63 minute read
Backbeat
LIVING THE DREAM
While visiting KC on tour, pianist Jackie Myers had an epiphany: “All I wanted to do was play jazz in Kansas City.”
BY NINA CHERRY
IN 2016, Jackie Myers found herself in Kansas City for a night, touring as a pianist with a pop band based out of Nashville. “The music was cool,” Myers says, “but it wasn’t jazz. I wasn’t fulfilled. I was tired of playing the same thing night after night.”
Myers stepped into the Green Lady Lounge to listen to some jazz before her gig. Danny Embrey’s trio was on the bill for the night. “When I walked in and heard them, I just thought, ‘What am I doing with my life?’” Myers says.
Over the course of the next several months, Myers emailed the Green Lady incessantly. “We don’t have a spot right now, but try back in six months,” they’d say. Myers would write it down on her calendar and do just that, over and over again. Finally, Myers got an email from club owner John Scott: Can you play this weekend?
Myers dropped everything, cleared her plans for the weekend and made the drive from Austin, her home at the time, to Kansas City.
Scott was thoroughly impressed by Myers’ performance. He wanted her to record a live jazz album at the Green Lady. She went back to Austin and wrote an entire album of original music in four months. When she came back to the Green Lady to record, it went well again.
The next day, Scott called Myers and asked to meet for coffee. “Have you ever thought about moving to Kansas City?” he asked.
“All I wanted to do was play jazz in Kansas City,” Myers says, “and I was so tired of being on the road.”
In late 2017, Myers, a multi-talented jazz pianist, vocalist and composer, put down roots in Kansas City for a residency at the Green Lady Lounge and, most importantly, to pursue her true passion: jazz.
Now, four years later, Myers is a part of the Johnson County Community College Jazz Series lineup this month, playing straight-ahead jazz to honor the Kansas City tradition. Now in its thirty-third year, the series features the best jazz musicians of the city, with a long line of legends in its history. In December, Myers will make her debut at The Folly Theater. This performance will feature the skilled composer’s original music in The Folly’s listening room.
While the repertoire varies between these two performances, both share the same all-star quartet with Ben Tervort on bass, Marty Morrison on drums and Trent Austin, the newest member of the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, on trumpet. Myers’ soulful voice, witty lyrics and deft piano playing, especially with this tight combo, are not to be missed.
In addition to these two big performances, Jackie Myers has a full plate of exciting projects. Currently, she is writing a musical, finishing up her master’s degree at the UMKC Conservatory, getting back to gigging consistently (you can catch her regularly at Corvino Supper Club, The Foundation and American Slang Brasserie), film-scoring for her production company, Silent Films Out Loud, which revives silent Buster Keaton films, and building a home studio.
GO: Jackie Myers Quartet, Yardley Hall in the Midwest Trust Center at JCCC, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park. Tuesday, October 26. 7 pm. Free. Jackie Myers Quartet, The Folly Theater, 300 W. 12th St., KCMO. Tuesday, December 7. 7 pm. $22. Seating limited to forty-five.
CURATING A BEAUTIFUL LIFE
SHAC ATTACK
Does the word “shacket” ring any bells? The shirt-jacket combo has been gaining popularity, and the trend isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Shackets (or “surf shirts” to some) are prized for their versatility. This season, we’ll see the hybrids in a new range of styles and fabrics. Classic plaid and checkered variations will be cold-weather hits. But we’ll also see the shacket in linen, faux leather, quilted cloth and fringed suede. The French Terry Shacket from Frankie and Jules Boutique (frankieandjules. com) takes a unique and relaxed approach to the trend. This $58 piece is an ultra-soft pop of color that pairs well with an athleisure look or denim.
FRIENDS FOREVER. FOREVER.
The latest jewelry trend? Bracelets you can’t take off.
BY NICOLE KINNING
FRIENDSHIP BRACELETS HAVE COME a long way since summer camp.
Today’s trend is “zapping,” or getting jewelry permanently welded around your wrists, ankles and necks. (The term zapping comes from the spark that happens when two ends of the jewelry chain are fused together.)
Some are also comparing the trend to tattoos and piercings—a visual, permanent statement, but less painful. KC-raised Denverite Jordan Louis was so drawn to the idea of permanent jewelry welding—which has been around on the coasts for a few years now—that she found herself clicks away from booking a flight to New York City to get zapped over a year ago. “I was like, ‘Okay, that’s a very long, expensive trip for a bracelet,’” she says.
Louis says that she knew she was on the front end of the trend, so she started her own company, Link x Lou.
Link x Lou (@linkxlou.kc) started in Denver as the coronavirus pandemic was on the downturn and people started to feel comfortable gathering at friends’ houses. Louis began hosting what she likes to call private “linking” parties. “The concept of ‘link’ went beyond the bracelet,” she says. “We’re linking people back together.”
Business is heating up: Link x Lou has since expanded to fourteen cities, including right here in Louis’ hometown of KC. Louis says that “typically, our signups fill up within anywhere from five minutes to a half hour” and that the company can post up at events from bachelorette parties to business meetings to baby showers. Link x Lou has even hosted several Welding and Whiskey Nights.
According to Louis, there are several reasons why one might want to get linked: to contribute to sustainability efforts, to have a meaningful symbol with friends or family, or just to wear jewelry without the hassle of putting it on every day—if you’ve ever tried to clasp a bracelet on your own wrist, you know the struggle.
If someone wants to get Linked by Lou, they can either sign up for a pop-up event (typically at local shops, boutique gyms and salons) or host a private party. From there, they pick what chain they want, and the trained “linker” will custom fit the chains and weld the ends together, which creates the distinguishable spark that will likely end up on an Instagram story.
Right now, the jewelry options for Link x Lou are four different styles of fourteen-karat gold chain, two of which are available in either yellow or white gold, but Louis says she’ll have options rotating seasonally. Bracelets range from $75 to $135, anklets are $175, and necklaces start at $175 and go up by the inch.
“It’s not only getting a piece of jewelry,” Louis says. “It’s getting an experience. People who get linked have the thought, ‘This is getting made for me. I got to be a part of this.’”
SEW CUTE
Corntemporary Designs brings levity to the art world.
BY NATALIE TORRES GALLAGHER
FOR THE LAST YEAR, Erin McAnany has been living in a cartoon world. Under her year-old brand Corntemporary Designs (@corntemporarydesigns), McAnany offers a slew of products loosely inspired by 90s Nickelodeon classics (Rugrats, SpongeBob) and Bill Amend’s FoxTrot comics. The influeverything starts. I did this blind contour drawing of Mona Lisa and started sewing fabric drawings of it onto shirts and tote bags, and they were really selling.
Tell us about your product line. After the Mona Lisa products, I started making cartoon cow and sunny-side egg rings dipped in resin. Then I started making the knotties. I came up with the idea from those pregnancy body pillows. The knotties are KC FAVORITES tube pillows you can knot or unknot. I like to wear mine like a comforter Shopping Fuel There’s [around my shoulders]. never a morning I wake up where I’m not thinking about Billie’s Grocery treats. I crave the What materials do you middle piece of their banana bread, always. Also, Crows Coffee does a great matcha green tea latte. use and where do you find them? For the knotties, I find all my materials at Scenter of Attention My mom, Nancy McAnany, Scraps or thrift stores. It has owned Perfect Scents started like that because since she was pregnant with me. She does custom fragrances and I didn’t want to buy new has every brand of perfume you can fabric—I was interested in think of, plus designer dupes. I love vintage fabric, and that’s so adding Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue to the Revitalizing Hydrator. expensive. So instead, I’d find sheets and comforters Trail Time I really love with great prints or colors. the trails in Roanoke Park—those were All my rings and ceramics important for my mental health are made with Sculpey clay. during quarantine. If I’m having a rough day, I’m taking a hot girl walk. I also picked up roller skating That was the first clay I ever used when I was five years during quarantine, and I do that on old. At the start of the panthe Riverfront Trail. demic, I picked up Sculpey clay again. To make rings, I shape and bake the clay in my oven. After that, I resin-dip the rings, which is an insanely messy and frustrating process, but it makes them sturdier.
ences come out in chunky resin rings and noodle-y pillows she calls “knotties.” “It’s bringing a little bit of the cartoon world into the boring grown-up world,” McAnany says.
