The Best of 2010

Yes I know an article like this is very cliché; however I visited many new bars, pubs and restaurants in 2010 and thought it would make a great recap. So without further ado, let’s get started.

Best Lounge for Atmosphere – The Blue Stem, very nice ambiance with dim lighting small out of the way tables, lounge chairs and couches with excellent service and nice happy hour specials.

Best Happy Hour – Tomfooleries on the K.C. Plaza. Great happy hour prices on both food and drink and they serve an excellent Thai Chicken Sticks and you need to try the Fried Pickles.

Best Surprise Bar – The California Pizza Kitchen. This was one of the best surprises of the year. I did not know they even had a bar and walked by this fine establishment for a couple of years. They make a good Manhattan and Martini as well as having an great specialty drink list and fantastic food for the price.

Best Manhattan – Once again this year, Californos in West Port. Joel really knows how to make an excellent Manhattan and the cost is very moderate. I would also like to say that the Fogo de Chao also serves a nice Manhattan and Vegas is an excellent bartender.

Best Dirty Martini – The Cheesecake Factory. With the right combination of Vodka, Vermouth and Olive Juice the Martini’s here are great.

Best Bourbon – Four Roses. Four Roses Yellow Label will always be the Bourbon for MySideOfTheBar, however I will have to give a big thumbs up to the folks at Cedar Ridge Distillery for their Whiskey. This is Iowa’s first Bourbon launched since the Prohibition era and it is very smooth. I cannot yet find it in the K.C. area but I highly recommend that you give it a try.

Best Vodka – Svedka Vodka still holds the top spot, however there are a couple of other contenders we have tried this year. The first is Clearheart Vodka, which is distilled from the same folks that gave us the Iowa Bourbon. This Vodka has a crisp taste with just a slight hint of apple. The other Vodka that we recommend is Deaths Door Vodka, just sampled the week before New Years. (Thanks Central Patti) This is a Vodka distilled Wisconsin mostly from Wheat and is very crisp and clean.

Best Place to Purchase Cigars – No contest in the K.C. area it is Fidel’s Cigar Shop in West Port. Great service from Tom and staff and an excellent selection of Cigars and a fantastic smoking lounge.

Best Cigar of 2010 – The Kristoff Ligero Maduro Matador. For me to pick this cigar you know it has to be good as for the last two years the Kristoff Maduro Matador has been on the top of my list. But the blending of Ligero is great and I like the size 6.5 X 56

Best Restaurant – Garozzos. This is an excellent place to get real Italian food. The Chicken Parmesan was great, the price was very moderate and the Wine list was excellent as well. There are four locations and we went to the one in the River Market. Word of warning, make reservations!

Best Steak – The Capital Grill. In my opinion a better steak than either Ruth’s Chris or Morton’s and the price is about the same. For a little cheaper meal you can get a good steak at Makers Mark Bourbon House in the Power and Light district.

Best Movie Theater – The CineMark Palace at the Plaza. Well this is a stretch especially since I had not been to a Movie Theater in about a decade, however I had to put in this category as this theater had a VIP lounge and theater where you could drink alcohol. (more on this in a coming blog post)

Well there you have it! It was another great year here at MySIdeOfTheBar and we look forward to many more tastings and gatherings in the coming year.

Cheers

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