Ardie A. Davis - Barbecue Lover’s Kansas City Style: Restaurants, Markets, Recipes & Traditions

Restaurants, Markets, Recipes & Traditions

Ardie A. Davis

GUILFORD, CONNECTICUT

For my family, with all my love

An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright 2016 by Ardie A. Davis

All photography 2015 by Ardie A. Davis

Cartoon on page vii Charlie Podrebarac

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Davis, Ardie A., author.

Barbecue lovers Kansas City style / Ardie A. Davis.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-4930-0158-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) - ISBN 978-1-4930-2378-3 (ebook)

1. RestaurantsMissouriKansas City RegionGuidebooks. 2. RestaurantsKansasKansas City RegionGuidebooks. 3. Barbecuing-MissouriKansas City RegionGuidebooks. 4. BarbecuingKansasKansas City RegionGuidebooks. I. Title.

TX907.3.M82D38 2015

647.95778'411dc23

2015031050

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

W hile doing the hands-on research; visiting with Kansas City pitmasters; restaurant staff; eating enough barbecue meat and sides to merit a scolding from our family doctor, Tom Snodell; and especially as I wrote this book, I channeled the Kansas City barbecue greats, past and present, for guidance, inspiration, and encouragement. Writing about Kansas City barbecue is a tall order. So many people love our barbecue. They will read this book with a critical eye, expecting me to do justice to the city and the barbecue they know and love. When I measure up to those high expectations, all credit is due to the collective spirit of our entire barbecue community. When I fall short of expectations, its entirely on my shoulders.

Special thanks to my immediate family for encouragement and patience when writing and research had to take priority: Gretchen, Sarah, Lee, Alan, Kelli, Zachary, Henry, Emma, Elliott, Elise, Barbara, Kathy, and Brad.

Friends who deserve special thanks include:

Gary Berbiglia, former co-owner of Arthur Bryants, for accompanying me on some of the barbecue adventures, and for letting me pick his brain for hours on various occasions, about past and present Kansas City barbecue history. Gary is a font of knowledge on the subject and an expert in the field.

Chef Paul Kirk, KC Baron of Barbecue, co-author of the Americas Best BBQ series of books we wrote for Andrews McMeel. Chef Paul was of great help with some of the recipes and insights on the Kansas City barbecue scene.

Jill Silva, food editor at the Kansas City Star, who introduced Slaps to me and persuaded me to write a weekly KC Star Chow Town blog on barbecue. It has been fun and enlightening.

Kirsty Melville, head of the book division at Andrews McMeel, my principal publisher, for giving the okay to do this book for Globe Pequot.

Dennis Hayes, my agent at BarnDance Productions, for recommending me to Globe Pequot and for his always helpful guidance and encouragement.

Michael Gross, senior staff attorney and barbecue aficionado at The Authors Guild, for contract guidance, encouragement, and barbecue insights. Johnny White deserves special thanks for shipping his Kansas Citystyle ribs to Michael in New York City for a nostalgic feast that reminded Michael of the ribs his dad used to bring home from the former 7th Street Barbecue in Kansas City, Kansas. Of course Johnnys ribs were better.

Thanks to the many Kansas City barbecue pitmasters and restaurant owners who are recognized in this book. You are the reason Kansas City continues to be famous for barbecue.

All of the First Wednesday at Johnnys barbecue lunch group. It would fill a page to name everyone, but you know youre appreciated.

Guy Simpson, KC Rib Doctor, for giving me a bright idea, light bulb crowned Derby hat. It worked like magic when I was stuck for ideas.

Terry Lee, longtime friend, was game to partake of enormous amounts of great Kansas City barbecue with me during the early stages of research. I am forever grateful.

Special thanks to my friend, Gary Bronkema, for sharing the lions share of on-site research for this project. Garys GPSwe named her Daisyand OnStar tools got us to the right place at the right time and saved my geographically challenged self from enacting Daddy Berts, my maternal grandfathers, prediction that I will someday get lost and never find my way back home.

Finally, a huge thanks to Amy Lyons at Globe Pequot for asking me to write this book, and for her exemplary editing and unbounding patience to see it through from concept to reality. Kudos and thanks also to Stephanie Scott at Globe Pequot for outstanding editing.

This was truly a labor of love. I want you to enjoy it.

''W elcome to Barbecue Central, the World Capital of BarbecueGround Zero: where it began, where it was perfected, and where it reigns supreme above all others! is bravado you wont hear from many Kansas Citians. We let outsiders say that and more about our barbecue.

To paraphrase the late William Shawn, editor of the New Yorker magazine for many years: The more brilliant you are in your field, the less youll brag about it. Shawns wisdom doesnt resonate in todays barbecue culture, where blowing smoke about your pitmaster prowess and the superiority of your regions barbecue compared to other regions is the norm.

Missouri, a significant chunk of the bi-state Kansas/Missouri Kansas City metro area, is the Show Me State. That slogan fits Kansas Citystyle barbecue: Why tell you how great it is when we can show you? The quality speaks for itself. Or, No need to tell me. Show me! The way to know Kansas City barbecue is to eat it.

This book leads barbecue lovers to the best places to eat great Kansas City barbecue. My job is to lead you there. Your job is to eat it. And just like the barbecue in Texas, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, youll be wowed by some and not so impressed by others. Individual tastes, likes, and dislikes, vary. Ill tell you what I like, but I cant tell you what you like. As the old saw goes, Concerning taste there is no argument. Or to borrow a concept from my friend, Stan Nelson, The best barbecue is the barbecue you like!