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Central Standard

A Nerd's Guide To A Weekend In Kansas City

Pop Culture Geek
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Wikimedia -- Creative Commons

Ok nerds. We know you’re descending on Kansas City this weekend for the epic Planet Comicon conference featuring science fiction celebrities like William Shatner, Sylvester McCoy and almost the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

But in between catching glimpses of Michael Dorn, Wil Wheaton, LeVar Burton and the blue Power Ranger, we thought you may want to eat, drink and scope out our fine city.

Here we present you the nerd’s guide to a weekend in Kansas City:

Wednesday and Thursday

If you are arriving in Kansas City by Wednesday night, make the trek to nearby Lawrence, Kan., for NerdNite at Pachamama's. You can kick back with a drink and enjoy some conversation about James Bond’s eating habits, bitcoin and mythical beasts.

For those of you in town Thursday, the recordBar in the Westport district has trivia night at 7 p.m. Get some pals, order some vegan pizza and a Boulevard IPA and test your brains against Kansas City’s finest.

Friday

Friday morning, try a hometown favorite for breakfast - Town-Topic. The tiny diner at 20th and Broadway near downtown Kansas City has been around since 1937.

If you are a coffee lover, make your way down the road to Oddly Correct on Main and Westportroads. Oddly Correct roasts their own beans, and is best known for their pour-over coffee. Beware though, you will not find an abundance of milk or sweetener options here. They are serious business about their coffee.

After an awesome first day, take your new friends down the road to Snow & Co. for some “artful frozen cocktails.” The relatively new bar has a devout tech-nerd following, so we figured nerds of all kinds would love it there. Oh, and reviews of their food and drinks aren’t too shabby either.

Or if drinks aren’t your thing, check out the Magic: The Gathering tournament at Big City Comix & Games.

Saturday

Start off your Saturday with the nerdiest of all runs in Lawrence, Kan., at the Fourth Annual Pi Day River Rotation. If you’re ambitious you can run the half-marathon. Or, in true nerd style, run the 3.14 miler.

On your way back to Bartle Hall, pick up a pastry at Mud Pie Vegan Bakery & Coffee and take a picture while you are there. When you get home you can tell all your nerd friends you visited one of the first places in the world to get Google Fiber.

You’re on vacation after all, so after the costume contest head down for another drink at The Flying Saucer, where they have hundreds of beers on tap. It is unclear why nerds love this establishment, maybe it comes from how they love it.

After a beer or two, you should probably do your duty as a visitor to Kansas City and get some barbeque. Oklahoma Joe’s recently earned the third spot on Yelp’s best restaurants in the country. Or you can stay in the downtown area and enjoy a slightly more upscale experience at Jack Stack.

If you weren’t lucky enough to get tickets to Serenity at the Alamo Drafthouse, after dinner you can hit up the game room at TableTop Game and Hobby, where you’re sure to find all kinds of nerds playing a range of games until at least midnight.

Sunday

Start off the day with brunch at The Drop in Martini Corner. The Kansas City chapter of Geeks Who Drink can be found there on occasion, so that makes it nerdy enough for you to fuel up there before a big day of nerdom.

After living your 1990s fantasy at the TREKtacular TNG Reunion, head up the road again to Martini Corner for a bratwurst at Haus. They hosted an adult spelling bee once, and we think that is pretty nerdy.

If you have time throughout your stay don’t miss our awesome museums, like the Nelson-Atkins, the National World War I Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

And if you are still in town Monday night, participate in one of the nerdiest of all nerd events: Adults-only night at Legoland.

 

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Central Standard comicsNerd Nite KC
A California native, Briana comes to KCUR by way of KMUW in Wichita, Kan. and KUSP in Santa Cruz, Calif.