I Visited 10 Kansas City BBQ Spots In 48 Hours, Here Are The Best Things I Ate

In the U.S., there are plenty of regional foods. Some cuisines, though, are claimed by multiple locales, with perhaps the most famous example being barbecue.

Texans, Carolinians — both North and South — and Tennesseeans all lay claim to individual pieces of American barbecue history. From cooking techniques to distinct sauces, traverse the United States, and you'll find that no two barbecues are the same. In fact, while tradition is integral to barbecue's story, innovation is equally crucial, and few places represent a melting pot of barbecue quite like Kansas City.

The city invited me to stay for a few days and sample a whole lot of 'que. From the Museum of Barbecue — a must for any foodies looking for family-friendly fun while learning all about smoked meat — to a few spots that take traditional Kansas City barbecue and serve it with a twist, I consumed endless burnt ends, a ridiculous number of ribs, a bounty of brisket, and a plethora of pork. Of course, there are a lot more than 10 barbecue spots in Kansas City, but I only had 48 hours and one stomach, so I created a list with help from Visit Kansas City. The result was a mix of establishments that have been barbecuing for decades alongside spots so new that some of my Uber drivers hadn't heard of them yet.

One of the younger venues on the list was Meat Mitch BBQ, the brainchild of award-winning barbecuer Mitch Benjamin. Unfortunately, despite plenty of strong online reviews, I was underwhelmed by Meat Mitch's offerings.

First, the good. If you're a fan of curly fries — and everyone should be — Meat Mitch serves up twisted spuds with a sweet hint of honey. This was the last of five stops I made on the day, and I still wanted to down an entire portion of the sticky curly fries. Also in the side department is the jalapeño cheesy corn, a creamy, crunchy dish filled with charred corn, breadcrumbs, and just a perfect blast of spice.

Sadly, the meats were a disappointment. Barbecue is a variable science with each day delivering a new cut of meat, and that means sometimes, the results don't hit the mark. My brisket tasted as dry as it looked, the smoked turkey was the least impressive of the three I'd sampled that day, and the sausages lacked a firm snap. While the ribs were tender and had lovely color, the burnt ends were neither good nor bad, and not particularly memorable.

Meat Mitch serves up a wide selection of sauces, ensuring that all diners will find one to their liking. While they're all quite tasty, in barbecue, the meat comes first. I'm willing to give Meat Mitch the benefit of the doubt because everyone has a bad night, but this one still ended up as my least favorite stop.

If Meat Mitch is new school, LC's is a grizzled veteran. Founded in 1986, LC's occupies a small space that oozes both familiarity and smoky scents. The smoker is a floor-to-ceiling unit placed directly behind the counter. As you stand and study a menu spelled out in plastic letters across a concession-stand-style board, the smoker door is frequently thrown open to reveal rack upon rack of beef, pork, chicken, and turkey cooking just inches from where they'll be sliced and served.

Everything in LC's is smoked, from the tables to the pictures hanging on the walls; not an inch of the place is spared. I ordered a combo sandwich with pork and beef, along with sides of baked beans and potato salad. The sandwich itself was simple: thin-sliced pork and beef covered with a healthy serving of LC's own barbecue sauce, all layered between three slices of white bread, served on a Styrofoam plate.

The sides were solid, if unremarkable. The potato salad could be had from any grocery store deli, but the beans were filled with chunks of very tender meat. The sandwich itself was good in its simplicity. The meats were tender and juicy with a rich, smoky taste. LC's sauce trends towards sweeter, which works well with the thin-cut meats and standard white bread. While I'd have liked to try more, LC's has perhaps the smallest menu of any restaurant I visited. It's a good hole-in-the-wall type place that likely speaks more to the locals than the tourist population in a city overflowing with barbecue.

Every time I mentioned Gate's, the response was something like, "I grew up eating there." When you've been around since 1946, it's hard to find anyone who hasn't dined at one of five area locations. The family-owned business stands as a model of consistency. Arzelia Gates, whose father, Ollie, still keeps an office in one of the restaurants at age 94, told me that staying true to their roots is the key to the business's legacy.

I was given a sampler platter filled with ribs, ham, sliced beef, a burnt end sandwich, mac and cheese topped with burnt ends, coleslaw, baked beans, steak fries, sweet potato pie, and a tall strawberry cola to wash it all down. The best way to describe it all is comfort food, through and through. The sliced beef was my favorite, followed closely by a true-blue burnt-end sandwich made with ends straight off a smoked brisket. The grease from the meat soaked into the pillowy bun, leaving a sandwich more than worth the mess.

I had better ribs elsewhere, but the beans were near the top of my list thanks to a rich, thick sauce. The burnt end mac and cheese was as good as the name suggests. I'm glad I didn't skip out on the strawberry cola because the sugary sweetness is an absolutely perfect complement to the savory meats Gate's dishes out.

When you order at the counter, brace yourself, because an employee will yell — and I mean yell — "Hi, may I help you!?" The correct answer is yes, give me some KC barbecue, and make it old school.