Ahead of her gallery show on Saturday, Oct. 23, we talked with McAnany about how she got started and where you can find some of her favorite Kansas City shops and makers.
How did you start Corntemporary Designs? It started out of my apartment, which is where What’s your inspiration? My dad was a full-time artist, and he passed away almost six years ago. Neither my brother nor I had seen art as a career, but something clicked when the pandemic hit. We’ve since both left our jobs and have a gallery and studio space together in the Westside. We don’t know if the energy went from our dad to us, but we’re trying to ride the wave.
My style is definitely different from my dad’s, though. I don’t know what hit me over quarantine, but I could not stop designing cow prints. We’re in Cowtown, and people forget cows literally made this town, so it’s a little hometown pride. I want to bring Cowtown back in a cute way.
CALM COLLAB
Artist Kelly Porter and her good friend Lisa Schmitz worked hand in hand to remake a gutted Spanish revival into an oasis.
BY DAWNYA BARTSCH PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MULLINS
HEN ARTIST Kelly Porter walked into the completely gutted first floor of her future home, she wasn’t overwhelmed. She saw a blank canvas. “Everything was stripped,” Porter says of the 1969 Spanish revival home in Prairie Village. “Really, there was just a roof and then the existing footprint of the main house left.”
But a “big project” is what she was looking for, says Porter, whose desire to create a family oasis for herself and two daughters has been the driving force behind the design decisions in this seventhousand-square-foot home.
Porter, who is having a solo art exhibition, “Atomic Flowers and Parabolic Meaning,” at the Blue Gallery in the Crossroads now through November 1, was set on making this house a place to work and live.
The property’s location next to Franklin Park and its large lot, also completely devoid of embellishments, gave her the room and freedom to add an artist’s studio with views of the park and access to her own gardens.
“The yard looked like a football field,” says Porter, a Texas native who moved to Missouri after high school to attend the Kansas City Art Institute. “There was nothing.”
The property’s blank slate both inside and out allowed Porter to create almost exactly what she wanted: not only a safe and comfortable port to call home but a place to explore her creative side and also to just have fun with friends and family.
Architect Bill Poole of Poolehaus Residential Design reconfigured the house, making it livable and removing many of the original “grandiose” ele-
Wments of the house, including a circular staircase. “I was looking for a clean, minimal aesthetic,” Porter says. “Simple, ninety-degree angles, not curves.” A “calm” space to create and showcase art. Like a true art collector, Porter has filled her home with an eclectic mix of folk art, traditional art and more modern art, including several of her own pieces. Many of the folk art pieces come from The International Art Market in Santa Fe, a New Mexico nonprofit that Porter’s father has been involved in for years. The market brings in folk artists from across the globe to showcase their wares. Others Porter has collected over time and found while traveling. Despite Porter having an impressive design pedigree, growing up in an art-loving family, holding a master’s degree in fine art and co-owning an international handmade wallpaper company, she considers herself “three-dimensionally challenged.” “I’m much better at creating two-dimensional pieces,” she says with a slight smile. It’s with this self-knowledge that she enlisted the help of good friend and interior designer Lisa Schmitz. Schmitz, who, with Porter, is part of a support group of female entrepreneurs who manage both careers and families and call themselves the Bizee Mamas, was instrumental. “Her direction in three-dimensionality was so helpful.” Several areas in the home that Porter considers pivotal in creating a peaceful, calm feel while still being infused with vibrant colors are Schmitz’s doing. “Every textile, every pattern, every color I see and that exists here in my home is like my permanent canvas and backdrop for anything I create,” Porter says, noting that Schmitz understood this need. “So I keep everything neutral and grounded in creamy whites here, along with a few charcoal grey and ‘elephant-grey’ browns.”
1 THE STUDIO The addition of the studio and garage on the western side of the house is exactly what Porter needed. Designed by architect Bill Poole, it is connected to the main house by a breezeway, making it feel simultaneously easily accessible and like a retreat.
“He took great effort in asking all of the right questions about how my studio would function and how I would work in the space,” Porter says of Poole. “I believe he really nailed it, as it has everything I need, including storage and natural light in all of the right places.”
On the western side of the studio, the wall holds a large window with views of the park while the side facing the patio has a spacious garage-like glass door. When it’s open, the space seamlessly melds with the outdoors. “It’s important to me to be connected to the outdoors while creating,” says Porter, whose work centers on the natural world. “It also lets people wander in and look around when I’m having a party.”
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THE DINING ROOM Off the foyer, one of the first rooms to grab your attention is the dining room. It’s wallpapered in a custom design from Porter Teleo, the wallpaper company Porter co-founded with interior designer Bridgett Cochran. The design is exploding with vibrant organic forms—“created to evoke the feeling of being immersed inside of a large painting.” The pattern itself never repeats, meant to be a mural-like expression of flowers. Schmitz’s suggestion to use a round dining table adds to the room’s intimate feel.
“With Porter it was a real collaboration,” says Schmitz. “She is very creative and has a wonderful eye.”
The mid-century chandelier from West Elm is in contrast to a chinoiserie hutch in the corner and other strategically placed antiques.
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3 THE PATIO Made for outdoor fun, the patio space feels like an interior courtyard, elevated above the yard and buffeted by an artfully planted row of trees. It’s enveloped on three sides by the kitchen, art studio and living room. The space was designed by another of Porter’s cohorts, landscape architect Julia Montroy of DTLS Designs in St. Louis. Porter and Montroy attended art school together. “We traded a landscape plan for a large painting.”
With the help of Montroy’s plan and landscape company HappyYards KC, Porter has added a meditation garden, flower beds and other outdoor areas to her expansive yard.
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THE POWDER ROOM Wrapped from floor to ceiling in a rich dark green with veins of glimmering gold running through, this bathroom feels more like a fantasy world than a place to powder your nose. The Porter Teleo wallcovering is called Kintsugi after the Japanese process of repairing cherished objects such as heirloom pottery with metal. Mimicking parts of the design almost exactly, the gold sconces flanking the mirror are from Corrigan Studio. This room is one of Porter’s favorites. “I love it because it is glitzy and earthy at the same time,” she says.
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5 THE KITCHEN After seeing the perfect tiles for her future kitchen in a picture of a London home, Porter had to have them. It took her a while, but eventually her persistence paid off and she tracked down the manufacturer. The elongated hexagon tile is made of basalt limestone and is a dark earthy grey, serving as a neutral backdrop behind the stove and floating shelves.
Opposite the stove, a large wall of windows, parts of which are able to be thrown open to the patio, lets the outdoors in.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Shawn Brackbill best B B Q
HOW WE MADE THIS LIST
We hit the pits. We’ve been pretty much everywhere. We hit every new barbecue spot that’s opened since the release of our last list. We revisited our top ten from 2019 and made a point to check back with places on the bubble.
We hit the pits again. Anything that’s on our top ten was visited by someone on our team at least twice in the past six months to ensure consistency. We pay our own way and don’t announce ourselves. Advertisers were not favored.
We judge each place on its own merits. We tend to ask the person at the counter what’s good and get that. We ate a lot of ribs and brisket. We don’t like it when the meat’s being hidden by the sauce—but we sure do love sauce. This round, we gravitated toward spots that offer a few unexpected twists.
We don’t get hung up on the decor. We embrace both the romance of a gritty greasehouse and the comforts of nice cocktails and linen napkins.
Harp Barbecue
NUMBER 1
Harp Barbecue
Crane Brewing Co. 6515 Railroad St., Raytown. instagram.com/ harpbarbecue. Open Friday night and Saturday for lunch.
T STARTED WITH BRISKET. Well, brisket fat, actually. Tyler Harp was puzzling over what to do with all the drippings left over from Harp Barbecue, his twice-weekly barbecue pop-up in the back room of a Raytown brewery. What pairs well with beef fat? Harp’s mind went to chocolate chips.
Harp Barbecue’s tallow cookies are dark and squat—nothing you’d find on a Pinterest board—but there is a generous dusting of flake salt on top of each one. I tasted all kinds of things: smoke, gooey chocolate, brown sugar, an undeniable meatiness. I was overcome by a primordial urge to devour what is delicious, closely followed by an instinct to hoard this delicacy for times of scarcity.
