Oklahoma Joe's

Written by Leann Pettit

If you're in Kansas City, you need to make the pilgrimage to Oklahoma Joe's, especially their original, super funky location on 47th Street.

If you are looking to eat at the restaurant, expect to stand in a very, very long line. When we arrived, the line was to the door (about a 30 minute wait), but as we were leaving the line was out the door and down the block. However, if you are willing to take your meal to go, call in your order in advance and save yourself the wait in line.

If you are planning on eating in, it can be tempting to send someone off to grab a table, don't! Tables turn over quickly and you're more than likely to find a table when you're order is ready.

I ordered the Z-Man sandwich, Oklahoma Joe's claim to fame. The Z-Man is a huge sandwich of brisket and provolone topped with two onion rings and their classic barbecue sauce. The sandwich is delicious - meaty and juicy and crunchy, and very, very messy.  It's the perfect combination of savory, fatty and crunchy to satisfy your cravings.

We also ordered fries and creamy cole slaw. The fries are seasoned with a house seasoning (that you can purchase in the adjoining gas station). The mix is absolutely addicting - a smokey, peppery taste that had me coming back over and over again for another. 

The slaw was super creamy and crunchy and I could still taste the individual vegetables in the slaw through the seasoning and sauce. There was also an amazing combination of seasonings on the slaw, which might have been a hint of the french fries seasoning.