Sitting at the nation’s crossroads, Kansas City has satisfied the appetites of hungry travelers since the days when it was a western outpost on the Santa Fe Trail. From perfectly grilled KC Strip steaks and barbecued burnt ends to steaming bowls of chili and fried chicken dinners, generations of families and restaurateurs have turned out delectable dishes that have become part of the city’s food heritage.

In a discussion of her new book Iconic Restaurants of Kansas City, food historian and local author Andrea Broomfield examines the histories of some of the city’s legendary eateries, such as El Nopal on the West Side, which introduced the wider populace to Mexican food in the 1930s. And downtown’s celebrated Savoy Grill, a long-time favorite of locals and dignitaries alike. Broomfield revisits boomtown boarding houses and luxury hotel dining rooms, lunch counters, cafeterias, and neighborhood cafes in exploring how restaurants of the past continue to shape what Kansas Citians crave today.

Broomfield is a professor and chair of the English Department at Johnson County Community College. She is the author of several articles and two other books pertaining to food history, Food and Cooking in Victorian England and Kansas City: A Food Biography.