass wall panels and a stainless steel strip accent to the treads.

3 SHOWER Instead of LED tape or rope lighting, which can make a glow look spotty, the lucent quartzite wall in the master bathroom shower is backlit with lighting sheets.

4 BEDROOM The bedroom design is special for many reasons: The entire house was built around the bedroom for optimal lake views. This room is also where Miner went out of her design comfort zone—specifically with the layered walnut ceiling, for which she summoned the help of Overland Park remodeling firm Almighty Home Solutions.

“I love ceiling details and fireplace details,” Miner says. “Those are probably what I spend the most amount of time on because I think those details really make a house special.”

The headboard—designed by Built to Fit, the same company that drew up the kitchen cabinets— features leather upholstery panels to add some softness against the clean lines in the room.

A key player in this home’s natural, comfortable vibe is the abundance of indirect lighting. “There were so many places in this room and this home to create that soft glow,” Miner says.

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4

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5 KITCHEN Since the ceilings were so tall in the kitchen, Miner found a way to frame the room in and create a more intimate environment.

“We created this kind of floating cloud, which evolved over time,” she says. “It’s open in the center, and we added some walnut straps to it to tie in with the island and the bar.”

The kitchen island has a rustic look and a live edge, which meets multicolor fusion granite countertops.

Miner wanted to make the space behind the range a major feature of the kitchen without it being too overwhelming. She did this by adding a complementary black-and-white tile pattern behind the range, which is also used in the pantry and behind the wet bar catty-corner to the kitchen.

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6 FOUR SEASONS ROOM To define the sitting area in the four seasons room, Miner changed up the floor to a herringbonepattern tile that resembles wood but is easier to clean.

“We made this space feel a little bit more casual with the furniture that we put in there,” Miner says, adding that the homeowner is an avid reader and spends a lot of his time sitting in the leather chair and also entertaining in this room, which opens up to the balcony overlooking the lake.

“The fireplace has wood grain to it,” she says. “We did sections and I turned the grain so the long pieces go one way and the short pieces go the other.”

This room is also where Miner and the homeowner decided to get playful with different decor pieces, such as the ornate light fixture above the dining table, the sculptures around the fireplace—a few of which the homeowner got in Aspen—and a printed chair.

7 OFFICE To play off the mountain theme, Miner covered the homeowner’s office in a white birch-inspired wallpaper by designer Phillip Jeffries. Sandwiched between the bookcases are textured resin panels that offer indirect lighting.

“Back to Colorado, we were trying to bring the outdoors in and indoors out,” Miner says.

KANSASCITYMAG.COM MAY 2021

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COME AND

Clown AROUND

Clown around with us while learning at our Edventure summer camps and connect with the great outdoors!

Check out all of our upcoming camps at: WWW.WONDERSOFWILDLIFE.ORG/CAMPS 48

KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

We’d like to give you

ENJOY A NIGHT ON US! Plan a getaway to Springfield, Missouri, between April 1 and June 27, 2021and we’ll pick up the bill for one of your hotel nights!

Participation is simple and is designed to fill your trip with some of the best food and fun that Springfield has to offer.

How it works: Visit the local attractions and food and drink establishments participating in this program between April 1 and June 27, 2021.

Then, make a qualified purchase at THREE (3) attractions, THREE (3) food & drink establishments and spend at least TWO (2) nights in a participating hotel, and we will pay for one of your nights! *Hotel rooms must be reserved 48 hours before you plan on arriving. *Limited to the first 3,000 participants.

Explore Springfield at

SpringfieldMo.org Point your smartphone camera at this QR code to go to the registration page on our website or go to

springfieldmo.org/night-on-us

Be sure to check out the Terms and Conditions so you know exactly how to get your free night.

KANSASCITYMAG.COM MAY 2021

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H ID D E N O Z A R K S

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Mysteries, Myths and Secrets from the Lakes & Hills WORDS BY NICOLE BRADLEY, MARTIN CIZMAR, MEGAN FOLMSBEE, NATALIE TORRES GALLAGHER, KIM HORGAN, KAITLYN MCCONNELL, BRIAN WRIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIM HORGAN ILLUSTRATION BY GRANT KRATZER

KANSAS CITY > MAY 2021

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HIDDEN OZARKS | 37 SECLUDED ESCAPES

OLDEN TYMES

Granny Henderson’s Cabin COMPTON, ARKANSAS Eva Henderson moved into a cabin in the Buffalo River Valley in the early 1900s as a recently married sixteen-year-old. She and her husband cleared their land and lived a simple life with no running water or electricity.

When Henderson’s husband died in 1959, she stayed, living alone at her rugged cabin. When the Buffalo became the first national river, the government forced Henderson to sell her hundred-plus acres of paradise.

“Granny” Henderson was forced to leave her cabin in 1978, at the age of eighty-seven, and she died a few months later. Her cabin with a stone base and thin wood walls still stands today, one highlight on a trail that also includes one of the region’s highest bluffs. —Kim Horgan GET THERE: Granny Henderson’s Cabin is accessible from the Centerpoint Trail head, which is on Highway 43 about three and a half miles north of the town of Ponca. The cabin is four miles up the trail.

FUN FACT Eva Henderson continued to live a “pioneer” lifestyle into the late 1970s—her cabin never had either plumbing or electricity—drawing the attention of National Geographic magazine, which published photos of her with her cows in 1977.

LAKE SHACK GROUNDED

Ev e r g r e e n C ry s ta l Pa l ac e

Evergreen Crystal Palace photo provided by Evergreen Investments

REEDS SPRING, MISSOURI Not all Ozarkian abodes are as humble as the Henderson home.

To wit: the $80-million, 24,000-square-foot Evergreen Crystal Palace, built in 1990 for the late oilman Robert Plaster. This shiny glass home—it looks more like an upscale office park—overlooks

Table Rock Lake and has sat empty for the past twenty years. It’s now for sale and comes complete with two time capsules, the first to be opened on September 3, 2042.

—Martin Cizmar GET THERE: The house is

at 5035 State Highway DD, Reeds Spring, but it’s not visible from the road. The BigBankz YouTube channel has a detailed video tour.

FUN FACT The palatial home is not beloved by all Ozarks locals, with some deriding it as “Plaster’s Disaster.” Some of the anger traces to Robert Plaster's effort to use a sinceclosed loophole in Missouri law to incorporate his own property as a village, removing it from county jurisdiction.

T o pa z M i l l CABOOL, MISSOURI Mills powered by natural springs were once commonplace across the Ozarks. What makes the ghost town of Topaz unique is that its mill still stands next to a clear, cold spring in Douglas County—with its original equipment mostly intact. Folks who brought their corn and wheat here “to town” to be milled might have gotten a haircut at the barbershop, posted a letter or caught up on gossip. Visitors today can get a tour of the privately owned historic site. The same family has owned the mill since the fifties, and they welcome visitors.

—Kaitlyn McConnell GET THERE: To ask about a tour, call 417-9480154 or email friendsoftopazmill@gmail.com.

The mill is off Route 60. From the highway, take the second exit for Cabool, for Route 181. Go south on 181 for ten miles to Route 76. Turn right on Route 76 and go a quarter mile to Highway E and turn left onto Highway E. Go for five miles to the mill.

KANSAS CITY > MAY 2021

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1 9 t h H o l e at Pay n e ’ s Va l l e y G o l f C o u r s e HOLLISTER, MISSOURI Payne’s Valley Golf Course at Big Cedar Lodge is the first public course designed by the legendary Tiger Woods. The course, on the site of the former Murder Rock golf course designed by John Daly, pays tribute to Springfield native Payne Stewart. The eighteen-hole layout is spectacular, but it’s the surprise nineteenth hole that steals the show. This bonus hole was designed not

by Woods but by owner Johnny Morris of Bass Pro Shops fame, and it’s one of the most unique golf holes in the world.

A towering canyon bluff and waterfall create the backdrop. The island green of this par threehole is surrounded by Lunker Lake, a small pond stocked with big fish. After playing the hole, golfers follow the Cliffhanger Trail, a golf cart path winding through a cave in the bluff behind the green, back to the clubhouse.

—Brian Wright GET THERE: The course’s address is 1250 Golf Club Drive, Hollister. Book a tee time at bigcedar.com.

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FORE!

HIDDEN OZARKS | 37 SECLUDED ESCAPES

ONYX

Onyx Coffee Lab: Inside The M o m e n ta ry BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS The Momentary art space in Bentonville is an offshoot of Crystal Bridges tailored to timely temporary shows. It’s also home to the newest location of stellar local roaster Onyx Coffee Lab, which regulars call the “M’onyx.” The roaster is world-famous among coffee nerds, and this stunning spot is a hidden gem: it’s all pink, from the wall tile to the machinery and seating.

There’s a conveyor belt that delivers your speciality drink and food items. Popular for their creative roasts with unsuspecting tasting notes and off-menu items, Onyx is a coffee connoisseurs’ dream.

Their house espresso and best-selling blend, Geometry, has a tea-like flavor mixed with lemon, berries and honey that is said to pair great with Mexican Coke— a secret menu item.

—Megan Folmsbee GET THERE: This coffee spot is open museum hours, Tuesday-Sunday from 10 am-5 pm at 507 S.E. Street in Bentonville.

Payne’s Valley photo provided by Big Cedar Lodge

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R e d Oa k I I OZARK, MISSOURI Artist Lowell Davis grew up in the idyllic small town of Red Oak, about eighteen miles northwest of Carthage. When Davis—called by some the Norman Rockwell of Rural Art—returned to the area in adulthood, he found his hometown faded and decided to recreate its heyday with “Red Oak II, Missoura.”

The town is stocked with antique buildings, vintage cars, artwork, a cemetery, a jail, a church and a few private homes—all purchased by Davis and moved to an empty field to create a small and very unusual community. Davis passed away last December. Red Oak is free to drive through or walk around.

—Kim Horgan GET THERE: Red Oak II is northeast of Carthage. From I-49, take exit 63 for Base Line Boulevard, then go south on County Road 130 and east on Kafir Road to the townsite.

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FUN FACT Lowell Davis’ personal residence in Red Oak II was the restored home of “Bandit Queen”Belle Starr, a stagecoach robber and outlaw associated with Jesse James and the Younger brothers.

Lambert’s Cafe II

ART INSTALLATION

FRESH-CAUGHT

OZARK, MISSOURI The chicken-fried steak at Lambert’s Cafe in the town of Ozark is everything you want it to be: chuck steak coated in a wonderfully flaky, peppery breading and served with a scoop of mashed potatoes and a generous ladle of creamy country gravy. It comes with endless “pass-arounds” of fried potatoes, fried okra, macaroni and black-eyed peas that servers circulate throughout your meal. But what really makes the place famous are its throwed rolls: soft, warm yeast rolls that’ve been lobbed at hungry patrons since the seventies.