Buck Tui was the most unique stop on my trip for one simple reason: its Kansas City barbecue combined with traditional Thai cooking. After my visit, I'm proposing we start cross-pollinating barbecue and Thai food with all other cuisines, as this works so well.

I was seated in a restaurant with equal parts cozy booths and lively tables painted with bright flowers. The menu is littered with barbecue staples like beans — well executed, but not a showstopper — and sampler platters filled with brisket and pulled pork. I wanted to experience the fusion, though, so with some help from my waitress, I settled on an order of smoked wings, brisket rangoon, and the X-Man, a sandwich featuring brisket, heavenly pork, Thai sausage, pickles, slaw, creamy Tiger Cry sauce, and pickles on a brioche bun.

The star of the X-Man is the Thai sausage. A pork base is combined with a gorgeous array of peppers, dill, cilantro, scallions, fermented fish sauce, oyster sauce, and more to create a sausage unlike any other I sampled. The smoked wings were beautiful, and their taste matched thanks to a very light but crispy exterior and a lovely smoky flavor on the juicy interior meat.

Still, neither could even touch the brisket rangoon. Creamy, crunchy, savory, smoky; I don't think I have enough adjectives to do this dish justice. I was able to check out some of the other dishes as they left the kitchen, and presentation is definitely a priority at Buck Tui. Each dish looked better than the last, leaving me wishing I could return to Buck Tui to delve further into the Thai side of their barbecue offerings.

Like Buck Tui, Scott's Kitchen serves barbecue with a twist. The restaurant still boasts plenty of traditional barbecue with meaty ribs nearly falling off the bone. The brisket was a bit underwhelming, and so were the beans, though for opposite reasons: The brisket was a little dry, while the beans were a little greasy. The cheesy potatoes were fantastic, though. Think loaded baked potato in a casserole style. As I ate in the small space adorned with pictures of airplanes and barbecue awards, numerous folks came in looking for menu recommendations, and every employee who manned the counter suggested ordering the potatoes.

What made Scott's stand out, though, were the tacos. With a dozen taco options and multiple more burrito and Mexican-inspired bowls on the menu, Scott's takes KC barbecue and adds a Southwestern spin. I tried the smoked sausage tacos with chipotle, ghost peppers, and jack cheese, the turkey tacos, and the burnt ends tacos. Each was better than the last. The turkey was smoky and incredibly juicy, and paired with smoked corn salsa and guacamole, it made for a fresh twist on barbecue, though it was a touch salty. The ghost pepper sausage brought along jalapeño apple slaw and, despite the name, a pleasant heat that never fried the taste buds. My favorite was the burnt ends taco, filled with pico, salsa, and queso fresco. The ends were large, but so tender, you hardly had to sink your teeth into them before they began to fall apart. Whether headed into or out of town, Scott's Kitchen is a fun barbecue spot just minutes from the airport, hidden in "plane" sight. (Pun intended.)

Joe's has a few locations around the Kansas City area, but I went to the original, a gas station transformed into a bastion of barbecue. The bright green facade is a perfect primer for the lively atmosphere inside, where orders are placed at one counter and called out, hot and ready, at another. I was lucky to snag a table at noon on a Wednesday, surrounded by smiling locals well-versed in their go-to orders, who happily offered suggestions to newbies like me.

Joe's hooked me up with a tray packed with ribs, pulled pork, sausage, beans, mac and cheese, and the famous Z-Man sandwich. Piled high with beef brisket, smoked provolone cheese, and two of the thickest, crispiest onion rings I've ever seen, the Z-Man is a sight to behold. Cheese isn't a super common element in barbecue, but the provolone on this sandwich works so well as it leans into the smokiness of the meats. The onion rings — used so frequently by Joe's that the restaurant bought the manufacturer — are downright crunchy and sourced from some truly massive onions.

The sausage was juicy and had a satisfying snap, the ribs were tender and perfectly sweetened thanks to a bit of house sauce, and the beans were swimming in a thick sauce with a little kick and plenty of meat. Joe's is a Kansas City staple for a reason: There's not a bad bite to be found.

Like Joe's, Jack Stack is another local institution that boasts multiple locations. I visited the Freight House, a renovated historic railway building, and was greeted by a cavernous space filled with dark wood, rustic chandeliers, and upscale barbecue. This is a sit-down restaurant, and the menu reflects that choice with choices that send barbecue down the path of fine dining.

Following the sage advice of my server, I settled on a Kansas City combo comprised of beef burnt ends, lamb ribs, and Jack Stack's famous crown prime beef rib, along with a side of beans and coleslaw. The sides were lovely, and the slaw, especially, was an excellent pairing with the lamb ribs, but this is a spot that's all about the meat.

The burnt ends were hearty cubes of beef bursting with flavor, but they couldn't steal focus from the ribs. Lamb is a gamey meat, but Jack Stack managed to turn it into tender, absolutely fall-off-the-bone ribs. They're smaller than a traditional rib, but the flavor is intense.

