Kansas City BBQ: My reviews

I'd like to think I make good BBQ (or at least pulled pork and brisket. I don't do ribs because they take up too much space). I will let the folks who have eaten it weigh in on whether or not it's actually good.


Kansas City is the home to one style of BBQ (tomato & sugar based sauces), and the home of the world's biggest BBQ competition. We came here to eat BBQ.


First stop: Gates. Okay, mostly because it was 2 blocks from our hotel. We had the 4 Boner, fries, 2 kinds of slaw, onion rings & pasta salad. The 4 Boner is 4 rib bones, plus shredded brisket and sliced ham. The brisket was very good. The ribs and ham far too salty for our tastes. Their sauces are very heavy on the cumin, the regular and sweet are too similar, and the hot not hot at all. The sauces overpowered the brisket. The slaw was way too wet and runny. The pasta salad was not very good at all and almost half mayo. They were having problems with their beer taps, and because it's served cafeteria style (like all good BBQ places) the food was cold by the time the beer got poured. And the beer was warm, too. The frosty glasses were not frosty. The fries were uninspired. The rings were OK but a little heavy on the coating. Way too much food for 2 of us. Overall 2 stars out of 5. Maybe 3 if you just get the brisket and the beer taps are working.


Next stop: Three Little Pigs. We had the pulled pork sandwich and the brisket sandwich. These dudes have won a lot of competitions. The pulled pork was very nice, but lacked depth and complexity. Their sauce was kinda bland. The brisket was pretty uninspired (in this mall location, it was being kept in a bath of some kinda liquid. Bleh.) The slaw was nicer than Gates; less runny and more crunchy. Still, this is a franchise location, though their first. Overall 3 stars out of 5.


Finally: Arthur Bryant's. We had a short slab of ribs, a burnt ends pulled pork sandwich and slaw. Wow. This is what BBQ is all about. The pork rocked. The ribs were glorious. The slaw crunchy and excellent. Wow. Did I mention wow? 5 stars. Easy winner in Kansas City.


All 3 places had better pickles than I can find at home, and all served the food on the most bleh white bread one could imagine.


Note: getting vegetables at a BBQ place is nigh on impossible. I think we'll eat salads for the next 3 days.