“Norman Lambert was the one that started throwing rolls,” says Andy Mills, general manager of the Lambert’s in Ozark, which opened in 1994. “It was crowded one day for lunch and he couldn’t get down through the restaurant, and a customer just said, ‘Throw the thing,’ and that’s how it started.”

Lambert’s Cafe goes through five-hundred rolls a day. They’re best with sorghum molasses, which servers spoon out of an old-fashioned tin. Servers clad in red suspenders and a bowtie are supposed to use softball throws for the rolls so guests can catch them.

“We have decorations that hang from the ceiling, and if you’re not careful, the roll will hit something and lose its path,” he recalls. “This guy was eating and the roll landed straight in his mashed potatoes and they went everywhere. I was ready to get in trouble, but the customer thought it was wonderful, and that’s the kind of place this is.”

—Natalie Torres Gallagher GET THERE: Lambert’s Cafe II is southeast of Springfield, 1800 W. State Highway J, Ozark. throwedrolls.com

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OUTSIDE-R ART

S k y s pac e at C ry s ta l Bridges BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS Crystal Bridges is one of the nation’s finest art museums, with a collection of American art ranging from Basquiat to Thomas Hart Benton. One of the things that makes the museum unique, though, is its placement in a lush Arkansas forest, giving the museum’s collection room to stretch out. One of our favorite pieces at the museum is outside, tucked away on a trail south of the galleries.

James Turrell’s Skyspace: The Way of Color is a concrete structure clad in stone that manipulates light coming through an opening on the ceiling. There are benches inside so you can sit and watch the light and how it changes. During the midday hours it’s peaceful and contemplative. Each morning and evening, in conjunction with sunrise and sunset, a programmed LED light display occurs inside the Skyspace. The changing colors on the ceiling cause changes in your perception of the color of the sky viewed through the oculus. —Kim Horgan GET THERE: Crystal Bridges is free, but you must reserve tickets

in advance. The Skyspace installation is south of the museum on the Art Trail. From the south side of the museum, take the trail next to the “LOVE” sculpture for a third of a mile.

BO KNOWS THIRTIES AMERICA

B o ’ s H o l l ow SALEM, MISSOURI Time machines look like Model A Fords at Bo’s Hollow, a “town” that shows visitors what life was like between the world wars. The small village

south of Rolla was built by the Borel family.

It grew out of their hobby of collecting and restoring vintage cars. The Borels gradually began building a period town, which now includes post and telegraph offices, a service station, a barbershop and even a hoosegow (jail). For a fee, visitors may also ride through the hills in one of the restored Model A’s, and they can even pick up a barbecue lunch at the town’s restaurant to take along.

—Kaitlyn McConnell

FUN FACT In April, Crystal Bridges announced a major expansion to be complete in 2024. The planned new space is about fifty percent of the current total.

GET THERE: Bo’s Hollow is due south of Rolla, near Montauk State Park. Visit bohollow.com for more info.

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POPE EYE

Precious Moments Chapel

KC 2 hrs 20 min

CARTHAGE, MISSOURI

PARLOR POWER

Fred & Red’s JOPLIN, MISSOURI When Joplin’s landmark greasy spoon diner hung up the stock pots in 2012, it took the perfect buyer to get those stoves hot again. David Schaefer revived Fred & Red’s in 2016, and not much has changed in ninety-eight years, including its secret-recipe chili. The iconic platter, Spaghetti Red, is a plate of spaghetti topped with thick, greasy, meaty chili and can be embellished with onions, pickles, dusty parmesan and crackers, if you so choose. Sit in there if you can: The horseshoe bar is an ideal spot to get to know locals or out-of-towners who, like you, road-tripped there for the chili. —Nicole Bradley GET THERE: The diner is right at 1719 S. Main Street on the main drag in downtown Joplin. Look for a big beige building with a black sign with white and red neon lettering.

FUN FACT At the height of Precious Moments’ popularity, creator Samuel Butcher spent four years painting the chapel himself “as a gift of thanks to God.” The devoutley religious Butcher launched Precious Moments while living in Michigan. He was led to Carthage on “a road trip with God” while returning from a tradeshow.

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In 1508, Renaissance master Michelangelo decorated the Sistine Chapel in Rome with several frescos that are considered among the treasures of Western art. In 1989, porcelain figurine maker Precious Moments opened its own church in Carthage. Inspired by Michelangelo’s work at the Sistine Chapel, the Precious Moments church features eighty-four murals which cover the walls and ceiling with black-eyed, large-headed Precious Moments characters. The largest mural in the chapel, titled Hallelujah Square, depicts children entering heaven being greeted by tiny heavenly ambassadors, puppies, kittens and a man making welcome toys for the children. The chapel is surrounded by acres of manicured grounds and landscaped gardens, a gift shop that’s a time capsule of the brand’s late-eighties peak, and a year-round Christmas Shoppe.

—Kim Horgan GET THERE: The Precious Moments Chapel is at 4321 S. Chapel Road, Carthage.

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NATURAL ONES The six best trails in the Arkansas Ozarks aren’t secrets to locals, but they’re lesser known in KC.

BY KIM HORGAN

ALUM COVE TRAIL

1.2 miles

Deer, Arkansas

Alum Cove Trail is a short loop trail seventy miles due south of Branson that features one of the largest natural bridges in the area.

The trail takes you across the top of the natural bridge and down, then loops around a short but beautiful landscape filled with streams, caves and rock formations. It’s an easy hike with lots of unique features.

in Arkansas. Nothing too technical, but some steep climbs down and back out make this quite a workout with gorgeous rewards. You can expect to spend four hours on the trail, so be sure to take plenty of water and snacks.

BIG BLUFF/GOAT TRAIL

6 miles

Compton, Arkansas

Big Bluff and Goat Trail is an out-and-back trail to a

five-hundredfoot bluff overlooking the Buffalo River.

The narrow side trail along a sheer cliff leading to an outcropping on the bluff is called the Goat Trail and is more than three hundred feet tall. If you are afraid of heights, you’ll want to skip this section. The entire hike out is downhill, all the way to the bluff. But of course this means you will need to hike uphill on the way out. The view from the bluff is absolutely amazing— bring a lunch.

ROUND TOP MOUNTAIN

4 miles

Jasper, Arkansas

This trail makes several loops around the base of the mountaintop bluffs and features some really nice views of the

area, unusual rock formations and wildflowers. There is a unique point of interest on this trail, though. On a foggy night in February of 1948, a B-25 bomber crashed into the mountain at this site, killing all five military passengers. There are several fragments of the plane around the site.

HAWKSBILL CRAG

3 miles

Kingston, Arkansas Hawksbill Crag (Whitaker Point) is one of the most popular hikes in Arkansas, and for good reason: The view from the crag is spectacular. And because of that amazing view, it’s a highly trafficked trail, especially in the fall. If you are looking for fewer people but don’t want to miss out on the beautiful scenery, head out on this trail in the dark to catch the sunrise from the crag. Bring a thermos of coffee and sit with your face to the rising sun. Interesting fact: Disney filmed the opening to Tuck Everlasting here.

TWIN FALLS

.25 miles

Precious Moments photo courtesy of the Precious Moments Chapel

Harrison, Arkansas

Twin Falls—also known as Triple Falls—is a scenic and easy waterfall hike. From the parking lot to the falls is just a couple hundred yards.

When the falls are running well, it’s triple falls, but the falls are fed from two water sources, making them twins.

The most trouble you will have with this one will be the steep and sometimes muddy gravel road leading to the parking area.

HEMMED-IN HOLLOW 5.5 miles

Compton, Arkansas Hemmed-In Hollow Trail is a long out-and-back trail in the Ponca Wilderness Area of the Buffalo National River.

This is a challenging hike that leads to the tallest waterfall

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McMANSION HELL

Indian Ridge Resort Community BRANSON, MISSOURI

Daisies & Olives PRAIRIE GROVE, ARKANSAS When you think of a flea market, your mind probably jumps to a disorganized and overwhelming mish-mash of secondhand speakers and souvenir mugs.

This is not what you’ll find at Daisies & Olives in northwest Arkansas. This sprawling spot—it’s so large it has more than one address— can eat up an afternoon of sifting through vintage books, jewelry, paintings and armadillo planters.

Across the parking lot you’ll find quaint coffee shop Magnolia, whose patio is the perfect place to fuel up before pickin’.

—Nicole Bradley

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SHOP OLD GET THERE: Go southwest of Fayetteville on Route 62 and get off on Sundowner Road, which will take you into downtown Prairie Grove’s Buchanan Street. Look for the big brick building with the market’s name painted on it and antique lawn ornaments set outside.

In 2006, the governor of Missouri came down to Branson to bellow into a bullhorn on the first day of construction for a nine-hundred-acre, $1.6-billion new development, near Branson. The project was to include a large resort with the country’s second-largest indoor water park. Fifteen years later, the McMansions that were started that day still sit, gray and abandoned, in an overgrown field, only visited by troubled teens and YouTubers. The development turned out to be a scam, and several people responsible went to prison. A video of abandoned homes posted to TikTok has millions of views, prompting a wave of visitors and a stern warning from the Stone County sheriff, who says his deputies will issue citations to “trespassers.” —Martin Cizmar GET THERE: The abandoned mansions are near the intersection of highways 76 and 13, west of Branson.

The BackyardExploration YouTube channel has a detailed video tour.

ELK MEET BUFFALO

Hemmed-In H o l l ow Fa l l s PONCA, ARKANSAS The Buffalo River was designated America’s first national river in 1972. Flowing freely for a hundred-plus miles in the Arkansas Ozarks, it’s one of the few remaining undammed rivers in the country.

The Buffalo is a choice destination for kayaking and canoeing given its shallow ripples and calm pools, flanked by towering bluffs.

The river’s headwaters are located near Ponca, Arkansas, four and a half hours from downtown Kansas City. Nearby is Boxley Valley, where herds of wild elk appear along the river to graze at sunrise and sunset daily.

The hills and hollers along the river are home to a number of surprises. Perhaps the most spectacular is Hemmed-In Hollow Falls, which lies deep in the Boston Mountains. It’s a five-mile hike round trip from Compton Trailhead or a half mile from the trailhead on the shore of the river between Ponca and Kyle’s Landing (a sign marks the pull-out for the trail if you’re floating). A challenging half-mile hike leads you to the two hundred-foot falls, the tallest waterfall between the Appalachian and Rocky Mountain ranges.

The best time to plan a visit to Hemmed-In Hollow is either spring or fall. In the spring, the hills come alive with redbud and dogwood blossoms while fresh rains feed the falls. —Brian Wright

Hemmed-in Hollow photo provided by Buffalo Outdoor Center

GET THERE: To do the five-mile hike from Ponca, drive north for nine miles to Compton. Take a right onto the gravel road marked for “Wilderness Access.” After a mile you will see a wooden sign for the Hemmed-In Hollow trailhead.

