Kansas City visit suggestions?

KiterTodd

I'll be in Kansas City for the first time this weekend (staying near Old Westport) with a few friends.

I've never been to the city and was looking for suggestions of must-visit restaurants or bars we should look up.

I'd say casual over fine dining, but we'll go for the quality regardless if it's something that you wouldn't miss in terms of meat or drink. (Sadly, one of the guys is a vegetarian, so if you happen to know a place with great beef AND epic brocolli...   but that's not a priority. ) 

If there are any particularly good craft brewers, that'd be good to hear about as well.

Thanks in advance for any tips.  I did do a forum search first but the tips I saw were pretty dated.

TexasRebel

I liked Jack Stack, Joe's, and Gates for BBQ.  Those are kind of your more popular places around there though.  Others may have better opinions.  Arthur Bryant's too.  Grinders in downtown KCMO is really neat and the pizza is awesome.  I lived there for about a year back in 2009 so things may have changed since then. 

stlcharcoal

Q39 is supposedly the best.  Joe's KC in the old gas station was good for restaurant BBQ--ribs & brisket were very good.  Been to Arthur Bryants, Gates, and Jack Stacks.....not impressed with any of them.

Pigwich is north of downtown by the river.....food truck attached to a butcher shop.  That was awesome!

If you're into aviation, check out the Airline History Museum and the TWA museum at the old downtown airport.  The Federal Reserve Museum is up by the WWI museum & memorial......it's not as cool at the US Mint tour in Fort Worth, but definitely worth the trip (and free).  

littlerascal56

We love Nick & Jakes in Overland Park, but it’s on 135th and a drive from Westport.  Their website posts their menu, which is huge.  Great atmosphere to eat and drink in, and the food is excellent.

Sea2Ski

Second vote for Joes. I can not suggest the Oz man sandwich there enough. (But I am from PA and good BBQ is very hard to find here - so take my opinion with a grain of salt). 

 Long line but moved pretty fast. There is some literature on the walls as you walk by. There are 2-3 locations if I recall properly. The gas station is the original, and the one we ate at. Unless they are all gas stations which could be the case.....


Tried to get to Pigwich but the line was too long and estimated time to service was longer than we had.

SaltySam

Avoid Arthur Bryant’s.   I suggest Joe’s KC bbq. My wife suggests IKEA.  

KC_Steve

Sea2Ski said:

Second vote for Joes. I can not suggest the Oz man sandwich there enough. (But I am from PA and good BBQ is very hard to find here - so take my opinion with a grain of salt). 

Z-Man is the sandwich at Joe's.
https://www.joeskc.com/pages/gas-station-restaurant

Q-39 is fantastic.
https://q39kc.com/

Slaps is great too.  
https://slapsbbqkc.com/

Take the tour.
https://www.boulevard.com/visit-us/tours/

Finally, we suck at public transportation, so uber it everywhere.  All of these places are worth your time and money.

Sea2Ski

That’s it!  Z-man sandwich!  Thanks for the correction @KC_Steve. 

Hairless_Hand

Lately I have been spending a ton of time in KC for work. The Z-Man at Joes is legit. I get one every time that I go to KC.  I tried Gates during one of the trips and it was the worst excuse for bbq that I have ever experienced. 

littlerascal56

I don’t care for Gates either.  I do eat a lot of Jack Stacks beans and cheesy potatoes.  And my local Ace stocks their bbq sauces.  Got some brisket from them (shipped on dry ice) last Christmas, and everyone loved it!

tenpenny_05

If you're in Westport definitely Joe's. It will be super close to you. Give yourself at least an hour to wait in line.
The original Gates or the original Arthur Bryant's are bbq mecca. Not the best, but are the holy land for KC bbq.
But if I were you, I'd stick to Joe's 100%

KC_Steve

To me, Gates is a bit like Taco-Bell.  It somehow tastes better after a night out.

Since you'll be in Westport, maybe you'll go to Char Bar.  I haven't been there.
https://charbarkc.com

Last recommendation is a place for bagels.  It's in the area.
https://www.meshuggahbagels.com

If you can't make it the the Boulevard Brewery, it's on tap everywhere.

Enjoy your visit.

smokingal

LC's BBQ over on Blue Parkway, known for their brisket and especially their burnt ends.  I would dream about that triple decker brisket sandwich after I moved away.

GrillSgt

I have to defend Jack Stack a little. They have killer lamb ribs and their sides are very good. 

ChrisgrillsSTLMO

+1 for Q39, never had a bad meal there. There are lots of breweries within walking/uber distance of Crown center if you are looking for hydration. Have a great time!

Teefus

Best of luck getting something to eat. We were in KC a couple years ago while on a road trip and couldn't get anywhere near the popular places. They were lined up out the door everywhere. You couldn't park within a 1/2 mile of Joes and their line wrapped around the building. We had to settle for Applebees, as they only had a 30 minute wait. To be fair, they served an awesome rack of baby backs. Local talent I guess. They screw up a glass of water around here.

