Regional Chili - Kansas City Style

Nothing says Kansas City like chili! OK, maybe not, but I'm here for two weeks and there is only so much BBQ one can eat--even me. One of my local friends told me about a place called Fritz's Chili, which is a direct descendant from Harry Truman's favorite chili parlor, Dickson's Chili (any relation?), in Independence, MO. Dickson's was a little chili parlor on the square in Independence. Eventually, they got quite popular and morphed into a mini-chain, with several locations all over the Kansas City area. Over time, the original location closed as did most of the other locations. There are still one or two left, as well as Fritz's, which is a former Dickson's location that was bought out by its manager some 25-30 years ago. My friends tell me that the experience at Fritz's is exactly the same as the experience at Dickson's--minus the 45 minute drive to get to the nearest one.

Fritz's chili parlor is a real blast from the past, with uniform wearing waitresses who call you hon between puffs on their Vantage Lights. The chili itself is a unique regional variant, such as the ones found in Cincinnati or Texas. It comes as loose, more or less unseasoned chili meat served on a plate. Your options are with or without beans and you ask for it dry, wet (bean water) or greasy. My inclination was to ask for it meat only and greasy, but my KC friend told me beans with a little water was the way to go. As they say, when in Rome...

The way you customize your chili is to order add-ins on the side. Choices include onions, cheese, jalapeno puree and, if you must have a tomato product in your chili, ketchup. Also available on the table are chili powder, various hot sauces and home made red chile vinegar. I went for the onions, cheese and jalapeno puree along with a healthy dose of chili powder and vinegar. Oh, did I mention the chili is pretty much unseasoned? Well I even had to add some salt. Surprisingly, the combination was quite good. If you ever find yourself in KC with some extra time on your hands and are tired of eating BBQ, this place is worth visiting-especially for the atmosphere and unique to the area chili.

Fritz's Chili


Fritz's Chili
6737 West 75th Street
Overland Park, KS 66204
913-381-3543

you must have really eaten a lot of BBQ!

I'm back on the horse. I had dinner at LC's tonight.

Steve,

If you can report on your bbq experiences in the near future, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm considering taking a brief trip to KC in a couple of weeks and can use all the info I can get.

Thanks.

Scott

Scott--DFW wrote:Steve,

If you can report on your bbq experiences in the near future, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm considering taking a brief trip to KC in a couple of weeks and can use all the info I can get.

Thanks.

Scott

Pretty much everything has already been said here. Previous reviews seem to be holding up. I would particularly recommed stopping in at Danny Edwards Lil' Jakes Eat it and Beat It for lunch. I had the burnt ends special again today and it was supurb. My visit last night to LC's was a little off, but it was probably due to the fact that I got there pretty late and the stuff had been sitting around for a while. I had a chance to try their pork and I would stick with the burnt ends, beef and spare ribs.

Hey Stevez, you still in KC? If so, be absolutely sure you go to Oklahoma Joe's and have *both* the ribs AND the pulled pork. I've been doing bbq in KC for 30 yrs and it don't get eeny better than this.

Word of explanation: I spend 5 months of the year in Whitewater WI, being married, so that's how I got on this Chicagoland board.

Okie Joe's is on the Kansas side (barely) on 47th at Mission.

Enjoy, dude!

g

Geo wrote:Hey Stevez, you still in KC? If so, be absolutely sure you go to Oklahoma Joe's and have *both* the ribs AND the pulled pork. I've been doing bbq in KC for 30 yrs and it don't get eeny better than this.

Word of explanation: I spend 5 months of the year in Whitewater WI, being married, so that's how I got on this Chicagoland board.

Okie Joe's is on the Kansas side (barely) on 47th at Mission.

Enjoy, dude!

g

Isn't that the place that's in a gas station? If so, I've been there and I can't share your high opinion. I didn't care for much there except for the wonderful pickles. Of course, I only had the ribs and brisket, so maybe I missed something by not trying the pork

Yeah, it's the one in the gas station. Sorry you didn't like the ribs, usually they're wonderful. I've never had their brisket. Basically I don't eat brisket except under either of the following circumstances:

1) I smoked it myself; or

b) I'm marooned somewhere in TX and can't get any real bbq (that is, pork product of some sort

My wife says that the ribs at Speed Queen are better than Okie Joe's. I tell her she's originally from NYC, how could she possibly understand ribs??


She also likes their plastic-product shiny sweet&sour-sauce sauce, which I reckon proves my point, were further proof be needed.

But I agree with her that Speed Queen's outside is pretty special.

BTW, I just read the thread wherein is reported the LTH task force's eating of All Things Milwaukee. My (aforementioned) wife is going to be happy that there exists a pizza joint, to wit, Zifferli's (?sp?) where she can get some real pizza.