Lake Ta n e yc o m o

SHEPHERD ME SOME TROUT

You won’t find many people swimming in Lake Taneycomo these days. It was once a popular resort area, but that ended with the completion of an upstream dam. Instead of Lake Taneycomo getting warm river water, it’s now filled by the icy tailwaters two hundred fifty feet below the surface of Table Rock Lake. And while humans don’t like swimming in chilly water, trout do. And so Lake Taneycomo is

BRANSON, MISSOURI

now the state’s premier trout fishing location—and maybe the most overlooked attraction in Branson. Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery, the state’s largest, is located just below the dam. The hatchery produces up to four hundred thousand pounds of trout each year, both rainbow and brown, with eighty percent going into Lake Taneycomo. —Brian Wright GET THERE: Lake Taneycomo is on the east side of Branson.

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THE WRIGHT STUFF

THORNCROWN IN EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS, AND COOPER IN BELLA VISTA, ARKANSAS Architect E. Fay Jones is often cited as Frank Lloyd Wright’s most successful disciple. And you can see why he found such acclaim at these two northwest Arkansas chapels. Tucked into the woods, Thorncrown Chapel features more than four hundred windows and over six thousand square feet of glass. The native flagstone floor and beautiful angled beams help it blend seamlessly into the surrounding trees.

The design is breathtaking, so much so that Thorncrown was listed among the American Architecture Institute’s top ten buildings of the twentieth century. Similarly, when you follow the path from the parking lot to the beautiful curved arches and large wooden doors of Mildred B. Cooper Chapel, you feel like you’ve discovered a hidden hobbit land. The building is situated on a tree-filled hilltop and feels very much at home in the surrounding woods. Both chapels are filled with natural light and shadows that change throughout the day and seasons.

—Kim Horgan GET THERE: The two Arkansas chapels are thirty-seven miles apart.

Thorncrown Chapel is at 12968 U.S. Route 62, Eureka Springs. Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel is at 504 Memorial Drive, Bella Vista.

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E . Fay Jones Chapels MILDRED B. COOPER CHAPEL

HIDDEN OZARKS | 37 SECLUDED ESCAPES

WHEEL DEAL

Pedalers B i c yc l e Museum SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI Your mind will whirl like the wheels on the walls inside Pedalers Bicycle Museum in Springfield.

The museum, located in the Commercial Street Historic District, offers visitors a look at dozens of bicycles from the collection of operator James Allen.

After buying his first vintage bike at a swap meet some thirty years ago, Allen crossed from curious to collector: He has since amassed a collection that features many rare models, including a sky-scraping bicycle built in 1894 for lamplighters in NYC. Also look for a two hundred-year-old Draisine “walking” bicycle used by surveyors in Germany, a twelve-seater that was constructed to earn mention in the Guinness Book of World Records and a bicycle that the Wright brothers built while gaining high-flying fame. The museum is currently only open by appointment but is free to see.

—Kaitlyn McConnell GET THERE: The museum is at 328 E. Commercial St. in downtown Springfield. Call 417576-1464 for more information.

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WHERE TO STAY BIG CEDAR LODGE

Bigcedar.com

Ridgedale, Missouri

Big Cedar Lodge is a world-famous resort dripping with natural beauty and offering every conceivable amenity. It’s routinely named the best resort in the Midwest by national travel pubs. The resort recently opened the first public golf course in the country designed by Tiger Woods. Among the lesser known lodging options are the resort’s posh glamping tents pictured on our cover.

TABLE ROCK RESORTS Branson, Missouri

Tucked into the scenic Ozark foothills, Table Rock Resorts is rising in popularity and features miles of shoreline to explore. Waterfront cabins and luxury condos are big enough for families of any size, ranging from one to seven bedrooms.

Cozy up around community fire pits, or enjoy an afternoon exploring from a free kayak. Experience Table Rock Lake with a rental boat, or bring your own and dock in one of eighty-eight slips on-site. Amenities include adjacent hiking trails, paddle board yoga, and fishing and swimming platforms - plus proximity to Silver Dollar City.

FLAMINGO SPRINGS TRAILER RESORT

flamingosprings t r a i l e r r e s o r t. c o m

Prairie Grove, Arkansas

If you’re looking for a more Bohemian experience outside Fayetteville, check

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out Flamingo Springs, which is modeled on the boutique trailer resorts popular with West Coast hipsters.

Each of the six trailers has a different theme, from Friends to tacky Christmas, Clark Griswold-style. The trailers circle a pool and are set against fifty acres of wooded mountains.

Don’t even ask for a WiFi password—there isn’t one.

The owners are looking to promote offline fun, like singing songs around the campfire, shooting cans with BB guns, playing oldies on the restored jukebox or watching a grainy movie on VHS.

HAUNTED HOTELS OF EUREKA SPRINGS

crescent-hotel.com, b a s i n pa r k . c o m

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Eureka Springs is an artsy community full of historic buildings on a steep hillside in Northwest Arkansas. The Crescent Hotel, overlooking the city, is known as America’s Most Haunted

Hotel and has been featured on the show Ghost Hunters.

The Basin Park Hotel opened in downtown Eureka Springs in 1905. A previous hotel on the spot burned during a rash of fires in 1890. So when Basin Park was built, iron catwalks were added to connect every floor to the neighboring mountainside, making the Basin Park Hotel the only hotel in the world where each floor is the ground floor. Some believe the hotel is haunted because it sits where another hotel burned; others believe it’s because of the proximity to a Native American healing spring.

MURPHY’S PLACE

murphyscabins.com

Steelville, Missouri

If you’re looking to really get away from it all and just relax, this is the place.

They offer four secluded and comfortable cabins in the Missouri Ozarks that are private with a view of the Meramec River. The cabins are comfortable, well-stocked and feature

personal touches like handmade log beds.

BUFFALO OUTDOOR CENTER

b u f fa l o r i v e r . c o m

Ponca, Arkansas

Buffalo Outdoor Center is located in a tiny community with huge beauty. They offer many cabins close to both the Buffalo National River and various hiking trails, ziplining and bike trails.

Cabins are fully furnished with linens and kitchen gear, down to the coffee pot. You’ll also find extras like beautiful native stone fireplaces, porch swings and charcoal grills. In addition to cabin rentals, BOC offers kayak and raft rentals and a retail store/gas station where you can grab snacks, souvenirs and fuel.

BABY GRAND

O l d f i e l d O p ry OLDFIELD, MISSOURI

FUN FACT

HALL OF FACES

Katherine Burke - The Witch painting by L.L. Broadfoot provided by The Harlin Museum |

WEST PLAINS, MISSOURI The Harlin Museum in West Plains is home to stunning charcoal portraits of old-time Ozarkers made by artist L.L. Broadfoot in the late thirties and early forties. The museum is the permanent home of the portraits and stories Broadfoot wrote about each to preserve the stories of local people and a way of life then disappearing. The portraits were published in book form in 1944, and today original copies of Pioneers of the Ozarks are sought after by collectors. The entire collection is viewable at certain times of year, but the museum also hosts other art exhibits and a display of local historical items.

—Kaitlyn McConnell GET THERE: The Harlin Museum is at 405 Worcester St., West Plains.

Visit harlinmuseum.com for more info.

COLLECTION OF COLLECTIONS

Harlin Museum

Each of Broadfoot’s drawings came with a story. The woman pictured above is Katherine Burk, said to be 111 years old, who had “smoked and chewed tobacco ever since she was a little girl.” She told Broadfoot she believed in witches and that some believed her to be a witch.

The sounds of Ozark traditions reverberate throughout the quiet Christian County hills in the nearly nonexistent town of Oldfield.

For forty-five years, oprygoers have gathered in a metal building—constructed specifically for the cause—on Saturday evenings for a jam session where friends play old favorites on banjos, fiddles, guitars and harmonica.

Things have been a little different in light of the pandemic. Performances have moved outdoors onto a grassy field next to the show’s usual home. Guests bring lawn chairs and enjoy the dusky evening as musicians play from a flatbed trailer.

While many folks come from down the road, others have come from across the country and around the world. With each show, another chapter in the Opry’s story reverberates, along with the buzzing cadence of the evening as it slips away into the darkness. —Kaitlyn McConnell GET THERE: The Oldefield Opry is on Route 125, southeast of Springfield. Visit oldfieldopry.com for more info.

Golden Pioneer Museum GOLDEN, MISSOURI Some museums show enthusiasts more of what they love while others reveal things you never knew existed. The Golden Pioneer Museum does a little of both. This museum has every collectible item known to man, from metal lunch boxes with Lassie on them to Pez dispensers and an Elvis memento display. There are full-sized

tractors, cases of glassware (including hundreds of toothpick holders) and glittering crystals and minerals, including one that’s described as the “world’s most fabulous geological cluster.” Many Native American artifacts are also on display. —Kaitlyn McConnell GET THERE: Golden is southwest of Branson,

just north of the Arkansas state line. Visit goldenpioneermuseum.org for more info.

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OLDE STYLE

Amish & Old Order M e n n o n i t e V i l l ag e s LEADMINE & TUNAS, MISSOURI Missouri’s Amish population is among the nation’s largest and fastest growing. These two towns northeast of Springfield are great places to spend a peaceful, sunny day. In the softly rolling hills around Tunas and Leadmine, visitors can glimpse life in the Amish and Old Order Mennonite communities, where horses and buggies are still the preferred mode of transportation. Locals welcome visitors to a number of destinations, including a restaurant, general store (176 State Road Yy, Tunas) and the Ozark Winds Bake Shop (502 State Road E, Tunas), which has cookies, pies and whole wheat breads. —Kaitlyn McConnell GET THERE: Tunas and Leadmine are southeast of Warsaw. If you want to stay in the area, there is primitive camping at Lead Mine Conservation Area.

KING ME

Ozark Cafe JASPER, ARKANSAS In charming Jasper, Arkansas, you’ll find a cozy cafe that’s been serving up good food to locals and visitors since 1909. The Ozark Cafe is located on the town square in a historic building filled with photos and memorabilia. The restaurant serves country cooking—dishes like fried chicken, omelets, chicken fried steak and chili. The bestknown dish is the Excaliburger, a hamburger between two grilled cheese sandwiches stuck with a small sword that resembles a knife.

After dinner, try some ice cream, pie, cobbler or brownies. If you’re in town on a Saturday night, check out the live music, too. —Kim Horgan GET THERE: Jasper is due south of Springfield and due east of Fayetteville. Ozark Cafe is at 107 East Court Street in Jasper.

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FUN FACT The Ozark Cafe opened in 1909, making it the second oldest restaurant in Arkansas after White House Café in Camden, east of Texarkana. It’s the only place in Jasper that’s nationally recognized as a historic place.

