Kansas City is known for its barbecue, but when you get your barbecue in this city, it has its own spin, with different flavors than what you get in other regions. In this style of barbecue, it all comes down to the sauce. Kansas City sauce is sweeter and thicker compared to other regions known for serving barbecue. Almost any meat is fair game when talking about Kansas City barbecue. Take a look at some of the best spots in the area to get your fill.
Joe’s Kansas City Barbecue
BBQ Platter by Lauren Bosak is licensed with CC BY-SA 2.0 Joe’s Kansas City Barbecue owners Jeff and Joy Stehney smoke all their meat on Missouri white oak, which helps give the meat great flavor. The Original Gas Station location is the best place to get your delicious barbecue, but you can also find it in Olathe and Leawood.
The menu has a wide range of options, from barbecue sandwiches, barbecue dinners, specialty sandwiches, chicken, and rib dinners. The barbecue dinners come with one side and Texas toast, and you can choose from the Ribs & Burnt End dinner, ribs and one meat, or the Hogamaniac with two ribs, pulled pork, and sausage. The side dishes at Joe’s are just as good as the main meals, with barbecue beans, potato salad, creamy coleslaw, dirty rice, and red beans and rice to choose from.
The french fries are fantastic at Joe’s, and if you want to get meat to bring home, they sell it by the pound.
Slap’s BBQ
Slap’s BBQ is a relative newcomer to Kansas City. It opened in 2014 but has quickly become a local favorite. It’s a casual restaurant with self-service sauces, plastic cups, and outdoor seating. When the weather turns cold, the patio area has heaters so you can still enjoy your meal.
Slap’s serves some meats you don’t get at other area restaurants. Slap’s Polish sausage is always a good choice, and the thin-sliced turkey is delicious. Don’t take too long to decide to go to Slap’s. They serve up their barbecue the old-school way, which means they stay open until they sell out. There’s usually a line at lunchtime, but it moves fast, so you won’t have to wait long.
Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue
You’ll find Arthur Bryant’s Barbecue in the Kansas City Jazz District. The pitmaster uses hickory and oak to cook the meat low and slow, and it all comes on a slice of fluffy white bread. This place was once famous for its burnt ends, but it’s now the place to go for a brisket sandwich. This delicious sandwich comes on soft white bread and is topped with the famous Arthur Bryant vinegar-based red barbeque sauce. You can choose from the original sauce or the rich and spicy sauce, but you can’t go wrong with either one.
The menu features barbeque sandwiches with a choice of beef, ham, sliced pork, turkey, and sausage. If you’re really hungry, get the baby back ribs or the half chicken. A side of Arthur’s fries or onion rings is always a good choice, or you can get a side of baked beans, pickles, potato casserole, or potato salad.
Jones Bar-B-Q
Jones Bar-B-Q is owned and operated by sisters Deborah and Mary. Locals swarm to this place for ribs, rib tip sandwiches, and burnt ends. This no-frills spot has just a few picnic tables outside if you want to stay and eat there, but many diners just take it home. Don’t wait to head to Jones Bar-B-Q, though. It’s not uncommon for the sisters to sell out before closing time. If you get there too late, you can use the barbecue vending machine outside and grab some sauce to take home.
When you head to Jones Bar-B-Q, you can choose from several platters if you need to feed a crowd. The Jones platter has slab, ham, beef, rip tips, turkey, and sausage with bread. The sample platter has rib bones, turkey, beef, ham, and sausage with bread.
The burnt end plate is always good and comes with a pile of chopped brisket on bread or a bun and is served with one side. The house specialties are the sausage links. They’re known for the homemade sausage that they make with a special blend of seasonings.
Fiorella’s Jack Stack BBQ
Jack Stack started out as a small barbecue stand and is now one of the largest wood-fired restaurants in the United States. The menu features over 11 hickory-smoked meats, and they ship nationwide if you can’t get to the restaurant.
You can start with appetizers, such as smoked jalapeño cornbread or pulled pork mac & cheese. The barbecue entrees include burnt ends with a choice of beef, pork, or sausage, or sliced meat. The barbecue stuffed potato is delicious and filling. It comes with pulled pork, turkey, or chopped burnt ends and then topped with cheddar cheese, butter, sour cream, and green onions.
Jack Stack’s menu also has several sandwiches with a choice of your favorite meat, and if you head to dinner with a crowd, the Family-Style ‘Cue will feed you all. Each of these menu options comes with several different types of meat and a choice of sides.
B.B.’s Lawnside Blues & BBQ
The experience at B.B.’s Lawnside Blues & BBQ is different from other Kansas City spots. It has communal seating, so you can get to know new people while you feast on barbeque meatloaf and other authentic Kansas City barbeque while listening to live music.
The menu has some unique options, such as barbeque nachos, Irish barbeque nachos, and Louisiana Swampman boudin balls. The original sandwich comes with your choice of meat, and the barbeque sundae is three layers of barbeque deliciousness.
When we at Reisleman Nissan are in the mood for great barbecue, we head to one of these Kansas City spots. Do you know of any others that we should check out? Stop by and tell us about them. Maybe we’ll add them to our list.
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