On the other side of the rib spectrum is the crown prime beef rib, an absolutely massive beef rib that falls apart if you even look at it for more than a second. The crust was flavorful, and the meat almost impossibly moist. This is a stand-out in the world of Kansas City barbecue, and I highly recommend splurging for this one — it's an extra $16 — if you're looking for a truly memorable dining experience.

Chef J BBQ sits in the historic West Bottoms district of Kansas City. After West Bottoms suffered two historic floods, first in 1903 and again in 1951, the neighborhood that formerly housed the Kansas City stockyards was largely abandoned. Chef J's space was eventually transformed into a seasonal haunted house and now serves some of the city's best and most imaginative barbecue.

Justin Easterwood — aka, Chef J — treated me to a platter of goodies that included ribs, pork belly burnt ends, pulled pork, Texas-style brisket, turkey, and two sausages: a jalapeño cheddar and a weekly special, French onion soup. Then he brought out a second tray filled with sides: bacon and blue cheese potato salad, elote, mac and cheese, beans, and cornbread.

The elote was excellent; hot and creamy, with a little kick. The bacon and blue cheese potato salad was one of the best potato salads I've ever had. Big, tender chunks of red potatoes, a depth of flavor that more hints at blue cheese than outright screams it, and a nice salty note from the bacon make it a lighter-than-you'd-expect barbecue side.

The meats were just as excellent. The turkey was a wonderful surprise and definitely an item I would add to any Chef J order. The Texas-style brisket was downright buttery, and the ribs were meaty; however, the sausages stood out not only for their great flavor and texture but also for their creativity. Chef J told me he was working up a chicken pot pie-flavored sausage for an upcoming special, and if that's the kind of innovation he's pumping out, I'd make Chef J a regular stop on any barbecue tour.

Nearly every person I talked to on the trip, from wait staff and chefs to the folks at the next table, said Slaps was one of their favorite barbecue spots in Kansas City. Having tried it myself, I agree.

Slaps is another order-at-the-counter spot, but the real community vibes are on full display in the covered patio area, where the restaurant's seating is comprised entirely of picnic tables. I was once again greeted by a tray straight out of a carnivore's dream. Burnt ends, smoked turkey, cheddar jalapeño sausage, St. Louis spare ribs, and pulled pork were joined by sides of cheesy corn, baked beans, and mac and cheese. Ultimately, everything was fantastic, so I'll highlight the stars.

Slaps cooks their turkey in butter. Need I say more? While it doesn't have the same smoky flavor as Chef J's, it's extremely moist, and another reason not to sleep on turkey at a barbecue joint. The pulled pork was absolutely the best I had in Kansas City. Slaps coats their ribs in brown sugar and wraps them in foil about halfway through the cooking process to infuse a little sweetness and create a lovely bark. Once the ribs are done, the drippings from those ribs are mixed into the pulled pork, creating a sweet, mind-numbingly tender pulled pork that I would eat with every meal if I could. Add in a cup of cheesy corn — think mac and cheese with corn instead of noodles — and Slaps is one of the most well-rounded barbecue spots I visited.

Another sit-down spot, Q39 is part cozy barbecue joint, part upscale sports bar, and all fantastic. My waitress was on a mission to give me the best the restaurant had to offer, and she delivered. First came an order of chipotle barbecue wings – aptly named Best Wings on the Planet — that were sticky, juicy, crispy, and a dazzling combination of sweet and spicy. I hardly had time to finish one before a pork belly appetizer appeared, featuring thick, fatty slices of pork belly topped with apple-bacon jam, resting on a bed of apple slaw. The contract between sweet and salty was sublime. Burnt ends finished out the appetizers and were really good, but were overshadowed by the main course.

Pork ribs with a lovely color were thick, meaty, and actively trying to jump off the bone into one of the restaurant's four sauces. A smoky, dark meat chicken selection was perfect for sampling the sauces, though it wasn't my favorite poultry I tried. The brisket, though, was the best I've ever had. A deep pink line across the top showed where the smoke permeated the meat, offering a flavor that blended perfectly with the juicy, fatty, tender texture.

Not to be outdone, two of my favorite sides of the entire experience were the cucumber and onion salad — light, acidic with just a hint of sweetness — and a mac and cheese that bucks the idea that this comfort food has to be heavy. Both are must-orders on any Q39 trip.

Kansas City barbecue is awesome. Yes, the food is fantastic, but the atmosphere and the people bring everything together in a way that makes you want more. A special thanks to Visit Kansas City for hosting me, The Truitt Hotel for providing a charming place to sleep off my food comas, and all of the restaurants that served up more barbecue than I could handle. 

My evaluations were based on taste, texture, smell, and presentation. For taste and smell, I looked for balanced seasoning and sauces that complemented the meat without masking it. For texture and presentation, I looked for proper doneness, tender cuts, and whether the meat and sides were thoughtfully plated. As always, this list is subjective and reflects my views alone. None of the restaurants paid to be on this list.