ROCK STEADY

Ancient Ozarks N at u r a l H i s t o ry Museum RIDGEDALE, MISSOURI You’re going to the Ozarks to spend time outside and breathe in the region’s natural splendor—as well you should. But what may deepen your appreciation for the magnificent Lake of the Ozarks shoreline and its bordering parks is a visit to the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum at Top of the Rock, a dining and golf destination perched on the bluffs above. The museum boasts an impressive collection spanning prehistoric and historic Native American culture from the Ozarks and across North America. Stand in the shadow of a towering woolly mammoth or giant ground sloth and absorb the legacy of indigenous tribes through relics like a Natchez canoe dating back to 1465. —Natalie Torres Gallagher GET THERE: The museum is at Big Cedar Lodge, 150 Top of the Rock Road, Ridgedale. Admission is $12 for adults, $5 for kids. bigcedar.com

HIDDEN OZARKS | 37 SECLUDED ESCAPES

THE LOST WORLD

D i n o s au r Wo r l d BEAVER, ARKANSAS Dinosaur World theme park near Eureka Springs has been closed for fifteen years, but you can still get a look from the outside. When it was open, this roadside attraction was home to a hundred life-size dinosaur statues spread across sixty-five acres, which are now hidden behind a short fence next to a small dirt parking lot. During its heyday, Dinosaur World boasted the world’s largest Noah’s Ark mural, and several of the dinosaurs were featured in the 1969 horror movie It’s Alive! Today, what is left of the park is disappearing into the trees and fading into history. A drive past the grounds of Dinosaur World will still allow you to view, in various states of decay, a number of statues—including a now horizontal King Kong, at one time the world’s largest. If abandoned places intrigue you, it’s worth researching. (The former park is on private property, and we do not encourage trespassing of any kind.)

—Kim Horgan GET THERE: Dinosaur World is at 8421 AR-187, Eureka Springs,

just north of Beaver Dam Site State Park on Arkansas Highway 187.

DO OR PIE

Cooky’s Cafe GOLDEN, MISSOURI

It’s no secret that Cooky’s Cafe in Golden City is the place to pause for pie. But what you might not know is that the bakery also makes rather unusual recipes like a Sawdust pie, made of coconut, graham crackers, chocolate chips and pecans. Or there’s the Paradise pie, which features layers of banana, pineapple and

coconut cream. Those pies and more have been drawing diners since the forties, when founder Cecil “Cooky” Ambler opened up shop. The step-back-in-time stop is also famous for its fried chicken and baked ham.

—Kaitlyn McConnell GET THERE: Cooky’s Cafe is at 519 Main St., Golden City. Visit cookycafe.com for more info.

FUN FACT Golden, Missouri, and Golden City, Missouri, are not the same place— the latter is 80 miles due south of the former, on the Arkansas border.

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AS A WOMAN OF

MIXED HERITAGE, I’VE ALWAYS STRUGGLED WITH HOW TO DEFINE MYSELF. IT TOOK RETURNING TO MY MOTHER’S KITCHEN AMID A GLOBAL PANDEMIC TO FINALLY CLAIM MY IDENTITY.

T

H E R E ’ S A L I N E in the iconic film Selena when Edward James Olmos, who plays Selena’s father, is in the driver’s seat of the tour bus, careening down the highway. He’s on one of his many surly soliloquies, this one expounding the burden of being an American citizen with a Latin heritage: “Being MexicanAmerican is tough… We have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time. It's exhausting!”

I remember watching this movie when it came out in 1997. I was about nine years old. One year earlier, my family—my Latina mother, my Irish-German father, my younger sister and brother and I—had moved from Texas to a secluded Amish valley in rural Wisconsin, near the small town where my father was born. Widebrimmed straw hats replaced the cowboy hats I was used to seeing, and it wasn’t uncommon to pass a horse-drawn buggy on the road.

Years later, that scene from Selena would swim to the surface of my mind as I would get pan dulce from Mercado Central around the corner from my apartment in Minneapolis, where I went to college. It’s a colorful indoor Latin market where you can get your hair cut, pick out leather cowboy boots and gorge on the best two-dollar carne asada street tacos in the city. I wouldn’t be quick enough with my Spanish, my accent would be

by

NATALI E TORRES GALL AG H ER

off or some colloquialism would go over my head, and just like that, the woman packaging my empanadas de piña would switch to English. I’d feel outed, like a fraud. Not Mexican enough.

This line would come to me at other moments, too. When I graduated high school, my parents threw a graduation party. We served enchiladas, rice and beans. My mother balked at the need to put out sour cream, a customary condiment for Mexican food in that part of the Midwest. When my paternal grandmother accompanied our family on a trip back to Texas, where my mother was born, she sat in the dining room of my Uncle Mingo’s home in Angleton, staring at a taco in confusion: “How do I eat this?” she asked. My maternal grandmother, Lucy, did not pull her punches. “You pick it up and put it in your mouth!” she said, cackling, elbowing me in the ribs. Not quite American, then.

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Lorraine, Wisconsin, mid-aughts.

Grandma Lucy, Christmas, early nineties.

In college and for a decade after, I waited tables at restaurants.

When I was serving, several guests—intrigued, I suppose, by my hair or complexion or lipstick or ability to correctly pronounce Spanish words—felt entitled to ask me, “So, what are you?” I knew what they were getting at, and despite the impudence, I never quite knew how to answer.

I’ve carried this multidimensionality—this confusion—for as long as I can remember. Where do I fit? What am I allowed to call myself?

Once, when I was in eighth grade, I attempted to stake my identity. In the name field on a quiz, I wrote: Natalia Torres Gallagher. I’m pretty sure the dot over the “i” was a heart. Later, when the teacher handed out the graded papers, my name had been crossed out in red, and underneath it she had scrawled a note: “Use real name.”

Natalia is what my mother called me. Torres was her maiden name, before she married and became Lorraine Gallagher. At fourteen, I didn’t know how to defend this. It would take a couple decades—and the death of my mother—to understand that no permission is needed. The realization came abruptly one evening as I stood over the stove in my mother’s kitchen, making the Mexican rice that had been a weekly dinner staple: My name is Natalie Torres Gallagher. I haven’t always used it, but that has always been my name.

I ’ M N O T M E X I C A N : I was not born in Mexico. MexicanAmerican isn’t right, either. I have no connection to Mexico. For as far back as anyone remembers, my mother’s family—descendants of Mexican immigrants—have lived in Texas. My maternal greatgrandparents were both born in or around Victoria. My greatgrandmother Micha never learned English.

My mother was the youngest of three and the only girl. Like many Tejano kids, she spoke both English and Spanish, even at home. She met my father when he was working as a welder in Bay City, the Gulf town where she had lived all her life. They married and started a family there, and Grandma Lucy was the default babysitter. My earliest memories include the sensation of my thighs sticking to the sun-heated plastic swing hanging from Lucy’s enormous pecan

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EACH TIME IT HAPPENED, I FELT A TWINGE OF SHAME — THE SAME KIND I IMAGINE MY MOTHER FELT EVERY TIME HER SPANISH FAILED.

tree, the heady perfume of gardenias thick in the summer air, neighbors stopping by with cigarettes for my grandmother and raspas de coco for me, and always—always—a heaping pile of pinto beans soaking in water on the counter or slowly cooking on the stove.

I grew up hearing Spanish but never really speaking it. Lucy would speak to my mother in Spanish and Lorraine would respond in English, or vice versa, or English phrases would be interspersed in Spanish sentences. It’s not something I realized I had missed or lost until later, in college: I was eager, after spending my middle and high school years with mostly white classmates, to connect with other Latinos and Chicanos. I went to an event put on by the student cultural center. Most of the attendees were majoring in Spanish or Latin American studies, all were fluently bilingual, and each seemed to have a firm grasp of their identity. I couldn’t speak Spanish well enough.

I didn’t feel like I belonged, and I never went back.

Before my senior year of college, I took a summer abroad in Cuernavaca, Mexico. When I returned, feeling more sure of my Spanish than ever, I called Grandma Lucy, managing a full—if basic—conversation with her. She was so proud: “Me encanta escucharte hablar Español,” she said, and though it wasn’t the first

My father, mother and me in the backyard of our Bay City home, spring 1991. My mother was pregnant with my sister, Valerie.

Lorraine and me, Bay City, 1989.

time my grandmother had spoken to me in Spanish, understanding her completely was a new sensation.

“It’s so important that you know because it’s half of who you are.”

And then I would try to speak to my mother in Spanish, she who still called me “mijita,” who was responsible for the string of Spanish curses I’d spout off while driving. I would never get very far. For one thing, Lorraine wasn’t patient enough to haggle through a conversation with my limited vocabulary.

But mostly, she didn’t feel that her Spanish was “proper.” She couldn’t confidently correct me because she hadn’t learned Spanish in school and wasn’t fluent herself, and if I was going to speak the language, she said, I should speak it the right way.

My Spanish has come and gone since Cuernavaca. My ability to speak it well resurges from time to time, and some days I am confident and can recall the right words. Other days, my tongue trips over itself and my ears get confused. A few months ago, while gorging on tacos throughout the city for our taco issue, I made a point of ordering in Spanish at every taqueria. About half the time, when I tried to ask a question about the menu or about the owner, my limited language skills gave me away and the taquero switched to English.

Each time it happened, I felt a twinge of shame—the same kind I imagine my mother felt every time her Spanish failed.

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Me, Bay City, Easter/spring 1990.

W H E N W E moved to Wisconsin

in 1996, Lorraine would request care packages from Grandma Lucy: Pounds of tortillas from H-E-B, homemade salsa and hot sauce, Lucy’s bean-potato tacos (she’d flatten them and pack them in foil and plastic bags) and, of course, chiltepin. Chiltepin are pea-sized chiles that are candy apple-red when ripe and dangerously hot. They’re native to Texas and difficult to find in the Midwest, particularly in rural Wisconsin.

It was a family joke then, the way Lorraine would carry a stash of these peppers in her purse, wrapped in a paper towel and tucked into an inside pocket.

Every few weekends, we’d drive the fifty miles to the nearest shopping mall and Walmart.

We’d have lunch at Friday’s.

She’d order a burger and ask for jalapeños—and then when the burger came, she’d pluck two or three chiltepin from her cache and add them, too.

My mother was not adventurous in the kitchen, but she had a handful of recipes that she relied on throughout the week.

One, and a family favorite, was her Mexican rice. It’s simple enough: long-grain rice, tomato sauce, Rotel, onion, spices and chiltepin (if she had it—if not, fresh serrano). The aroma that

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I AM HONORING MY MOTHER AND MY GRANDMOTHER. I AM GIVING THAT CONFUSED YOUNG GIRL THE NAME SHE HAS CARRIED IN HER HEART ALL THIS TIME.

permeates the kitchen as it simmers for half an hour is powerful and immersive, garlic and tomatoes and herbs blossoming together.

It was always accompanied by the sound of my mother’s soft, offkey harmonizing with either Van Morrison or Luis Miguel.

Lorraine never wrote down the recipe, but I helped her make it countless times. Still, I could never successfully recreate this dish, even when I would call her to guide me through it.

