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thanksgiving

Local Events

Thanksgiving around KC!

November 10, 2016
Are you tired of cooking? Are you looking for a different plan for Thanksgiving? Well, good news! There’s no need to worry because Kansas City has got you covered! There are plenty of restaurants around the city offering you deluxe hospitality alongside delicious food. I’ve put together a list of some of the best places offering Thanksgiving specials. The best part about it is that you don’t have to do the cooking or cleaning! Try not to salivate too much while reading this list… If any of these options strike your fancy, call today to make a reservation!   
  1. MetropolitanKC
           An expert in fine dining and delicious cuisine, this restaurant is serving homemade cranberry sauce, house-made sausage stuffing, pumpkin crème brulee, and everything in between! With a sophisticated yet comfortable environment, the atmosphere here is perfect for a Thanksgiving meal! Plus, there’s complimentary parking, just ask the hostess for validation!     
  1.    Grand Street-Plaza
           From 12 – 4 you can appease your appetite with a variety of Thanksgiving favorites offered by this elegant restaurant. The buffet includes all the classics: turkey, carving prime rib, pumpkin pie, and more! Locally owned and operated, Grand Street has been a KC favorite for over 20 years! Located in the heart of Country Club Plaza, this is that Thanksgiving retreat you’ve been looking for!  
  1.    Lidia’s Restaurant
          Providing authentic Italian cuisine, Lidia’s Restaurant brings a twist to the traditional turkey day dinner. Join them for their annual feast with family style antipasta, secondi, and house favorites! Choose from traditional turkey dinner options or add the Lidia Italian twist such as the pollo limone! Open 12-6 Thanksgiving day, this is the perfect option for any Italian food lover!   
  1.    Gram & Dun Restaurant
         Sit back, relax, and enjoy a special three-course Thanksgiving dinner for only $38! Their special Thanksgiving menu will be open 11-8. Your meal includes your choice of soup or salad, entrée, and desert! Yum! Gram & Dun calls themselves a place “for the people” where you can enjoy neighborhood vibes accompanied with good times and good food! A perfect atmosphere to gather round the table with friends and family for a day of thanks.   
  1.    Seasons 52
         Enjoy a flavorful traditional Thanksgiving meal with all of the trimmings and fixings. From herb stuffing to Yukon mashed potatoes, there’s something to satisfy any palate! Finish your meal off with their “pumpkin pie mini indulgence!” Inspired by the feel of local farmers markets, Seasons 52 sources ingredients at their fresh peak and uses rustic cooking techniques to bring you their wonderful flavors! Call to make a reservation today! 
Holiday

Beat the Holiday Traffic With These 5 Steps

November 30, 2014
November is here! Though the month has only just begun, the holidays will be in full swing before we know it. And although the holidays bring so much excitement, fun and magic, there are some downsides too: stressful planning, buying gifts, — and holiday traffic! If you’re like the majority of the population and traveling some distance for Thanksgiving this year, you may already be dreading the gridlock you’ll have to face to get over the river and through the woods! But after reading this post, hopefully some of your anxiety will be gone with the wind. Check my tips for beating the holiday traffic this Thanksgiving! 1. Leave a day early or stay a day longer. The easiest way to avoid holiday traffic is to stay off the roads when everyone else is planning their travel. If you can swing it, hit the road a day early or later than peak holiday travel. For example, most people will be leaving on Wednesday to arrive at their Thanksgiving destination. So if you can travel on Tuesday instead, you’ll definitely have a better experience on the road. 2. Take a different route. If you aren’t able to leave for your holiday trip on a day that’s off peak hours, you can always try taking a different route. Avoid major freeways and highly populated areas, and you may end up getting to your destination faster than if you’d taken the usual “short” route. 3. Hit the road at a less common hour. Another great way to avoid traffic is to leave the house at a random hour. If you are a night owl, you can leave in the wee hours of the morning or even after work. It may be slightly inconvenient, but you’ll be grateful as you pass the gridlock by! 4. Keep up on traffic reports. Check your local traffic reports to keep up on peak hours or car accidents that may have occurred. Unfortunately, accidents are far more common with more people on the road! Luckily there are many apps that make it even easier to follow the traffic report. Check out this site for app suggestions! 5. Bring entertainment. If all else fails…you might as well enjoy the ride! Sitting in traffic for extended hours will be less painful if you have plenty to keep you entertained. These days, the extra features in cars and phone technology can certainly give you hours of activity. Or you could try some good ol’ fashioned games with family and friends!
Holiday

Thanksgiving + Black Friday + family

November 28, 2013
This weekend is gonna be a good one. Just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, good luck if you go Black Friday shopping, and enjoy the time with your family. Oh, and enjoy all the food 🙂
Behind the Wheel, Holiday

What's the scariest experience you've ever had while driving?

