BBQ in KC

I recently went to KC for a BBQ weekend and had gotten some advice from site members . I sent back emails to a couple of friends to give them blow by blow descriptions and thought everyone might enjoy them.

1)
Subject: Fast out of the gate

Ok , so we land and within 25 minutes we are standing in line at Arthur
Bryants , the place is in some not so nice area but even at 2 on a friday
afternoon it is jamming. We belly up to the counter grab three plates and
hand them to the guy waiting behind the counter.We order a brisket sandwich
, a burnt ends sandwich and a large fries. He takes two of the plates slaps
some wonder bread, yes actual wonder bread and then barehanded piles the
meat on top of the bread in a portion equivalent to a small childs b-day
pinyata. We sit down douse it with some of the original BBQ sauce, a
tomatoe based but definitely vinegary brew.

I dig in ..... 47 seconds later I sit back , smile and revel in the
knowledge that I am right were I should be.

Spend the afternoon walking off lunch and will now head out to BB'S
lawnside for some ribs and live music. Though I am really not sure why they
have music.

2)

After a long walk and a few hours of recovery from Arthur Bryants we headed
to BB'S lawnside BBQ . It was a small cinderblock building with long
communal tables and every inch of every wall was covered with old blues
posters. There was a blues guy playing and we ordered away. Kelly going
with the pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw and I went with the smoked
meat platter, it had ribs , brisket, smoked ham , pickles and white bread.
Belive it or not the pickles and white bread really make it awesome!

3)

Subject: Chicken


Pan fried chicken to be exact. That is what they are famous for at Strouds
, last evenings choice for dinner.

We arrived at about 7 and there were cars parked about 100 yds in each
direction on the road . We waited patiently as almost every table you
looked at had the family style chicken dinner. Finally it was our turn. We
started with a bowl of chicken noodle soup in which the noodles were more
like dumplings. Then came a platter of the golden brown chicken, each order
individually cooked in a cast iron skillet , green beans , mashed potatoes
and gravy. The chicken was incredibly crisp and the gravy was the nectar of
the Gods. As soon as we finished eating we were treated to hot homemade
cinnamon rolls and then we rolled on out of there extremely satisfied!!!


4)

Subject: An exit strategery

The tarmac looks like a mirage with the midwest sun shrimmering off it. In
a few more minutes we will take off and KC will only be a memory, ahh but
what a memory it is.

Today started rather uneventfully with what would have seemed like an
ordinary breakfast at the classic cup cafe , that is until the pancakes
came out . Large , fluffy and misshapen witha a taste second only to the
missisipi pancakes I prepare. Kellie did the traditional eggs benedict
route and we both finished with a cappucino. It seems kind of unfair that
breakfast is the only meal that is not served with a dessert , well we
would quickly remedy that!

We hopped in our rental car and made our first venture out of KC proper and
headed towards Stephsons apple farm, a family run apple orchard that has
been in the same family since the late 1800's.We get there and the place is
huge,rambling and pretty well empty. It has a certain scatman cruthers
shinning feel to it which is further enforced when we enter, unsure if they
are open and come upon three young women who are acting as hostess, I ask
if they are open and I am told they are, I ask for a table for 2 to which
they respond by asking my name and telling me it will be a few minutes. I
nod and begin to walk away befuddled since I do not see any other
customers. Approximately 34 seconds later I am shocked back to reality when
she yells , David party of 2 ! We are brought into the back and seated .
Roland , our waiter, introduces himself and begins rattling off the
bruncheon specials. I inform him we will only be having appetizers and
desserts. He nods politely and walks away. Once he returns I place an order
for apple fritters (something that stephsons is famous for ) , a hot apple
dumpling and a piece of apple pie with ice cream. Did you know that at one
point missouri had more apple trees than are currently in Washington State.
But back to Roland who trying to be helpful informs me that the apple
fritters are really like a dessert too. At that point I , also trying to be
helpful , inform Roland that I have been on a three day food jag and that
unless he would like the snot beaten out him he should probaly just get my
requested items and keep his hands and feet away from my mouth.

The applefritters arrive accompanied by homemade apple butter and regular
butter and coated in powdered sugar , they are hot and delicious . The
aplle dumpling is great and the pie is awesome but niether comes close to
the fritters.

Time is running out and I need to finish with some meat. We head down to
the freight district and go to a place called Jack's Stack BBQ. This is
definitely the fanciest place that we have been to. It is housed in a
redone freight yard down by the tracks and is really nice. Kellie orders a
BBQ meat salad , with pork burnt ends and I order the combination rib plate
that has pork and beef ribs. Kellies meal comes and looks great but it has
all this green stuff with it ( I think that is what salad means ) I get my
ribs and they are beatiful, especially the beef ones which have a certain
Fred Flintstone esque quality. We dig in and the food is awesome , smokey ,
spicey sweet and satisfying everything BBQ should be .

As I write this email KC is in our rear view mirror , a great city , not
only for its food but everything about it . I will definitely be back !

God Bless and may the Schwartz be with you.

dgeorge, thanks for the report. I sat here like Pavlov's Dog, reacting to my memories of the food you're talking about.

sheer poetry in motion! ...made me long for home. Thanks!
I must add, Interstate Bakeries, makers of Wonder Bread & Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes and Ding Dongs, and...Everything good!, is based in KC. What could be more important? Forget Hallmark, Walt Disney, and H&R Block; KC's true contribution to the world is Q, served on Wonder Bread, with LOTS of pickles and fresh cut french fries, sauce on the side, thank you! My first stop off the plane has always been Rosedale, BBQ of my youth.