After a brief battle with leukemia, my mother died in 2014, just ten days after her fifty-fifth birthday. In December 2020, after months of languishing under a cloud of pandemic-born ennui, I made my annual holiday visit back to the family farm in Wisconsin and decided, since I was working remotely, to stick around for a few weeks past the New Year. Weeks turned into months. Like many, I found myself spending more time in the kitchen—in my mother’s kitchen, using her appliances, her cutting board, the glassware she had purchased at that estate sale that one time. I read the memos she had scribbled in cookbook margins in her chaotic cursive. There was something buoying about standing where she stood.

One evening, as Moondance played from the kitchen Alexa, I lined up the ingredients for her Mexican rice. I browned the rice first (my mother had always used bacon fat, kept in a jar next to the stove, but I swapped it for olive oil to appease my vegan sister who was also farm-bound during quarantine). I measured water not with cups but with empty aluminum cans. When it was done, I spooned the fluffy, ruby-red rice into a flour tortilla with refried beans, a slice of American cheese and slices of fresh serrano. It was perfect.

Even without perfect Spanish, I have always found belonging in Mexican flavors. That part I have never questioned. Ajo, comino, tomatillo, cebolla, cilantro, arroz y frijoles—I know this food in my bones. The aroma of my mother’s rice is itself a kind of home.

Experiences, not bloodline percentages, shape our identities, and my most formative experiences are rooted in Latin culture. I love my father and I am not denying his influence or heritage, but it was never as present or powerful: I didn’t grow up eating corned beef or speaking Gaelic.

Recently, I asked my siblings what race or ethnicity box they check when they’re filling out forms. My sister, Valerie, was five when we moved from my mother’s hometown, and my brother,

YIELD | 6 servings PREP | About 5-10 min.

TOTAL TIME | About 30-40 min.

2 tbsp. bacon grease (For a vegan option, olive oil is fine. My mother kept a jar of bacon fat next to the stove and used it instead of oil for pretty much everything.)

2 cups long-grain rice, uncooked 1 white or yellow onion, diced 2–6 chiltepin peppers (diced serranos or jalapeños are fine, too) 2–6 cloves garlic, minced (more is more when it comes to garlic and spice, but you do you) 1 16-oz. can tomato sauce 1 10-oz. can Rotel (medium or hot) 2 cups water 1/2 bundle fresh cilantro, chopped 1/2 tbsp. garlic salt, or to taste (regular salt is fine, but then add garlic powder) 1/2 tbsp. cumin, or to taste 1/2 tbsp. cayenne, or to taste 1/2 tbsp. black pepper, or to taste 1 lb. protein of choice (shrimp, chorizo sausage, rotisserie chicken, etc.), optional

STEP 1 Heat a large, five-quart nonstick pan on medium. Add bacon grease or olive oil, let warm (about 1-2 min.), then add rice, onion, peppers and garlic. Stir ingredients in pan constantly with a spatula until rice is turning golden. Be careful not to burn it. This step should take about 3-6 min.

STEP 2 Add tomato sauce, Rotel and water. Instead of measuring the water in cups, my mother always poured water directly into the empty tomato sauce can—it was about the same measurement and had the added benefit of getting every bit of tomato sauce out.

STEP 3 Add cilantro and dry seasonings. I never measure the seasonings and I tend to be very liberal. Use your best judgment. This recipe is vegan if you use oil instead of bacon fat, but if you want to make it a one-pot meal, add rotisserie chicken, chorizo or shrimp at this stage.

STEP 4 Stir mixture and bring to a rolling boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cover pan with lid. Let simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender and cooked through. Remove from heat and serve with refried beans and margaritas.

Our family with neighbors in Bay City, 1990.

Patrick, was just two. Valerie prefers not to disclose.

Patrick makes a random selection. Both, if pressed, would say white. My Uncle Mingo—an Air Force veteran and drummer who played in garage, country western, Tejano and blues bands and imbued his little sister with impeccable taste in music—adamantly calls himself American.

What’s in a name, anyway? A surname may offer clues about a person’s lineage, but it’s not a rule. I am a fourth-generation Tejana. For me, incorporating my mother’s name is an affirmation.

I am holding space for my dual heritage. I am honoring my mother and my grandmother. I am giving that confused young girl the name she has carried in her heart all this time.

My sister spooned a pile of the Mexican rice I made into a bowl and grabbed a tortilla. Valerie is rarely impressed, so when she helped herself to seconds, I asked her what she thought.

“This is just like mom’s,” she said. “How did you do it?”

I recounted the steps, but it wasn’t just the recipe or the timing. I found something my mother had left for me, some generational secret that uncurled in my belly like heat from a chiltepin.

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Last May,

images of raucous holiday weekend parties at Lake of the Ozarks pool bars were beamed across the world. At the height of pandemic lockdowns—as most Americans were holed up in their homes and some were washing their groceries in fear of infection—the sight of hard-partying, unmasked Midwesterners dancing to EDM at an event called “Zero Ducks Given” became a lightning rod for national debate. A year later, we caught up with five people involved...

WORDS BY NICOLE BRADLEY

GARY AND ANDY PREWITT OPERATORS OF BACKWATER JACK’S Well-known locals not seeking more worldwide attention THEN: Gary Prewitt is an Ozarks businessman who controls stakes in lake bars Backwater Jack’s and Shady Gators through LLCs. Gary Prewitt has tangled repeatedly with neighbors and the local government (sample headline: “Town Hall Meeting Erupts After Announcement That Lazy Gators Will Reopen”). In 2015, Gary sued an attorney who spoke out against his requested rezoning for libel and slander.

After the pool party drew media attention, Gary shared a statement to the bar’s Facebook page, defending their party because “no laws were broken” and “social distancing is not a crime.” The bar pointed out that temperatures were checked at the door and personal bottles of FDA-approved hand sanitizer were available. A few days later, another statement was posted after the bar was informed by the Boone County Health Department that someone at the party had tested positive for Covid.

NOW: Gary’s nephew Andy Prewitt is the manager of Backwater Jack’s and handles the day-to-day business. The junior Prewitt’s email

P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F K AT I E M O R E N O

signature points to PrewittEnterprises.com, a site parked with GoDaddy. Andy declined to do a phone interview with Kansas City but agreed to answer questions over email. “We appreciate the publicity from last season’s media coverage but most of it was negative and it did cause us problems,” he wrote. “We had over five hundred negative Yelp and Google reviews last season from people who had never even been to Backwater Jack’s. We attribute our survival more to decisions made by local politicians to keep the lake open than from the negative media coverage.”

TYLER CRANCER PARTYGOER FROM ST. LOUIS Got fired for going to the party… but also got a girlfriend

THEN: Tyler Crancer arrived at the pool party from the bar’s dock on the lake. The social media manager from St. Louis remembers getting his temperature taken by Backwater Jack’s employees and then ordering several strawberry Bud Light Seltzers. “I was going there for the party,” Crancer says. “I knew it was going to be a

PHOTO COURTESY OF TYLER CRANCER

packed atmosphere. I wasn’t and am still not nervous about the virus. I am very healthy, no underlying issues. I’m twenty-nine years old and physically fit.

The pool was packed, the bar was packed, the docks were packed.”

NOW: Crancer was promptly blasted with criticism on his public Instagram, which didn’t bother him.

However, it did bother his employer. “It was pretty shocking to be asked to leave a company for supporting another small business during a difficult time,” he says. “I was told my services were no longer needed.”

There was a happy ending for Crancer, though: At the party, he met Miranda, who he has been dating ever since. He’s also spent a good chunk of the year traveling. “Since the Backwater Jack’s party, I have traveled on fifteen-plus trips, including Mexico twice."

GERRY MURAWSKI MAYOR OF LAKE OZARK Lost reelection in disgrace THEN: Among the most brashly outspoken defenders of Backwater Jack’s and Shady Gators was Gerry Murawski, the colorful first-term mayor of Lake Ozark, a town on the northeast curl of the serpentine lake. For his forceful defense of the parties, Murawski was dubbed the title of “Most Irresponsible Mayor in America” by The Daily Beast. He was unrepentant. “So you just think about what this has done for our economy and you just go, ‘Thank you, folks,’” Murawski said, bragging that his town actually had an uptick in tourists. “I look at that and go, ‘Well maybe we’ve done something right.’”

NOW: In March 2021, Murawski was the subject of an expose in the local newspaper that revealed he’d admitted to having sex with a child prostitute while he was a city alderman. The report revealed that Murawski had been interviewed by the FBI and police but was not charged, even though he admitted to the allegations. “It happened,” Murawski told the paper. “I thought she was 20… I made a mistake...

I didn’t ever have another prostitute, so I learned a lesson from that.”

Murawski ran for reelection, but in April both he and the political rival who’d pushed for the investigation of him were beaten by write-in candidate Dennis Newberry, a local developer who pledged to steer clear of controversies. “I have no platform or agenda other than seeing the

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77 go back again this year. I can’t imagine that it’s going to have the same level of media attention.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF TYLER CRANCER

KATIE MORENO PARTYGOER LOCAL TO THE OZARKS

She became an international media sensation... and will be back at Backwater Jack’s THEN: Katie Moreno is a Lake of the Ozarks local who attended the party last year. “I had interviews with Inside Edition, Buzzfeed News, Fox News, ABC News, Good Morning America, TMZ and a radio station from North Carolina,” she says. All of these news outlets found her through her Instagram post location.

“I never thought it was going to make national news,” she says.

“We woke up the next morning and saw an article on TMZ, and that’s when it started spiraling out of control.”

NOW: Moreno plans on attending the party again this year.

voters of Lake Ozark served with decency, and properly managing the city business,” Newberry said.

VINNY TROIA PARTYGOER FROM ST. LOUIS

He and his wife later got the virus. She still has symptoms— but he has no regrets.

THEN: Troia and his wife were among the older partygoers, arriving in the early afternoon “before the party really kicked off.” It was lit nonetheless. “I gotta be honest—I mean, it was a shit show,” Troia says. Troia doesn’t recall getting his temperature taken, but he’s also not sure “how accurate it would be considering you’re in one hundred-degree weather.”

NOW: Troia and his wife contracted Covid a few months ago.

For him, the virus came and went, but his wife is still experiencing residual symptoms. However, he plans on returning to Osage Beach this Memorial Day. “I will probably

PHOTO COURTESY OF VINNY TROIA

“The pool was packed, the bar was packed, the docks were packed.”

& QA

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Expert A S K

TH E

When considering any task, it’s important to do your homework.

These professionals offer their expertise on an array of popular subjects in order to help you decide what’s right for you.

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Ask the Expert

S P E C I A LS PAE D C IVA LE ARDTVIESR IT NI S GI N GS SEECC TTI OI ON N

Tim Herre, DDS ABOUT

and stressed, wreaking havoc on our personal and professional lives. The good news is we have the ability to permanently change the size and volume of ones airway for 24/7 improved breathing with the use of a biological dental appliance. No more managing with just a nighttime appliance or CPAP. My goal is to help you BREATHE,

Dr. Tim Herre is a graduate of Saint Thomas Aquinas and UMKC dental school. He is a third generation dentist in Johnson County and is passionate about Kansas City. He practices holistic and biological dentistry with an emphasis on treating TMJ disorders, childhood growth and development and airway/ sleep concerns for all ages.

