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Best Barbecue in KC

The Best Barbecue in KC

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Enjoy Kansas City’s own signature style barbecue and an outing! Slow-smoked meat, sweet and tangy sauce, melt-in-your-mouth juicy ribs…it has been said that in Kansas City, barbecue isn’t just a meal, it’s a way of life. We take pride in our barbecue in Kansas City and every autumn host the World Series of Barbecue at the American Royal, the world’s largest barbecue contest. And year-round we can be found feasting at our favorite restaurants and arguing around water coolers in offices across the metro about which local restaurant truly serves the tastiest, the tangiest, the sauciest, the tender-est (yes, we’ll even invent words to describe it!), the very best barbecue in town. Chances are good that if you ask 10 locals for their favorite barbecue joint, these restaurants will make the cut!

Fiorella’s Jack Stack 

Claim to Fame: Zagat’s highest rated barbecue in the country, including Most Popular Restaurant in Kansas City 2012. Voted Kansas City's best barbecue in Ingram’s Magazine (2000-2010).

Kansas City Origins: Founded in 1957 by the Fiorella family, the first location was a storefront barbecue house with a modest selection of five or six items and originally named Smoke Stack Barbecue. Jack, the eldest son, changed the name of his restaurants to Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue in 1997 as a derivative of the original label.

Signature Items: Best known for delicious entrees including crown prime beef short ribs, burnt ends, Duroc pork chops, rack of lamb and farm-raised Atlantic salmon. They also serve tasty side dishes like hickory pit beans, cheesy corn bake and onion rings.

Four Locations:

Oklahoma Joe’s

Claim to Fame: The Zagat #1 rated barbecue restaurant in Kansas City every year since 2004. Zagat also named Joe's famous sandwich, the Z-Man, the best sandwich in Kansas in its "50 States, 50 Sandwiches” list. In 2013, the Daily Meal website and USA Today both named Oklahoma Joe’s Kansas City ribs "America's Best Ribs."

Kansas City Origins: Beginning as the Slaughterhouse Five in barbecue competitions, the group won contests including the Lenexa Kansas State BBQ Championship, the American Royal Open and the American Royal Invitational. Since they began competing in 1991, Slaughterhouse Five has won more than 25 Grand and Reserve Grand championships. And in 1993, it was named the Kansas City Barbeque Society’s Team of the Year. Jeff and Joy Stehney used their winning recipes to open Oklahoma Joe’s restaurant in 1996, winning fans ever since, including President Obama on his summer 2014 visit to Kansas City.

Signature Items: The Z-Man Sandwich (slow-smoked brisket, provolone cheese and onion rings on a Kaiser roll), Smokie Joe Sandwich (chopped smoked beef and pork on a bun), ribs and chicken. Popular sides include pig salad, pit boss salad, barbecue beans and creamy coleslaw.

Three Locations:

Gates 

Claim to Fame: Customers are greeted with “Hi, may I help you?” the moment they walk in the door. The greeting is Gates’ signature one-of-a-kind Midwestern hospitality.

Kansas City Origins: Established in 1946 at 19th & Vine, Gates now boasts six restaurants.

Signature Items: Burnt ends, ribs, mutton and sides of beans and slaw.

Six Locations:

Arthur Bryant’s

Claim to Fame: Serving celebrities since 1930, Arthur Bryant’s has been enjoyed by Steven Spielberg, Michael Landon, Robert Redford and Jack Nicholson—to name just a few. Presidents Truman, Carter and Obama have all enjoyed the King of Ribs’ famous recipes.

Kansas City Origins: Since the 1920s, Kansas Citians have been enjoying the Bryant family’s signature sauce and smoked meats.

Signature Items: Ribs, turkey and beef served with cole slaw and barbecue beans.

Two Locations:

Kansas City Barbecue Trivia

What is Kansas City-style barbecue?: Kansas City’s style differs from the popular methods of cooking barbecue in Texas or Memphis. Here in the heartland, our barbecue meat is slow smoked over wood, typically hickory, and slathered in a sweet and tangy tomato-based sauce.

25 cents: The price of slow-cooked ribs first sold in Kansas City by Henry Perry in the 18th & Vine neighborhood in 1908. The restaurant later became Arthur Bryant’s.

The most barbecue: According to the Kansas City Barbecue Society, we have more barbecue restaurants per capita than any other city in the United States.

35: This year marks the 35th annual World Series of Barbecue at the American Royal in Kansas City. More than 550 teams compete in the largest barbecue contest in the world.

11-13: The number of ribs in a full slab.

18 hours: Some Kansas City barbecue dishes are smoked up to 18 hours to reach perfection.

Chips too: The popularity of KC-style barbecue carries on in other local products. The most popular flavor of Guy’s potato chips, founded in 1938 in Kansas City, MO, is Legendary BBQ, which sold 230,134 bags in 2012.

Sides: The five most popular side dishes are baked beans, onion rings, potatoes (mashed, baked, fried or potato salad–it’s all good), cole slaw and corn.

Research Sources:

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