KiterTodd

Really good feedback.  I’m noting it all and still taking notes. 

Thanks much!! Hopefully the lines aren’t as bad in December...

littlerascal56

The lines will still suck in December.  Can’t go wrong with Jack Stacks as the wait is not bad at all.  Still my favorite KC BBQ joint after 40 years!

MotownVol

I have I have eaten at Q39 and Jack Stack both multiple times.  Both are great, but Q39 is a little more my style.  Hopefully you are there on a day when they have burnt ends for an app.   Great stuff.

vb4677

I concur with most of these suggestions too!

BUT, since you threw in the curveball of a vegetarian, I'd recommend Char Bar - my son and his friend are both herbivores and they really enjoyed the jackfruit BBQ at CharBar.

But yeah, Q39, Jack Stack, Joe's, LC's, are all great, world class KC style BBQ.  

If you want to venture out a little, I'd throw in Slap's BBQ in KC, KS.

Another Westport suggestion - non BBQ (Yes not every meal in KC has to be smoked low and slow...) is Port Fonda for a Mexican Cantina style - they have a fantastic Bloody Mary bar for brunch on Sundays.

Welcome to KC!  Enjoy your trip and let us know how you found our town to be!!

HellrodKC

To echo some of the others and add a few more things...
BBQ- Q39 and Joe's are the best. Get a reservation for Q39 if you can, otherwise you will have a long wait. CharBar is pretty great, too, and has vegetarian options (smoked jackfruit), and is right in Westport.

Someone above mentioned Nick & Jakes, they have multiple locations, not just in Overland Park. The closest to Westport is on the south side  of the Plaza, pretty close to Westport.

Check out Boulevard Brewing Company. They do tours but also have a pretty big tasting room.

Brunch (if thats your thing)- check out Beer Kitchen in Westport.

KiterTodd

Again, great comments and suggestions.  I'm noting these all down in one master document to take with us. 

I usually wouldn't spend an hour in line for food, no matter how good it is.  There are other things to do with my time on a short visit to a new city.  So it's good to know Q39 takes reservations and I suspect places like CharBar we can drink while waiting for tables.  But we'll still try to get into Joes and Pigwich!

Tspud1

Off the BBQ trail but some of the best fried chicken in the US is cast iron skillet fried chicken at Stroud's

vb4677

Basically... you're just gonna have to come back...

KiterTodd

We went to Q39 first...

The burnt ends were the best I’ve ever had. They weren’t typical burnt ends, though. While they were from the point, they were some of the tenderest most flavorful brisket I’ve ever had. Not dry, not hard. Awesome. 

Ribs were also very good.  Brisket was fine.  It was a great brisket but tonight it wasn’t award winning. Tender but a bit on the dry side.   

sumoconnell

It's a bit of a drive, but I recommend a place off 11th Street and I-35. 😀  [Edit:map]

MotownVol

KiterTodd said:

We went to Q39 first...

The burnt ends were the best I’ve ever had. They weren’t typical burnt ends, though. While they were from the point, they were some of the tenderest most flavorful brisket I’ve ever had. Not dry, not hard. Awesome. 

Ribs were also very good.  Brisket was fine.  It was a great brisket but tonight it wasn’t award winning. Tender but a bit on the dry side.   

I loved their burnt ends too.  Glad they had them when you were in town.

vb4677

Nice!  Where to tonight?

TN_Egger

Arrowhead Stadium?  Great game last night - that Mahomes kid is fun to watch.  Sorry - no resto recs.

KC_Steve

KiterTodd said:

We went to Q39 first...

The burnt ends were the best I’ve ever had. They weren’t typical burnt ends, though. While they were from the point, they were some of the tenderest most flavorful brisket I’ve ever had. Not dry, not hard. Awesome. 

Ribs were also very good.  Brisket was fine.  It was a great brisket but tonight it wasn’t award winning. Tender but a bit on the dry side.   

I see that you had the white bean cassoulet on your plate.  I think their's is a nice change from the baked beans.

KiterTodd

vb4677 said:

Nice!  Where to tonight?

We went to Joe’s. (The original gas station location)

I like the more casual atmosphere and the BBQ was also excellent. I liked Joe’s brisket better.  Q39 ribs better. Joe’s didn’t have burnt ends that night but we tried their pulled pork which was excellent. 

Had breakfast on the way to the airport this morning at “You Say Tomato.” Highly recommend it. Great selection, cool casual atmosphere and exceedingly friendly. 

That is my one takeaway from the trip... everyone was very nice and welcoming all along. 

We had Meshugganah (sp?) bagels one day and they were great.  Tried to get over to Stroud’s for chicken but it didn’t work out. Too bad. It was on the short list. 

Thanks for all the tips! They really helped give us a lot of options.