His wellness philosophy aims at treating the root cause of disease, which enables you be the best version of yourself.

SLEEP, THRIVE!

Q: Should I be concerned if my child snores, mouth breathes, grinds their teeth, has ADHD or wets the bed?

Holistic Dentistry Q: Is there a solution to my chronic TMJ pain?

I can’t deal with this!

A: Jaw pain, worn teeth, receding gums, headaches, earaches and clenching or grinding your teeth are all common TMJ symptoms.

These are all signs that the chewing system is breaking down and not functioning properly. By focusing on the root cause of the symptoms, the chewing system is able to be conservatively rejuvenated back to a state of optimal health and well-being. This type of dentistry isn’t focused on managing the disease with

a typical night guard but asking why and what is causing the breakdown and providing a permanent fix. The good news is there is hope for those suffering from long-term chronic pain.

Q: I don’t sleep well: I snore, I never feel rested when I wake up, and I’m tired of wearing a CPAP. What is going on?

A: Up to seventy million Americans are affected by chronic sleep disorders. It’s well known that sleep apnea can cause systemic disease such as high blood pressure, fatigue, weight gain and diabetes. Now we know that grinding one’s teeth and snoring can be directly linked to the size of one’s face, jaw and airway. When our jaws don’t grow properly, our airway from inside the nose to behind the tongue become a choke point to our breathing. As a result, we aren’t able to breathe properly, we get inadequate restorative sleep, and our health suffers. This can make us more irritable, anxious

A: YES! The above symptoms, plus crowded teeth, enlarged tonsils, tongue tie and inability to nurse, are all signs there is a problem. In our modern society, there is an epidemic among children due to poor growth and development of their jaws and face. If not addressed early in life, the airway becomes constricted and may predispose your child to needing teeth removed for orthodontic purposes, sleep apnea, TMJ and other health issues. We screen and evaluate all childrens’ growth, airway and tonsils with a 3D scan of their jaws. The ideal age for this is three to six years old to harness the child’s true growth potential. My goal is to catch any potential airway issue at an early stage so your child can grow and develop to their full potential.

Breathe to Thrive Center | Herre Holistic Dental KC 11201 Nall Ave., Suite 120, Leawood, KS | 913.491.4466 | breathethrive.com | holisticdentalkc.com

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Ask the Expert

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Maniza Ehtesham, MD, FACP gain, trouble with sleep onset or maintaining sleep, frequent awakenings, frequent urination at night, headaches, decreased productivity at work, nightmares, acting out dreams, restless legs etc.

ABOUT Dr. Maniza Ehtesham is a board-certified sleep physician and the medical director at Excellhealth Sleep Center. She is an associate professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and enjoys teaching medical students and residents. She has also served as an associate residency program director at UMKC. She is currently a staff physician at Advent Health Shawnee Mission and Excellhealth Sleep Center.

Q: What are the risks of leaving a sleep disorder untreated?

Sleep Disorders Q: How many hours should an average adult sleep?

A: Preferably seven to eight hours but a minimum of six hours.

Q: How important is sleep amid coronavirus pandemic?

A: Sleep improves your immunity. In addition to eating immune boosting foods and adding exercise daily –getting your 7-8 hours of sleep is very important for your immune system to function optimally.

Q: I am anxious amidst this COVID 19 pandemic and cant sleep. What should I do?

A: Try to set a sleep and wake up routine even though you may be working from home or doing school online. Try to do a

few relaxing activities close to bedtime like stretching, listening to soft music, massaging your hands and feet with a lavender based cream or lotion and not watching TV or reading on your phone at bedtime. If sleep hygiene tips don’t help, try melatonin and contact your doctor for further advice.

Q: Amidst the coronavirus I have more time on hand and I can nap. Is this ok?

A: Yes, that is okay, but try to keep naps limited to 20-30 min.

Long naps can disrupt your night time sleep and are best avoided.

Q: I think I have a sleep disorder. Can I still do a sleep appointment or sleep testing during the pandemic?

A: Yes, video telehealth visits are available and some in person visits are available as well. Home sleep testing is also available, so yes, you can do the test safely in your own home. For severe disease patients we are arranging for in lab tests also.

Q: How do I know I may have a sleep disorder?

A: Common symptoms include snoring, gasping/choking in sleep, excessive sleepiness or naps in day, attention/ concentration/focus/memory problems during daytime, weight

A: Sleep disorders have been linked to many chronic diseases. Persons with sleep apnea have been found to be at increased risk for cardiovascular diseases like hypertension, stroke, coronary heart disease, irregular heartbeat and strokes. Laboratory research and epidemiologic studies have found that short sleep duration results in metabolic changes that may be linked to obesity and diabetes.

Studies have also indicated that depression may decrease once sleep disorders have been effectively treated and sufficient sleep cycles are restored. The interrelatedness of sleep and depression suggests that irregular sleep is a driver for this disease.

Q: What are some other other common conditions associated with untreated sleep problems?

A: Memory problems, dementia, acid reflux, chronic kidney disease, anxiety, depression, ADHD/ADD are some of the other problems associated with poor sleep.

Sleep apnea/sleep disorders can contribute to seizures and migraine headaches as well.

Excellhealth Sleep Center 8901 W 74th St., Suite 350 Overland Park, KS | 913.203.4040 | excellhealthsleep.com

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J BLACK FINANCIAL GROUP Q: What are some other concerns I might have?

A: In addition to emotional issues, there are many planning considerations: underestimating taxes (for example: a business sold for $10 million could net less than $6 million after taxes); underestimating how much capital is required to be financially independent (the 4% rule may not work for everyone in today’s environment); how to create a lifetime income strategy that meets your needs; and making sure that you work with a qualified advisor who acts in your best interest, to name a few.

Q: What are my next steps if I have a liquidity event?

ABOUT US

Liquidity Event Planning

J BLACK FINANCIAL GROUP

What should I do if I experience a liquidity event?

is a boutique wealth management firm that specializes in liquidity event planning and comprehensive wealth management.

We make a difference in thoughtful, caring, receptive people’s lives by helping them make sound financial decisions and preventing them from making poor ones.

Q: That’s not a term that I’m familiar with. What is a liquidity event?

A: It’s when someone experiences a large influx of cash. This could be from selling a business or company stock, exercising stock options, receiving an inheritance, the death of a spouse, executive deferred compensation or phantom stock payments and even retirement.

Q: What are some of the emotional issues I might face?

A: There are a number of issues that one might face, such as the feelings of loss and betrayal and feeling overwhelmed. In the case of a business owner, they just lost their “baby” and the community they’ve created over the years. For a corporate executive, they might feel as though they’re betraying their employer when exercising stock options or selling company stock. In almost all situations, the burden of what to do with this influx of cash can be quite overwhelming.

A: Like I mentioned above, be sure to work with an advisor who puts your interest first and isn’t just trying to sell their product. I know it sounds rudimentary, but create a budget to understand how much you spend—you would be shocked how many financially-astute people have no idea how much they spend. Also, consult with a qualified tax professional and revisit your estate planning objectives and documents. *John A. Black uses J BLACK FINANCIAL GROUP as a marketing name for doing business as representatives of Northwestern Mutual.

J BLACK FINANCIAL GROUP is not a registered investment adviser, broker-dealer, insurance agency or federal savings bank.

Northwestern Mutual is the marketing name for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, Milwaukee, WI (NM) (life and disability insurance, annuities, and life insurance with long-term care benefits) and its subsidiaries. Representative is an Insurance Agent of NM and a Registered Representative of Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC (NMIS) (securities), a subsidiary of NM, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser and member FINRA and SIPC. This publication is not intended as legal or tax advice. Financial Representatives do not give legal or tax advice. Taxpayers should seek advice based on their particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.

CA License: #0C33835

J BLACK FINANCIAL GROUP 5251 W. 116th Pl Ste 300, Leawood, KS | 913.676.8037 | jblackfinancialgroup.com

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C. Lan Fotopoulos, MD ABOUT

Q: Who would benefit from the Intracept Procedure?

C. Lan Fotopoulos, M.D., is an interventional physiatrist specializing in minimally invasive and interventional procedures in the treatment of spinal disorders, including epidural injections, vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, radiofrequency ablation, spinal cord stimulation and sacroplasty. From skillful diagnosis to advanced treatment options and attentive follow-up care, you’ll find a comprehensive range of orthopedic services at DicksonDiveley Orthopaedics.

Physiatry

A: Intracept is indicated for patients with chronic low back pain who don’t have a spinal instability or scoliosis, but they do have changes present on an MRI, called modic changes. These patients generally have experienced chronic low back pain for more than six months and have not responded to nonsurgical treatments.

Intracept addresses modic changes that stem from degeneration rather than a tear or rupture. An MRI and physical examination will be performed to determine patients who qualify.

Q: What is the Intracept Procedure?

Q: What are the key benefits of the Intracept Procedure?

A: When patients don’t respond well to nonsurgical treatment methods for lower back pain, they often think spinal fusion surgery is their only remaining option. But for some, there is another type of treatment that could relieve their back pain: the Intracept Procedure. It’s an outpatient, minimally invasive procedure that

targets the basivertebral nerve, which is located in the bones of the spine (vertebrae).

Q: How does Intracept help relieve chronic low back pain?

A: The pain-sensing basivertebral nerve is responsible for applying innervation to the bony end plates of the vertebral body. When the Intracept probe burns that nerve, it blocks the pain signals before they have a chance to branch to those end plates.

A: Intracept is a minimally invasive, outpatient procedure, so the recovery period is rapid—often not more than a couple of days. It is implant-free and preserves the structure of the spine.

There are no restrictions placed on patients afterward, and in many instances the pain relief is almost immediate.

Dickson-Diveley Midwest Orthopaedic Clinics Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute: 3651 College Blvd., Leawood | 913.319.7678 ext.3109 | dd-clinic.com Saint Luke’s Hospital: Medical Plaza Building 1, 4320 Wornall Road, Suite 610, Kansas City, MO | 913.319.7678 ext.3109 | dd-clinic.com

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Ask the Expert

S P E C I A LS PAE D C IVA LE ARDTVIESR IT NI S GI N GS SEECC TTI OI ON N

Senior Care Authority where we can help with situations such as skilled nursing placement, family mediation, community education, and a plethora of other topics that affect our region’s seniors.

Q: What types of factors differentiate one senior community from another?

A: We research each community in depth to understand the level of care they can provide for our clients. Every place is different, so before we set up any tours with our clients, we ensure that the community can fit the individual’s unique needs. We accompany them on the tours and help them weigh their options to make an informed decision. Once they move in, we follow up to make sure it’s a good fit. All of this is at no charge to the private-pay independent, assisted living and memory care clients.