If Harp can do that with the drippings, just imagine the brisket itself.
Two years after we anointed it tops in town, Harp is still the best barbecue experience in Kansas City. In the last two years, the city has seen a raft of newcomers who have matched where Harp was two years ago. But Harp keeps setting the pace, getting a little better every time we visit.
Harp is still cooking in a woodfired pit parked in the gravel lot out back of Crane Brewing. He’s still got Texas-style brisket—the crown jewel of his menu—ribs that shine like blue ribbon winners, and the cult-favorite blueberry-cheddar sausage. But he’s also making—well, cookies. And jerk chicken. And tater tot casserole.
Much of what is on Harp’s menu now is driven by the effects of the pandemic, namely, the record price
surge for beef and pork. To give customers a less expensive option, Harp turned to chicken and found inspiration when he attended Chicago’s Windy City Smokeout this summer. “One of the guys there has a spot called Green Street Smoked Meats, and he had a jerk chicken, and the one he made was the best bite I’ve had all year,” Harp says. “It made me want to give that experience to people, something different than the brisket-ribs-sausage plate.” Harp’s jerk rub is a blend of the usual suspects (clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, anise seed, allspice) plus fresh thyme for brightness and I ground long pepper. The birds are seasoned just before they are placed on the smoker. When they’re ready, Harp spreads the parts atop fluffy jasmine rice and finishes the plate with a citrusy jerk sauce that boasts a playful nip of habanero. One of Harp’s key strengths is balancing bold flavors, and his jerk chicken shows off this skill. Another strength— this one less technical, more elusive— is his ability to broaden the scope of a pitmaster. “You can learn a lot from different foods that are not traditional to Kansas City or American barbecue,” Harp says. “It’s a byproduct of traveling and being around people who care about food. It’s made us better and more open-minded about how we can blend other cuisines with what we’re trying to achieve.” That includes tater tot casserole, his take on the Midwest classic. Harp offers it as a seasonal side and folds his sausage into the mix. Like everything else, it sells out fast. The excellence of Harp’s basics is undisputed: the brisket, the ribs, the sausages. These are things that many do well and that Harp usually does better. But his brilliance shines brightest in the menu items you aren’t expecting, the ones you aren’t getting in line for. Sides that you’ll end up fighting over. Ambrosial chicken rubbed with an island of spices, cooked with such a focused patience that no drop of precious moisture dares escape the bird. Chocolate chip cookies that are at once as familiar as a kitchen-counter ceramic jar and as astonishing as it feels to fall in love for the first time.
– Natalie Torres Gallagher
Chef J BBQ
NUMBER 2
TEPPING INTO CHEF J BBQ in the West Bottoms is like turning up at your buddy’s house for dinner. Half the customers are sporting Chiefs gear. It’s likely that Zac Brown Band will be playing as Justin Easterwood ushers you in like an old friend whose name he’s temporarily misplaced.
This is no small feat given this particular pit is located in the concession stand of a seasonal haunted house. Wood paneling lines the walls, and iron chandeliers hang where Easterwood cooks. Stained-glass cutouts fill the counters where meat is sliced. It’s low-key, charming and very Kansas City—blending the nostalgia of Sunday cookouts and watching your uncle fix up his Camaro in the garage with the eerie overtones of a 19th-century factory building.
That eccentric down-home vibe is just the crackling of the whole operation. Near-perfect barbecued meat is at its core. Easterwood makes everything from scratch, from an escabeche of jalepenos and carrots to a yellow-gold Carolinastyle mustard sauce. The house-made sauce is served in tiny containers to keep meat from being drowned by well-intentioned, overzealous patrons. It’s all prepped with care.
S“Meat trimming and sausage prep can easily take a whole day,” Easterwood says. “Barbecue is all about timing, so I make sure to give myself leeway. The meat tells you when it’s done, not the time.” Everything Easterwood makes is exceptional. The bacon burnt ends are melt-in-your-mouth meat candy. The jalapeno-cheddar sausage is exceptionally rich. The rib crust makes for a full sensory experience—I got teary-eyed on the first bite. Don’t snooze on the turkey either; it’s as moist as the brisket. As for sides, instead of standard cheesy corn, Easterwood makes smoked elotes, sauced and spiced with a wedge of lime pressed into the center. It’s a hybrid of traditional Mexican street corn and cheesy corn bake—the ideal companion for brisket tacos and pulled pork nachos. Speaking of tacos: Chef J will be serving them all this month until midnight. His location is a haunted house snackbar, after all, and with that comes the responsibility of feeding young, meat-thirsty crowds piling out of The Beast. It’s not a glory gig for an elite pitmaster. But someone has to do it, and Easterwood has arranged for the exit of the attraction to drop you off at the order counter—because he’s a good friend like that. —Mary Henn
Sausage Party
Four favorite sausages
Guajillo Beef Sausage at Fox & Pearl
The signature sausage Fox & Pearl chef Vaughn Good makes for his Sunday-only barbecue menu, branded as Night Goat, turns the fat content down just enough to let the bright berryand-smoke flavor of guajillo peppers sing.
Blueberry-Cheddar Sausage at Harp
Less of a sausage and more of a bite-sized charcuterie board, this beloved creation explodes with sweet, ripe blueberries, sharp white cheddar, fresh herbs and-of course-gloriously beefy juices.
Chipotle Ghost Pepper Jack Sausage at Scott’s Kitchen
Do you enjoy pain? Does danger turn you on? Do you see a warning label and think it’s a dare? Haul yourself to Scott’s Kitchen up by the airport and brace yourself for the hotter-than-hell abuse that is their chipotle ghost pepper jack sausage. Milk is not on the menu, so bring your own.
Chipotle Jack Sausage at Jousting Pigs
If you’d like a little heat without losing sensation in your tongue, the chipotle pepper jack sausage at Jousting Pigs is a safe bet, with creamy cheese balancing the slow-burning spice.
Chef J BBQ
1401 W. 13th St., Suite G, KCMO. 816.805.8283. Open 11:30 am-4 pm Friday-Saturday and noon-4 pm Sunday. @chefjbbq. chefjbbq.com.
Jones Bar-B-Q
NUMBER 3
WRONG!
Stop lyin’ on Kansas City barbecue.
Kansas City invented sweet
barbecue. Uh, no. The sauce Henry Perry made at the first commercial establishment in the city was “harsh” with spice and pepper. His disciple, Charlie Bryant, also made extremely spicy sauce. The number of KC establishments that “slather” their meat in “thick, sweet” sauce is tiny.
KC barbecue is a “style.” It’s really more of a philosophy. Many establishments that have been serving “traditional” Kansas City barbecue for decades do things differently. There is no signature cut or sauce. It’s a vibe.
Kansas City is Kansas. Or Missouri.
Kansas City is Kansas City. It transcends the concept of borders. When someone obsesses over a particular establishment’s placement relative to the border, they’ve missed the point entirely.
Gates and Arthur Bryant’s are the two oldest barbecue spots in the city.
Rosedale Bar-B-Q is older, unless you get weird with the definitions.
Go to Arthur Bryants early if you
want burnt ends! Arthur Bryant’s invented the burnt end— the crispy, fatty edge of the brisket point—originally offered as a complimentary amuse bouche to waiting customers. Burnt ends are by definition in limited supply, so they meet demand by making a totally different thing and calling it “burnt ends.” Real AB burnt ends are available on the 3B sandwich.
Jones Bar-B-Q
6706 Kaw Drive, KCK 913.788.5005 Open 11 am-3 pm Tuesday-Saturday.
RE YOU READY for Jones Bar-B-Q… chips? Yes, they’re what they sound like—potato chips flavored with TV-famous sauce that’s bright and peppery, balanced with a little molasses.
“It’s something we’ve been working on for a minute,” says Deborah “Little” Jones, who runs the restaurant with her sister Mary “Shorty” Jones. “I sit at home and think about stuff that might interest people. Sometimes it does and sometimes it don’t.”