Wow. I was so moved that I almost cried when I read the part about Arthur Bryants. (Okay, so I drooled a little.) I've been suggesting KC as a vacation destination to my wife and kids for years just so I could eat one meal at Arthur Bryants but so far they've turned up their noses at the idea. Any ideas on some things I can use to help change their minds about a KC vacation besides a Royals game?

Negro League Baseball Museum and the Jazz Museum (located in the same building) are both excellent stops for the KC tourist. They are also not far from Arthur Bryant's. Since you mentioned the Royals, I assume that you might have some passing interest in baseball, and if you do, the Negro League Museum is a MUST. Lots of historical perspective -- I would consider it in the top three or four of all museums and halls of fame I have attended.

There is also a summer time amusement park not far from KC for the kids.

You might also check here: http://www.visitkc.com/visitor_info/visitor_info_home.cfm

It's not Paris, but you could have a good time in KC.

Regards,
Steve

here's a few things: A museum of the dug up steamboat arabia- http://www.1856.com
A pretty decent amusement park- Worlds of fun. http://www.worldsoffun.com
Ft. Leavenworth- http://www.leavenworth.army.mil./cac/history.htm
negro leagues baseball museum http://www.nlbm.com
nelson-atkins museum of Art- http://www.nelson-atkins.org An important museum.
+ riverboat gaming and
Great Wolf Lodge:
http://kc.greatwolflodge.com/default.asp

quote:

Originally posted by Wallyum

Wow. I was so moved that I almost cried when I read the part about Arthur Bryants. (Okay, so I drooled a little.) I've been suggesting KC as a vacation destination to my wife and kids for years just so I could eat one meal at Arthur Bryants but so far they've turned up their noses at the idea. Any ideas on some things I can use to help change their minds about a KC vacation besides a Royals game?

The city itself is absolutely beautiful. Great shpping , great parks , neighborhoods and the museums are fantastic

quote:

Originally posted by dgeorge


Time is running out and I need to finish with some meat. We head down to
the freight district and go to a place called Jack's Stack BBQ. This is
definitely the fanciest place that we have been to. It is housed in a
redone freight yard down by the tracks and is really nice. Kellie orders a
BBQ meat salad , with pork burnt ends and I order the combination rib plate
that has pork and beef ribs. Kellies meal comes and looks great but it has
all this green stuff with it ( I think that is what salad means ) I get my
ribs and they are beatiful, especially the beef ones which have a certain
Fred Flintstone esque quality. We dig in and the food is awesome , smokey ,
spicey sweet and satisfying everything BBQ should be .

I hope you tried the beans at "Jack Stack". I think that they are the best I have had. This is now the place I stop if I am in Kansas City and only have time for one meal.

I'm taking my parents to the Jack's Stack in Martin City on Saturday, for Fathers Day. Looks like it's going to take a slab of pork ribs AND a slab of lamb to make me happy...

http://www.fiorellas.com/jackstack/restaurants/menu.htm

We stopped at Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue at 95th and Metcalf in Overland Park earlier this month. We were in town, visiting my son who lives in Overland Park. Various message boards have suggested that this is the least impressive of their three locations (more of a slick corporate feel), but the food was fantastic. My son admitted after we left that he doesn't really like BBQ, but that this was the best he had ever had. My wife and son shared a Roundup - which is an assortment of meats with beans, slaw, and bread for two people. I had a combo plate of lamb ribs and beef brisket. Dessert was creame brulee and three spoons.

I must be the only one on this site who didn’t like Arthur Bryant’s. In fact, it was the very worst BBQ I have ever tasted. I had the brisket, ribs and sauce, and each was barely palatable.

Olphart-
I have sung the song of praise for Arthur Bryants for more than two decades, but the times are changing. I don't know if it is my palate or their menu, but it just isn't the same anymore.
We just completed a quickie trip to Kansas City...Quickie meaning an 1100 mile round trip to Topeka KS in two days, to pick up a camper trailer that son #3 bought on Ebay and drag it back to Louisville. The only aside on that journey was a stop Wed. evening at Arthur Bryants. The Beans were great- as always. The rack of Ribs were a 5 on a 10 scale, way over done to the point of being crispy and crunchy 3 bones in on the short end and one full rib on the big end. The sandwich meat was shaved thinner than Arby's and without any character or flavor that we could find. Dousing it with the sauce helped, but there wasn't any meat taste to the stuff. I was really disappointed, since I have had really good Que there many times ....but starting a couple of years ago it had been kind of a 'Hit n Miss' quality thing.
It may be me, I am getting used to chunks of pulled pork, and brisket sliced half inch thick or so. I prefer not to have my BBQ minced so small it will sift thru a strainer...or shaved like a deli-sandwich. But I do report the way it tastes, and Folks, It Doesn't have much taste to report.
I wish we had made the time to hit at least one other BBQ place on this trip, but they will have to wait til the next one.

I LOVE LC's. Love it. The burnt ends are one of the best BBQ items you can get anywhere. The sliced meats make a great sandwich and they give you mountains of food. Even the fries are great.

Here's a link to a BBQ trip I made:

extramsg.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=26

And here's a pic of that sandwich:

Back in the 1970s, when I was first married, a friend came from Chicago and said he was going to take us to a famous Kansas City Restaurant that celebrities and presidents frequented. I was so excited and put on my best outfit. When we pulled up to Arthur Bryant's (the old location) I was shocked. Bars on the windows, barbeque scooped up on slices of Wonder Bread. No wine list- help yourself to beer from the cooler.

Oh well.....