I just got back from an emergency run (funeral) to the old hometown in
central MO, passing thru MCI on the way. Naturally, I had to stop at
one of my favorite Q joints to get some food to sustain me for the 90
mile drive ahead. The name of the place I so enjoy is something like
Smokehouse or Smokestack Barbecue, I don't recall the name fully, but
it's located off Tiffany Springs Road, across from the Embassy Suites up
by the airport. Their sauce is absolutely classic KC style, and about
all they lack is pulled pork. I had a sandwich of turkey and sliced
sausage, slathered with their sauce. It was so good, I didn't even
spill a drop on my clean shirt. The slaw and potato salad were classic
as well.

You're probably familiar with the place, and if you're not, I'm sure
they have others in the KC area. Let me know what you think. IMHO, it
doesn't offer the finest Q in KC, but I've never been disappointed in
it, either. Their sauce is good, though and the portions and price are
right as well.
--
---Nonnymus---
No matter how large your boat,
the person you are talking with will
have a close friend with a larger one.
---Observation by my son

"Nonnymus" wrote

I just got back from an emergency run (funeral) to the old hometown in
central MO, passing thru MCI on the way. Naturally, I had to stop at
one of my favorite Q joints to get some food to sustain me for the 90
mile drive ahead. The name of the place I so enjoy is something like
Smokehouse or Smokestack Barbecue, I don't recall the name fully, but
it's located off Tiffany Springs Road, across from the Embassy Suites up
by the airport. Their sauce is absolutely classic KC style, and about
all they lack is pulled pork. I had a sandwich of turkey and sliced
sausage, slathered with their sauce. It was so good, I didn't even
spill a drop on my clean shirt. The slaw and potato salad were classic
as well.

You're probably familiar with the place, and if you're not, I'm sure
they have others in the KC area. Let me know what you think. IMHO, it
doesn't offer the finest Q in KC, but I've never been disappointed in
it, either. Their sauce is good, though and the portions and price are
right as well.

Smokestack - A venerable group of barbecue restaurants which have branched
over years as the Fiorella family opened different locations and spinoff
names, for example, the upscale Jack Stacks developed by one of the
founder's sons. The variants are too numerous to remember them all, some
operating, some defunct, with varying degrees of quality from mediocre to
incredible. When I was a kid washing dishes in a diner, the patriarch and
founder Jack Fiorella would come in Sunday mornings for breakfast, all of
about 5 ft tall, and 5ft wide, dressed in kitchen whites, driving a
split window Sting Ray. If he stood still in your yard in the winter he
could have passed for a snowman. When he got out of the Vette he
popped out as if he had been forcefully squeezed into it. His original
Smokestack
restaurant, one of the true shrines of KC barbecue, had, IMO, the best
burnt ends, and pit baked beans slow cooked in individual crocks,
ever to grace KC.

I digress, but I can't help waxing sentimental since the ravages of time and
urban decline eventually brought the original to its end a couple years
back. Back to the question.

Smokehouse Barbecue where you ate is different. It seems to be a chain of
restaurants, I don't know how large, but there are three around here and
unfortunately none of them is
anywhere close to me. There are two up north of the river and one in the
eastern edge of Independence, all at least a 40 minute drive from south KC.
You were probably at the one in Zona Rosa. Anyway I haven't tried it yet,
especially since there are so many places between here and there I find
irresistible. I'll probably be up north a few times next month so I will
check it out and let you know what I think. It sounds pretty tasty!

What's your hometown in MO?

MartyB in KC

Nunya Bidnits wrote:

What's your hometown in MO?

MartyB in KC


The bride and I are from Marshall. It's a small farming/college town in
the center of the state, about 30 miles north of Sedalia and 60 west of
Columbia. Marshall once had Bruner's barbeque. It was a black beer
joint with ribs so good you'd cry when you ate them. Legend has it that
Ocey Bruner sold his recipe to Kraft back in the 50's, but who knows?



--
---Nonnymus---
No matter how large your boat,
the person you are talking with will
have a close friend with a larger one.
---Observation by my son

"Nonnymus" wrote
%
The bride and I are from Marshall. It's a small farming/college town in
the center of the state, about 30 miles north of Sedalia and 60 west of
Columbia. Marshall once had Bruner's barbeque. It was a black beer
joint with ribs so good you'd cry when you ate them. Legend has it that
Ocey Bruner sold his recipe to Kraft back in the 50's, but who knows?

I've driven past the Marshall exit numerous times but never have actually
been there. Ocey Bruner, that name even sounds like bbq! Gotta wonder if he
knew Otis Boyd, a similar KC legend in the 50's through 90's, who was
blessed with a similarly perfect bbq name. That's where my dad took me for
the first barbecue I ever had. Boyd and Son is also now defunct, but was
written up in the book Smoke and Spice (Jamison and Jamison) along with a
decent knock-off recipe attempt at their sauce.

