On Sunday we decided to take a day trip about 30 miles north of Kansas City to the town of Weston, Mo to shop, eat and have some family time. Weston is a small, delightful town listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sitting close to the Missouri River, Weston has many restaurants and small boutiques that sell a variety of items including home décor, clothing and art.
Our day started with brunch at the Avalon Café which included omelets, pork chops and very spicy Bloody Mary’s. So, so good!
We walked around town browsing and buying in several of the shops, including the McCormick Distilling Company gift shop. For a quarter you could choose a shot of one of the many flavored vodkas available for purchase. The flavor combinations were very interesting to say the least. We may or may not have tasted this one, and a few of us may or may not have bought some to take home.
Don’t judge until you try!!!
Another fun location on our itinerary was the Pirtle Winery. Besides wine tasting, you can purchase a basket of sourdough bread, cheese and sausage to enjoy along with a bottle of wine in the garden. It was a little too hot on Sunday for us to have a picnic, but we did enjoy the wine tasting of several varieties of wine from dry to sweet. One in our group who recently turned 21 seemed to be having a particularly good time. 
Our next stop was the Green Dirt Farm and the main reason I wanted to go to Weston. Green Dirt Farm is a small sheep dairy farm that produces award-winning sheep cheese, yogurt and 100% grass fed lamb. I had heard about Green Dirt Farm on the Anthony Bourdain – No Reservations episode about Kansas City
We were able to tour the facility, including the milking barn, and taste several of the different cheeses and yogurt the farm sells at Farmers Markets throughout the Kansas City area.
We learned several interesting things about the farm, including the fact that sheep dogs actually live with the herd, and protest loudly if anyone or anything gets too close to the sheep, including the farmer. The cheese tasting was fabulous and I absolutely loved everything we tasted. It was hard to decide which items to purchase at the end of the tour but I finally decided on two fresh cheeses, rosemary and garlic peppercorn along with some feta which is a fairly new product for the farm. Tonight for dinner we grilled some chicken breast stuffed with the rosemary cheese and today at lunch I made a salad of melon sprinkled with the feta. I wish I would have brought home twice as much. It was SOOOO good.
Our last stop before heading home was O’Malley’s Irish Pub which operates the Weston Brewing Company. The brewery is available for tours but was not open on Sunday so we had dinner and tasted a few of the local brews.
Although it sounds like all we did was partake of adult beverages, we really did have a fun, full day (seven hours) of shopping, eating and hanging out with family. If you live in the KC area, I would highly recommend a day trip to Weston. If you are not close enough for a day trip, Weston has several B&B’s plus there is a State Park within hiking distance of the town. It will make for a memorable day!
I really don’t like these pictures you choose of me to put on here!
We are planning on making the chicken stuffed with rosemary cheese tomorrow night. I’m very excited! It was a fun trip! We should be looking for a destination for our next day trip!
We’re so glad you had such a good time at the farm … and that you loved your cheese. 🙂 How did the chicken turn out? Come back and visit again sometime.