R and J's

Were Back! ……… Ok so it’s been a while. We had finals, graduations, recruiters, big moves and summer vacations.  Zach graduated and moved away, Travis is saving the world in the Navy; Jack is off to get his doctorate in Pennsylvania and I took a few weeks for an awesome summer vacation. We did however get to three BBQ joints (R and J’s BBQ, Wyandot BBQ and LC’s BBQ) this summer for round two of the Pit Crawl. This review is about R and J’s BBQ, and soon to follow will be Travis’ review on Wyandot BBQ as well as Dennis’ review on LC’s BBQ. Then comes the Bit by Bit BBQ Pit crawl III!

            Jack, Travis and Zach are lifelong Pit Crawlers and beyond that lifelong friends. Anytime they find a new BBQ spot through their life travels and feel the need to share, a review will be posted. That being said this adventure is long from over for Dennis and me as well. We’ve added two new members to the crawl (Robert and Brett); have set our sights on four new BBQ joints and plan on reviewing sauces as well as our own BBQ adventures.  So let’s get to it!

            I eat a lot of BBQ. Had it in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Memphis, Kansas City, etc.  But the  sausage at R and J’s was some of the best I’ve ever had. As we hunkered down at the bar to order we were greeted quickly and with a smile. Nothing fancy about this place, you could tell it was family run. A true mom and pop operation, everyone who walked through the door seemed to be a regular. Now we certainly weren’t  family or regulars and I for one felt at home. Plus they got a sandwich called “The Jayhawker” and for Lawrence Kansas boys that’s pretty cool.   

            Both Dennis and I had the sausage and rib combo plate and we shared a jayhawker. Travis and Zach had a sampler plate. We also had coleslaw, beans, and fries. The ham was ham, not bad in any way but just ham. The ribs were as good as many we’ve had, but we’ve had better. The brisket was sweet, tender, and cooked just right. As you might know by now we pretty much use fries for taste testing sauce and their sauce was good, however I prefer a bit more heat and they only have the one. The Beans were also good but in very small portions and the coleslaw was basic slaw. So now let’s get to it. SAUSAGE! If for no other reason this makes R and J’s a must go. As I said at the start this just might be the best I’ve ever had, perfect texture with a perfect sweet heat flavor. This sausage was so good I’m not sure how to describe it. All I can say is this. Step one Go! Step two Order the sausage. Step three Eat.

            Let me end on this. R and J’s is located just a few miles east of the Legends shopping center, Cabellas and a few big name chain BBQ joints. Now I’ve got nothing against big name BBQ restaurants in fact were going to review one in round three. But next time you take your family shopping out that way and decide to grab a bit to eat. Rather than wait thirty minutes for a table under a large neon sign that reads BBQ, head down the road and grab a table at R and J’s.

R and J’s BBQ

8401 Parallel Parkway

Kansas City Kansas 66112

913-299-1311

FIRST LEG DONE

                Thus ends the initial leg (with us blogging about it) of the KC bit by bit Pitcrawl and the unanimous result is that we continue to love Kansas City BBQ.  Zarda-Q started out our trip blowing us out of the water, Johnnies and Smoke’n Babes held form while only the Shack really disappointed.  We chose to wrap up our first section of the Pitcrawl with Oklahoma Joes because all of us but one had already been there before and knew that it was a strong choice to finish.  To officially put an end to the first leg we returned to Zarda Q and spent a gift certificate that was given to us.  Once again the food was delicious and we all had a good time. 

Going to restaurants isn’t the only thing that we did as a group during the time of our first leg of the Pitcrawl.  We also had a chicken cookout with 5 completely different recipes (for entire birds) as well as a Super Bowl get together that included brisket, pulled pork, chicken thighs, burnt ends and a football game without a team to root for.  Our Superbowl party was something that everyone else should be particularly jealous of.  Let me just put it this way; I had enough left over food given to me from our Superbowl party that I was able to feed all of my office mates.  The only guy newer than me was informed he needed to step his game up if he wanted to succeed with our company.

