Last night we strolled down to the new Rockhill Grill for drinks and appetizers. The Back Napkin group has done a wonderful job with their newest venue. The green leather seating and beautiful finishes lend a aura of elegance to this neglected corner. I tried one of the two drinks on tap; The Clover Collins, made with Tito's vodka, raspberry lemonade and fresh ginger. It was so good I had another! The food items we tried: bruschetta, pig wings, and tuna poke. All were excellent.

What a great addition to the neighborhood!

Feast Magazine wrote a rave review you can read here.

The Rockhill Grille
2000 Grand Blvd., Crossroads Arts District
Kansas City, Missouri
816.389.5800,

Dim Sum Tea House

Today we were invited to the unique Shang Tea store in Crown Center to sample a potential new item on the menu, mung bean sprout salad. This tasty item could potentially replace the cabbage salad currently on the menu. We cast our vote for the mung bean sprout salad!

Other food items on the menu are Dim Sum and tea eggs.  Delicious, healthy choices made with fresh, organic ingredients!

This food is a great addition to the lovely tea offered here. The proprietor, Zehua Shang, owns a tea farm in the Fujian Mountains in China where goes twice a year for harvest. Talk about small batch . . . one field of tea, one retail store! Porcelain teacups and other teaware can be purchased.

Another item sold in this store is jade jewelry. Shang's sister is the buyer for this unique jade. She visits the jade design houses in China to find these treasures.

Read the article in Feast Magazine here.

Just a lazy, cloudy day in the neighborhood. We listened to some live music taking place at a picnic table on the lawn of the Liberty Memorial. Songwriter Frank Rardon and his daughter Esther, who performs around the Smithville area, entertained us with some nice ballads and some of Frank's original music.

Frank entertained us with "Blue October", a song he wrote about the Royals.

"At the crack of the bat, you know where I'm at in Blue October."
"I'm out at the "K", it's a mighty fine day in Blue October."

People were enjoying the mild weather, and even this dog appreciated the music.

Slide the City

What a glorious day for a Crown Center block party! With temperatures nearing 80 degrees, revelers lined up for a turn at 1,000 foot slides. Participants were issued a wristband good for 3 slides, a mouthpiece, a tube and a drawstring bag. The slides are set up along East Pershing Road between 25th Street and McGee Street.

Lines were long but worth the wait. The event runs from 9 am to 7 pm today.