Kansas City, Missouri, is known for its barbecue burnt ends, strip steaks, and soul food restaurants. The Midwestern city, home to the Superbowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs, offers a variety of dining options that reflect its culinary heritage.
Before my first trip to Kansas City, a long spring weekend with Kel, I spent hours researching the best restaurants. I wanted to make the most of our four days in the Paris of the Plains.
While Kansas City barbecue was the priority, I knew from my experience in Texas that one BBQ lunch a day was my limit. For dinners, I made reservations at restaurants with James Beard Award-nominated chefs. There was plenty to choose from, a positive sign for Kansas City's dining scene. Here are six suggestions for a mouthwatering meal should you plan a trip to KC.
Table of Contents
Barbecue
Kansas City-style barbecue is famous for its slow-smoked meats and thick, tangy tomato-based sauce. Unlike Texas-style BBQ, the sauce is usually drizzled over the meats before they're delivered to your table. Ask your server for sauce on the side if that's your preference.
Another difference has more to do with logistics. In Kansas City, you can expect a standard restaurant experience where a host(ess) will seat you at a table, and a waiter or waitress will take your order and bring the food. In contrast, Texas barbecue is mainly ordered and served at a food truck, counter, or cafeteria-style.
A lot has been written about Kansas City barbecue, so it was a tough call on where to go in our limited time. I favored the newer BBQ joints below. The old-school favorites, including Arthur Bryant's Barbeque, Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, and Gates Bar-B-Q, would have to wait for a follow-up visit.
Q39
After a two-hour flight from Austin, we checked into our hotel and hightailed it to Q39's Midtown location for my first Kansas City BBQ experience. This spot was ranked #3 on Kansas City Magazine's list of the city's best barbecue spots for 2023.
Q39 was opened in April 2014 by chef Rob Magee and his wife, Kelly. Sadly, Rob passed away in 2021, leading the restaurant to hire classically trained British chef Philip Thompson to lead its culinary team. The restaurant's name is a mashup of "cue" (as in barbecue) and its address (West 39th Street).
It was 12:30 p.m. on a Wednesday, and the place was bustling when we arrived, but there was no wait for a table for two. Menu items immediately jumped out at me, including smoked beef brisket poutine, wood-fired grilled salmon salad, smoked pork banh mi, a pork belly taco, and a burnt ends burger. I wanted to try them all!
But for my first Kansas City barbecue experience, I had to go with the Certified Angus Beef brisket competition plate (sliced brisket, burnt ends, classic BBQ sauce) for $19. The plate includes one side; I went with mac 'n cheese (an extra $4).
The meat arrived already drizzled with sauce and was more thinly sliced than I'm used to when ordering by the pound in Texas. I enjoyed the sauced brisket; it had a crisp bark and was quite tender. Meanwhile, Kel enjoyed her two-meat plate with tender pork spare ribs, chipotle sausage, and seasonal grilled vegetables ($17.50).
We also shared a fantastic zero-proof cocktail, Birds & the Bee's, made with lemon and ginger tea, house juniper syrup, lemon juice, and smoked honey. It's one of three available, in addition to local craft beers.
Dessert was a giant chocolate espresso brownie with vanilla ice cream, pecans, and strawberries. I mainly remember it for its fudgy texture, and at $8, it was a great value.
Original location: 1000 W 39th St, Kansas City, MO, q39kc.com
Second spot: 11051 Antioch Rd, Overland Park, KS
Jack Stack Barbecue
Our second lunch in Kansas City was at Jack Stack Barbecue in the Freight House, a restored industrial building with 25-foot ceilings in the Crossroads Art District.
Jack Stack is a fourth-generation family-owned restaurant whose origin story dates back to 1957 when Russ Fiorella opened a small barbecue stand. Jack's eldest son worked with him until 1974, when he opened a second location in Martin City, a suburb to the south. Today, there are six Jack Stack Barbeque joints.
We arrived when they opened at 11 a.m. and quickly got a table. Within an hour, the cavernous restaurant that smelled of smoked meats had filled up. The lunch menu was much more extensive than Q39 and slightly overwhelming. Jack Stack offers 11 hickory-smoked meats, from brisket and burnt ends to Crown Prime beef short ribs.
For an appetizer, we got the smoked jalapeno cornbread with honey butter. It was delivered in a hot cast iron pan and was as appetizing as it sounds. We also shared the three-meat Kansas City combo plate with beef burnt ends, pork burnt ends, and baby back ribs (subbing the cheesy corn bake, a signature side, for French fries) for $26.
Kel and I both liked the pork burnt ends the most. And I preferred Jack Stack's beef burnt ends more than the ones at Q39. However, regarding the ribs, we liked Q39's more. It was more than enough food to feed us both (with some leftovers we took back to the hotel). I was so full I couldn't even contemplate dessert.
101 W 22nd St, Kansas City, MO, jackstackbbq.com
Chef J BBQ
As much as I wanted to stick to Kansas City-style barbecue during my first visit, the appeal of Chef J BBQ, a restaurant in the historic West Bottoms district, was undeniable. Pitmaster Justin Easterwood's Texas-style BBQ joint was the #1 pick by Kansas City Magazine for barbecue in 2023.
We arrived 15 minutes before they opened at 11:15 a.m. on a Friday to find a short line outside the building. We waited about 25 minutes before we reached the counter to place our order, which left us plenty of time to strategize.
