Is Arthur Bryant’s legendary Kansas City barbecue joint as good as it ever was, or has it slipped (see the Roadfood.com review)? That debate will no doubt continue for years to come, but of one thing there can be little debate, and that is the uniqueness of Arthur Bryant’s barbecue sauce. Not sweet at all, it is a tart brew, gritty with spice, tasting as much of India as Kansas City. Barbecue sauces line supermarket shelves by the dozens, and just about every barbecue shop across the country offers their own sauce in take-home bottles. Nonetheless, we can assure you that Arthur Bryant’s sauce is like none other.
We always have a few bottles around the house. When we run low we buy it by the case; we drop bottles in the Christmas stockings of our fellow sauce lovers, and keep any extras for ourselves (not only is it great on barbecue, we think it makes a superlative sauce for fried chicken). A case of sauce will run you $69.50, shipping included. They now carry sweet and hot barbecue sauces too, and they’re OK, but we recommend you stick with the original.