From and About the Midwest
Providence New American Kitchen restaurant, farm-to-table, Drum Lounge bar, Aztec Room, historic hotel
The story of the President Hotel runs parallel with the story of downtown Kansas City, Mo. Built in 1926, during the downtown’s construction boom, the President Hotel and its Drum Room Lounge hosted big name music acts like Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman, and Marilyn Maye. The President also served as the headquarters for the 1928 Republican National Convention that saw Herbert Hoover get elected. Then came suburban sprawl and the interstate, torn-up streetcar tracks and the loss of downtown’s cultural importance, which lead to the President closing its doors in 1980. And as downtown Kansas City became a ghost town, the President housed transients who built fires in the foyer and who took most of its fixtures and wiring for scrap. Although the President was added to the National Historic Registry in 1983, nothing was done about the vacant hotel until the Power and Light District[1] brought commerce and nightlife back to the area, and along with it, the President Hotel reopened its doors in 2006.
Today, the refurbished Hilton President Hotel will stun you with its beauty[2]. The exterior, all aesthetically decked out in multi-colored terra cotta with Spanish tiles wrapped around the penthouse, is a prime example of how historic buildings can function in the present while reminding citizens, visitors, and Kansas City of its former glory. And that former glory is evident everywhere in the President Hotel, whether you’re enjoying breakfast in the Walnut Room, restored to its original 1940s design, a drink in the historic Drum Room Lounge, dinner in the Providence New American Kitchen or just walking through the front door.
A placard in the lobby lists some interesting facts. Waylande Gregory, a 20-year-old Kansas Citian was “guiding genius” in the original decorative theme of the hotel. His most famous work is the Aztec Room—a dining room—that he decorated in Mayan plaster-of-Paris reliefs as interpreted in an art-deco idiom. Beneath the circular calendar, he placed a replica of an Aztec altar that had recently been excavated in Mexico. The large sculpture of Quetzlcoatl, hidden lights, and the reddish hue all contributed to the ambience of exoticism and mystery. The room was refurbished, but without the altar or giant skulls that had previously been a part of the room[3]. Although the new Aztec Room lacks some of Gregory’s most exotic flourishes, it still provides a wonderful example of Art Deco design, and something plenty of wedding parties are thankful for.
The President Hotel continues its tradition of having a bar and restaurant in the hotel. When it opened in 2006, the restaurant and lounge were both named the Drum Room, with chef Eric Carter running things in the kitchen. Five years later, the restaurant concept needed a change, thus the Providence New American Kitchen was born, with Carter still at the helm. Walk down the steps into the Providence dining room to find wood-paneled walls and old barn doors from southern Missouri. The wagon wheel light fixtures and natural-stone wall reinforces the warm Midwestern feeling. The menu continues the Midwestern motif with fresh farm-to-table vegetables and locally sourced meats such as the Nebraska Bison Hangar Steak and a Camp Lindo[4] Chicken. “We are completely focused,” server Kevin says, “on being from and about the Midwest.”
The food is upscale Midwestern comfort food and my god is it delicious. My favorite? Loaded Potato Pierogi: tasty potato dumplings that are fried instead of steamed, filled with a potato puree, and then topped with a bacon garnish and a dollop of sour cream. Vegans and vegetarians won’t find much on the menu outside of the Roasted Vegetable Tamale, but the kitchen is willing to improvise and the salads are well worth trying. The Providence Salad comes with golden beets, bibb and arugula lettuce, pine nuts, radishes and a fantastic vinaigrette made from Boulevard’s Tank 7 ale. Pair that salad with some asparagus sautéed in peanut oil and even the most discerning vegan will be satisfied. I sacrificed my health by ordering the Apple Smoked Meatloaf. The lamb, pork, and beef meatloaf comes with a nice grill char and chunks of carrot embedded into the savory taste. Topped with wild mushroom gravy, this dish will have you denouncing your own mother’s recipe. Just when you think you can’t eat another bite, dessert arrives. The Providence Peach Cobbler: peaches, ginger, pecan crumble, and fried vanilla gelato, served in a hot mini-cast iron pot with a ball of fried gelato rolled in nuts on top. Break open that fried gelato ball and vanilla goodness will stream down into the peach, ginger and pecan crumble, providing you with a dessert worth writing home about.
You might be full on food and history, but you haven’t experienced everything the President Hotel has to offer. The Drum Room Lounge has seen its share of big-time music acts and Kansas City history. Lining the walls of this newly redesigned space[5] are photographs of Ella Fitzgerald outside the Pla-Mor Ballroom[6], a team photo of the Kansas City Athletics from 1955[7], and a Kansas City Monarchs team photo from 1942[8]. Ask a friendly bartender about the history at the President Hotel and they’ll hand you a folder full of before and after pictures of the hotel’s renovation. The contrast is amazing. When you’re done perusing through history, grab a $6 happy hour special, the Missouri Sour. Made with Pinckney Bend Distillery Corn Whiskey[9], Jerry Thomas bitters, simple syrup and lemon juice, this whiskey and sour lets the whiskey shine with some help from those bitters. The bartenders at the Drum Room are world class with history and knowledge of liquors and spirits.
History is everywhere around you at the President Hotel, and the Hilton company has made sure that Kansas City’s proud past is known to everyone who walks through the President’s doors. Just make sure you don’t forget to try the delicious food at the Providence or have a hand-crafted cocktail at the Drum Room when you’re soaking up all that history.