ABOUT US

We help guide seniors and their families to excellent outcomes. Don previously worked 10+ years as a food and beverage director in a senior community and developed a heart for working with this age group.

His father suffered from Alzheimer’s, and Don had to juggle his father’s needs with his full time career, so he knows the struggle what families face. Elaine is a pharmacist and has a decade of experience in long term care.

Senior Care Q: Why did you choose Senior Care Authority as your next career path?

A: The challenges Don faced with caring for a sick and aging parent made him wish for someone to help guide him through the complexities of the senior care world. Our goal is to know the systems inside and out, which can help families make informed decisions. Don is a Certified Senior Advisor and keeps current with continuing education to help people navigate the often confusing options out there.

Certified Senior Advisor (CSA)

Q: Explain your services?

A: We meet the person wherever they are in their journey and help devise the best next steps. We offer placement assistance for independent living, assisted living, and memory care at no charge to our clients. We also specialize in elder care consulting

Senior Care Authority 22052 W 66th St., Suite 179, Shawnee, Kansas | 913.488.8609 | seniorcare-kansascity.com

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KANSAS CITY MAY 2021

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY CALEB CONDIT AND REBECCA NORDEN

E AT I N G A N D D R I N K I N G W E L L I N K A N S A S C I T Y

K-DOG

It always seems like food on a stick has so much more personality than pretty much any other kind of food. Perhaps it’s the combination of state fair nostalgia and no-fuss ease of consumption: With a corndog in one hand and the other free to gesture wildly, you can throw down your best walk-and-talk Adam Sorkin scene.

Keith Ahn sees your honey-battered classic corndog. He raises you one Korean hot dog—the ubiquitous Seoul street food called hasdogeu, which, like its cornmeal-coated brethren, comes on a stick rather than between a bun.

At Ssong’s Hot Dogs, you’ll stroll up to the touchscreen kiosk and place your order. Most of the options feature a beef frank—standard, spicy or paired with mozzarella or cheddar—dipped into a panko, rice flour and wheat flour batter. When your order number is called, you’ll retrieve your dog, fried to a sunshine gold and with a crackly exterior texture resembling a friendly puffer fish, and pick out your condiments. You’ll make it halfway to your car before you reverse course and land back at the kiosk for a second round. — N ATA L I E TO R R E S G A L L AG H E R GO: Ssong’s Hot Dogs, 10308 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park. ssongshotdogks.com.

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TA S T E FE AT U R E

VENI, VIDI, SPIEDINI Tracing the origins of Kansas City’s chicken spiedini

BY N ATA L I E TO R R E S G A L L AG H E R

we know for certain about the spiedini: The kebab-style Italian meat skewers beloved in Kansas City originated in Abruzzo, Italy, and the name comes from the Italian word for spit. In the early 1900s, Italian immigrants in New York were eating something they called a spiedie—a hoagie filled with beef and veal that were skewered and spit-roasted over hot coals. In 1989, when Mike Garozzo opened his eponymous restaurant in Columbus Park, it wasn’t long before his spin on spiedini became a local sensation.

After that, things get a little more hazy. Garozzo maintains that other restaurants may have been offering spiedini before him, but no one was doing it with chicken. His St. Louis compatriots in the Hill, the city’s Italian neighborhood where Garozzo was born and raised, reject this claim. Either way, Garozzo’s innovation became ubiquitous in Kansas City, and chicken spiedini even showed up on the menu at Olive Garden. Here’s the story of how spiedini started at three classic red sauce Italian spots in town.

THERE ARE A FEW THINGS

The Original In the late eighties, cholesterolconscious diners were avoiding red meat. When he planned to open in the city’s traditional Italian neighborhood, Garozzo called on his Uncle Alfio in St. Louis to do what we’d today call consulting.

“We were eating the Nanna Garozzo beef spiedini, and he said, ‘Mike, you don’t have enough chicken

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on the menu,’” Garozzo says. “I said, ‘We have chicken parmesan, chicken marsala—I mean, what are you going to do with it? It’s chicken.’”

A few rounds of experimentation led to the birth of Garozzo’s now-famous chicken spiedini. Garozzo marinates chicken tenders with olive oil, garlic, basil and breadcrumbs for three to six hours before rolling the strips into chunks and skewering them. At that point, the spiedini gets another coating of breadcrumbs before it’s charbroiled, sauced and served.

The Garozzo’s menu now includes four versions in various Italian sauces, all named for family members. At one point, there was a gluten-free Adkins spiedini with prosciutto and spinach— it’s not on the menu anymore but is available upon request.

The Scion When I ask Garozzo about the local spiedini competition, he laughs cheerfully. “Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery,” he says.

Juan Bautista, who opened Carmen’s Cafe in Brookside in 1999 with his brother Francisco, is the first to admit his menu is heavily influenced by the decade he spent working at Garozzo’s.

“We have continued with the same recipe we got from Garozzo’s, and that’s what we’ve been serving for twenty-one years,” he says.

The spiedini origin story

Bautista heard starts with St. Louis trattorias in the seventies, where spiedini was always made with beef. “Now everyone serves it with chicken, and they have their own little touch when it comes to the recipe,” he says.

Bautista’s “little touch” comes in the marinade, which features garlic, butter, lemon juice, crushed red pepper and breadcrumbs. At Carmen’s, he offers six different spiedini preparations, including the best-selling Oscar, with chicken, shrimp and scallops.

The spiedini Georgio, with crushed tomatoes, basil, garlic and spinach over angel hair pasta, is a tribute to Garozzo’s son-in-law.

The original spiedini Garozzo, served with amogio sauce.

“The spiedini Samantha is named for my niece, whose father still works for me,” Garozzo says. Served over fettuccine with alfredo sauce and artichokes.

The Country (Fried) Cousin

Garozzo named the spiedini Garbriella for his daughter, who likes a spicy diablo sauce.

Anthony and Teresa Spino opened Anthony’s Restaurant & Lounge in 1978 in downtown Kansas City, and today, sons Vito and Anthony Jr. are keeping the business going. Anthony Jr. can’t remember exactly when the chicken spiedini made it on the menu at Anthony’s, but he supposes it was shortly after the charbroiled Garozzo’s version debuted. Anthony’s version is deep-fried.

“We slice chicken breast, bread it in Italianseasoned crumbs, roll the pieces and stack them four to a skewer—and then you have to fry it,” he says. “I think we charbroiled it to start, but we found that our customers liked it better deep-fried.”

After the fry treatment, the skewer is submerged in amogio sauce (with lemon juice, olive oil and oregano) for ten minutes, until the crust has absorbed as much flavor as it can and the chicken is cooked through. It’s served over a tangle of pasta with a generous ladle of amogio.

“My dad’s first cook at the restaurant was our greatgrandma, and the ingredients that go into that amogio sauce and a lot of our dishes were all hers,” Anthony Jr. says. “We’re using those same recipes from forty years ago, and they still work today.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CALEB CONDIT AND REBECCA NORDEN

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TA S T E PER FECT DAY

SWEET DREAMS A new Overland Park nonprofit empowers people with disabilities— and offers tasty treats.

BY N ATA L I E TO R R E S G A L L AG H E R

I N A P R I L , the Golden Scoop opened in Overland Park. The nonprofit ice cream and coffee shop is the culmination of years of planning for three founders—behavioral therapist Lindsay Krumbholz, her sister Amber Schreiber and culinary director Michelle Reeves—who wanted to find a creative way to provide meaningful employment to people with developmental disabilities.

Reeves met Krumbholz while working at another nonprofit, where they discussed a business model that might serve their vision. Of every ten people with a disability, eight are unemployed, and those that are in the workforce are often limited to custodial work. The Golden Scoop offers a variety of experiences for its eighteen employees—“Super Scoopers” with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and Williams syndrome— including greeting customers, taking

orders, scooping ice cream, creating latte art, making the ice cream and producing marketing materials.

“Within a four-hour shift, if they want to do six different jobs that day, they can do that,” Reeves says. “They have a lot of ownership in terms of what they’re doing, and their enthusiasm level because of that has just been wonderful.”

The Golden Scoop (9540 Nall Ave., Overland Park, thegoldenscoop. org) will offer twelve flavors, many of which are dairy-free. Reeves says the number of applications the Golden Scoop has received is staggering, a testament to the need for the shop’s model—and, she adds, an incentive to expand The Golden Scoop. Reeves and her co-founders are already planning to open several more locations within the next five years.

Reeves moved to Kansas City from Houston in 2006, and lived next door to Therese, a young lady with Down syndrome, for ten years.

“It impacted our lives in such an incredible way,” she says. “Therese taught my children how to be kind and inclusive and they became very protective of her. She made my children better people, and this is my way of paying it forward.”

P E R F E C T DAY

Mighty Meat “I do a lot of cooking, and I go to Bichelmeyer for all my meat.

I buy pork belly and chorizo usually. They also do offal, and their steaks are amazing. They make homemade Slim Jims— they call them Bic Sticks—and they are so good.”

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Pita Party “One of the most underrated spots is Marble Top Cafe by Ward Parkway. I love their homemade hummus, baba ganoush and pita.”

Condiment Queen “Whatever I’m eating, it’s all about the sauces. I love Burg & Barrel.

They have great burgers with this addictive chipotle aioli. Burger Stand in Lawrence has so many sauces, and their duck fat fries are absolutely worth the drive. The tacos at San Antonio in KCK are crazy good, and they make this habañero sauce that looks like cheese sauce. I think a few people got confused a few too many times because now they have a sign giving you a warning that it’s not cheese. It’s absolutely delicious if you like some heat.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATALEA BONJOUR

But first, coffee “Because I’m trying ice cream all day, I try to get a workout in, and right now that’s Fusion Fitness on demand. Then, of course, I get coffee at Hattie’s in Corinth Square. They’re a micro-roaster that helped us create our custom blend at the Golden Scoop and they help us train our Super Scoopers. I get whatever the drip of the day is, black.”

TA S T E B I T E S

TA K E F I V E

Farmers markets to shop this summer

Overland Park Farmers Market

1 2

NEWSFEED

WHAT’S NEW IN KANSAS CITY FOOD & DRINK

Overland Park Farmers Market

The focal point of downtown Overland Park has more than ninety vendors. Saturday and Wednesday mornings starting in June.

Gram & Dun

Brookside Farmers Market

Notable for its sense of community and strong vendor to shopper relationships, the Brookside Farmers Market features exclusively organic produce. The market will host thirty vendors this upcoming season. Saturday mornings at 63rd and Wornall, KCMO.

3

City Market

A Kansas City classic, the City Market serves as a workspace for dozens of local farmers and makers from April through October. Among the vendors to watch for are flower bouquets from Huns Garden.

