Bbq (Kansas City: eat, best, roaches)

[luzianne]

Did anybody mention Zarda BBQ? I like their baked beans probably the best of any BBQ place that I've tried and I love their burnt ends when they are little crispy pieces. Some places I've gotten burnt ends they were big chunks of meant and not crispy/"burnt" like I expect them to be.

Is there still a KC Masterpiece on the Plaza? I ate at the one at 435 and Metcalf (not there anymore) and wasn't really impressed, although I do like KC Masterpiece sauce and buy it from the store.

Wasn't LC's shut down for a while for code violations? I've never eaten there, but that would stop me from trying it.

[xenokc]

KC Masterpiece sauce is made in Oakland I think and is loaded with chemicals. The Plaza restaurant is now Jack Stack.

Masterpiece was a facsimile at best.

[knrstz]

I ate at an amazing little bbq place in Excelsior springs. That was some awesome BBQ!

[TabulaRasa]

That'd be Wabash, I believe...live blues?

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by luzianne

Wasn't LC's shut down for a while for code violations? I've never eaten there, but that would stop me from trying it.

Yes, and it's the main reason I have yet to eat there, despite passing by it 2-3 times a week. It's dumb, as I've certainly eaten in many a restaurant that has had health code violations (we all have, most likely), only I didn't know it. But the mental block is there, none the less.

Also, I can appreciate a BBQ place that's gritty without appearing wholly unsanitary, and LC's gives every appearance of being filthy, at least from the outside. I am VERY forgiving of dives, but for some reason, I can get past this and venture into LC's. I know people who love the place, so maybe one day, my mental block will lessen.

[northbound74]

We ate at LC's some a few years ago. My favorite in KC for bbq but I've had better elsewhere. After a little while in KC, I realized bbq wasn't really my thing and stopped eating it almost completely. Never heard about the code violations until recently. Yeah, probably have eaten at dirtier places, but the stain is there now.

[TabulaRasa]

Oh, I loved BBQ long before I was a KC resident. Moving here just gave me better access to good stuff.

[northbound74]

Until recently, I've always lived near bbq 'capitals'. Memphis, Texas, KC... Not the biggest fan to begin with, but KC almost ruined it completely for me. The buzzed about places like Bryant's and Gates I found to be mediocre at best. Must be an acquired taste. Tried several others with no luck. LC's was good but inconsistent at times.
The food scene in KC is interesting. They try pretty hard, and there's a little bit of everything, but none of it would be considered the best I ever had in any particular category.

[MabelMeister]

The sauce definitely makes the barbecue. I couldn't eat the Texas dry-rub stuff. Blech. The meat being good and tasty goes without saying, but KC style sauce is too good.

I'm not too terribly picky when it comes to barbecue, definitely depends on mood. I do like the Gates on Main Street, OK Joe's is good, Wabash is great, etc. A bunch of other places I need to go to around the city.

But I find I like Smokehouse's beans to be better than any other beans I've had. No idea why.

Also, there's a barbecue joint in tiny ole Williamsburg, Kansas that had some of the best ribs I've ever had. Fan-effin-tastic.

[aragx6]

I never much liked BBQ as a kid, so it wasn't until I moved here that I ever ate much of it.

I think the sauce and the pulled pork at OK Joe's is delicious. I've eaten at Jack Stack and it was fine, Gates was pretty tasty too.

I've always had a thing against ribs, but last summer I had the best ones I've ever had -- made by a (now ex) co-worker who also competes (and often wins) BBQ competitions. I've still been reticent to try them again, wondering if I can find ones as good as those!