Kansas City barbeque: best in class

Kansas City enjoys a reputation for world-class steaks and a superior barbeque style. KC's stategic role as a railhead lying between the cattle-producing lands of the south and the large population centers in the Great Lakes and east coast created it's meat-centric culture. With hometown anchors of the Kansas City Barbeque Society and the American Royal World Series of Barbeque, there's little room for argument that the River City is the high holy ground of all things smoked. But what is best of the barbeque KC has to offer? A tour around town gives us some mouthwatering answers.

Barbeque restaurant review site, KansasCityQ.com, names a couple restaurants in each of the following categories which deliver textbook examples of best-in-class 'Q. (Embedded links open KCQ's reviews which also include website, map, address, and phone number of each restaurant.)

Best Ribs:
Roscoe’s Barbeque - St. Louis trimmed pork ribs are "as perfect as perfect can get - members in good standing of the First Church of Fall-Off-The-Bone where they sit in the front pew."
Brobeck's Barbeque - "If you have never had the perfect porksicle, 100% pink clear to the bone, you need to get yourself to Bro. Brobecks the absolute first chance you get. Not only is the smoke 'ring' the thing dreams are made of, the rub is text book."

Best Burnt Ends:

All Slabbed Up - "The burnt ends were the stuff legends are made of. Well smoked and tender as a mother's love. Magnificente! as we say in the Land of Alamo."

Smokehouse BBQ - The definitive presentation of the category; large cubes of brisket (up to two inches) revel in the extra serving of smoke with which they've been blessed. Perfect chunks of sausage can be combined for a mouth-watering experience.

Best Brisket:

Smokin’ Guns BBQ - Thick cut and perfectly smoked with a rich black bark and deep red smoke ring... "there is very little more to say than this is quite possibly the best Q in town."

The BBQ Shack - "It was competition quality from eye to tongue! Beautiful walnut-colored THICK CUT beef with at least an 1/8” smoke ring and a beautiful, look-who’s-been-sleeping-in-the-smoke-pit bark. Pull-apart tender, grandma could eat it without her Poligrip."

Best Smoked Sausage:

WilJenny’s Tables & Tap imports a sausage from Elgin, TX that is unlike any other link in town. The sausage is coarse ground, tight, a brilliant burgundy, and sports a zesty flavor unlike anything else.

Krizman’s House of Sausage supplies the best "bbq roll" in the region and you'll know when you've gotten it. Although sausage casing doesn't allow much in the way of a smoke ring, it will absorb smoke flavor. Krizman's links are large in diameter with a lean coarse ground and a seasoning regimen perfectly suited to barbeque. Ask your server to find out who the house sausage provider is. If it's Krizman's, get you some.

Best Pulled Pork:

Iron Horse BBQ - When it comes to pulled pork, "Iron Horse BBQ (in Atchison, KS) is re-writing the script. This mound of pink protein was moist, laced with a rich smoke ring, showing a rich dark bark, and most of all – it actually was pulled pork. Large and small chunks rasslin' around in moisty self-love."

Best Smoked Turkey:
Papa Bob's Bar-B-Que - "Oh, I wish I’d ordered a plateful of it. ...this bird was smoky pink and as delicious as I’ve ever had at a BBQ joint."

Best Brisket & Sausage Sandwich:

KCQ author usually orders a brisket and sausage sandwich for lunchtime adventures. The brisket confirms the pitmaster's skills and the sausage adds a piquant complement.
Smokehouse BBQ - The "Gladstoner" features an oblong hoagie bun loaded with thin-sliced brisket and Krizman's sausage. Nothing less than A+ in the whole presentation.

Smokestack BBQ - "Gangbusters! The sausage was lightly smoked, medium grind, robust beefy taste. The brisket was well smoked and tender as San Francisco fog."

Best Side Dish:

WilJenny’s Tables & Tap - Texas Ranch Pintos. "The Ranchhouse beans may be the only pinto beans served in a BBQ joint north of the Red River (and they're cooked in beer, to boot!)."

Best Value:

Slab o' Ribs - Roscoe’s Rib Tuesdays, $13/slab (St. Louis trim)

Sandwich - Roscoe’s full bun sandwich, "a $7 monster that actually has too much meat on it (I say that in dire peril of losing my ‘Q cred card, but really, it’s a monster.)"

Sampler Platter - Brobeck's Combo Platter, "A sampler plate of three ribs, sliced brisket, and sausage ($12.95) shows off Brobecks compentency."

Barbeque enjoys world-wide celebrity without toeing the line to a single flavor or style of preparation. Every region has its own way of slow-smoking meat and every barbeque patron has their preferences. On the "Standards & Glossary" page, KansasCityQ.com defines its expectations and also helps newcomers with understanding why "burned" is bad, but "burnt" is good and what the "St. Louis trim" means.

The best way to determine who's got the best 'Q in town is to eat barbeque early and often and make some notes, if only for yourself, about your experience and what you find commendable about the restaurants you visit.

By the way, if you're curious where the word "barbeque" came from, this article gives the definitive answer.