Deborah Jones’ ideas tend to be a little different. Like a coconut pineapple sauce that’s outbuzzing the original, which was made famous by the sisters’ appearance on Queer Eye. Or the vending machine out front, which dispenses items like rib tips wrapped in cellophane—it’s been a hit with the neighborhood around Jones’ humble cinder block building, which is outfitted with picnic tables and a weathered locker smoker.
“With Amazon and the railroad, there’s lots of late-shift people, and this was for them,” Deborah says. “We weren’t even thinking about Covid, but it worked out.”
At Kansas City magazine, we’re longtime admirers of the Jones sisters and their no-frills barbecue, the best of a rustic local tradition that
Athey learned from their father, Leavy B. Jones Sr. My most recent visit to Jones was my best ever—two bones splashed with the house sauce were sticky and smoky in all the right ways, with a contrast in textures and depth of flavor it’s hard to get from polished processes. And the Wednesday wings (page 61) were even better. Years have passed since their memorable appearance on Queer Eye, but it continues to open doors and bring in new customers from out of town. And it makes things like barbecue chips possible. “We try to keep our stuff in Kansas City, but there was no one here that did chips like that,” Deborah says. “So I emailed a guy out of state and he wrote me back in half a second, ‘Are you the Jones sisters that were on Queer Eye?’” They still take care of the old customers, too. Like Mr. Jones (no relation), who has been eating their food since their dad had a place on 10th Street, where he told people, “taste it—if you like it, buy it, and if you don’t, that’s fine.” “Mr. Jones is older, and he doesn’t wait in the line,” Deborah says. “He’ll wave, ‘Excuse me, excuse me—I just want two sausages with extra pickles. I’m a forty-year customer. They know who I am. Can I get my sausages?’”
—Martin Cizmar
Jousting Pigs
NUMBER 4
HE NEXT GREAT KC ’CUE CHAIN? Jousting Pigs looks to be making a play. Just two years after opening at 3Halves Brewing Co. in Liberty, owners John Atwell and Rod Blackburn are taking over the former Arthur Bryant’s near the Sporting stadium in KCK. “It kind of fell into our lap and seemed like too good of a deal to pass up,” Atwell says.
Growing into a small chain while keeping your product consistently excellent is a huge challenge. Many good men have failed at this endeavor. “We’ve been able to attract and train some really good talent,” Atwell says. “We need to be able to trust our pitmaster. We’ve got people who do it how it needs to be done and get it done right every time. That’s where you need to be. Look at a place like Franklin’s in Austin. Aaron Franklin isn’t out there cooking every brisket he does, but he’s trained up people who can do what he wants them to do.”
The mention of Franklin isn’t a tossaway. Jousting Pigs started as a competition team influenced by a memorable trip to Texas, where Atwell ate at Franklin’s, Snow’s and a few other operations famous for serving sauceless brisket, which is crusted with salt and pepper and sliced into thick, fatty slabs. Atwell staged with Tyler Harp, a high school classmate of his wife. “I was blown away by his food, like pretty much everybody else in Kansas
TCity that’s had it.” A recent visit shows Jousting Pigs has planted itself firmly among the city’s elite. They keep long hours and yet consistently turn out perfect ribs, some of the best beans in town and my personal favorite cheesy corn bake in KC, green chili cheesy corn with a nice pop of heat. And then there’s the brisket. Jousting Pigs is the rare place in town where you can get perfect thick-sliced brisket on, say, a Wednesday. It’s the product of a hybrid process, which starts low and slow overnight before being finished faster after the pitmaster shows up at 4 am. “It comes off when it’s done—it’s not a time or temperature thing,” Atwell says. The new location, the former Arthur Bryant’s, came outfitted with the same Old Hickory smokers that the original location uses—they’ve been cleaned and serviced for a second round. The larger new kitchen will allow for more catering gigs and let the company bottle their Korean and spicy sauces for retail sale. Those sauces are both great. They’re served on the side and, despite the brisket being Texas-style, some customers do still ladle them on. “As long as you don’t put ranch on it, I don’t really care,” Atwell says. “And, sadly, that has happened. This is the Midwest. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that some people really like ranch.”
—Martin Cizmar
Slicing vs. Sawing
“Hey, Mr. Big Time Chef, that’s a knife, not a saw,” KC Baron of Barbecue Paul Kirk remarked to the late Anthony Bourdain, as Bourdain sliced some barbecue brisket for the opening snippet of a culinary travel show in Kansas City. Bourdain responded to Kirk with a good-natured “no holds barred” chuckle at his knife skills relapse.
Judging from the many online videos of barbecuers slicing meat, plus watching pitmasters at barbecue cooking contests and in restaurants when the electric meat slicer isn’t in use, there’s a lot of meat sawing going on in Kansas City.
That begs the question: “What’s the best knife for slicing barbecue brisket?” Ambrosi Brothers Cutlery Co. on Main Street is a landmark destination for chefs and home cooks in need of new cutlery or cutlery maintenance, so I put the question to Ambrosi sales representatives Steve Lutes. Without hesitation Lutes replied, “A fourteen-inch slicer.” Lutes also noted that a sharp knife is essential. More than eight-hundred local restaurants, plus hundreds of home cooks, get their knives sharpened at Ambrosi Brothers.
I also put the question to chef Richard McPeake, instructor at Kansas City Kansas Community College, the Culinary Center of Kansas City and other venues. McPeake has instructed culinary professionals and home cooks in Kansas City for decades. He is also a veteran of Kansas City’s competition barbecue circuit, competing in past years with select students as the “RibStars” team.
He teaches sold-out Adult Knife Skills classes at the Culinary Arts Center and KCK Community College, with an emphasis on proper knife safety, speed and efficiency. “When slicing brisket for service, it is best to have a fourteen-inch meat slicer so that you slice through the brisket with two strokes,” he says. “‘Sawing’ leads to tearing the meat and uneven slices. A great meat carver gets his slices in one stroke, two at the most if it is a large piece of meat.”
—Ardie Davis
Jousting Pigs
110 E. Kansas St., Liberty. Open 11 am-8 pm Tuesday-Thursday, 11 am-9 pm FridaySaturday and 11 am-4 pm Sunday. joustingpigsbbq.com.
Q39
NUMBER 5
39 PITMASTER ROB MAGEE does everything a little bit differently. The chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America, the Harvard of culinary schools, before breaking onto the competition circuit en route to opening his own spot. Magee knows a lot about the science of food, enough to ignore certain truisms and bits of folk wisdom.
“When you did the competitions, it was all about that [science], but you were only serving six judges,” he says. “I've got this cuisine I really fell in love with. I took everything I learned in the field and figured out how to do that in a restaurant.”
And Q39 is a restaurant—a barbecue restaurant, but a restaurant. It’s a place you get an appetizer, two drinks, maybe dessert. And, brisket. Low and slow is out here. Q39 makes a brisket in six hours, with the meat wrapped in foil to keep it moist. And they do that a couple times a day to make sure there’s fresh meat for lunch and dinner.
“I was told a million reasons why you can’t serve fresh barbecue,” Magee says. “I figured, if I’m going to have brisket going out to my customers, it has to be fresh out of the smoker and sliced to order.”
I’ve been to the Midtown Q39 twice in just the past month, and I’ve had two excellent experiences. The first time, I popped in by myself for wings and a smoked Old Fashioned with Four Roses and smoked honey. On the second visit, I brought out-of-town guests who eat all over the country. They had the wings and smoked Old Fashioneds—and ribs and brisket and the chipotle sausage, which is hand-cranked to have a
Qsatisfyingly gritty texture. My friends, who’d both been to other notable barbecue bastions both in KC and abroad, were impressed by the same thing that always gets me here: the way Q39 can feel both down-to-earth and a little posh. We also got the wings again—a dish that exemplifies why Q39 remains toward the top of this list. At Q39, they start with meaty jumbo-size wings that are marinated for a full day, then fried, then char-grilled, then smoked. It’s a complicated process, but it makes for a meal that stands out even in a town lousy with great wings. “What really makes the wings work is the marination,” Magee says. “It keeps it really moist. The wings are cooked, like, three different ways, which makes it super delicious.”
