Well the trip started because I went to a local BBQ place and instead of ordering the pork I order brisket and after taking a few bites I thought they could better. I went home google best brisket and Franklin BBQ in Austin Texas popped up, but I didn't feel like going to Texas for my first trip, fortunately there was also a bunch of results for KC and in KC I would have a friend to stay with. Boom so KC to have some brisket and burnt ends.
Land in KC and grab an Uber an off to Gates BBQ, I head. Gates is interesting because it is counter service and the people in there are really loud with their can I help you even when you are standing a few feet from them. Walking in I am hit with the smell of smoked meats and I can feel my stomach start to rumble with anticipation with the meal I am about to feed it. Looking over the menu I see a steal of a sandwich, the Nooner. Burnt ends on top of brisket and a side of fries for 5.99.
Alright, I'll admit I could use some practice on the taking pictures but this is a process for all of us. Now I was surprised by the sauce. It had a spicy kick to it that I was not expecting. I thought the KC style of sauce was a sweeter taste that focused on molasses and tomatoes, well the tomatoes was there the sweet was not. Don'y get me wrong it was good and after the first few bites of the burnt ends and brisket I knew I was in the right spot. When you hear burnt there is a worry that the meat will be dry and often the issue with brisket I have found is that it can be dried out. That was not the case at all with the Gates BBQ Nooner. The first bite was juicy and had a strong beef flavor. Need lunch in KC definitely pick up a nooner from Gates BBQ.
The next stop on the BBQ was Q39. This was more of an upscale restaurant, compared to Gates and KC Joes. Now unfortunately I had not committed to taking a picture of all my food just yet mainly because as I said this blogging thing is new to me and I did not have the resolve for it yet, so your just have to take my word for what I ordered. It started with an order of the pork belly appetizer. The pork bellies had a fatty goodness and flavor that would be well appreciated by any bacon fan out there. For my main course I had the brisket and burnt ends combo platter and added three ribs to my meal. Again the brisket and the burnt ends were perfectly cooked. The lean cut they were moist and delicious. The sauce that it was served with was significantly sweeter than the one from Gates. The Ribs though I felt were completely average. They were cooked to the right temperature and were easy to eat right off the bone but there was nothing that set them apart from the normal rib you can get at your average BBQ joint that I have experienced. They also had a cheesy corn as a side and this was yummy. For desert I had an apple crisp, one of my personal favorites. It had a good tartness to the apple that contrasted well with the scope of ice cream and the sauce that was used for the meats. Again an excellent experience.
The next day the BBQ experience started at KC Joes, formerly known as Oklahoma Joes aka the gas station BBq joint.
Above KC Joes, you can't see the gas pumps but don't worry they are there. The second picture is right inside as the line wraps around outside it also wraps around inside. Here I got the famous z-man sandwich and an order of the burnt end lunch special. Okay, i thought I took pictures but I can't find them so it probably was a accidental video that I would have deleted in the great purge I had before writing this post. Oh well, next time you will get better pictures, I promise.
Let's talk about the Z-man for a minute. The Z-man is a brisket sandwich with cheese, seems simple enough right, well nope because the brisket is cooked to perfection. The beef touching my tongue was taste bud heaven. The whole atmosphere of the place is building to this first bite and it did not disappoint. The burnt ends that I got as well were also delicious. Legend has it that KC Joes invented the burnt end and well I'll believe because he sure does it right. Well worth the wait.
The next stop was Brobeuks which was done the street from where I was staying. I felt like a mid day snack so around three I walked over to get some burnt ends by themselves. I ordered a half pound and sat down to enjoy.
Now here my plate after eating a couple and remembering I have to serve my people and share my experience that they may never have. The interesting thing about this place is they serve the meat without sauce because they believe the meat speaks on it's own. That is philosophy that I agree with. It is possible to get a lot of flavor out of brisket without needing to throw more sauce on. The meat was juicy and tender and easy to eat. The knife went through like it was butter and it was real easy to chew. Overall this was one of my favorite stops just the meat and no thrills. Well all the places were great but this was was right there with the legendary KC places.
3 hours later it was time for dinner and off to Jack Stacks. Jacks is like fine dining BBQ and it was delicious well the burnt ends were. I order the burnt ends and pulled pork with fries and cheesy corn.
Again the pork was not as good as the beef. I think it is true Kansas city is just better at Beef than they are at pork. The pulled pork was a bit drier than I would have liked, making a bit harder to chew and was not exciting on the flavor. The burnt ends though, again came through. It was really amazing how good all the burnt ends were. The cheesy corn was good and to be honest I don't think I have ever had bad cheesy corn in my life. For desert I had the apple bread pudding.
Now it had the apple taste and the caramel sauce that was on it was delicious but this was not one of the better bread pudding I have ever had. First it was more cake like as it was rather solid and did not have the spongy texture that good bread pudding has when it is done right. This might just be me but I am also a firm believer that bread pudding should be served with a scoop of ice cream. Overall it was a great experience at Jack Stacks. Shout out to our waitress Bri, she did a great job and laughed along and magically was able to keep my ice tea glass from running out. She did a great job, thank you.
Overall all the places I went to eat in KC were great. I think KC Joes was my favorite but it was close and that might be because there was an electric atmosphere while waiting and I had two of their best instead of getting the pork like at the other restaurants.It was a fun trip and I look forward to trying these places again and maybe trying a few new ones next time I head out there.
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