Kansas City BBQ - Best Place?

[Pacolovestacos]

Can anyone tell me the best BBQ joint in KC? Will be driving through round dinner time on an upcoming road trip and want to get a nice meal.

 

[mom2rtk]

There is no consensus on this.

My son is a huge BBQ fan. We both love Gates. But Arthur Bryant's is no slouch.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Have you eaten at Q39? A friend recommended that one as well.

 

[mom2rtk]

Have you eaten at Q39? A friend recommended that one as well.

I haven't even heard of it.

 

[LiveYourLife]

Q39 is good. In addition to Mom's suggestions there is also Joe'sKC and Jack Stack BBQ.

Who has the best BBQ in KC is probably the most hotly debated topic in KC. I always go the route that KC just has the best BBQ in general.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

I went back in 2009 and I'm pretty sure Jack Stack was the place I went to. Was pretty good.

 

[jliehr]

My top 5 in order
Joe's KC BBQ- Original Location
Q39
Smokin Guns
Jack Stack- Freighthouse by Union Station location
Artur Bryant- Original Location

 

[ksjayhawks]

Q39
Jack Stack

Not a Joe's fan myself.

 

[n2dzny]

I recently spent 3 weeks in KC & ate at a couple of places. Q39 was hands down my favorite!

 

[dolewhipdreams]

Everyone's listed the top 4-5 joints. Depends on what you want.

Joe's is personally my fave. It's one where you order at the counter then get the food right away, so sort of like QS.
Jack Stack is a little more up upscale. It's a full-on sit down restaurant. Higher prices but definitely delicious.
Q39 is also sit-down, though less upscale. Still great quality and slightly higher prices.
Arthur Bryants and Gates are like Joe's.

Also depends on what part of town you will be in! Joe's is only on the KS side. There are multiple of everything else that are pretty well scattered.

Anything you choose is going to be delicious

 

[Feralpeg]

I lived the majority of my life in KC. Rosedale's, in my opinion, is the best barbecue by far.

 

[xlsm]

I like Jack Stack.

And for non-bbq, one of my favorite places in KC is Gram and Dun on the Plaza. YUM. The shrimp and grits are so good (all the food we had was good, but the shrimp and grits stood out) and the cocktails are excellent.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I like a good Z-man from Joe's Kansas City.

Johnny's BBQ is a place I like as well though I've only been to the Olathe location.

Jack Stack was good when I had it..surprisingly I had only been once and that was not too long ago. My husband on the other hand had been many times;it's a fav catered place for his work.

When I was younger I had Wyandot BBQ a lot but I haven't had that in a while.

*Ain't nobody got BBQ like KC but at the same time agree that BBQ in KC can become quite a heated discussion*

 

[Nagle]

Just on our way from a 3 day BBQ weekend in KC. I have had so much Q that I am about to burst I had favourites for different items.
SLAPs BBQ for sausage and burnt ends.
Jones BBQ had the best ribs I tried.
LC's had a fantastic burnt end sandwich
Arthur Bryant's was good, but the only part of my meal that was best of the weekend was the beans.
Ricky's Pit BBQ had great Sausage and awesome chili.

Our tour was led by a couple of KC natives. We visited several smaller places that were awesome. We were so full, we actually skipped Joe's KC.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Just on our way from a 3 day BBQ weekend in KC. I have had so much Q that I am about to burst I had favourites for different items.
SLAPs BBQ for sausage and burnt ends.
Jones BBQ had the best ribs I tried.
LC's had a fantastic burnt end sandwich
Arthur Bryant's was good, but the only part of my meal that was best of the weekend was the beans.
Ricky's Pit BBQ had great Sausage and awesome chili.

Our tour was led by a couple of KC natives. We visited several smaller places that were awesome. We were so full, we actually skipped Joe's KC.

Blasphemy! Just Kidding

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Can anyone tell me the best BBQ joint in KC? Will be driving through round dinner time on an upcoming road trip and want to get a nice meal.

Sounds like you will have to stay over a few days and try them ALL! Then can you report back to the rest of us so we will know? Now my mouth is watering!

 

[tasha99]

My favorite is Joe's and my boyfriend's is Gates.
The other place we love in KC that's not BBQ is called In-a-Tub. It's like something out of 40 years ago--deep fried tacos with . . wait for it . . . powdered cheese. It sounds disgusting, but it's oddly good (though like bbq, will give you a heart attack). My favorite item is the deep fried veggie sticks. It's mixed veggies (corn, carrots, etc), formed into sticks with a binder, breaded, and then deep fried. You dip the sticks in a nacho cheese dip.

I've only been to KC once (boyfriend is originally from there), so that's the sum total of my KC knowledge.

 

[bcla]

Sounds like you will have to stay over a few days and try them ALL! Then can you report back to the rest of us so we will know? Now my mouth is watering!

Is that even possible without getting seriously sick? I know that barbecued meats are a way of life in KC, but even the people who love it think it's something enjoyed in moderation.

I followed a college club sport a few years back, and one of the players was from Shawnee, KS. The national club championship one year was in KC, and he was talking about getting a tray for the team and from where. I think it might have been Arthur Bryant's. However, he was talking about it like he was serious about his barbecued meats. He was the local guy on the team and expected to be the expert on the matter.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Is that even possible without getting seriously sick? I know that barbecued meats are a way of life in KC, but even the people who love it think it's something enjoyed in moderation.

I followed a college club sport a few years back, and one of the players was from Shawnee, KS. The national club championship one year was in KC, and he was talking about getting a tray for the team and from where. I think it might have been Arthur Bryant's. However, he was talking about it like he was serious about his barbecued meats. He was the local guy on the team and expected to be the expert on the matter.

Probably go and get one item. If someone goes to each place within a 3 day span and gets ribs, brisket, and pp, with a side of baked beans, that's problematic.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Is that even possible without getting seriously sick? I know that barbecued meats are a way of life in KC, but even the people who love it think it's something enjoyed in moderation.

I followed a college club sport a few years back, and one of the players was from Shawnee, KS. The national club championship one year was in KC, and he was talking about getting a tray for the team and from where. I think it might have been Arthur Bryant's. However, he was talking about it like he was serious about his barbecued meats. He was the local guy on the team and expected to be the expert on the matter.

I would assume this to still be true (haven't heard otherwise) that KC (ETA: by KC I mean the metro area not just KCK or KCMO but the whole metro) has more BBQ places per captia than any other city....it's a safe bet that you wouldn't be able to try all the offerings. Us locals likely haven't even tried all the offerings (*I know I haven't)

I will say though any time people at my husband's work comes here for business from MN or from CA they always request to go to a BBQ joint. Sometimes it's a fancier one and sometimes not but my husband will tend to have BBQ either for lunch or dinner multiple days in a row when they come into town.