All Aboard The Ship: Kansas City Bar

Down in the West Bottoms of Kansas City (an area that looks as its name intimates – industrial, dimly light and sparsely populated) is The Ship. Plug the address into Google Maps and you'll find yourself in the middle of the street. The secret to The Ship is to know exactly where you're going and that means knowing someone who has been there before.

Get off the main street, cross a parking lot so full of potholes that if it has rained recently, doubles as an ocean and your effort will be rewarded with a flashing blue and yellow neon sign, signaling you've found safe harbor. Inside one of Kansas City's best unkept secrets are porthole doors, soft projections of glistening water on the walls and a neon jukebox in the corner. The Ship's charm is that it doesn't have much – order a frozen painkiller topped with fresh cinnamon powder and listen to the live jazz.