—Martin Cizmar
WING-A-LING
Char Bar
Like the name says, Char Bar in Westport is a bar where the food is (lightly) charred. Three whole wings are brined in coffee and smoked, then sopped with a spicy sauce and served next to a large dipping cup of buttermilk-chive dressing.
Wednesday Wings at Jones
At Jones Bar-B-Q in KCK, wings are a Wednesday special. Jones smokes their wings whole until the skin starts to bubble a bit, then splashes them with the house’s excellent sauce and plates three whole wings on a slice of white bread. They’re both simple and perfect.
Q39
Q39 calls its wings “the best in the world,” and there’s certainly a case to be made for that claim. Six flats or drummies come on a rectangular platter with a nice coating of smoky chipotle barbecue sauce.
Q39
Locations on 39th Street in Midtown and College and Antioch in Overland Park. Open 11 am-9 pm Sunday-Thursday and 11 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday. q39kc.com.
NUMBER 6
T’S TOUGH TO SEE the forest for the trees, they say, or to tell the wheat from the chaff. Visitors to Kansas City are all but required by municipal ordinance to sample the twisting, turning foodway known as KC barbecue, a hodgepodge of influences and migrations from across the South and Midwest, as labyrinthine and complex as American history itself. Many come with a half dozen or more restaurants on their must-see list, eating little else. This is, of course, a rookie mistake: food in Kansas City does not start nor end with BBQ.
I am lucky enough to spend time in your city around once a year, which means my target list stays freshly updated with new wine bars, breweries, contemporary fine dining, food halls, coffee shops, and more—much more—in one of the country’s most exciting food and beverage cities.
But this is the barbecue issue, and there is really only one barbecue place that my soul demands to be reunited with every time I touch down at MCI, and that’s Gates.
I love everything about Gates: the dimly lit and comfortable dining room, so as to commit the sin of enthusiasm away from the bright lights of judgment; the late hours, suggesting a stop at Gates after having visited several other imbibing establishments in the course of a revelrous evening; the cognac bar at the Emanuel Cleaver Boulevard location, perhaps as classy and convivial of a drinking destination I’ve ever had the pleasure to know; and, of course, the service, from the greeting upon stepping foot inside (“HI MAY I HELP YOU?”) to the nodding hook-up from the carving line, slicing brisket and burnt ends to order. On my most recent visit, I ate there twice—in a single evening.
Yes, the food is very good. Gates is easily among the best barbecue
Irestaurants in your city, and the Gates family’s history is a significant part of why this cuisine is synonymous with KCMO. But it is the vibe at Gates that is peerless, unmatched, sine qua non. It transcends the food itself and becomes something more, something important and meaningful, calling me and so many others to return across the decades, happy and hungry and welcomed. There are many excellent barbecue establishments in Kansas City. And then there is Gates.
—Jordan Michelman
GATES
Six locations, but we favor the one at 1325 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd., KCMO. Open 11 am–midnight daily. gatesbbq.com.
Sauceagram
The Sauceagram is a very serious and totally foolproof way of matching Kansas Citians to their preferred barbecue sauce. It’s much like an Enneagram test, but with sauce. You may think you prefer a different sauce than your result suggests. You are wrong. This published project is the result of many minutes of psychological research and many gallons of sauce consumption.
—Mary Henn, M.A., MFA
1
I prefer to
A. Make a decision and go for it. B. Do as much research as possible.
I want to be known as
A. Independent and unique. B. Hardworking and reliable.
It’s most important to
A. Take care of my relationships. B. Get the job done.
2
3
If you answered…
AAA - The Sauce Splasher
ABB - The Showboat
ABA - Six-Pack Bringer
AAB - The I-Do-It-My-Way-er
BAA- The Entertainer
BAB - The Thermometer Watcher
BBB - The Cookbook Reader
BBA - The Side-Dish Bringer
The Heart (Beefy) Types
The Side-Dish Bringer
Jones Bar-B-Q Sweet & Tangy Sauce
You work to be helpful. You keep things light and a little peppery and work from scratch, according to the old family ways.
The Showboat
Arthur Bryant’s Original Barbecue Sauce
Rich and tart, you work hard to be well known and keep a reputation.
The I-Do-It-My-Way-er
L.C.’s Famous Kansas City BBQ Sauce
You’re sweet, but you do things the only way that makes sense, which happens to be your own way.
The Head (Turkey) Types
The Cookbook Reader
Jack Stack Barbecue Sauce
You’ve studied the rules and you follow them so well you might as well have written them yourself. You’re a great blend of sweet and sharp.
The Sauce Splasher
Joe’s Kansas City Original BBQ Sauce
You’re an enthusiastic adventurer and thrill seeker who gets attention.
The Body (Porky) Types
The Entertainer
Gates Bar-B-Q Sauce
Strong, powerful and independent, you like to show off a little, and people enjoy it.
The Six-Pack Bringer
Slap’s BBQ Kansas City Slap Sauce
You like to go with the flow—light, sweet and casual. You make sure no one has an empty glass.
The Thermometer Watcher
Q39 Sauce
You know the rules and do things by the book. You’re sassy and savory but always professional.
GIMME THE BIRD
Honestly, I’m not much for brisket. I know when it’s done well, and I know how to appreciate it, just as I can recognize the inherent superiority and grace of, say, Olympic shot-putters. But give me a juicy, well-spiced bird, its skin flame-reddened and speckled with black char —give me El Pollo Guasave—and I become a barbecue evangelist.
When it comes to ’cue, beef and pork get all the glory. While everyone was looking the other way, Kansas City has been slowly fanning the flames of its barbecue poultry game. When I say, “I love barbecue chicken,” I am not talking about the Costco thighs you threw on the gas grill, slathered with Kraft sauce and forgot about until the bottom of your third beer. I am referring to the birds that receive significantly more attention: The whole cherry woodfired chicken at Poio (807 S. 17th St., KCK), for instance, which is brined for a full day in a garlic-chili-vinegar mix and tastes like waking up from a wonderful, vivid daydream. At Buck Tui (page 68), birds are blessed in a Thai marinade of citrus, fish sauce, lemongrass and coriander before they are smoked low and slow over hickory, oak and cherry wood, then served on a bed of jasmine rice.
You can smell the chicken at El Pollo Rey (901 Kansas Ave., KCK) from several blocks away. Here, dozens of plump birds are moved down a long wood-fired grill while the woman at the counter calls out orders for whole chickens, half chickens and wings. The chicken king likes to pair this smoky bird with pickled red onions, tortillas and a zippy pink salsa.
—Natalie Torres Gallagher
El Pollo Guasave
1600 Central Ave., KCK. 913.621.1515. Open 10:30 am–8 pm Thursday–Sunday.
El Pollo Guasave
WITH IMPERFECT SPANISH, I tried to tell the woman behind the window at El Pollo Guasave that I had questions for the owner of the little chicken shack on Central Avenue in KCK. She waved over the man operating the grill. He was wearing a white apron, and when I told him, “Tu pollo es el mejor de toda Kansas City,” his easy smile grew. He was very glad I liked it, he responded graciously in Spanish— before hailing his bilingual daughter to continue the conversation. Felix has been operating El Pollo Guasave for sixteen years. He is originally from Guasave, the Sinaloan town where the iconic Mexican chicken chains El Pollo Loco and El Pollo Feliz were both born in 1975. There are only two options on the menu at El Pollo Guasave: Pollo entero (whole chicken) or medio pollo (half chicken). Both come with sides of rice and beans, plus corn tortillas and salsa. The Sinaloan signature style is all over the flavors in these birds, which first take a luxuriant bath in a vibrant orange-garlic marinade before getting butterflied and layered on a fiery grill. In a text message, Jessica, Felix’s daughter, kindly declined my request for an interview, adding that her father is “old-fashioned.” Over numerous NUMBER 7
visits, we have ascertained the following: The chicken at El Pollo Guasave is never frozen (there’s no room for a freezer). The grill operates on an assembly-line model, with the birds migrating across it to be cooked at different temperatures during its hour-ish of cook time. We have surmised that this method creates a depth of flavor that most other places, where the grill temp is consistent, can’t attain. The result is a charred, citrusy chicken whose juicy flesh is practically leaping from the bone directly into your mouth.
