Kansas City Barbecue 101

Some of you may have heard that we took a little family vacation to Kansas City recently. Why KC you may ask? One reason...the Barbecue!!! We had heard the eatin was good in Kansas City, so we found some cheap flights along with a cheap but very nice hotel (gotta love Priceline) and we were on our way. We also got to visit with some good friends and see some church history, and the food did not disappoint! At each restaurant we had one rule, we could not order the same thing as each other. At the end of the day we had a little survey we each filled out about the restaurants with scores in several different categories. We did our research and visited the most award-winning and notorious places we could find. By the end of the trip we were confident we could recommend the best BBQ in all of Kansas City and were probably 5-10 lbs fatter! So without further ado, here is the full report!

Rating Scale 1-5: 1= lame 5=best ever!

Day 1 dinner: Smokehouse BBQ, Kansas City, MO

ordered: pulled pork sandwich with fries and burnt ends platter with fries and cole slaw

meat flavor: 3.5

meat texture: 3

sauce: 2

sides: 3

atmosphere: 3

service: 3.5

x-factor: 2.5

0verall: 3

This was a nice sit down restaurant. So nice that we didn't feel like we could take pictures inside. The prices were about the same as everywhere else though. The sauce was nothing that great, glorified ketchup, and it was on everything. The fries were good, the slaw not so much. The service was great. This was a good first stop for us, good but not great, and it only got better from here.

Day 2 lunch: Arthur Bryant's Kansas City, MO

ordered: beef brisket sandwich and fries, sliced pork sandwich and baked beans

meat flavor: 4

meat texture: 4.5

sauce: 3.5

sides: 4

atmosphere: 4

service: 2

x-factor: 4

overall: 4

Arthur Bryant was the creator of Kansas City BBQ back in the 1930's, so naturally a stop at the original Arthur Bryant's was a must. This was an old brick building in a deserted part of town that I would not feel comfortable in after dark, but we were there for lunch and it was good! Notice the line out the door. This was not a fast moving line, but no one seemed to mind. Once you got to the counter at the back of the restaurant it was a very Soup-Nazi-like experience as you had to quickly give your order with no hesitation or stuttering of any sort. We learned that the "authentic" way to do things was to put meat between two pieces of wonder bread with some dill pickle chips on the side. Pour on a little sauce and you're good to go. The meat here was worth the wait, and the atmosphere was priceless. The baked beans were heavenly, but the french fries average. I could have eaten another huge sandwich and a gallon of those beans. Arthur Bryant knew what he was doing.

Day 2 dinner: Gate's BBQ Kansas City, MO

ordered: we were a little full from lunch so we split a rack of ribs and a side of baked beans

meat flavor: 5

meat texture: 3.5

sauce: 2.5

sides: 4

atmosphere: 2.5

service: 4

x-factor: 4

overall: 4

Gates and Arthur Bryant's are pretty much rivals. They've both been around a really long time and they both claim to be the best. Gate's was slightly less scary than Arthur Bryant's but the food was just as good. We weren't crazy about the sauce, but the ribs were so good there was no need for sauce. In fact I dipped my wonder bread in the sauce just so I could taste it for the survey. The beans were fantastic as well. The atmosphere felt like a franchise, but the service at Gate's was great! My mouth still waters when I think about the baked beans. As a side note, we were the only white people in the entire building which tells me that black people know good BBQ, because it was good!

Day 3 lunch: Oklahoma Joe's, Kansas City, KS

ordered: beef brisket sandwich Carolina style (with cole slaw on top), pulled pork sandwich, fries, onion rings, Texas style chili

meat flavor: 5

meat texture: 4.5

sauce: 3.5

sides: 4

atmosphere: 5

service: 3.5

x-factor: 4

overall: 4.5

Oklahoma Joe's was located in a gas station. Notice the line. We were at the end, it snaked to the left and around to the counter in the back right of the photo. Once again, not a fast moving line, but no one seemed to mind. Unfortunately we have no pictures of the food because it disappeared too quickly. The best meat was found here. I don't normally like cole slaw, but when I heard this was a spicy cole slaw I had to try it...best ever! The chili was award winning, but we discovered we don't really care for the all meat style of Texas chili. The fries were the some of the best I've ever had, and I know my fries. Some quotes from the lunch "If I had one last meal before I died, this would probably have to be it." "I could eat this all day, every day, for the rest of my life." I contemplated getting in my car and driving across Kansas last weekend to satisfy a craving. Yes, it was that good!

Day 3 dinner: BBQ shack, Paola (Pay-oh-la), KS

ordered: slab of ribs, burnt ends, hot wings, potato salad, fries, baked beans (there was 4 of us sharing)

meat flavor: 4

meat texture: 3.5

sauce: 3.5

sides: 4

atmosphere: 3

service: 3.5

x-factor: 3

overall: 3.5

The BBQ shack was recommended on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and it happened to be in the new home town of our good friends Mike and Sarah, so naturally we had to make the one hour drive down to Paola. The BBQ shack used to literally be in a shack until it was on DDD. Then it became too popular and they upgraded to this cute little restaurant. The ribs here were scrumptious, the burnt ends tasty, and my eyes are still watering from the hot wings. The baked beans were good, but the star of the meal was the potato salad. I don't usually like potato salad unless it's home made, but this was some of the best potato salad I have ever had. Good food, coupled with great company made this the perfect end to our barbecue journey! Thanks to Mike and Sarah and their cute kids Maggie and Kate for showing us the town.

I think you could probably tell at this point that the clear winner was Oklahoma Joe's. If you're ever in Kansas City, give it a try, you won't regret it. All the other places offered their own charms and culinary delights. You would not be amiss to try any one of them. I think we might need to make this an annual tradition. What next? Philly cheese steaks? New York Pizza? Wisconsin Cheese? Any suggestions?

P.S. An honorable mention goes out to Grinders, another DDD recommendation. This was not a BBQ place so I don't have a full report, but Nate claims it was the best BLT he's ever had, and he's eaten his fair share of BLTs. The pear, cranberry, walnut salad and curry chicken salad sandwich I had were pretty darn good as well.