I'd sure like to sell a recipe to Kraft. That's my ultimate objective in
marketing sauce and seasonings, to be like Rich Davis' KC Masterpiece, who
sold his recipe and label rights (but not restaurant rights) to Clorox
Corporation (owners of Kingsford) for a right tidy sum. Never mind that none
of the KCM sauces taste anything remotely like his original product, but
mostly like sweetened ketchup or molasses. Davis developed KCM into a strong
regional label that Clorox thought could go national, and the rest is bbq
history.

OT, but next time you fly in and are driving around up north, check out
Stroud's. Best fried chicken in the world, a KC landmark, James Beard and
Zagat winners, written up nationally numerous times, it started as a
roadhouse which the city demolished recently in a shameful act of
butt-stupid cost-cutting ignorance to remodel a neighboring bridge which
they now don't want to remodel because the heavy restaurant traffic is gone.
Grrrrr. They are still open up north and its wonderful.

MartyB in KC

On 20-Dec-2007, "Nunya Bidnits" wrote:

"Nonnymus" wrote
%
The bride and I are from Marshall. It's a small farming/college town in
the center of the state, about 30 miles north of Sedalia and 60 west of
Columbia. Marshall once had Bruner's barbeque. It was a black beer
joint with ribs so good you'd cry when you ate them. Legend has it that
Ocey Bruner sold his recipe to Kraft back in the 50's, but who knows?

I've driven past the Marshall exit numerous times but never have actually
been there. Ocey Bruner, that name even sounds like bbq! Gotta wonder if
he
knew Otis Boyd, a similar KC legend in the 50's through 90's, who was
blessed with a similarly perfect bbq name. That's where my dad took me for
the first barbecue I ever had. Boyd and Son is also now defunct, but was
written up in the book Smoke and Spice (Jamison and Jamison) along with a
decent knock-off recipe attempt at their sauce.

I'd sure like to sell a recipe to Kraft. That's my ultimate objective in
marketing sauce and seasonings, to be like Rich Davis' KC Masterpiece, who
sold his recipe and label rights (but not restaurant rights) to Clorox
Corporation (owners of Kingsford) for a right tidy sum. Never mind that
none
of the KCM sauces taste anything remotely like his original product, but
mostly like sweetened ketchup or molasses. Davis developed KCM into a
strong
regional label that Clorox thought could go national, and the rest is bbq
history.

OT, but next time you fly in and are driving around up north, check out
Stroud's. Best fried chicken in the world, a KC landmark, James Beard and
Zagat winners, written up nationally numerous times, it started as a
roadhouse which the city demolished recently in a shameful act of
butt-stupid cost-cutting ignorance to remodel a neighboring bridge which
they now don't want to remodel because the heavy restaurant traffic is
gone.
Grrrrr. They are still open up north and its wonderful.

MartyB in KC

But, but, but, I have to know about the Golden Ox Restaurant at the
stockyards. It apparently is still at the same location, lo, after all this
many years. I haven't been there since about 1972.

http://www.goldenox.com/menu.php#lunch

According to their current menu, they're pretty proud of their barbecue.
Back in my day, I was interested in the absolutely killer bean soup they
served every thursday. Even though the chef freely shared his recipe, I
was never able to duplicate it. Hell, maybe it was just the atmosphere
I couldn't duplicate. I do make some pretty good bean soup.
--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)

"Brick" wrote

But, but, but, I have to know about the Golden Ox Restaurant at the
stockyards. It apparently is still at the same location, lo, after all
this
many years. I haven't been there since about 1972.

http://www.goldenox.com/menu.php#lunch

According to their current menu, they're pretty proud of their barbecue.
Back in my day, I was interested in the absolutely killer bean soup they
served every thursday. Even though the chef freely shared his recipe, I
was never able to duplicate it. Hell, maybe it was just the atmosphere
I couldn't duplicate. I do make some pretty good bean soup.
--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)

Its still going strong, but their big reputation is for the steaks, which
are great. I have eaten there many times and never had the bean soup! I'll
be sure to try it next time. I've never had barbecue there either, since I'm
always about the steak whenever I go there. The barbecue may be a later
addition for them. Since the Governor's Exposition building was built and
became the site of the American Royal Barbecue Contest, and being less than
two blocks away, they probably decided to capitalize on the mystique of
their location. Based on their steaks, I would expect them to turn out some
pretty good Q as well. Its one of the oldest restaurants in KC and certainly
qualifies as a venerable institution around here and they have survived that
long with good reason. And thankfully, there aren't stockyards in the
neighborhood any more. (phew!)