Kansas City barbecue is built on borrowed techniques and traditions: It is a mashup of all the best things from other regions. And so we aren’t interested in the semantic argument about whether grilled chicken is technically “barbecue” or not. The racks of ribs at Charlie Vergos in Memphis spend similar time on a similar grill, and no one has ever questioned its barbecue bonafides. In the Kansas City spirit of embracing outside influences, we are deeming Sinaloan-style charbroiled chicken to be barbecue— and damn good barbecue, when it’s done right. Before complaining, please stuff a medio in your mouth.
—Natalie Torres Gallagher
NUMBER 8
Sandwiches
Corned Beef at Danny Edwards BLVD
Even in the barbecue business, where recipes are measured by hours instead of minutes, scratch-made corned beef is an overly involved process, starting with extra-careful trimming and continuing with two weeks of daily maintenance. At Danny Edwards, where the titular pitmaster has retired, owner Joel Bremer serves it once a week, on Wednesdays. Kraut is not available. “I look at Reuben sandwiches more as a deli thing, and this ain’t a deli, so we don’t go with all that,” Bremer says.
Jackfruit Carnitas Sandwich at Poio
You’ll never find anything that looks more like alien offspring than jackfruit. You’ll never find anything more surprising than the looks on our faces when we tried this vegan alternative to carnitas (loaded with a tangy slaw, black beans and salsa verde) and liked it.
Joe’s Rocket Pig at Joe’s KC
In 2018, Joe’s KC introduced this sweet-spicy masterpiece: perfectly sauced pulled pork, crispy bacon, gooey pepper jack cheese and deep-fried golden jalapeno coins, sandwiched in a Kaiser bun. Let the Royals keep the Z-Man—we’ll take the undeniably superior Rocket Pig any day of the week.
Smokin’ Russ at Jack Stack
A burnt end sandwich, but make it spicy. The Smokin’ Russ comes with chopped burnt ends so you don’t have to worry about them falling out of your sandwich and gets layered with a spicy sauce and jalapenos. Your taste buds will thank you for the extra kick.
3B at Arthur Bryant’s
Arthur Bryant’s invented the burnt end, but if you order “burnt ends” here, you’ll end up with something the current owner will freely admit is “totally incorrect” since scarcity is inherent. Instead, those tiny models of extra-toasty brisket point find their way onto this excellent sandwich, named for the landmark restaurant’s freeway exit.
Turkey Club at the Woodyard
The Woodyard in KCK has long had a loyal following—witness the sign out front that advertises the restaurant being featured on Nigella Lawson’s long-gone BBC show. We’ve always liked their turkey, which is put to good use in this twist on a traditional club.
Jack Stack Barbecue
Five locations, but we favor the one at 4747 Wyandotte Ave., KCMO. Open 11 am-9 pm Monday-Thursday, 11 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday and 11 am-8:30 pm on Sunday. 877.419.7427. jackstackbbq.com
ACK STACK HAS BEEN one of the most recognizable names in Kansas City barbecue for decades.
Since Russ Fiorella opened the first storefront in 1957, the brand has expanded to include five locations in Missouri and Kansas (a sixth is coming soon to Johnson County).
What it does well today are the same things it has always done well, the things it must do well: brisket, steak, ribs. They begin the same way today that they did over sixty years ago, with a live fire in a brick pit over hickory logs built as the sun is cresting over the horizon.
For a long time, I disliked the idea of Jack Stack. When I arrived in Kansas City in 2013, I saw the stylish chain and the salad section and decided whatever made it popular had probably sizzled out. But on a busy Friday evening last month, as I leaned back into a booth at the Country Club Plaza and considered the full rack of lamb ribs in front of me, I realized I had played into the tired trope of
Jsnobbish food critic. And the joke was on me. Those lamb ribs start with ample dry rub—a combination of onion, garlic, cayenne and brown sugar—before they are transferred to the grill, where a half-hour in the heat renders them a tender, smoky bronze. On the plate, the rack gets a zigzag of shiny glaze and two sides before it is sent to silence the hunger of the carnivore who ordered it. Earlier this year, I sent my family in Texas a care package consisting mostly of Kansas City barbecue sauce and rubs. They’re big barbecue people, of course. (If you’re not serving barbecue at a Texas wedding, does the marriage still count?) Included in the package was a bottle of Jack Stack Barbecue Kansas City Hot Sauce. A few days after opening the mail, my Uncle Mingo texted me: “We just had wings and I have to tell you, this sauce is the best I’ve ever tasted, way better than any we have had before. We’re ordering more.” I think I’ll send them Jack Stack’s lamb ribs, too.
—Natalie Torres Gallagher
NUMBER 9
Buck Tui
Currently at the Overland Park Farmers Market, soon at 7200 W. 121st St., Overland Park.
EDDY LIBERDA IS HALF THAI, half German and all KC. Liberda and his family have been “all over the city, man,” running restaurants since Liberda’s mother opened her first in 1991.
Times and tastes have changed, which you can see from the menu at Waldo Thai Place, the restaurant Teddy owns with his wife, Pam. A health problem sidelined Teddy shortly after the restaurant opened, and his wife, a native of the northern Thai city of Lampang, redid the menu to her own tastes.
“My wife took over as the chef and started doing the straight-up native food,” he says. “We only do it one way, and we bring the heat. It was hard in the beginning, and now she’s killing it.”
The couple is, Teddy admits, a little competitive. And so now that he’s back from the mend, he’s got his own new project, currently operating at the Overland Park Farmers Market but soon to take over a space at 119th and Metcalf.
Buck Tui serves barbecue the way Teddy grew up eating it. That’s with papaya salad and jasmine rice. The cheesy corn is enriched with a little coconut milk.
“I’m from Kansas City, so we’ve always barbecued,” Teddy says. “I’m half German, half Thai, so we’re always barbecuing. And those flavors really come together.”
The first time I had a Thai-American
Tbarbecue mashup was at a food festival in Portland. The best local pitmaster in town had collaborated with a successful Thai restaurateur to create a one-off dish they called “smoked brisket jungle curry.” It was the talk of the festival—I have a vague, booze-sodden memory of overhearing noted Thai food chefs Andy Ricker and David Thompson discussing it at an afterparty. It birthed a very successful restaurant, Eem. The secret, as Buck Tui shows, is that bright, hot, fruity, complex Thai flavors pair extremely well with smoky, earthy American barbecued meats. “In Thailand, they’ll marinade or salt cure or brine pretty much all the meat—they don’t have big offset smokers like we do,” Teddy says. “You have that fish sauce, palm sugar, anchovy, lemongrass, coriander. We have all that, and then we cook it Kansas City-style, low and slow, open pit.” And then you dip it in tiger cry sauce? Ooh-wee. The challenges of serving a consistent product when you’re cooking a creative new menu just once a week in the summer heat are real, but Teddy says, “We like a challenge.” That challenge will be done soon, and you can expect Buck Tui to soar even higher from here. “Mainly, I’m trying to get some of the barbecue people to try Thai food, man,” Teddy says. “As a chef, it’s something my whole team is enjoying.” —Martin Cizmar
Big T’s Bar BQ
NUMBER
10
OME OF THE BEST LITTLE BARBECUE spots are the product of one person’s passion. Such is the case at Big T’s on Blue Parkway, where things are at their best when Timothy Jones is personally manning the old wood-fired pits.
Jones, no relation to the sisters of KCK, got into barbecue through his father, Oscar, who placed second in the earliest years of the American Royal. They cooked for everyone in the neighborhood back in those days.
