When we lived in Old Hyde Park, on Baltimore, we were pretty close to Westport and a lot of other things and I miss that, but we have some pretty good walks in Troostwood too. My current favorite is up and over 51st through UMKC and down the hill past the little campus restaurant district and back up to Main, where I take a right and head down to the library. We are actually close to a lot of things, it just takes a few more steps. This walk takes you past The Peanut, Andre's, Osteria Il Centro, a small post office, and Spin Pizza. The Plaza Library is a great destination.
On Saturdays or Sundays I like to stop at Crow Coffee on the way back and read whatever I have checked out or renewed. Living life online so much of the time, I enjoy a good on-foot library book renewal. Next I will be making my own pencils. Yesterday I was reading James Lee Burke and a man sat down next to me and read Ross McDonald and drank his coffee. We had a couple of the bases covered there and a small island of sidewalk cafe culture in a pro-automobile town that just gave Uber the boot. A couple of girlfriends chatted adjacent and one of them said "it's good to be vulnerable--sometimes."
I'm not too hot on the mediterranean place down the way from Crow. But the cumin red pepper beef at Tin Lin is really fine, and so is Pizza 51.
There's an elegant display at the UMKC library on 51st and Rockhill, and I puzzle about how it's made. At night it is backlit and a finely gradated map of the city glows from it. I think it is some kind of finely cnc-punched perforated panel with a printed vinyl or acrylic or mesh banner underlayer on the back, but I'm not sure.
Back on our street I ran into the usual gaggle of kids on their bikes and improvised rolling devices.
