KC BBQ
- Thread starter PabloDiablo
- Start date
Oklahoma Joe's and Jack Stack, for sure. Woodyard is underrated and really good. Plowboy's is newish but also excellent competition-style barbecue. Q39 is kinda fancy but the meats were excellent. Smokey's on the Boulevard makes a barbecued egg roll that is an experience.
The cheesy corn bake is heaven. So good.
Westport Flea Market burgers are awesome! Only take cash but they have an ATM.
My friends and I have been doing a BBQ tour in KC over the last year. We have been trying other stops so we haven't went to Okie joe's, jack stack or Gates (which is terrible) because everyone has been to those before. Here is how we have ranked the ones we have been too. I would suggest BB's, RJ's, John Russell's, Q39(pricey).
I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never heard of a BBQ sauce being "brown sugar based"...and Kansas City BBQ sauce has both tomatoes and sugar, so I'm not sure why you're making that contrast.
Carolina BBQ "sauce" is basically vinegar and pepper with a bit of sugar and other spices. If it has tomatoes at all, it's an extremely small amount, which is why you might be calling it brown sugar based...though I'd say tomato based vs. vinegar based if I had to make a single distinction.
Either way, Gates is not Carolina BBQ by any stretch of the imagination, as it's loaded with tomatoes. Just look at these photos:
Carolina BBQ sauce, on the other hand, looks like this...
...and is so viscous that you can barely even tell when it's been applied to meat:
That's definitely not the same style of BBQ, friend. Not even close.
Guess I was told wrong by their employees...
Oh well, who cares, tastes great either way. Definitely worth a stop.
Oh well, who cares, tastes great either way. Definitely worth a stop.
I will never understand smothering everything in sauce. Years ago BBQ sauce was what we used to make lousy food edible. I know many people claim it isn't BBQ until you put sauce on it but I don't believe in that.
Maybe they were trying to explain what makes them different from Carolina BBQ?
Agreed, though, Gates is worth a stop.
I agree with this. When I eat BBQ I will eat the meat without sauce first to judge it then put sauce on it, but I will never smother it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_barbecue
According to Wiki, Gates can trace its roots back to Henry Perry who would be considered the father of KC style BBQ.
According to Wiki, Gates can trace its roots back to Henry Perry who would be considered the father of KC style BBQ.
I agree with the smothering thing, but I do enjoy sauce on my BBQ to introduce new and different flavors to the mix. More of an enhancer than anything else.
A couple drop per rib for instance, they have so much inherent flavor then usually a rub on top. I sauce to taste beyond that.
I'm the same exact way; sauces should augment, not replace, the flavor of the meat. It doesn't take much. Especially with smoked meat...the flavor is imbued from the rub and hours of exposure to smoke. You don't want that being drowned out by too much sugary sauce.
Barbecuing chicken on the grill is a different story, though. Sauce is an integral part of that cooking process, as the slightly burned sugar taste in the sauce is what gives it its flavor. I realize that's not what we're talking about with Kansas City BBQ.
I see Oklahoma Joe's is changing their name to Joe's Kansas City BBQ
http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/cityscape/article1310928.html
http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/cityscape/article1310928.html
Kinda dumb, IMO. I understand the desire to be pro-Kansas City with your name, but it's the name that you've gained your popularity with. Stick with it.
I used this thread recently as I had a business trip to KC and wanted to try some BBQ . Had some pretty good luck.
First off, got shut out at the original location for Oklahoma Joe's (agree...they should stick with the original name). The line had to be 70 people deep....and that was a Monday night. I'll have to hit this next time I'm down there. So...drove to second choice, original location for Arthur Bryant's. Wife got a little nervous with the location and the need for the security dude outside sitting in his Escalade, but I assured her that was just part of the "atmosphere" that would make the BBQ that much more authentic.
I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere, ordering at the counter, watching the guys pile the food on people's plates. That said, I got the pork ribs and wasn't overly impressed. Good taste, but a littler dryer than they should have been. I can't recall what my wife ordered, but it was very good.
The other night ate at Jack Stack's (Plaza location). Service was lousy, but wife and I shared the Big Pig sandwich which was very tasty. I liked their BBQ sauces.
I'd go back to both again, but anxious to try Oklahoma Joe's next go around.
First off, got shut out at the original location for Oklahoma Joe's (agree...they should stick with the original name). The line had to be 70 people deep....and that was a Monday night. I'll have to hit this next time I'm down there. So...drove to second choice, original location for Arthur Bryant's. Wife got a little nervous with the location and the need for the security dude outside sitting in his Escalade, but I assured her that was just part of the "atmosphere" that would make the BBQ that much more authentic.
I really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere, ordering at the counter, watching the guys pile the food on people's plates. That said, I got the pork ribs and wasn't overly impressed. Good taste, but a littler dryer than they should have been. I can't recall what my wife ordered, but it was very good. The other night ate at Jack Stack's (Plaza location). Service was lousy, but wife and I shared the Big Pig sandwich which was very tasty. I liked their BBQ sauces.
I'd go back to both again, but anxious to try Oklahoma Joe's next go around.