MartyB in KC

On 22-Dec-2007, "Nunya Bidnits" wrote:

"Brick" wrote

But, but, but, I have to know about the Golden Ox Restaurant at the
stockyards. It apparently is still at the same location, lo, after all
this
many years. I haven't been there since about 1972.

http://www.goldenox.com/menu.php#lunch

According to their current menu, they're pretty proud of their barbecue.
Back in my day, I was interested in the absolutely killer bean soup they
served every thursday. Even though the chef freely shared his recipe, I
was never able to duplicate it. Hell, maybe it was just the atmosphere
I couldn't duplicate. I do make some pretty good bean soup.
--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)

Its still going strong, but their big reputation is for the steaks, which
are great. I have eaten there many times and never had the bean soup! I'll
be sure to try it next time. I've never had barbecue there either, since
I'm
always about the steak whenever I go there. The barbecue may be a later
addition for them. Since the Governor's Exposition building was built and
became the site of the American Royal Barbecue Contest, and being less
than
two blocks away, they probably decided to capitalize on the mystique of
their location. Based on their steaks, I would expect them to turn out
some
pretty good Q as well. Its one of the oldest restaurants in KC and
certainly
qualifies as a venerable institution around here and they have survived
that
long with good reason. And thankfully, there aren't stockyards in the
neighborhood any more. (phew!)

MartyB in KC

Thank you so much Marty. Alas, there's no stopping progress. Back
in the early '70's I was stationed at Richards-Gebauer AFB out there
by Grandview. I didn't get around KC very much and what I did
experience has changed so much it is unrecognizable today. It would
be interesting to check out the soup of the day at the Golden Ox
on a thursday and find out if, a. it is still bean soup and b, if it's good
enough to be memorable. Oh yeh, I don't remember the Golden
Ox ever being touted for BBQ. It was and apparently is a Steak
House of choice.

I remember having BBQ at an east side restaurant during lunch time.
It had a serving counter about ten feet long at the most. The ovens
were directly behind the counter and the meat was prepped and
served right there at the counter. The dining room was filled with
four seat tables covered with oil cloth. And the parking lot was
filled with cadillacs, lincolns and corvettes. The lunch clientele
included a lot of jacket and tie. The 'Q' was simply outstanding.
I had ribs, beans and slaw as I remember. That was more then
thirty years ago. It was a lot of years before I had 'Q' as good
again. I don't know what the name of the restaurant was. It
seemed to be on the east side and it was run totally by black
folks.

I had some good 'Q' again in Houston some years later. Again
the restaurant was rather rustic and run totally by black folks.
That was some time in the mid '80's and I don't remember
the name of that one either.
--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)

"Brick" wrote
%
I remember having BBQ at an east side restaurant during lunch time.
It had a serving counter about ten feet long at the most. The ovens
were directly behind the counter and the meat was prepped and
served right there at the counter. The dining room was filled with
four seat tables covered with oil cloth. And the parking lot was
filled with cadillacs, lincolns and corvettes. The lunch clientele
included a lot of jacket and tie. The 'Q' was simply outstanding.
I had ribs, beans and slaw as I remember. That was more then
thirty years ago. It was a lot of years before I had 'Q' as good
again. I don't know what the name of the restaurant was. It
seemed to be on the east side and it was run totally by black
folks.

Sound's like Bryant's. (Arthur Bryant's) Its world famous. But back then it
could also have been Boyd's, which was also self serve, but had a longer
counter. But from the description Bryant's would be my best guess. Bryant's
main sauce is more like a southern style vinegar/cayenne type sauce rather
than the tomato based sauce which is more common in KC. However they do have
a tomato based sauce they put on their burnt ends. They have served everyone
from day laborers to the rich and/or famous, including US presidents.
Personally, I just refer to it as "The Shrine".

MartyB in KC

On 23-Dec-2007, "Nunya Bidnits" wrote:

"Brick" wrote
%
I remember having BBQ at an east side restaurant during lunch time.
It had a serving counter about ten feet long at the most. The ovens
were directly behind the counter and the meat was prepped and
served right there at the counter. The dining room was filled with
four seat tables covered with oil cloth. And the parking lot was
filled with cadillacs, lincolns and corvettes. The lunch clientele
included a lot of jacket and tie. The 'Q' was simply outstanding.
I had ribs, beans and slaw as I remember. That was more then
thirty years ago. It was a lot of years before I had 'Q' as good
again. I don't know what the name of the restaurant was. It
seemed to be on the east side and it was run totally by black
folks.

Sound's like Bryant's. (Arthur Bryant's) Its world famous. But back then
it
could also have been Boyd's, which was also self serve, but had a longer
counter. But from the description Bryant's would be my best guess.
Bryant's
main sauce is more like a southern style vinegar/cayenne type sauce rather
than the tomato based sauce which is more common in KC. However they do
have
a tomato based sauce they put on their burnt ends. They have served
everyone
from day laborers to the rich and/or famous, including US presidents.
Personally, I just refer to it as "The Shrine".

MartyB in KC

I've seen some fairly recent pictures of Bryants and it doesn't ring any
bells, but I suppose it's possible the property could have been improved
sometime in the last thirty years or so. I really think it was Bryants, but
I couldn't swear to it. Whoever it was, they sure were popular.

--
Brick(Youth is wasted on young people)