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I'd like to propose to those interested that I sponsor a Kansas City barbeque jaunt On Monday July 19, 2004.

The idea is that a group of Chicago LTHers would hop on a Southwest flight, and fly to Kansas City where we would rent a car or van and visit 5 or 6 of Kansas City's heralded Barbeque pits.

I've checked flight costs. Southwest has "fun fares" from $58 each way on a round trip. Flights leave as early as 6 am and return as late as 9:30 pm. The cost of a van/car rental should be less than $100 which would be split by the participants.

Thereafter, we would strive to visit some of KC's Finest including:

Arthur Bryant's
Gates and Sons
Rosedale
Fiorella's Jack Stack
BB's Lawnside
Smokehouse

Of course, anyone who went would be expected to bring a cooler along to smuggle back samples on the plane.

Anyone interested?

If you add Lil' Jakes Eat it and Beat It to the list....I'm there! I can tie the trip in with a visit to a client in Lenexa.

I'm not sure if I will be joining you for the flight(s), but I'll be there for the eating.

P.S. The chicken place that Bruce is talking about is Stroud's and is a worthy addition to the list for a change of pace.

tempted. Might join the expedition. Too bad we can't track down Chicken Betty Lucas.

OK, then. Since the King of Barbeque has not given me an alternate date, let's set July 19th in stone. I'd love to see us all go on the same flight out of Midway so that we can easily congregate.

So, let's plan to take Southwest Flight 636 at 7 am from Midway to Kansas City on the 19th. The one way fun fare id $58 and can be booked on Southwest.com.

We'll return on Southwest Flight 2999 which departs Kansas City at 9 pm allowing for a venture into Stroud's Chicken for dinner following breakfast, lunch and snacks of barbeque.

In between, we'll visist a number of places mentioned both ion my original list and any others that you want to hit on the way. Let me know if there are any places that you want to add to the itinerary.

Once you have purchased your flight, drop me an email to willphil@hotmail.com. That way, i'll know whether we need a sedan, SUV or van once we get to Kansas City

I just thumbed through the newest edition of Bon Appetit on the newsstand. On page 41, in the Going Out section, there's a writeup on Kansas City barbecue pits. Bryant's is the first in line, but they strongly recommend the following:

Danny Edwards Famous K.C. Barbecue
1227 Grand Blvd.
816.283.0880

L.C.'s Barbeque
5800 Blue Pkwy.
816.923.4484

Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue
3002 W. 47th Ave.
913.722.3366

Rosedale Barbecue
600 Southwest Blvd.
913.262.0343

Winslow's City Market Barbecue
20 E. Fifth St.
816.471.7427

Refer to the article for specific menu recommendations.

Cheers,
Erik M.

Danny Edwards is AKA Lil' Jakes Eat it and Beat It, which is my favorite KC BBQ place and is a must visit AFAIC. My visit to Oklahoma Joe's, while a novelty because it's in a gas station, left much to be desired by KC standards, except their pickles were very good. Rosedales is a one-trick pony for BBQ chicken, but the rest of the BBQ is forgettable. I have not been to the rest.

I'm a probably going. My wife said okay. However, I may have an employment conflict and can't go. I should know by the end of the month at the latest. Are there any advance purchase requirements for the air flight? I do have family South of KC so I may be able to make leave Friday and return Sunday if necessary.

Stroud's was the chicken place I was mentioning. I would suggest skipping Oklahoma Joe's and try to toss in Fiorella's Jack Stack. Winslow's is in the middle of a Farmer's Market downtown. It could be a very crowded area to try and get into. Gate's is an okay place.

Here's a link to a site that has some good BBQ reviews by some serious BBQ'rs. http://www.gasbbq.net/

Some of the sites that have been mentioned like Lil Jakes, etc. may not be open on Saturday. Particularly if they are downtown.

I would suggest whoever rents the van ensure it has a GPS system. It works great in Kansas City and would help us get around qicker. KC will be HOT in the middle of July.