Jones, who is pushing retirement age, is an excellent barbecue cook. His sliced brisket with a splash of bright-orange sauce and a heap of pickles on white bread is the best of his style of barbecue I’ve ever encountered. The fries, when at their peak, are fat and hot, fried dark brown. Forget the ketchup; sop them in sauce. I’ve been to Big T’s more times than I can count since discovering it before our last barbecue issue (the drive-thru was especially
Swelcome at peak pandemic), and things do vary a little more these days—though the floor is still relatively high. “Kansas City has a reputation for barbecue, and people are taking advantage of that out here,” Jones says. “I think if people really knew what they were getting with Kansas City barbecue, they’d eliminate a lot of the other places.” —Martin Cizmar
Big T’s Bar BQ
9409 Blue Ridge Blvd., KCMO. Open 11 am-10 pm Monday-Friday and 11 am-11 pm Saturday and Sunday. www.bigtsbarbq.letseat.at
Why KC cue has an Oklahoma Accent
In the 1985 book All About Bar-B-Q, Kansas City Style, Shifra Stein and Rich Davis devoted two pages to Texas-born cartoonist Charles Barsotti, a beloved Kansas Citian. His fajita recipe appears with a memorable cartoon called “How Kansas Citians Can Get Really Good Bar-B-Que.” A cowboy stands next to a smoker as an armadillo passes by offering this advice: “Take I-35 south to Lockhart, Texas.”
In that cartoon, as so many others, the journey passes through Oklahoma without a nod.
But there’s a lot more Native American and Oklahoma influence on Kansas City’s barbecue than most people realize. It’s a heritage tangled with smoke, blood, tears, violence, broken treaties, land grabs, enslavement, forced migrations, voluntary migrations, greed and cultural blending. A book on such could echo the title of Darnella Davis’ fascinating story of mixed ancestry: Untangling a Red, White & Black Heritage.
Although fire, smoke and meat are essential to the barbecue method of cooking, seasonings give barbecue its signature flavor. Henry Perry’s original 1908 hot vinegar-based sauce bore no resemblance to the sweet tomato-based sauces you see some places today. Charlie Bryant’s sauce was like Mr. Perry’s, as was his brother Arthur’s
A major shift in Kansas City barbecue sauce from vinegar to tomato base blossomed during the post-War boom in suburban backyard barbecue and the proliferation of new barbecue restaurants. When competition barbecue heated up in the late 1970s into the 1980s, and Dr. Rich Davis introduced his KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce, the switch to sweet gained momentum. Imagine Donny Teel of Sperry, Oklahoma’s Buffalo’s Barbecue engaging Barsotti’s cowboy in conversation. Donnie would say: “Picture a big barbecue sandwich. The bottom slice of the bread or bun represents Texas; the top slice, Kansas City. All the good stuff is in the middle.”
—Ardie Davis
Also of Note
ARTHUR BRYANT’S This Jazz District “greasehouse” is one of the city’s oldest and, if you’re there on the right day, one of the best. We like the 3B sandwich or beef on bread with lots of pickles and the President’s Choice sauce. (The president is Truman, of course.)
AUNT MILDRED’S #10 The story of Aunt Mildred’s #10 goes back to 1944, to a little town called Portland, Arkansas. There, McArthur Williams had a restaurant called Mac’s Barbecue. His daughter Mildred brought it to Rockford, Illinois, where she had a restaurant called The Rib Cage. Third-generation pitmaster Earstin Sanders came to KC, where he sells bottled sauces and cue at a truck on Truman Road in Independence.
CHAR BAR One of the city’s all-time great patios, Char Bar in Westport draws a hip crowd for lawn games, ribs and excellent people-watching. The sandwiches are the play here—the best value and easiest to eat while tossing bocce balls.
DANNY EDWARDS BLVD BBQ This Southwest Boulevard spot’s namesake retired three years ago, with longtime pitmaster Joel Bremer taking over. Wednesday corned beef is our favorite, but we’ll happily take any brisket-based sandwich.
FOX & FIRE One of the best new pits in the area, Fox & Fire closed to move to a new spot in the far Northland as we went to press. You can see what they’re up to on page 102.
JOE’S KANSAS CITY Also widely known by its original name, Oklahoma Joe’s, this landmark on the border of Johnson and Wyandotte counties is the first impression many have of KC barbecue. And, for a lot of people passing through, the only impression. That’s fine, of course: Joe’s makes a mean sandwich, some of the best fries you’ll eat and really nice ribs, too.
PLOWBOYS Is Plowboys the youngest of the old guard or the oldest of the new guard? It’s a good question to ask yourself about this pit run by competition circuit big dog Todd Johns as you wipe sauce off your face. Pulled pork nachos are the way to go here.
PORKY’S BLAZIN BBQ Porky’s sits on the far edge of Jackson County and came in at number ten on our previous list. It’s out of the way from everywhere and only open weekends, but you can order anything with confidence.
NIGHT GOAT
“Night Goat” is the branding for Westside restaurant Fox & Pearl’s Sunday barbecue brunch menu. Chef Vaughn Good is a talented cook. If you’ve got the juice for a $10 link of pork sausage or a $6 side of pickles, you could do much worse. Avoid the $3 housemade slices of white bread on the side that, on our visit, were inexplicably toasted and buttered when served as an accompaniment to brisket.
SCOTT’S KITCHEN Scott Umscheid’s restaurant near the airport has appeared on past editions of our top ten list—and for good reason, given the excellence of his thick-cut, bark-heavy brisket and uber-moist turkey.
SLAP’S Slap’s in KCK enjoys a loyal following. We love their cheesy corn.
THE WOODYARD Come for the wood, leave with a sandwich. This charming patio eatery initially opened to serve food to customers buying logs from the aisles out back for their own smokers. The cheddar-jalapeno muffins, served warm, are a favorite.
ZARDA This classic KC spot smokes on Ozark hickory and seemingly always has a great special running.
Shot on Film: We wanted to honor the pitmasters who cook on live-fires. They get up before dawn to light their smokers. So we went a little out of the way ourselves, with photographer Shawn Brackbill shooting most of this package on Kodak portra 400, processed at Process One in Overland Park.
THE MUTUAL MUSICIANS FOUNDATION OR THE PAST
century, Kansas City has been home to one of the country’s most vibrant jazz scenes. Much like barbecue and speakeasies, jazz is deeply ingrained in the city’s identity. Kansas City jazz, a distinct style heavily rooted in the blues tradition, as well as ragtime, contributed greatly to the development and prosperity of old “Kaycee” during the Jazz Age.
It was during Kansas City’s Jazz Age when Charlie Parker cut his teeth improvising, Count Basie swang, Mary Lou Williams crafted killer big band arrangements and Lester Young developed his cool, melodic solos. Kansas City has historically been home to innovators.
But Kansas City’s jazz scene is not a museum piece. Check out the comprehensive calendar of local jazz at livejazzkc.com, and you’ll see that this town still swings every night of the week, from divey spots serving beer in red plastic cups to swanky spots where you’ll feel underdressed without a fresh shoe shine. Here’s where to immerse yourself in Kansas City’s rich musical heritage right now.
LONNIE’S RENO CLUB
1111 Grand Blvd., KCMO
While Lonnie’s Reno Club may be the city’s newest jazz club, owner and beloved jazz musician Lonnie McFadden is no stranger to the scene. McFadden has been playing since the seventies, continuing the legacy of his father, Jimmy “Pops” McFadden, who was also a sensational performer on the scene nearly a century ago.
Head down the steps of the historic Ambassador Hotel and you will enter a quaint, elegantly decorated speakeasy, with McFadden and his bandstand before a backdrop of red velvet curtains. Much of the music embodies the distinct, local style from the prewar years, but it also ventures beyond that in fusion-style tunes. The photos that line the walls pay tribute to Kansas City musicians from the swing era, including Count Basie, Mary Lou Williams, Charlie Parker, and even “Pops” McFadden and his tap dancing group.
While McFadden is a stellar trumpet player, vocalist and tap dancer, he is also a storyteller. Throughout his performance, you can expect to learn about the rich history of the Kansas City jazz scene in an intimate listening room.
Reservations are a must. This is not the place to just stop in and grab a drink; there is no bar seating. It’s expected that you’ll stick around for the night to enjoy the three-course prix fixe meal ($85), which includes one drink. But if you aren’t in the mood for a lavish three-course meal, you can pay the $25 cover, which includes one drink. Lonnie’s offers a list of Prohibition-era cocktails, but the champagne cocktail is their house drink and is a great way to kick off the night.
If you’re looking to be transplanted back to Kansas City’s Prohibition era, put on your best evening attire and head to Lonnie’s Reno Club for an immersive experience.
WHEN TO GO: Lonnie and his band play on Friday and Saturday nights from 7-10 pm.