November 22, 2013
You know that feeling you get when you’re driving in your car, you look away from the road for half a second, look back and suddenly the car in front of you is a lot closer than it was last time? You hit the breaks and clench the steering wheel and pray that A) you don’t hit the car in front of you, and B) your car doesn’t loudly screech to a stop. Often times it’s no harm, no foul — you vow to  never even blink again while driving and thus will never be caught off guard with slowing cars in front of you. But other times it can result in terrifying incidents. My question for all of my readers: What’s the scariest thing to ever happen to you while driving? I have a one particular story off the top of my head that I’ll share, which is especially applicable because it was around Thanksgiving a few years ago.
I was heading back to school post-Thanksgiving with two other friends. The drive was normally a six-hour one, but once we hit the halfway mark, we also hit a huge snowstorm. Not only was the snow pounding down, but the road was covered in black ice. Traffic was moving pretty slowly to stay safe, but we passed overturned semi-trucks and other cars that had veered off of the road because of the crazy weather. At one point, we were cruising around 30 mph and saw traffic slow in front of us. My friend who was driving hit the brakes but kept sliding towards the car right in front of us! She managed to veer off the road so as to avoid hitting the car, but it was still pretty awful. The weather ended up being so bad that we stayed at a friend of a friend of a friend’s house in the area for the night, and then took off early, early the next morning. Even the next morning, though there weren’t many cars on the road, the road was still covered in snow and snow plows trying to clear the way. Plus, we still decided to drive pretty slowly so as to avoid any potential danger. The three hours it should’ve taken us to get back to school ended up taking us six hours. This was a few years back, but I can still feel the stress I had for an entire 15-straight hours!
Behind the Wheel

November is for traveling, so be prepared!

November 1, 2013
If I were a certified fortune teller, I’d tell all of you that November is going to be the BEST month EVER! October is great, and I had a blast on Halloween, but November is the month of family, food and unnecessary Christmas music! So let’s get it going! To start off the month, I’m suggesting a few tips for car care before you start traveling around and head home for Thanksgiving! 1. Check your tires! There’s a couple things to do:
  • It’s as easy as pie: take the penny test (see picture below) to make sure your wheels are in prime condition. Simply placing a penny upside-down in one of the crevices of your wheel will tell you what you need to know: If the top of Lincoln’s head is covered, you’re fine; but if you can see his entire head, it’s time to renew your tires!penny
  • Having your tires rotated will extend their life as much as possible. Take care of it now at the beginning of the month before it’s too late and you’re supposed to start road tripping tomorrow.
  • Invest in a tire air pressure gauge and before every trip, make sure your tires are inflated to the proper amount. Good news is, air for your tires is free and can be found at most gas stations! (I’m heading on a little trip tomorrow, so I’ll be checking my pressure tonight!)
2. Replace any burned out bulbs. I know we’ve all been procrastinating this forever, but today is the day! Either have an auto mechanic do it, or head to an automotive store to buy your own bulbs. Regardless of how it gets done, it needs to. It is 100% necessary to have fully-functional headlights and blinkers. 3. Oil change, duh! I know a lot of you folks are avid do-it-yourself-ers, and this project won’t tear you away from your ways! It doesn’t take long, so spend some solid time in your garage and ready your oil so everything is in pristine condition! Those be but a few tips for car care, but they’re important! Make sure you cross these doings off your checklist earlier than later, so you don’t end up on the side of the road with a broken car and mashed potatoes getting cold in the back seat.
Behind the Wheel, Car Culture

What are you thankful for in your car?

November 29, 2010

For those who don't have heated seats!

In the season of giving, I want to know what you’re most thankful for in your vehicle. It’s no surprise that manufacturers have created better cars through time. Each year, the cars get better, safer and more fuel-efficient. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, it’d only be appropriate to express your gratitude for the things that make life a little easier. Transportation! So, let me start off by saying … I am thankful for BUTT WARMERS! (I think the correct terminology is seat-warmers, Sorry!) Especially in the dead of winter, the ability to heat your seat is a life-saver. Also, in the case of my mother (she has a bad back) … the seat warmers serve a medical purpose as well. Does it get any better? So tell me … what are you most thankful for in you car?

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