Kansas City BBQ Guide: The Joints Worth the Drive

Kansas City barbecue is a style, not just a location: slow-smoked over hickory, heavy on the bark, finished with a thick tomato-and-molasses sauce served on the side so you can argue about it. Here's how to eat it properly in one weekend.

The classics you've heard of

Arthur Bryant's in the 18th & Vine district is the historic pick — a grittier sauce, a counter line, and a century of history on the walls. Gates Bar-B-Q will shout 'Hi, may I help you?' at you the second you walk in; order fast and order the ribs. Both are institutions and both are worth doing once.

The modern generation

Joe's Kansas City started in a gas station and still operates out of one — the Z-Man sandwich is the order, and the line moves faster than it looks. Q39 in Midtown is the sit-down, cocktail-and-a-plate version. Slap's BBQ in Kansas City, Kansas is the one competition cooks name first.

How to fit four in a weekend

• Split everything. Two people, one plate, four stops — this is the only way it works.
• Go early. Several of the best places close when the meat runs out, not at a set hour.
• Alternate: brisket at one, ribs at the next, sausage at the third, a sandwich at the fourth.
• Skip the sides at the first two stops. The beans are excellent and they will end you.
• Weekday lunch beats weekend dinner at almost every joint on this list.

The sauce debate, settled

KC sauce is sweet, thick and tomato-based — but every joint's is different, and the correct move is to taste the meat naked first. If it needs sauce to work, that tells you something.

What else to do between meals

Walk the Nelson-Atkins lawn, ride the free streetcar down Main Street, or spend an hour at the National WWI Museum for the best skyline view in the city. All three help.