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Kansas City Connection: Irish food any day of the year

By Lucas Wetzel - | Mar 23, 2014

On March 17 at my downtown Kansas City office, amid the sounds of drunken revelry and bagpipes from the nearby Power & Light District, a colleague explained to me why she never celebrates St. Patrick’s Day. “Why should I?” she asked dismissively. “I’m Irish every day of the year.”

Whatever your heritage, you’ll find quality Irish food and friendly atmosphere every day at O’Neill’s, a restaurant and pub operating in Leawood since 1999. O’Neill’s menu is expansive, encompassing traditional pub grub like a Reuben, pot roast and fish and chips as well as salads, seafood, jambalaya and country fried steak.

The Irish waffle fries (covered in Swiss cheese sauce, corned beef, scallions and sauerkraut) are a meal in themselves, and the perfect complement to a pint (or three).

The newly renovated space at 9417 Mission Road includes a full bar, small and large party rooms and a spacious patio in addition to the regular dining area. O’Neill’s is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed on Sunday. Visit kconeills.com for a full menu.  

Ceramic Cafe

Right next to O’Neill’s is Ceramic Cafe, a paint-your-own-pottery and glass-fusing studio that has kept children and adults creatively occupied since 1997.

Owner Sara Thompson got the idea for a pottery studio after visiting a studio in California with her family while working as an occupational therapist, and today enjoys the “creative therapy for the soul” that her business provides.

Ceramic Cafe is open to the public every day, with pottery for sale that can be painted on site. A creative storytime with books and crafts is offered twice a week for children, and the studio is available to be rented out for children’s birthday parties (adults may rent out the studio for work or social events as well).

Next weekend, Ceramic Cafe’s annual Easter Egg Painting Festival will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The cost is three for $14, six for $25, nine for $36 and $46 for a dozen, which includes all fees. Visit ceramiccafekc.com to make reservations or find out about other special events.

Home and garden show

For those interested in home decoration and design inspiration beyond ceramics, the annual spring Greater Kansas City Home Show and Flower, Lawn and Garden Show at Bartle Hall will feature exhibits and presentations from some of the leading renovators and home designers, including HGTV stars such as Monica Pedersen and Cari Cucksey, the “Antiques Matchmaker.”

The show runs 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. General admission is $10, or $8 online at kchba.org/home-shows/spring. Children 16 and under are admitted free.

Harvey Milk tribute

For its spring concert, the Heartland Men’s Chorus will be singing a tribute to Harvey Milk at 8 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at the Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St.

The Chorus, which performs with as many as 150 singers, will present a program honoring the legacy and words of Milk, a fearless advocate for gay rights who served as the first openly gay public official in California before his life was cut short by an assassin’s bullet.

Tickets cost $15 to $40 and are for sale at hmckc.org.

Josh Berwanger

On Friday, a trio of bands will rock the upstairs venue space at MiniBar, 3819 Broadway, the Record Bar’s younger Midtown sibling. Josh Berwanger headlines a bill that also includes CS Luxem and songwriter Heidi Gluck.

While other former members of the band The Anniversary have moved on musically or geographically, Berwanger has stayed true to his Midwestern rock roots, recording and performing with undepleted gusto.

Friday’s 10 p.m. show should be a good time at a fun venue. And guess what? The show is free. Somebody buy Mr. Berwanger a drink.

— Lucas Wetzel is a KU graduate and Kansas City native who has worked as a writer, editor and language trainer in the U.S. and Europe. Know of an upcoming event in Kansas City you’d like to see featured in Kansas City Connection? Email us about it at kcconnection@ljworld.com.