Saturday and Sunday mornings.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY RESPECTIVE VENUES

4

Paradise Farmers Market

The newest market on this list is at the Paradise Garden Club plant shop. Paradise promises “farmers, makers, music, and community.” The Market features some surefire crowd pleasers: Yoli Tortilleria, Easy as Pie KC and Ruby Jean’s Juicery. Sunday mornings at 621 Locust St., KCMO.

5

KCK Farmers Markets

The markets of KCK are in three separate locations this year. Two are in the Strawberry Hill neighborhood, the other in Rosedale. Sunday mornings at 4020 Rainbow Blvd., KCK. Wednesdays and Saturday mornings starting in June in the parking lot at Merc Co+op, 501 Minnesota Ave, KCK.

Crossroads Cafe Many of the world’s mostprized coffee beans come from Latin America, but coffee shops rarely lean into the culture. That won’t be the case at Cafe Ollama in the Crossroads, which is owned by a couple whose parents all hail from Mexico and which aims to celebrate their culture. As first reported by the Star, the shop is owned by Lesley Reyes and Francisco Murguia, who are from KC but have lived in Chicago, Los Angeles and Phoenix.

Among the offerings is the cafe’s signature Cafe de Olla, which is popular in rural areas of Mexico. It’s slow-brewed coffee with cinnamon, spices and cane sugar.

Back to Back to Back

Daq Attack

The post-pandemic awakening is upon us, with a number of institutions emerging from hibernation better than before. The city’s most celebrated ice cream shop, Betty Rae’s, has reopened under new ownership (page 18) after controversy. Meanwhile, Gram & Dun is also open under new ownership and with longer hours. The redone menu at the gorgeous Plaza space with a popular patio has a broader range of price points and more casual offerings.

Likewise, Bier Station in Waldo, which is often called Missouri’s best beer bar, took its pandemic break to add wine taps and retractable front windows. After focusing on to-go beer for much of the last year, the Station is reopening with normal hours this month.

When Missouri legalized to-go cocktails, we quickly fell in love with KC Daiquiri Shop, which sells frozen concoctions in milk jugs and hosts regular DJ webcasts to enjoy while sipping. Well, they’re coming to the Kansas side. As first reported

by Startland News, the owners opened KC Daiquiri Shop: Bistreaux in mid-April at the former Boardroom space on Metcalf. “It’s set up as more of a traditional restaurant. Therefore our food flavors are going to be elevated,” one of the owners told Startland. “We’re going to have a more sophisticated menu.

We’ll do things like charbroiled oysters, crab, lobster, filet mignon.” Happily, they will also have frozen daiquiris.

Tamales Lupe Rico’s Tacos Lupe (orderricostacoslupe.com) is getting into the tamale game. The treasured taqueria on Southwest Boulevard, especially popular for its carnitas and Taco Tuesday deals, has opened a bright red cart specializing in tamales outside its storefront. Among the offerings are sweet tamales that come stuffed with coconut and pineapple or strawberry and raisin. They’re two bucks each or a dozen for eighteen dollars.

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TA S T E DR I N K

With Condor’s Cove, founder Diana Condori celebrates Tiki culture and her indigenous heritage.

BY N ATA L I E TO R R E S G A L L AG H E R

remembers the first time she passed through the Puerta del Sol gateway at Tiwanaku, an ancient sacred site in her home country of Bolivia.

Angular petroglyphs are carved into a single ten-ton volcanic rock, and through the arch, this megalith offers breathtaking views of the Andes mountains. Puerta del Sol is thought to be part of an archaic astronomical calendar—a door to another world.

“In English, it’s called the sun door,” Condori says. “You’re entering a new life, a new era. When you go through the sun door, you’re experiencing something for the first time.”

That feeling is what Condori hopes each of her cocktails capture. At Condor’s Cove, the Tiki-inspired pop-up cocktail bar that she launched in January, Condori fuses together her indigenous Bolivian roots with Tiki elements that she has come to love.

Condori’s Tiki education began at TikiCat in Westport, where she was a bartender and manager until the space closed last summer. Although it originated in oceanic Polynesia, the spirit of Tiki culture reminds Condori of her childhood in La Paz and the jungle farm her grandparents had, teeming with orange and banana trees.

“That pairs with Tiki, where the idea is that you escape for a minute,” Condori DIANA CONDORI

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fermented sugarcane juice—features prominently in many of Condori’s cocktails, along with pisco (a Peruvian and Chilean grape brandy), pitaya (dragon fruit) and granadilla (similar to passion fruit).

“A Tiki drink has spices, sour and sweetness,” Condori says. “I tinker on those guidelines and use what I can relate to.”

Yes, you can still get a Flaming Zombie at Condor’s Cove. But you’d do better with the Dolphin Banana featuring banana liqueur, coconut cream and cachaça or the Bossa Andes with raspberry liqueur, allspice dram, aquafaba and rum.

And if it’s on the menu, order the Sun Door. Condori combines Jamaican Probitas rum with a grassy cachaça, passion fruit simple syrup, allspice and homemade Falernum (rum-based liqueur with sugar and citrus). It’s bright and breezy, glimmering with tropical notes and something else—something you can’t quite put your finger on. Something entirely new.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LEANDRA BROWN

GOLDEN GIRL

says. “When I first started learning about these drinks, they reminded me of my grandma’s farm, where we would eat ripe fruit straight from the tree. It was like escaping into a memory.”

With Condor’s Cove, Condori offers a respite both to guests and restaurant owners, who can leverage the sales-boosting pop-up to alleviate some of their pandemic blues. Condori coordinates the booze order with the bar manager and provides everything else, from the labor-intensive homemade syrups and garnishes to the glassware and decor. Condori consciously eschews Tiki stereotypes—you won’t find bamboo accents or mugs caricaturing Polynesian gods—in favor of colorful aguayos (traditional Bolivian cloth woven by indigenous cholitas), understated garnishes and South American ingredients.

“There’s a rich culture in Bolivia, and with Condor’s Cove, I can pull my own experiences in and experiment with fruits and spices that may not typically be found in Tiki cocktails,” Condori says.

Cachaça—a Brazilian spirit made from

See Where It Takes You

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TA S T E CU E C A R D

BEER-B-CUE Why are so many of the best new BBQ projects in KC opening at breweries? Kansas City magazine investigates.

BY M A R T I N C I Z M A R

I

F Y O U PAY close attention to the KC barbecue scene, you may have noticed there’s a lot of beer involved of late. No, not the cans being crushed at midnight parties at ’cue competitions, which have mostly been on hold.

It’s the pits themselves. Of spots that have opened since our last complete survey of the city for our 2019 barbecue issue, about half are at breweries. And they’re disproportionately good.

Tyler Harp was the first local pitmaster to use the model. In October 2019, we named his weekly pop-up at Crane Brewing in Raytown the best barbecue in the city. Since then, Harp’s superlative Texas-style sliced brisket and handstuffed sausages with offbeat flavors have influenced a generation of KC ’cue.

When he opened at Crane, Harp expected others to follow—in fact, he told a podcast that he expected ten barbecue spots inside local breweries within three years. “If not for Covid, I probably would have been correct,” Harp says. “It didn’t take Einstein to predict this. I saw a bunch of breweries with no food in a competition BBQ town.”

Harp thinks that the culture of the

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KC brewing scene, which is relatively young and still has deep roots in homebrewing, means that a lot of breweries in town are less interested in selling food—something Missouri’s hands-off taproom laws allow. “There’s a huge void here that I haven’t seen in other parts of the country,” he says. “In Cali and Texas, breweries seem to be opening with food and kitchens. For some reason, it’s not even on the radar of a lot of people opening breweries here, so it allows for a perfect partnership.”

Jousting Pigs started as a competition team. When they decided to make it a business, co-owner John Atwell planned a standalone restaurant. After a lease fell through, mutual friends introduced them to 3Halves Brewing, which took over the former Rock & Run Brewery.

It’s worked out well—they’ve been busy, and a sampler platter on a recent visit found that Jousting Pigs is among the city’s elite.

“I don’t think it is a coincidence at all,” Atwell says. “I think the craft barbecue and craft beer folks are cut from the same cloth. Both groups do a great job of making traditional beer and BBQ but are also willing to take risks and experiment with new flavors and concepts.”

Among the newest beerside barbecue spots is Burn Theory Fire Kitchen, which operates from a trailer outside Diametric Brewing in Lee’s Summit.

Taylor Jones is the owner and chef and has a lot of experience in the barbecue world—he worked as a general manager for Dickey’s and coordinated catering for Zarda. He knew the Diametric team from the homebrew scene, and when they went pro, they brought him along.

Jones is making full platters about once a month—think bread-and-butterstyle beet pickles and mole with pinto beans—but is open and serving a pubby menu with smoked wings and barbacoa tacos every day.

“I’m full stick burn—it’s just me, my smoker and wood,” he says. “I don’t have a microwave, I don’t have a freezer and I don’t have an oven. If it needs to be baked, it gets baked on the smoker.”

The biggest thing that craft beer and barbecue have in common, says Jones as a veteran of larger barbecue operations, is that neither is overly concerned with profit margins.

“It’s a vibe,” he says. “It’s an atmosphere, it’s an attitude, it’s a mindset.

Two groups of people crafting things with their hands for you.”

Scan for an experience that may lower your blood pressure while you read.

SCAN TO LISTEN

BACKSTORY

1929 The Bagnell Dam is built, creating the Lake of the Ozarks. The massive dam is a halfmile long, but its footprint was much larger, reshaping southern Missouri forever.

“

I T G O E S B A C K to the Federal Water Power Act [of 1920]—they were trying to get rivers around the country to produce hydroelectric power. So people thought, ‘OK, I can make a buck, let me see where some places to do this would be.’

In the Midwest, some engineers or somebody started looking at the Osage River. The back end of it starts out in

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eastern Kansas and wanders down and goes through what is now Truman Reservoir and to what is now the Lake of the Ozarks.

The thought was there, and people started buying land rights from these what we call ‘true natives,’ who mostly came from Appalachia. Most of the people who were of ‘true native’ heritage came from the Appalachian states, and they brought their entertainment with

them—there was nothing else around out there. They had get-togethers and that was the start of country music.

The Ozarks had the high hills to hold the water in, and it was just a little bottomland along the rivers to buy. They thought, ‘Well, hell, we’ll just buy those people out.’ They could buy an option on the land for two hundred dollars.

The people they bought from thought they had the world by the tail and that they’d never be flooded. There are many statements you can read handed down by the families where people said, ‘Oh, it’ll never happen, they will never get this done.’ There was no belief in a thing like that. A lot of people down there could not comprehend anything that big being built, let alone down there, between two hillsides in the Ozarks.”

— Kent Van Landuyt, co-author of A People’s History of the Lake of the Ozarks as told to Kansas City. Kent Van Landuyt and co-author Dan William Peek are “true natives” of the Ozarks. Their book was published in 2016 by The History Press.

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF THE MISSOURI STATE ARCHIVES

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