Imagine, for a moment, you have just walked through the front door of a restaurant.  The building the restaurant is housed in is simple, casual.  The paint is peeling off the siding, some of the boards on the porch floor have splintered in half.  While casual, the restaurant is still reasonably clean.  You could smell a smoky, sweet smell from a few blocks away.  As you walk in, the smell intensifies.  You can almost taste the delicious meat you’re about to eat.  Where on earth could you be, you might ask?  Why, you’re at a classic Kansas City barbeque joint, of course.

Kansas City barbeque is a valued tradition of the city and regarded around the nation as one of the top destinations for barbeque.  The distinct style of Kansas City is defined by the slow smoking of meat, flavored by the different types of wood burned to cook the meat.  The meat is covered in a thick style of barbeque sauce based on tomato and molasses.  Kansas City barbeque sauce typically has combinations of sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors.  Ribs smoked at a Kansas City barbeque joint will be tender, with meat falling off the bone, and lathered with thick, flavorful sauce.  The ribs will have a distinct, smoky flavor from the variety of woods the meat has been smoked on over several hours. 

Barbeque is a style of cooking meat.  It involves slow-cooking meat using different types of wood to add flavor.  Popular meats include beef and pork.  This meat usually takes the form of ribs, brisket, or pulled pork.  Dry rub or barbeque sauce adds flavor to the meat.  The process of cooking the meat in a smoker takes several hours to complete.  This type of slow-cooking, along with the smoke from the indirect heat of a fire, causes the meat to tenderize and gain a distinct smoke flavor.  There are many different styles of barbeque; the use of a variety of woods and the thick barbeque sauce defines Kansas City barbeque. 

Barbeque styles vary around the country.  The main styles include Texas, Memphis, Carolina, and Kansas City.  Texas-style barbeque varies greatly from region to region.  Memphis-style includes dry ribs, where a mix of spices called a dry rub is added to the ribs before cooking.  Memphis barbeque also includes wet ribs, where a sauce is added to the ribs.  Carolina-style barbeque is known for a vinegar-based sauce.  Kansas City barbeque began in the 1900’s with a man named Henry Perry who operated an early barbeque joint.  He came from near Memphis to Kansas City and began selling his barbeque in the early 20th century.  He sold slow-cooked ribs out of a trolley barn for 25 cents per slab of ribs.  The ownership of Perry’s business passed down to a man named Charlie Bryant in 1940 when Perry died.  Later that year, Charlie Bryant’s brother, Arthur, took over the business, and it was named Arthur Bryant’s.  The highly acclaimed barbeque restaurant has remained until this day and currently operates in Kansas City. 

Kansas City has over 100 barbeque establishments.  A few of the most notable restaurants include Woodyard, Arthur Bryant’s, and Joe’s Kansas City Barbeque.

Woodyard Barbeque is a popular destination for barbeque in Kansas City.  At Woodyard, they focus on the wood used to smoke the meat, as one might guess from the name.  Woodyard also sells different types of wood for smoking meat or burning in a fireplace.  The atmosphere at Woodyard is an excellent example of many barbeque joints.  The restaurant is in a small, shack-like building, despite being quite popular.  Its feature on the Food Network and the attendance of famous people, such as the band The Black Keys, have increased its popularity.  It was empty during my visit with my family, though.  A single employee brought us our food; we had the entire restaurant to ourselves.  The restaurant is highly rated, but personally, I prefer many other barbeque places over Woodyard.  My experience at the restaurant did not live up to the hype, and the food was not as incredible as I expected. 

Arthur Bryant’s, the barbeque restaurant in Kansas City mentioned earlier, is another excellent destination for great food.  Arthur Bryant’s evolved out of the original Kansas City barbeque:  Henry Perry’s ribs sold out of a trolley barn back in the early 1900’s.  Perry was the beginning of a legacy of excellent food and a culture unique to Kansas City and the area around it.  Perry’s restaurant was passed to Arthur Bryant’s brother Charlie, who then passed the business down to Arthur.  Arthur Bryant’s restaurant is hugely popular and has been visited by celebrities such as Presidents Harry Truman and Jimmy Carter, Steven Spielberg, and Wilt Chamberlain.  It was named the best restaurant in the world by Calvin Trillin, a columnist for The New Yorker.  The restaurant has a counter for ordering and an assembly line-type serving area.  After a guest orders their food, they receive a plate piled high with flavorful meat.  Overall, I found Arthur Bryant’s to be another excellent barbeque restaurant with great food.

The best barbeque restaurants can lurk in the most unexpected places.  For example, would anyone guess that one of the greatest restaurants in the nation, with some of the most delicious food around, would be at a gas station?  Another highly rated establishment is Oklahoma Joe’s, which was just renamed Joe’s Kansas City Barbeque.  It is, in fact, at a gas station.  Joe’s began in 1991 as a barbeque competition team called Slaughterhouse Five.  The team won eight Grand Championships in barbeque competitions.  The owners of the team decided to open a restaurant.  The first restaurant was opened in Stillwater, Oklahoma in 1996.  This was soon followed by another restaurant opening in Kansas City.  The restaurant is known for its delicious Z-Man sandwich, and I can personally attest to why it is so popular.  The sandwich includes smoky beef brisket, provolone cheese, fried onion rings, and a classic Kansas City barbeque sauce.  The perfect blend of flavors has kept many people, including myself, coming back for more.  The sandwich is very popular; it has been named one of the best sandwiches in the United States by numerous food publications, including being named the best sandwich in all of Kansas by Zagat, a popular restaurant review source.  The restaurant would be great with just this one sandwich, but that’s not all Joe’s has to offer.  They also make other delicious sandwiches along with great-tasting ribs, along with French fries my family and I believe to be the best we’ve ever had.

Joe’s Kansas City Barbeque is definitely my personal favorite barbeque restaurant in both Kansas City and anywhere else, and I would recommend it to anyone.

The simple atmosphere of barbeque joints brings people from all around the nation for a taste of iconic Kansas City barbeque. The casual atmosphere of the Woodyard shack out away from the city and the gas station where Joe’s Kansas City Barbeque is run out of bring an interesting, casual atmosphere to the barbeque experience.  This type of almost run-down building and simple, laid-back atmosphere is typical of many barbeque joints, although there are a few notable exceptions.  This atmosphere is enjoyed by many because it emphasizes the food.  With the building the restaurant is in and the décor being less important, people can focus on how good the food is. 

Barbeque is an important regional tradition that has been enjoyed since the early 1900s.  At any given town or city around Kansas City, you would be hard-pressed not to find a barbeque restaurant nearby.  The tradition of barbeque in Kansas City shouldn’t be going anywhere soon and will hopefully be enjoyed for many years to come.