Skip to main content

BBQ + Baseball = Kansas City!

Kansas City has been the missing piece in our BBQ travels.  We've been through the Carolina's.  Waited in long lines throughout Texas.  And feasted on it around Memphis.  It was finally time to hit up KC for some of their famous mouth-watering burnt ends!

Unfortunately, on this trip, we didn't plan to stay in Kansas City very long.  The only two things we really wanted to do here - eat KC BBQ and see the Royals play at Kauffman Stadium.  So we decided we could do both while staying only one night in the city.

Luckily, the Royals baseball game was scheduled for the afternoon (1pm)....giving us some free time in the evening to go out for a barbecue dinner and find a local brewery.  The game today featured two of the top teams in the American League (KC Royals vs. NY Yankees).  The only complaint we had all day was the excruciating heat at the ball game.....a 105 degree heat index!!!  


Of the 30 teams in major league baseball, Kauffman Stadium officially marks the 17th MLB stadium I've visited around the country (excluding four older ballparks that have since been demolished).  As a baseball fanatic, I enjoy getting the opportunity to experience a different home team atmosphere in each new ballpark I visit.  

Dinner tonight was at Q39 in Midtown.  I made reservations a week in advance to get us a table for this evening.....that's how popular this BBQ restaurant is.  Blending national-championship barbecue with wood-fire grill techniques, Q39 has mastered the techniques and process that creates perfect 'cue.  I was prepared to get my money's worth and leave this place in a food coma!


Dessert would be at the Boulevard Brewing Company.   We needed some good beer to wash down all of this barbecue!  This place has grown to become the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest.  Unfortunately, we didn't really like the beer.  As we often say.....ONE and DONE.  Charging $7+ for a pint of craft beer is already ridiculous.  Paying $7+ for bad beer is down right insanity!


Tomorrow would present us with one final BBQ meal before leaving Kansas City and then a 4 hour drive to St. Louis.  If there would have been more things to see and do in Kansas City we probably would have stayed an additional night......meaning more KC BBQ.  But, honestly, we could not find a day's worth of other activities to justify doing that.  

In Kansas City, where barbecue is a way of life, it is understood that smoke has mystical properties. Smoke has the power to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary.  It can even transform a neighborhood corner gas station into one of the most popular restaurants on the planet.  


We made it a point to be first in line for lunch at Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que.  It's exactly what it looks like....a bbq restaurant inside a gas station.  But don't ever judge a book by its cover.....because this book is delicious!!! 

1. YELP put Joe's Kansas City #3 on its list of Top 100 Places to Eat in the U.S., February 2014
2. The Food Network featured Joe's Kansas City in its Top 5 Restaurants show, June 2015
3. The Z-Man named one of 50 Essential American Sandwiches To Eat Before You Die, by Thrillist, May 2015


Continue to Warm Springs Ranch Page

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Elvis Presley Pilgrimage

It has been almost 20 years since our last visit to Memphis, Tennessee.  It was a major item on Leonard's bucket list growing up.  The last time we were here we stayed at the (now demolished) Heartbreak Hotel .  Fast forward to 2024, and now, Elvis Presley Enterprises has erected a giant resort across the street ( The Guest House at Graceland ) from the famous musical gates of Graceland and a state-of-the-art entertainment and exhibit museum showcasing everything Elvis!  All of this was a good excuse for Leonard to return to Memphis one more time. This is where our roadtrip would eventually end.... but, it begins in Branson, Missouri!   Go to Get Me Out Of Branson! Page
Post a Comment
Read more

The Beale Street Blues

Saving our last three nights for Memphis was probably a smart thing to do.  There would be a lot to see and do on Beale Street and Elvis Presley Boulevard!  We also made sure to schedule a stop at the famous Peabody Hotel to see the ducks!  Quack!  Quack!  And, if that wasn't enough...we planned to venture down to Tupelo, Mississippi to visit the birthplace of Elvis.  Thank you, thank you very much ! Our first item of business in Memphis was to snag a prime spot to see the marching ducks at the Peabody Hotel .  This was, unfortunately, something that we missed during our prior visit to Memphis.  The Peabody Memphis is known as the "South's Grand Hotel" and toes the line between elegant and inviting with 150 years of history. The story of the Peabody ducks can be found here ( link ).  We arrived 45 minutes early for the 5pm duck march - where they proceed from the fountain through the lobby to the elevators and back to their rooftop penthouse....
Post a Comment
Read more