Celebrating the people, passion, and stories behind great hospitality with Tock 10.

A custom wood-fired hearth that blazes Missouri white oak and hickory serves as the cornerstone of Acre’s cooking style, where steaks are dry-aged from 21 to 45 days before being grilled over live flame. And so much more gets flame kissed, from Campo Lindo hen served with heirloom grits and preserved corn to double-cut Iowa pork chops paired with Anson Mills farro verde. Book the chef’s counter hearth experience for a 5-course tasting honoring classic Western cooking traditions.

For the commitment to home and heritage. From the inspiration behind the restaurant to sourcing local ingredients to paying homage to his family, Longres truly has returned to his roots. With recipes that bring him back to his childhood (where he learned how to cook—as well as garden, fish, and hunt—on the farm) to the menu’s dessert section called From Grandma’s Table, you can see, feel, and taste the love here.

Slow smoking over woods like hickory and open-fire cooking define the menu, from the celebrated suadero (smoked beef brisket, served Saturdays only) to carnitas with pickled onion and garlic crema to pollo asado with chipotle aioli—even beans get cooked over flame alongside lardons and scallions. The dessert and cocktail menus, overseen by co-owner Madeline Buechter, carry smoke and fire influence, including the smoky mezcal espresso martini.

For the hometown roots. Raya grew up in Kansas City where his family would gather on Sundays for carnitas at his grandmother’s house. He realized his passion and interest in cooking here and got his start barbecuing at tailgates for friends at Royals games.

Cocktails showcase the team’s creativity: Douglas fir and rosehip-infused gin gimlet or the Orange Negroni that fuses Campground orange vermouth and amaro blend with Del Amigo Oaxaqueño mezcal. The bar’s commitment to community and quality has made it one of Kansas City’s most beloved spots. The double smash burger with American cheese and aioli has earned near-legendary status among locals, but don’t sleep on dishes like fried catfish with crab slaw or smoked salmon crudo with fermented mulberry.

For those of us who loved camping in our youth, but prefer glamping these days, The Campground offers enough of that outdoorsy feel and cracklin’ fire energy without having to put on bug spray or use a communal outhouse.

The Monarch Bar’s tasteful environs are mirrored by its sophisticated, inventive cocktails, whose components are inspired by indigenous monarchs worldwide. Think pisco-backed Lilac Butterfly punch with genever, vodka, Biscoff, lavender, honey, lemon and vanilla foam, and the smoky, Old Fashioned-esque Big Country Breakfast, with bacon fat-washed single-barrel bourbon, maple nut bitters and applewood smoke. Snackish upmarket bites, like baked elote cheese dip and barbacoa banh mi, satisfy while keeping the spotlight on the drinks.

This is a place to slowly savor the art of the cocktail, where the ingredients are elaborate and each drink is meant to be an experience.

Considering its moniker, a strong list of whiskey is a given. IN Kansas City Magazine lists the barrel-aged Old Square cocktail made with locally distilled Union Horse rye, along with a plate of the pork Milanese, on its guide to “21 Dishes and Drinks to Devour in Kansas City Now.”

Fried chicken is sentimental for Colby, who grew up on a Thursday night tradition of dining with his dad at KC’s legendary chicken-and-steak joint Boots and Coates. Now, Rye’s version is the “landslide customer favorite” (FEAST Magazine).

From the salsa to the hand-pressed, cooked-to-order tortillas, everything here is made from scratch using time-honored methods with contemporary ingredients. Perhaps the most special is the red mole. As reported by Kansas City Magazine, the dish is based on Jose’s grandmother’s recipe and boasts 24 ingredients, including dark chocolate, ancho chilies, peanuts, almonds, mulato chilies, plantains, fried tortillas, and toasted bread, plus more that remain secret.

For shining a spotlight on the cuisine of Hidalgo. Jose Gomez told The Kansas City Star, “The last 10 or so years, people know about Oaxacan food and the cuisine on the (Mexican) coasts. We think we can bring something new to the KC food scene by reexamining the culture and indigenous food traditions from central Mexico.”