Dining
Favorite Barbecue Restaurant
• Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue
• Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue
• Gates Bar-B-Q
• Oklahoma Joe’s Barbecue

Favorite Steakhouse
• The Capital Grille Restaurant
• Hereford House
• Jess & Jim’s Steak House
• Plaza III, The Steakhouse

Favorite Family-Friendly Restaurant
• Crayola Café
• Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant
• Stroud’s Restaurant
• T-Rex Café
• Waldo Pizza

Favorite Ethnic Restaurant
• Fogo de Chão Churrascaria
• Korma Sutra
• La Bodega
• Manny’s Mexican Restaurant

Favorite Overall Restaurant
• Corner Café
• Garozzo’s Ristorante
• Lidia’s Kansas City
• McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant
• Peachtree Restaurant

Nightlife & Entertainment
Favorite Jazz Venue
• The Blue Room
• Jardine’s Restaurant & Jazz Club
• Jazz, A Louisiana Kitchen
• The Phoenix Jazz Club

Favorite Nightlife Spot
• Howl at the Moon
• Kelly’s Westport Inn
• O’Dowd’s Little Dublin
• PBR Big Sky Cowboy Bar
• The Well

Favorite Casino
• Ameristar Casino & Hotel
• Argosy Casino Hotel & Spa
• Harrah’s Casino & Hotel
• Isle of Capri Casino

Favorite Concert/Live Music Venue
• Capital Federal Park at Sandstone
• KC Live! Stage at the Kansas City Power & Light District
• Sprint Center
• Starlight Theatre

Arts
Favorite Art Museum
• Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
• The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
• Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
• Spencer Museum of Art

Favorite Art Gallery
• Blue Gallery
• Dolphin Gallery
• Hilliard Gallery
• The Rice Gallery of Fine Art

Favorite Performing Arts Venue
• Folly Theater
• Music Hall
• Spencer Theatre/Kansas City Repertory Theatre
• Starlight Theatre

Favorite Performing Arts Group or Organization
•American Heartland Theatre
• Kansas City Ballet
• Kansas City Repertory Theatre
• Kansas City Symphony
• New Theatre Restaurant
 
Things to Do
Favorite Kids Attraction
• Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead
• Kaleidoscope
• Kansas City Zoo
• Science City at Union Station
• Wonderscope Children’s Museum of Kansas City

Favorite Museum or Historical Site
• Arabia Steamboat Museum
• Harry S. Truman Library and Museum
• National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial
• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
• Union Station

Favorite Day Trip from Kansas City
• Independence, MO
• Lawrence, KS
• Overland Park, KS
• St. Joseph, MO
• Weston, MO

Favorite Free Thing to Do
• Boulevard Brewing Co.
• The City Market
• Hallmark Visitors Center
• Kaleidoscope
• Overland Park Arboretum

Favorite Overall Attraction
• Arrowhead Stadium
• Kansas City Zoo
• Kauffman Stadium
• National WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial
• Worlds of Fun

Shopping
Favorite Shopping Center or District
• Country Club Plaza
• Crown Center
• Legends Outlets Kansas City
• Oak Park Mall
• Town Center Plaza

Favorite Locally-owned Shop or Store
• Halls Kansas City
• Nell Hill’s
• Pryde’s Old Westport
• Standard Style Boutique
• Three Dog Bakery

Favorite Overall Shop or Store
• Cabela’s
• Halls Kansas City
• Nebraska Furniture Mart
• Nordstrom

Sports & Outdoors
Favorite Sports Team
• Chiefs
• Mavericks
• Royals
• T-Bones
• Wizards

Favorite Golf Course
• Dub’s Dread Golf Club
• Hallbrook Golf Club
• Minor Park Golf Course
• Swope Memorial Golf Course

Favorite Landmark or Monument
• J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain
• Kansas City Scout statue
• Liberty Memorial
• Union Station

Accommodations
Favorite Upscale Hotel
• Hotel Phillips
• Hyatt Regency Crown Center
• InterContinental Kansas City at the Plaza
• Marriott Kansas City Downtown
• Westin Crown Center

Favorite Budget Hotel
• Best Western Seville Plaza Hotel
• Comfort Inn Independence
• Courtyard by Marriott Kansas City Plaza
• Drury Inn & Suites-Stadium

Favorite Bed & Breakfast
• Inn on Crescent Lake
• Southmoreland on the Plaza
• Su Casa B&B
• Weston Bed & Breakfast
• Woodstock Inn Bed & Breakfast

Special Events & Traditions
Favorite Art Festival/Event
• Brookside Art Annual
• First Fridays in the Crossroads Arts District
• Plaza Art Fair
• Westport Art Festival

Favorite Ethnic/Heritage Festival or Event
• Festa Italiana
• Fiesta Kansas City
• Kansas City Irish Fest
• Kansas City Greek Fest

Favorite Family Festival/Event
• Jiggle Jam
• Kansas City Irish Fest
• Kansas City Renaissance Festival
• KCRiverfest
• Santa-Cali-Gon Days

Favorite Holiday Tradition
• Christmas in the Park at Longview Lake
• Country Club Plaza Season of Lights
• Crown Center Ice Terrace
• Kansas City Ballet’s The Nutcracker

Best Of
Best Midwestern Hospitality
• Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue
• Kansas City Zoo
• Kauffman Stadium
• Powell Gardens
• Worlds of Fun

Best of Kansas City
• Country Club Plaza
• Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue
• Gates Bar-B-Q
• Kansas City Irish Fest
• Pryde’s Old Westport

Favorite Restaurant: Bristol Seafood Grill

This KC staple is famous for its indulgent menu focused on superior quality seafood and prime steaks, with various fresh fish served daily in a relaxed comfortable atmosphere.

