Westport Flea Market Bar & Grill

Categories:: Burgers, Live Music, Unique Experiences, Event Spaces
Hours:: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily
Phone:: (816) 931-1986
Address:: 817 Westport Road
Kansas City, MO 64111

It’s cash-only at the Westport Flea Market, a labyrinthine place on the western end of Westport.

The Flea Market has a storied history: Infamous serial killer Bob Berdella had a booth in the flea market part of the building. The place nearly closed a few years ago, until Joe Zwillenberg stepped in to buy it, rescuing it from developers who wanted to demolish the building and build a Hooters.

Hooters? The neighbors revolted. The Flea Market survived.

Drinks are delivered by a waitress; burgers are ordered at the bar counter. You pay each tab separately. Food is picked up at a pass-through window by one of the cooks. The guy who grills my patty fancies himself a comedian, singing, yodeling and makinggoofy rhythms with customer’s names.

I order the 10-ounce Flea Market burger with cheddar. The Flea Market, which just celebrated its 27th year anniversary, gets its meat from McGonigle’s. And yeah, you can taste the quality.

Those with petite appetites can get the Mini Market version, a 5 1/2 -ounce version of the signature burger. And the Patty Melt is a lovely variation on the cheeseburger theme: the same Mini Market burger is served on lightly toasted rye with Swiss cheese and grilled onions.

The mostly self-serve concept extends to the condiments table, where you can ratchet up the flavor quotient with shredded lettuce, onions, pickles, tomatoes and a few other goodies. Go crazy with the mustard. Pile on the raw onions. Nobody cares if you pig
out. No one is keeping score.

All the sandwiches come with a choice of curly fries as springy as a piggy tail, cottage cheese or coleslaw.

-Kansas City Star