Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q

Written by Leann Pettit

One of the barbecue joints in Kansas City that was highly recommended to us was Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q, which has six locations in Kansas City.

We ate at the Main and Linwood location, the restaurant located at 4621 Paseo in Kansas City is the main restaurant.

One thing that makes Gates stand out compared to their neighbors is the order takers asking each diner, "Hi, may I help you?" And, while we found this warm and kitchy, we also had an issue while ordering. The counter worker misunderstood our order, which took slightly longer and wasted the cook's time.

In the end, we ordered the mix plate, which came with beef, ham, ribs, and fries. Gates was the only joint that we ate at that pre-sauced their meats before serving, which didn't give us the option to sauce it ourself or try the other sauces by Gates.

Of the meats, the ham was very juicy, and the beef was tender, and both were cut thin. However, the meats were just all right in comparison to other Kansas City barbecue restaurants.

The ribs served were spare ribs, and the short ends are not included on the mix plate. The ribs we got on our plate had a lot of fat on them and not a lot of meat.

We also ordered onion rings, which were fried fresh, but definitely had a heavy taste of fryer oil.

After Gates and Sons being recommended by a local, we had high hopes for this place. I hope that the issues and disappointment we encountered are site specific and not a true representation of Gates.