Arthur Bryant's - Kansas City, MO

Posted By Michael Stern on April 9, 2010 6:59 AM

Arthur Bryant, the grand old man of Kansas City barbecue passed away in 1982, but his business has thrived ever since; and his heirs, bless them, never went upscale. This humble smoke house remains a cafeteria-style lunch room with all the decorative charm of a bus station.

Arthur Bryant originally came from Texas, so it stands to reason that his brisket is superb, the best meat in the house. It is lusciously tender beef, fatty enough to fairly drip flavor. It is sliced into fallapart lengths that get heaped into white-bread sandwiches; or if you come as a large party, you can order a couple of pounds of beef and a loaf of bread. They'll be piled on a tray so you can make your own sandwiches at the table.

The pork ribs are wonderful, too, glazed with blackened burnt edges and lodes of meat below their spicy crust. The skin-on French fries are bronze beauties and the goopy barbecue beans are some of Kansas City's best.

Good as the meats are, what makes Arthur Bryant’s unique is the sauce. It is beautiful sauce, a gritty, red-orange blend of spice and sorcery that is not at all sweet like most Midwestern barbecue sauces. Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll have a gold standard against which to measure all others.

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beef

sauce

pork

French Fries

Meat Tray

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Posted By Holly Ulrich on January 11, 2006 9:05 PM

It was our third visit to Arthur Bryant's. I had the ribs (short ends). Incredible. Not much for the price, but boy are they tender! Beef and pork sandwiches are outstanding and are unbelievable bargains. I swear one sandwich could feed four. Be sure to try all the sauces on the table.

All is good here - why else we would stop twice on a cross-country road trip.

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Posted By J Scott Love on November 24, 2005 11:34 PM

I've been dining at Arthur Bryant's since 1969. Calvin Trillin, writing in the April 1972 issue of Playboy, proclaimed that Arthur Bryant's was the "single best restaurant in the world." I agree with this assessment.

My favorite item on the menu is a barbecued beef sandwich with fries. The beef is sliced from brisket that has been hickory smoked for 13 hours. The sandwich is a half pound of beef brushed with Bryant's distinctive tangy sauce on white bread. Trillin also states that the fries "are undoubtedly the best French-fried potatoes in the world" since they are cooked in pure lard. The food is served up cafeteria style on Melmac plates. Cold draught beer is served in frozen mugs.

The 1940's & 50's style decor hasn't changed since Trillin's 1972 article: Formica table tops, tile floor & white painted walls. Huge jugs of barbecue sauce are kept in the front window. Pictures of old Kansas City scenes, famous patrons, framed newpaper and magazine articles declaring Bryant's greatness and letters of praise from customers adorn the walls. Famous patrons pictured include president Jimmy Carter, Steven Spielberg and Sally Field.

Arthur Bryant's now has two other locations in additon to the original at 1727 Brooklyn, Kansas City: One at the Ameristar Casino in Kansas City, MO and one at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, KS. The quality of the food at these locations is just as good as the original.

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