Barbecue, Kansas City

You will LOVE this place! Great BBQ in a classy environment. The restaurant is located in a beautiful and interesting brick building with tall ceilings which used to be used as a service building for trains. The food is wonderful - you can have anything from burnt ends to BBQ chicken to BBQ sandwiches. You will not be disappointed!

Favorite Dish: BBQ Chicken Breast or the Jumbo sandwich (turkey) with french fries, and cheesy corn or cheesy potatos. Yum!

In 1946, Arthur Bryant became sole owner of an existing barbecue joint. This is the barbecue mecca where nearlly every President has dined foor the past 50 years. The sauce is unique and delicious -- a wonderful, fiery blend of cayenne and paprika -- and slapped onto the bread with paint brushes!

Favorite Dish: Everything

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Even though it may not be the best BBQ in the USA (like some people say), Arthur Bryant's is historically one of the more famous barbecue houses through its connection to Henry Perry. It was relocated to its present location (18th and Brooklyn) in 1958. I went there one evening in the middle 1970's after reading about it in The New Yorker magazine. At that time the neighborhood was one of the roughest I had ever been in. Ironically, now when I go back to Arthur Bryant's, only the neighborhood has changed. The restaurant is basically the same as 30 years ago but the neighborhood (near the 18th and Vine Jazz District) has gone through urban renewal.

Don't get me wrong; the BBQ is good, the serving sizes are huge and the prices reasonable. I just think the Jack Stack Barbecue in Kansas City (and a couple of other places) are better. However, one should not miss Arthur Bryant's; it has more character.

Favorite Dish: Burnt ends open face sandwich

KC is well know for it's BBQ. One of the great BBQ restaurants is Gates. The restaurant is clean and offers a wide choice of meats. Be prepared when you enter, as there is a long line and the people behind the counter will yell at the next person "Hi May I Help You?" Often new people have no idea what is going on and it is a little disorienting, but once you learn the ropes it is fun to watch. Know what you want and order quickly!

Kansas City is well known for BAR-B-QUE and you can find it any way you like it at such places at Arthur Bryant's, Gates, Haywards, the Smokestack; but one of my favorite restaurants is not a barbeque or steak place, but rather a small, family owned restaurant at the City Market named The Habashi House. It has the best falafil sandwich you will find anywhere, and the gyros are.... well soooo gooood. They also have daily specials and one of my favorites is curry chicken with potatoes. This is a must experience.

Arthur Bryant's BBQ is the best in Kansas City. This modest establishment started in the 1920's. The food is awesome and they give you huge portions. You can get anything from chicken, beef, ham to ribs. The best part is the sauce. The restaurant is not in the best neighborhood, but is safe during the day. It looks like a little hole in the wall, but the food is fantastic. The walls are lined with pictures of all the presidents who have eaten here.

Before football games there is a huge line out the door of people waiting to get food to go for their tailgating. This is one must hit place. There are now other locations in KC, but the best is at the original place.

Favorite Dish: It's all good!!!

Summit Hickory Pit in Lee's Summit has great barbecue and good service. I only ate there one time but I wanted to include a picture of a barbecue restaurant on this page. I have eaten lots of great barbecue in Kansas City. Another great place is KC Masterpiece in Overland Park on the Kansas side.

Favorite Dish: Barbecue or any kind is excellent in Kansas City.

barbeque is definitely a big part of kansas city. there's a yearly barbeque contest, which is great fun pq it's open to the public. that means you can go and eat as much as you want and it's all really yummy.

the best barbeque restaurant is kc masterpiece. for starters, instead of paper napkins they give you towels. actual fluffy towels. i think that's brilliant.
the towels.

Favorite Dish: they have these platters which are rather expensive... a little less than $20... but are huge. you get a wide selection of food, and you have enough to take home and eat for two days.

also, for appetizers, the onion straws thingy (or whatever they call it) is lovely.

Kansas City is known for its barbeque. Now, as you no doubt know, I'm a Tennessean, which means I know good barbeque when I taste it. And I was always skeptical about the merits of KC barbeque. I mean, you don't grow up on Memphis-style smoked-for-hours dry-rub baby-back ribs without becoming a bit of a barbeque snob.

That said, I did the taste test at Gates, one of KC's prime barbeque institutions. I found it good. Great, actually. Perfectly grilled ribs, with a nicely spicy, smoky sauce. Alejandro had a barbeque beef sandwich that rated quite highly on his Nashville-trained palate.

The funny thing about Gates is that it's like the Seinfeld episode with the soup vendor. Gates is like the Barbeque Nazi. There's a lengthy line when you walk in, if you can call it a line. The ladies behind the counter take your order with an extremely shrill yell: ''Hi, may I help you?!?'' It catches the first-timer offguard to say the least. You're then given about three-point-two seconds to place your order. If you take too long -- WHAM! -- Out comes another shout and great embarrasment. Still, in spite of the genuine fear factor, it's worth a visit.

This suburban location smells great for blocks away! It has been called the "Caddilac" of KC Barbeque. The interior of the restaurant is nice, similar to a mdi-range steak house. It is comfortable. Attire can be casual. There is a wait a peak times. This place has been featured on the US cable network Food Chanel.

Favorite Dish: "His Ribness" a full slab of their ribs with their wonderful baked beans. They also serve something called "burnt ends." Don't be put off by the name, as they are NOT burnt but they are quite delicious.