Favorite Steakhouse: Hereford House

Sample the sizzle. The KC Strip may have not been born at this famous Kansas City establishment, but Hereford House has helped perfect this juicy steak native to KC. Try it for yourself at one of Hereford House's four metro locations.

Favorite Barbecue Restaurant:
Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue

Barbecue is a way of life in KC, and Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue is the top choice for Kansas City visitors for the third year in a row. Our recommendation? Start with the burnt ends and then work your way down the menu.

Favorite Performing Arts Venue: Starlight Theatre

A warm summer night under the stars is synonymous with Starlight Theatre. Home to Broadway shows and major concerts, Starlight is the second-largest theater of its kind in the nation and the area's oldest performing arts organization.

Favorite Jazz Venue: The Blue Room

Steaks, barbecue and jazz. It's the Kansas City version of the triple crown. Few nightclubs hold the allure of The Blue Room, set in the classic 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District. It was named one of the top 100 jazz venues in the world by Downbeat magazine.

Favorite Nightlife Spot: O'Dowd's Little Dublin

What's not to love? This cozy Irish Pub features décor imported from Ireland and a menu of classic American food and authentic Irish cuisine. The bar features a large selection of imported beers, an extensive Irish whiskey selection and the Plaza's only rooftop deck.

Favorite Shopping Center or District:
Country Club Plaza

This entertainment district features many Kansas City favorites. Walk along the tree-lined sidewalks, shop at one of the many name-brand shops or dine at one of the Plaza's fantastic restaurants.

Favorite Shop or Store: Cabela's

The KC outpost to the "world's foremost outfitter" features an 180,000 square-foot showroom filled with educational attractions, including museum-quality wilderness displays, huge aquariums and trophy animals in realistic panoramas.  

Favorite Hotel or Bed & Breakfast:
Westin Crown Center

Top-notch service is a way of life for this hotel. An oasis of quiet luxury, the Westin offers 729 generously appointed and newly renovated guest rooms overlooking the downtown skyline and the Crown Center complex.

Favorite Attraction: Worlds of Fun

Providing visitors with chills, thrills and laughs for 35 years, Worlds of Fun boasts more than 175 acres of family entertainment. Your thrill-seeking adventure starts here.

Favorite Museum or Historical Site:
Union Station

Kansas City's fully-restored, 1914 train station was a hit with voters. This landmark is home to an interactive family science center and a railroad museum, as well as shops and restaurants.

Favorite Art Museum or Gallery:
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

One of the nation's top art museums just got better. In June 2007, the Nelson-Atkins unveiled the stunning Bloch Building—equivalent to a 67-story office building lying on its side.

Favorite Professional Sports Team: Chiefs

Whether you're enjoying the world's largest tailgate party or witnessing one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL, for Chiefs fans this is just a normal fall Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Favorite Kids Attraction: Kansas City Zoo

Celebrating its 100th year in 2009, the Kansas City Zoo offers visitors the unique experience of seeing more than 1,000 animals in naturalistic setting. Check out the new Tropics exhibit, a climate-controlled rainforest filled with lush foilage and exotic animals.

Favorite Casino:
Ameristar Casino & Hotel

Frequently named Missouri's best casino, Ameristar is a premier property characterized by innovative architecture, a state-of-the-art casino floor, and outstanding dining, lodging and entertainment options.

Favorite Festival or Special Event:
Kansas City Renaissance Festival

Huzzah! After over three decades of entertaining the Midwest with the sights and sounds of Renaissance England, this event has become almost synonymous with autumn in Kansas City.

Favorite Holiday Experience:
Country Club Plaza Season of Lights

What started as a single strand of lights in 1925 has grown into an impressive display of more than 80 miles of holiday lights outlining rooftops, archways, towers and street corners. Just don't forget your camera.

Favorite Day Trip from Kansas City: Lawrence, KS

Forty-five minutes west is charming Lawrence, home to the University of Kansas. Take a stroll down Massachusetts Street and you'll soon understand why "Mass" has been called one of America's loveliest main streets.

Best Midwestern Hospitality: The City Market

It's no surprise that City Market has a knack for hospitality. After all, it is KC's oldest continuously operating business. The 150-year-old landmark is home to one of the region's largest farmers' markets, plus local shops, restaurants and a museum dedicated to the Steamboat Arabia.

Best of Kansas City: Country Club Plaza

What better way to close out the 2009 winners than with the grandeur of the Country Club Plaza? With its beautiful fountains, murals and statues, the Spanish-inspired Plaza features more than $1 million in outdoor artwork.