For your consideration: Jimmy's Jigger/Jazz

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Since landing in Kansas City last week (wow, only last week!) Kevin and I have been eating out a lot. Way more than usual. To a point where it's been a bit hard to get into the rhythm of cooking at home. What? I need to chop? Those dishes won't be whisked away? For all of then obvious economic and health reasons we're trying to cut back, but it's taking some time.

Earlier this week we we went to Jimmy's Jigger/Jazz, a Louisiana style restaurant right here in our neighborhood. Jimmy's Jigger (a name to be careful with) is a Kansas City institution, a dive bar that was bought out by Jazz and expanded into a music venue. We sat in the bar and listened to the band from afar.

The food was good. I got crawfish etoufee which had a rich roux base and a bit too much black pepper (though that may just be my palate). The rice was well seasoned and there was an ample serving of crawfish, with good consistency. Kevin got garlic seafood on tilapia which was delicious. Neither of us had the courage to try to coon ass chicken. Really, that's what it's called.

What I really enjoyed, however was the graffiti. It's becoming clear KC is a city with a proud graffiti tradition and the Jimmy's Jigger side of Jazz upheld it nobly. Almost every surface had something. Howling love screeds, pithy wisdom, broken-hearted questions, more and more and more. We spent dinner enjoying our food, the music, each other and reading the walls. How could we not?

I'm likely to go back to Jimmy's Jigger/Jazz. Not principally for the food, though it was decent, but for the opportunity to hear good music in my own neighborhood, while I read the shortest possible stories scrawled in sharpie on vinyl.


(c) 2013 Laura S. Packer

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