Lil Jakes is closed on weekends. It's right in the middel of downtown and there is nothing going on there on Saturday or Sunday. We're going to be there on a Monday, though, so Lil Jakes will be wide open. I agree about chucking Winslows in favor of Fiorella Jacks Stack and as I said before, Oklahome Joes is nothing special at all.

Schedule in your plan that Strouds is open for weekday lunch only on Friday's. Also, Stroud's will readily respond to a phoned in takeout order (at 7:00 PM, mine took 35 minutes); and there are even some picnic tables outside. Might be a good idea, as the lines can be lengthy and the bar crowded. Website (with menu) is http://www.stroudsrestaurant.com/menus.html

Also, since you'll be eating lots of stuff every where, the not to miss things at Stroud's are the fried chicken, and the cinammon rolls that come with every dinner. The fried pork chops are ok to good. The sides are mediocore, forgivable if you're eating dinner, but they're not good enough to sample amidst the difficult demands of a chowathon.

Sorry I can't join the fun. The only Arthur Bryant's I've tried was the rib tips/brisket/beans at the airport. No comment, 'nuff said.

In the tradition of Mike G, I'll do a little post recycling and excerpt this bit about LC's from a previous post on Kansas City, instead of rehashing my infatuation. As you'll be able to tell, I was still so smitten at the time of this post that I was unable to write very coherently. In case it's not clear, I cannot stress enough that YOU MUST GO TO LC'S FOR BURNT ENDS. I'll shut up about LC's for a while after this post. Really.

(The linked post also contains a bunch of other stuff, including Bryant's and Stroud's, from last year's KC trip.)

I look forward to participating vicariously in your KC BBQ adventure.

All of this was a prelude to a drive out to Raytown and Lee's Summit, which in turn was a prelude to lunch at LC's coming back on Blue Parkway. Man, oh man, was this place barbecue. Thanks much to all the fans on this board, because there's no way I ever would have chanced into this place. Driving down Blue Parkway you feel like you're entering an industrial zone because of all the smoke billowing from the small shack that houses LC's delicious slow-cooked creations.

I got burnt ends, and I have never tasted anything like it in my life. The only way I could have gotten more smoke was to plant my face in front of the smoker when they opened it up to retrieve some meat and a large, fragrant cloud makes it's way behind the counter and through the ventilation system. And he does a pretty mean sauce too. I'm still dreaming about those burnt ends. Bryant's wins for the beef sandwich though, in my book, as there was too much fat and not as much flavor in LC's brisket. Now I need to go back for Bryant's burnt ends.

I'm all for that. I've never been to LC's and I'd love to see how their burnt ends compare with Lil' Jakes Eat it and Beat it. I'll mention again that Bryant's does not serve burnt ends.

I don't know for sure if they serve them, since I didn't order them, but they were on the menu when I was there last year.

According to my father-in-law, Arthur Bryant used to give away the burnt ends for free as scraps, until he realized they were popular enough to profit from.

I'm eager to hear the results.

I'm 99% sure that they do not serve them there, as I was wanting to make a comparison between their's and Lil' Jakes. I was told by my KC local friends that they are not served at Bryant's. I took them at their word and I have not been back to Bryant's since then to check for myself.

I'm a newbie here in this forum... but this string caught my eye.

I would skip Stroud's, I have eaten at the Stroud's in Wichita and it is nothing that can't be duplicated elsewhere. I would stick to the barbeque! I spent a couple of years in Lawrence, driving into KC almost every weekend for a beef sandwich (order "beef and fries" and grab extra bread, the beef stack is thick) at Arthur Bryants and loading up on the sauce in bottles before they splurged on labels and opened a restaurant in a airport (sacrilege!). Be sure to notice the guy who sits in the smoker and turns the beef. Also be sure and grab a frosty mug from the freezer and order a beer... it always tastes best in the frosty mug!

After the feast be sure and drive a couple of blocks to view the 12th and Vine intersection where Jazz thrived in a golden age (think Ella Fitzgerald and Counte Basie and Charlie Parker). Also note that Bryants is across the street from where Metropolitan Stadium was home field of the KC Monarchs of the Negro Leagues and the early days of the KC Royals.

