For all you barbecue maniacs: here are some interesting, factual ties to this catchy, famed eatery name that tempting assumptions, both shallow and deep, should be either set aside or be restrained:

Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ is not the typical brick-and-mortar restaurant; it is inside a small gas station, roofed in eye-catching, chalky green hue.  It is not located in Kansas City, Missouri (which I honestly and especially presumed), but in Kansas City, Kansas; these 2 states “happen” to touch each other and thus force to share the city–but have their own zip codes.  Lastly, the name is not because of a human moniker, but because it’s the name of the smoker that helped Jeff Stehney and his Slaughterhouse Five virtually won dozens of BBQ competitions, which eventually led to open a business at, well, a gas station.

Arriving a little after the 1100 hour proved to face the lesser line length.  However, the outside portion was literally displaying superficiality, discovering that once through the door it’s another 20+ minutes or so.  To tempt a warm start, Oklahoma Joe’s is quite ingenious to place pages of their paper menu so that there’s less chance of a poor fool still indecisive on what to pay at the counter.

The lunch line after the ravage, and that’s just 1/3 of it.

In spite of this possible dilmema, if you either forget to snatch the paper menu, or you’re inclined to place it back where it originated and then lost track, the gargantuan, easy-to-read-from-a-distance blackboard menu, several feet away from the cash register, is your alibi.

Blackboard Menu

As soon as you’re steps away ordering while controlling your drool from naturally snooping other customers’ food, they’re quite brazen to sell you selected seasonings, sauces, and the best complementary drinks for BBQs.  If I didn’t end up with another meat-munching dinner bonanza later that day, I would not mind calorie-consuming on a PBR.

The boyfriend and I were decimeters close to honing only 2 items to share, i.e. the Rib & One Meat Dinner ($12.99) and K.C.’s Best Fries in a bag ($2.79).  But as non-native, Midwestern temps, that so-called YOLO Effect butted in by leaning towards another eye-catching platter that more than 50% of those eaters chose, the Z-Man Sandwich ($6.79).

3 Beef Ribs and One Pulled Pork “Dinner”

So let’s evaluate if these smoked-out meats excelled in the wood-burning, slow-cooked criteria:

-Beefy and porky? Check.

-Massive muscles? Check.

-Smoky? Checkeroo!

-Charred? Check, especially for not going overboard on darkening the meats.

-Remarkable seasonings? Check plus! Plus for not ensconcing the most prominent ingredient of all–oink oink.

-Pork-tacular with succulence?  Che-eh-eck!  If I were to establish a “barbequest” in California, I wouldn’t be surprised on how seldom I’d find this lavish pork butt at the exact level of its Midwestern relative.

-Ribs tender off-the-bone?  Oh yah, babe: check, check, and check.  So please allow yourself to bite tenderly while absorbing these flavors.  My boyfriend enjoyed the ribs candidly that their modestly sweet and robust famous sauce needed not be smothered further.  For tradition’s sakes, though, I saturated mine anyway.

Upon our take on the fries, they achieved consistent deep fry-dom and sound crispness.  The earthly seasonings could give some more love by literally sprinkling just a half more.

Le Fries

Meanwhile, playfully theorizing the etymology of this tempting sandwich, man–amaaaaaaazing flavors.

Z-Man Sandwich

The soft and bread-y Kaiser roll just gleefully buttressed the deeply harmonized components–i.e. the lustrous sauce, impeccably juicy and mouthwatering beef brisket, gooey and non-slippery smoked Provolone, and jovial onion rings–soothing the edacious 5-foot figure and partly to her BBQ-crazed significant other (meaning that he allowed me to finish 4/5 of the bulk).  I would not mind reordering as we need to head back to central Iowa, yet time was unfortunately not on our side to dread another lengthy line.

But dang, if I were precocious in planning all perspectives, I’d either make Kansas City International Airport as my day-long layover or as a departure point, so that I could sleep peacefully–from the inevitable food coma–while soaring back to my home state.  To make more sense: Oklahoma Joe’s would unquestionably be my top excuse to obtain frequent flier miles to KC any time soon.  Thank you, Mr. Stehney, for your victorious competitions as your way to add fuel to your meats and thus make my post-workout worth it.

Overall Grade: A

Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ

3002 W 47th Ave

Kansas City, KS 66103
(913) 722-3366

http://www.oklahomajoesbbq.com/