Jethro's BBQ

After reading a "Best of Dining" in Des Moines website, we decided we needed to try Jethro's in the Drake neighborhood. The restaurant has a very hip feel for a barbecue restaurant.

Our waitress recommended for the two of us that we order the BBQ dinner for two - the half slab of ribs and two meats dinner, which is served with four sides and corn bread. We ordered brisket and pulled pork as our two meats and for our sides, we ordered, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, green beans, and onion rings.

All of the meats were served dry with four different barbecue sauces on the table. The ribs were incredibly fall off the bone tender. They were amazing in the Jethro's original sauce and the Jethro's Hot sauce. The pork and brisket were also incredibly tender.

The creamed corn was smokey and delicious. The green beans were crisp-tender. However, the highlight of the sides were the onion rings. They are house battered and fried, making them crispy, flaky, crunchy, and perfect onion rings.

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.

Arthur Bryant's Barbeque

Written by Leann Pettit

One of those staples (and giants) of Kansas City barbecue is Arthur Bryant's, on Brooklyn Ave. in Kansas City, MO (there's also locations at the Ameristar Casino and at the Kansas Speedway).

We ordered the pulled pork open faced sandwich and the burnt ends open faced sandwich, both of which came pre-sauced and were huge (three slices of bread for an open faced sandwich, and meat piled on).

The pulled pork was very tender and the sauce was on the sweeter side, a perfect compliment to the savory, smokey pork. The burnt ends were mega moist, but because of the sauce on them, lacked that crunchy exterior. The classic sauce was used on the burnt ends sandwich and, again, a perfect, succulent combination of savory, smokey and sweet.

RJ's Bob-Be-Que Shack

Written by Leann Pettit

A laid back joint in Mission, KS, is RJ's Bob-Be-Que Shack. 

We ordered a half rack of baby back ribs to share between two people (about 3 ribs per person). The ribs were incredibly meaty and super, fall-off-the-bone tender. The ribs had a lot of meat on them and the meat pulled right off the bone, and there was a fantastic smoke ring on the edges of the meat.

The atmosphere at RJ's is very laid back, especially in comparison to Kansas City's more popular joints. The menu is plentiful and diners get table service (as opposed to counter service). 

Plenty of televisions around the restaurant play whatever game is on, and on Sundays during football games, there are food and drinks specials.

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.

Woodyard BBQ

Written by Leann Pettit

Woodyard BBQ was opened by the man supplying most of the Kansas City area with their woods for smoking. The restaurant, which is comprised of an outdoor patio, a biergarten, and a few tables indoors, serves your traditional barbecue fare.

We ordered the two meat platter and chose baby back ribs and pulled pork. The pulled pork was served dry and diners could add their own sauce. The pork was moist and tender, but I, personally, have had better pulled pork at other barbecue joints.

The baby backs were very, very tender. So much so the meat fell right off the bone while being moist and tender with a wonderful smoky flavor.

We also ordered the burnt end three-bean chili, which is a mildly spicy and fresh tasting chili that is topped with burnt ends. The burnt ends are cooked well and are not terribly fatty and very moist, and kept even more moist by the chili. The chili is served in a single (perfect for one person or as a shared side dish), a cup or a bowl.

Smokin' Guns

Written by Leann Pettit

Smokin' Guns, an unassuming, but amazingly delicious, barbecue joint has very fast service, friendly wait staff and very tasty food.

We ordered the "Triple D Platter" - which included turkey, brisket and burnt ends and is served with two sides (we ordered the mac and cheese bites and the potato casserole).

On the tables, Smokin' Guns provided their original house sauce, a spicy sauce (the spiciest of the spicy sauces we tasted in town) and a dry rub.

The turkey was very moist, but a little on the bland side, however, was delicious in the dry rub, which  brought out the turkey's smoky flavor.

The burnt ends were dark, incredibly moist without being overly fatty. They were delicious on their own, but also tasty in both sauces and dipped in the dry rub. The burnt ends at Smokin' Guns were the best we tried in Kansas City.

The brisket was on the drier side, I wouldn't order it again.

All of the meat at Smokin' Guns was served dry and diners could add their own sauce. The restaurant is also very well lit with lots of seating.