THE MUTUAL MUSICIANS FOUNDATION
1823 Highland Ave., KCMO
If you’re planning to make a pilgrimage to the century-old Foundation, plan to nap first. The music starts at one in the morning and goes on until four or five. The cover is ten bucks, cash only. As for drinks? They are served in a plastic cup, and domestic beers are plentiful.
The decor is utilitarian, but the photos that line the walls tell the story of The Mutual Musicians Foundation, or "The Foundation," as it is more commonly called. This is a mecca of jazz history, and you can hear it in the sounds of the current players, who carry the city’s jazz heritage forward while leaving their own mark.
The Foundation was formerly the Local No. 627, the African-American musicians union in Kansas City. What was founded as a union in 1917 quickly became a community center of sorts, where musicians hung out and jammed after gigs. It was a space to create cutting-edge music away from the dance hall crowds who demanded the hits.
WHEN TO GO: Anytime from 1-5 am on Friday and Saturday evenings (technically Saturday and Sunday morning). The house band rotates, but the jam session is always hot.
THE MUTUAL MUSICIANS FOUNDATION
THE BLUE ROOM
1600 E. 18th St., KCMO
Also located in the 18th and Vine District, The Blue Room—managed by the American Jazz Museum—is a quaint room featuring jazz memorabilia and excellent room acoustics.
The Blue Room also happens to be one of the few jazz venues in the city that allows minors, making it a great place for the next generation to experience jazz. The venue actually encourages young people to attend shows, as long as they are accompanied by an adult.
WHEN TO GO: Fridays from 5-7:30 pm for Indigo Hour. This free happy hour event showcases local talent. Outside Indigo Hour, you can expect to pay a $10 cover.
THE SHIP
1221 Union Ave., KCMO
Although this West Bottoms landmark closed for nearly twenty years between 1995 and 2014, most of The Ship’s original interior (fortunately) remains intact. True to the name, the eclectic decor, complete with porthole mirrors, is convincingly ship-like.
The bar food is better than baseline and modestly priced. The craft cocktails, which rotate seasonally, are generously strong at a great price point.
The Ship books a broad span of jazz artists, from the more “straight-ahead” cats to fusion artists like rapper and jazz trombonist Kadesh Flow.
WHEN TO GO: The Ship does not book artists for regular, weekly engagements, but you can usually find organist Chris Hazelton here monthly. You’ll definitely want to climb aboard for Hazelton’s Boogaloo 7, which combines soul, funk and jazz. You won’t be able to stop yourself from dancing to this fusion act.
CORVINO SUPPER CLUB & TASTING ROOM
1830 Walnut St., KCMO
Let’s cut to the chase: Corvino Supper Club is rapidly becoming the hottest jazz joint in the city. While the restaurant is rightly regarded as among the city’s best, so are the jazz musicians who have regular engagements there, which include Peter Schlamb, Eboni Fondren and Eddie Moore. Corvino Supper Club is an avid supporter of innovative artists who are challenging the traditional frameworks of jazz, with many of the musicians playing their own, original music while weaving in influences from electronic music, hip-hop and beyond. We recommend that you make reservations—this isn’t a drop-in spot.
WHEN TO GO: Head to Corvino when pianists Eddie Moore or Jackie Myers are on the bill for the night. Moore has his solo set every second Sunday from 6-9 pm, and Myers has a solo set every other Tuesday evening from 6-9 pm. Moore is an innovator; he pushes the boundaries and margins of what constitutes “jazz” using elements from hip-hop, rock and more. If you’re interested in something more “straight ahead,” check out Myers, who has some standards in her set but also performs original music.
SOIRÉE STEAK AND OYSTER HOUSE
1512 E. 18th St., KCMO
This Black-owned oyster bar and steakhouse is the best restaurant in the 18th and Vine district. Enjoy gourmet Southern- and Cajun-influenced cuisine from chef Anita Moore alongside some swingin’ charts down on the Vine.
WHEN TO GO: Although Soirée has live music several nights a week, Tuesdays are especially fun. Every Tuesday, Eboni Fondren and Friends host an open jam session. Here, you can watch young, upcoming artists “cut their teeth'' on the bandstand alongside the older, seasoned performers on the scene. Together, they keep the lively Kansas City tradition alive.
THE PHOENIX
302 W. Eighth St., KCMO
Located in the blooming Garment District, The Phoenix is one of the oldest surviving nightclubs in Kansas City, originally opening as Valerius Saloon in 1905.
The food here is standard bar food, and the draft beers are cold. You won’t find craft cocktails or a single steak on the menu. Opt for any of the eggs benedict or the chicken and waffles, and take a trip to the bloody mary bar.
WHEN TO GO: After a late, boozy Saturday night (possibly at The Foundation), head here for a recovery brunch accompanied by soulful vocal jazz. Every Sunday, from 10 am-2 pm, Millie Edwards, a powerful and fervent vocalist, is joined by the velvet voice and piano accompaniment of Dan Sturdevant.
BLACK DOLPHIN
GREEN LADY LOUNGE/ BLACK DOLPHIN
1809 and 1813 Grand Blvd., KCMO
With oil paintings on red velvet walls, comfortable Chesterfield booths and pressed copper ceilings, Green Lady Lounge is a sight to behold.
You can expect a $5 cover at Green Lady Lounge and Black Dolphin on any given night, and the cover doubles as your pass for both venues, so you can easily hop between bars. Both venues share the same cocktail menu, but Green Lady offers table service, a rarity nowadays. Drinks are moderately priced but of high quality. While the wine selection is limited, the cocktail menu and craft beer selection are plentiful.
Green Lady Lounge boasts a television-free environment, so you can focus on the music, craft cocktails, conversation and overall ambiance. With the lounge open until three in the morning 365 days a year, you can always find live jazz here. Additionally, Green Lady has two stages on two floors, so there is little transition time when the bands change over.
If Green Lady Lounge is too crowded, go next door to the sister club, Black Dolphin. Black Dolphin typically only has live jazz on Fridays and Saturdays. The venue does have televisions, so you can keep tabs on what’s happening next door.
WHEN TO GO: Because the main stage at the Green Lady has an in-house Hammond B-3 organ, the best times to go are the late-night Monday and Wednesday sets. Jeff Shirley’s organ trio starts at 10:30 pm on Mondays, and Matt Villinger’s organ trio starts at 11:30 pm on Wednesdays. You’ll find that the Green Lady is a lot less crowded during these late-night weekday sets, too.
GREEN LADY LOUNGE
THE MAJESTIC RESTAURANT
931 Broadway Blvd., KCMO
The Majestic Restaurant is a classic Kansas City steakhouse, offering great steaks and jazz in a classy, timeless environment. The prices are steep, but the steaks are locally sourced and dry-aged. The Majestic also has a selection of hundreds of whiskeys and wines and a Prohibition era-inspired cocktail menu. Reservations are highly recommended.
WHEN TO GO: Peter Schlamb takes the stage from 7-10 pm on Tuesday evenings. Schlamb, a versatile and innovative pianist, vibraphonist and composer, is a nationally sought-after musician.
JOHNNIE’S JAZZ BAR AND GRILLE
1903 Victory Drive, Liberty
Looking for somewhere to listen to live jazz in the Northland? Johnnie’s Jazz Bar and Grille is inside a B&B Theatre—and a hidden gem. The menu features Kansas City-inspired cocktails—such as the Charlie Parker, a Dark ‘n’ Stormy with a twist— and a wide variety of burgers made with local beef, as well as plantbased options.
The happy hour specials at Johnnie’s feature $4 well drinks, wines and beers.
Johnnie’s has jazz every Friday and Saturday night, but some of the “local talent Thursday” acts cross over into the jazz world, too. Frequent musicians at Johnnie’s span a wide variety of styles and include Stan Kessler with Kathleen Holeman, J Love, Talya Groves, Millie Edwards and many more.
WHEN TO GO: Stan Kessler, trumpet and flugelhorn player, takes the stage on the last Saturday of every month from 6:3010:30 pm. Kessler is a versatile player whose expertise ranges from bop to Latin jazz. He is joined by vocalist and pianist Kathleen Holeman.