BTW#2, LC's is owned by LC, who learned his trade from The Grand Ol' Man, Mr. Bryant himself, before setting out on his own a dozen or so yrs ago. His fries are usually wonderful.

Didja go to Stroud's??

g

Geo wrote:Yeah, it's the one in the gas station. Sorry you didn't like the ribs, usually they're wonderful. I've never had their brisket. Basically I don't eat brisket except under either of the following circumstances:

1) I smoked it myself; or

b) I'm marooned somewhere in TX and can't get any real bbq (that is, pork product of some sort

My wife says that the ribs at Speed Queen are better than Okie Joe's. I tell her she's originally from NYC, how could she possibly understand ribs??


She also likes their plastic-product shiny sweet&sour-sauce sauce, which I reckon proves my point, were further proof be needed.

But I agree with her that Speed Queen's outside is pretty special.

BTW, I just read the thread wherein is reported the LTH task force's eating of All Things Milwaukee. My (aforementioned) wife is going to be happy that there exists a pizza joint, to wit, Zifferli's (?sp?) where she can get some real pizza.

BTW#2, LC's is owned by LC, who learned his trade from The Grand Ol' Man, Mr. Bryant himself, before setting out on his own a dozen or so yrs ago. His fries are usually wonderful.

Didja go to Stroud's??

g

We had lunch catered by Strouds one day this week. It was pretty good for reheated BBQ on a massive scale. Better than I remembered it being in their restaurant. You are right about LC's fries. They are thick cut and fried to golden brown deliciousness...of course you can't beat their burnt ends (unless you're at Lil' Jakes).

Stroud's justly deserved fame and legend rest upon their family-style fried chicken, done to order in black iron skillets. It's pretty good, as are the mashed potatoes and gravy.

But what I find to be a hoot about the place is its roadhouse reality: it really is a roadhouse from another time, with board floors, well-settled spinal curvature, and a bar that flappers once frequented, pretty much. And there it squats, on 85th St. basically under the Troost Avenue viaduct.

I think all the help has been there more than a decade. Which tells you that it's a well run place.

If you only have a chance to drive by there, just to look, it's worth it just to see the place.

BTW, enjoy the weather--it's Deep Winter tonight up here in So. Central Wisconsin.

g

BTW, if you're going to be in KC over the weekend, here are several options.

1. A decent bowl of menudo: Ortega's Mini-mart and Restaurant, 27th and Belleview;

2. Dim Sum--not great (I mean, it's not the Star Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong) but it'll do well enough--Bo Ling's on Main just south of the Plaza (it's in the board of trade bldg). The server pushing the cart won't show you the real stuff--the chicken feet, the tripe, etc.--unless you ask her to uncover the baskets she's leaving covered. It helps if you know a bit of Mandarin.

3. Pho. There's a very decent bowl of pho at Pho 97, 2605 Independence Ave. It's a family place, kind of nice that way.

g[/i]

Geo wrote:BTW, if you're going to be in KC over the weekend, here are several options.

1. A decent bowl of menudo: Ortega's Mini-mart and Restaurant, 27th and Belleview;

2. Dim Sum--not great (I mean, it's not the Star Ferry Terminal in Hong Kong) but it'll do well enough--Bo Ling's on Main just south of the Plaza (it's in the board of trade bldg). The server pushing the cart won't show you the real stuff--the chicken feet, the tripe, etc.--unless you ask her to uncover the baskets she's leaving covered. It helps if you know a bit of Mandarin.

3. Pho. There's a very decent bowl of pho at Pho 97, 2605 Independence Ave. It's a family place, kind of nice that way.

g[/i]

Thanks. I'll keep those in mind if I get any free time over the weekend.

If you're still in KC, there's a Chinese restaurant called Bo Lings, which has a very respectable dim sum. They opened a branch down here in Florida. My first look at their dinner menu showed me what seemed to be another "suburban" Chinese cantonese joint, albeit with a very nice interior. I sampled their hot and sour soup and considered it about the worst I'd ever had. Case closed.

Then I discovered they do dim sum on weekends so I thought I'd give it a shot. Imagine my surprise when you walk in and see steam carts being rolled around and a very nice selection of noodles, dumplings and buns being offered. Another good sign was the fact that most of the patrons were Asian. This is not Ton Kiang in San Francisco, but I'd say it compares favorably with Phoenix in Chicago, although with a smaller variety of dishes. There were also a number of excellent bubble teas available, which pairs very well with the meal.

I'll probably go back for dinner and see if they have a secret menu. Anyone doing good dim sum has to be able to cook some authentic Chinese chow.

RevrendAndy wrote:If you're still in KC, there's a Chinese restaurant called Bo Lings, which has a very respectable dim sum.

Hey Rev,

I'm going to try to get there tomorrow for Dim Sum, if I can get free in time. I'll report back.

Dixon's (not Dickson's) Chili Parlor was located in Kansas City on Olive St., not Independence.