Good travels and good eats!

Ann

You know, this is a pretty interesting point. I've only been to the original Stroud's location on Troost, and it had an aura that I doubt other branches can capture. My wife and I both loved this place, and I would highly recomment trying it.

BUT. While the food was very good all around--and it really was great food--the chicken didn't change my fried chicken paradigm in the way that, for example, LC's burnt ends did for BBQ. I think there is some truth in what you say, about their fried chicken being equalled or surpassed. But I still wouldn't pass on Stroud's.

Cheers,

Aaron

Bruce,

We are tempermental artists <smile> who will endeavor to satisfy your curiosity once our composition is complete.

I've just returned from a road trip that took me through KC at lunchtime. Thought I would check LTH to see if there were any comments on Arthur Bryant's, where we ate, and found this old thread with no reports on the road trip.

What's up?
Thanks.

Annie,

I just uploaded all the pictures this evening. I am also finishing up my part of the report, which I will turn over to Will for comment if not this evening then tomorrow morning.

The delay is entirely due to me and commitments which had a life of their own.

Are condiments with a life of their own yeast-based?

doh.

HI Steve,

They not arranged in a web page where you could easily access it. Each photo has its' own individual address. I will provide you a teaser photo from LC's which features Burnt Ends:



Regards,

What did you like best, least?

How does it rate to Chgo BBQ places?

Thanks.
Ann

Now that's a serious tease. This isn't making it any easier to wait for the full report!

i'll be in the KC area next week visiting family for thanksgiving. was there a consensus on any of these places. i may need convince some family to be complicit in my adventure. and i'll need to convince them to schlep me into the city. i need ammo.

what would be the best choice for a saturday afternoon trip? LC's? Bryant's? or?

My favorite place for burnt ends, Lil' Jakes Eat It and Beat It, is not open on Saturdays. Either of the other two places you mention would be more than great, although if you have never been to Bryant's, I would suggest making a pilgrimage there first.

I was in KC last week and had lunch at Winslow's, in the City Market. I ordered the two-meat plate, told them I was a first-timer and asked them to give me what they do best. They chose burnt ends and smokies (i.e., sausage). Some of the burnt ends could have been a little more burnt and a little less fatty, but the best of them were superb. The sausage was terrific, tender and smoky, a revelation. For sides, I heartily recommend the beans.

My dining companion had 1/4 chicken, which by her choice consisted of a leg and thigh. Excellent smoke and texture. Winslows gets high points for the tenderness of all the meats I sampled.

Two sauces were available. I would characterize them as sweet and sweeter, and not hot.

Perhaps the City Market is a mob scene in the summer, but on a warm, sunny Monday in early November it was largely empty. The market is right on the edge of downtown in a little neighborhood of 19th century commercial buildings that is charming in its own right. The immediate neighborhood also features a variety of restaurants, including Ethiopian and Middle Eastern. This may be an attraction for the family members who are not enthusiastic about the BBQ part of the adventure.

Winslow's City Market Barbecue
20 E. Fifth St.
816.471.7427

thanks, gentlemen! this give me a couple good options. hopefully i'll be away to steal away for a few hours.

Hi,

You might want to read through this thread, ifyou haven't already.

Regards,

Hi Cathy,

Wow. Thanks for the great post! I did in fact miss that the first time around. I took the shortcut and posted. My apologies.

What was a simple information gathering at my part this morning will now likely become a mission. I hope--two days after thanksgiving--I'll be able to coax someone, namely my wife, into driving into the city with me.

Outstanding work. I'm much obliged to ALL.

w-

The City Market was not very crowded when I was there two weekends ago ... it was definitely worth the short drive into the area.

It was a GREAT variety of farmer's booths, salvage produce, small producers and very inexpensive products. There are a number of restaurants in the area that were pretty interesting.

Arthur Bryants was pretty good if you stick with the pork and the burnt ends. The brisket was flavorless