Kel suggested the four-meat plate, which comes with two sides, for $32. It was an incredible deal. We picked brisket, pork ribs, bacon burnt ends, and jalapeno cheddar sausage for the meats.
I liked the pork ribs the most, followed by the brisket and sausage. The bacon burnt ends didn't do much for me. Kel liked them all.
Our chosen sides were smoked elote and chipotle slaw. We had the traditional banana pudding and a triple chocolate pudding with Oreo cookies for dessert. They were $5 each.
Chef J could easily hold his own in Texas; however, I think his against-the-grain approach in Kansas City will ensure his food continues to stand out in a crowded field.
1401 W 13th St Suite G, Kansas City, MO, chefjbbq.com
Fine Dining
While I've grown to love barbecue over the last eight years, I remain fascinated with fine dining. None of the following three restaurants was formal, nor did they sport white tablecloths. Yet the quality of prepared dishes would not be out of place at such places.
Corvino
My first choice for dinner the day we arrived was Corvino Supper Club & Tasting Room in the Crossroads Art District. Chef Michael Corvino, a 2023 James Beard Award Semifinalist for Best Chef: Midwest, runs the restaurant with his wife, Christina Corvino, a sommelier.
The Corvino's restaurant offers two distinct experiences for Kansas City diners. The first is a casual supper club atmosphere where you can order small plates a la carte from the New American menu and listen to live music. The second is a smaller, more intimate tasting room with an open kitchen and a 10-course menu for $165.
Note: Corvino has announced that the last tasting menu will be served on September 1, 2024. The space will then be converted into a new cocktail lounge.
We opted for the supper club experience and walked over from our hotel for a 5:30 p.m. reservation. Dinner began with the Karma Queen, a vodka cocktail with dragon fruit, rum, and bitter orange, and the seaweed donuts with trout roe and cream. Some other starters were Kaluga caviar, leche de tigre with octopus and fluke, and rock shrimp toast.
We skipped past the sourdough with cultured butter and salads to order the Chinese broccoli with whipped tofu and chili crunch. I don't typically order broccoli, but I'm glad Kel suggested it, as it was beautifully presented and tasty.
For a main course, I ordered the halibut with coconut, pineapple, and snow peas for an entree. The plating and flavors were excellent, and I relished every bite.
Rigatoni with bacon and brisket, a cheeseburger with charred onion, and lamb shoulder with Swiss chard were also available. My impression of Corvino is that you can't go wrong with the menu.
Dessert was a tough decision. Blueberry cheesecake with fromage blanc and violet sounded divine, as did rice pudding with sesame butterscotch.
Kel let me take the lead, and I chose the chocolate ganache with red currant, cherry, and black rice. Once again, it was plated nicely; I liked the use of negative space. Taste-wise, it offered a variety of flavors and textures that played nicely together: rich, silky chocolate, crunchy rice, and juicy cherries.
1830 Walnut St, Kansas City, MO, corvino.com
The Town Company
Following our fantastic experience at Corvino, we had high expectations for The Town Company restaurant at the historic Hotel Kansas City in the Power and Lights District.
Executive chef Johnny Leach has worked at Michelin-star restaurants like Del Posto and Momofuku in New York City. His efforts at the Town Company, which he opened with his wife, executive pastry chef Helen Jo Leach (Eleven Madison Park, Milk Bar), were rewarded when he was named a James Beard Award Semifinalist for Best Chef: Midwest in 2024.
The Town Company's seasonal dinner menu features a mix of seafood and meat dishes, many of which use the white oak-burning hearth visible in the open kitchen. We ordered the hot buns with cultured butter and carrot dip to get us started.
Smaller plates that appealed to me included the lobster toast with chili oil, kampachi (amberjack) with shiso and pistachio, and a chicken skewer with foie gras and turnip. Having eaten a hearty lunch at Jack Stack's Barbeque earlier in the day, we skipped these in favor of sharing one entree.
Sweet potato dumplings, striped bass, duck, and striploin were all on the menu. However, the chile-smoked pork chop with cornbread and yellow eye beans most caught Kel's and my attention. The menu indicated it could serve two to three people. The massive pork chop arrived sliced with roasted garlic, much to Kel's delight.
Dessert that night was a small piece of olive oil cake with lemon, pistachio, and buttermilk ice cream. A chocolate chestnut parfait with maple cream also looked appealing.
1228 Baltimore Ave, Kansas City, MO, hotelkc.com
The Antler Room
Last but not least, we have The Antler Room, where I dined solo at the bar while Kel was at a work event. While not planned, this was the third of three Kansas City restaurants I picked for dinner that were run by a husband-and-wife duo.
Chef Nick Goellner is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York and has worked in NYC, San Francisco, and at Noma, a three-star Michelin restaurant in Copenhagen. He's a three-time James Beard Award nominee for Best Chef: Midwest. Leslie Newsam Goellner's career path includes working with Danny Meyer in NYC and managing restaurants in San Francisco.
Ordering a la carte, I created a fabulous three-course meal. It began with a fresh, colorful kampachi crudo, leche de tigre, and taro latkes. I put a little of the crudo on each latke and ate them together. It was delightful.
Next, I tried the braised lamb-filled cappelletti with pickled beets, radish, and port and lamb jus. There were only seven of these stuffed pastas per serving, but it was plenty. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the small slices of pickled beets placed between the pasta. Dessert was grilled pound cake with pandan ice cream, coconut sauce, bruleed banana, and toasted coconut.
2506 Holmes St, Kansas City, MO, theantlerroomkc.com
