Getting to write about Kansas City food offerings for a travel blog feels a bit like cheating. You can find a delight for every sense and style without much thought or effort. Even as I submit this piece to you the World's Largest Barbecue contest is underway, celebrating it's 30th year. The American Royal BBQ is held in Kansas City's Historic Stockyard district and hosts nearly 500 competitive cooking teams that wow judges and visitors alike over the two-day festival. One of those teams, Slaughterhouse Five, is the brain trust behind a relative newcomer to the KC BBQ scene, Oklahoma Joe's restaurant. What started out as a competition barbecue team in 1991 grew to hundreds of awards, a smoker company and two Kansas City locations.

I recently visited the first KC location situated on the corner of 47th Avenue and Mission Road. Upon reaching my destination I was somewhat confused. Oklahoma Joe's commands the entire NE corner and is actually inside a gas station with an adjacent company-owned liquor store. A one-stop destination for some weary travelers but not too weary I hope. They say at Oklahoma Joe's that great barbecue and long lines are the order of the day. …

The Hilton President Hotel is a unique lodging experience for business and leisure travel. The President was built in 1925 and was fully renovated, restored and reopened in 2006. When you walk into The President you'll feel as though you have been transported to the past. This hotel is the embodiment of art deco. Every space is filled with elegant geometry and the stylish modernism seen in the 1920's through the 1940's. The lobby is bathed in golden warm light, accentuating the woodwork and motifs, with columns that reach to the second floor balcony. Rich, lavish and stately are terms that come to mind.

Walking through the lobby conjures images of early jazz greats like Count Basie and rat packers such as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. All were regular performers at the historic hotel bar and restaurant, The Drum Room. Live performers are still a staple today. You can catch local favorites like Everette DeVan and Max Groove on a regular basis. There is free live entertainment every Friday and Saturday from 7:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. If nightlife is what you crave then you are definitely in the right spot. The President is the Official Hotel of …

The 18th & Vine district is an awesome megaplex of African American culture and history. The district is the point where present day intersects with the past. It is an example of living, breathing history in the making. The 18th & Vine district is the home of The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, The American Jazz Museum, Gem Theater, The Blue Room, The Black Archives of Mid-America, Black Chamber of Congress, Black Economic Union, Urban League of Kansas City, Jazz District Apartments, Harper's restaurant and Kansas City Blues & Jazz Juke Joint, just to name a few. This is an emerging and vibrant community that was started by Mayor Emanuel Cleaver's "Cleaver Plan" that set out to renovate and revitalize the 18th & Vine district. The crown jewel of the district is the 18th & Vine Museum complex that houses both the Negro League Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum.

The complex is sleek, modern and inviting with an expansive atrium at its entrance. Both museums boast multiple interactive multi-media displays and exhibits, hundreds of artifacts, photographs and educational programs. The museums are self-guided tours, but larger groups of 25 or more can arrange for a guided tour. Large groups are encouraged to book …