                While I do suggest that others make a similar group with their friends, I have to warn you that unless there is excessive exercise included in your daily routine you will gain weight.  In order to make sure that we got a fair sampling of each restaurant’s menu we generally spent $15-20 per person per meal so that we tried an array of menu items.  Hopefully through reading these blogs you can see that we are trying to be fair and unbiased with our reviews regardless as to what the general regional consensus is to the quality of each restaurant.

                Moving forward we have 5 new restaurants picked for our next leg of the Pitcrawl.  They were originally Wyandotte BBQ, R and J’s BBQ, LC's, BB's Lawnside BBQ and Smokin Guns.  Because BB’s Lawnside, Smokin Guns and LCs are all a bit further away from where we live and will probably have to be day trips for us, we have switched BB’s Lawnside to Biemer’s here in town (Lawrence) to try and speed up the time it takes us to make it through this leg of the trip. 

                Anyways, we hope y’all have enjoyed reading our reviews as we try and become the most extensive review site for Kansas City BBQ.  If you have suggestions as to where we should go or great recipes for sauces that we should try we would love to hear from you.  I would like to thank both Zarda-Q and Smoke’n Babes for posting links to our site from their facebook pages (after we had written the reviews—there was no coercion in the review writing process.)  Also, I feel that it is important to thank the reddit Kansas City Community for checking out our website, my friend posted us up there and the response was great and we all appreciate the comments.  So far, according to the IP addresses we have had visitors from the United States, Canada, Estonia, Russia, Iran, Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and Ukraine.  Hopefully, we will continue to grow as a reference site as we continue to go to more and more restaurants. 

Oklahoma Joe's

Us Pit Crawlers went to Oklahoma Joe’s for our last stop on this round of our never ending BBQ crawl. I had never been there before this meal, but had been told by friends, newspapers, Zagat, and Anthony Bourdain, that Oklahoma Joe’s is one of the best BBQ restaurants in the world. This could have been extended to include the universe since our visit. Of this I’m not sure.

 Normally I agree with most things that Mr. Bourdain has done on his show, I mean, he has eaten the still-beating heart of a cobra, which is a big deal. But I feel like the hype ruined it for me.

 Based on these reviews I expected the meat and sauce to be so good that my heart would stop after one bite. And that would be convenient because Oklahoma Joe’s is one of the 13 places to eat before you die.

 However, this is what I have decided: The experience of going to Oklahoma Joe’s is a 10. The food at Oklahoma Joe’s is a 9, but it is billed as a 12. And these are the questions, and problems I face while writing this review. Do I think the food is great at Oklahoma Joe’s? Yes. Do I think that all I ate was as good as other KC BBQ stops? No. 

I ordered the Z-Man Sandwich, BBQ Beans, French Fries, and the Smoked Chicken Gumbo. It was an impressive amount of food. What was really incredible is that it was ready as soon as I made it to the cashier. About three minutes after placing my order with the first worker on the BBQ assembly line.

The Z-Man Sandwich is a breathtaking wonder and a credit to the sandwich form. The pairing of provolone and brisket may sound strange and cacophonic, but they go together perfectly with the onion rings. This was the best brisket sandwich I have ever had. The meat was cooked perfectly. The onion rings were lightly battered and crispy, waiting for me to drop some of that award winning sauce on top of them. The provolone was melted and a perfect complement to this monster. The price was equally as satisfying. Buying this sandwich at 6 bones is a steal.

The BBQ beans were definitely BBQ beans, but didn’t stand apart from other restaurants. I am however partial to the beans served by the BBQ wizards at Zarda Bar-B-Q, and think that nothing compares to those beans.

The French Fries were crispy, delicious, and perfect for what I use them for at a BBQ restaurant which is using them as sauce testers.

Now the Smoked Chicken Gumbo was a game changer. This side is unique and well made. It had a slow building spicy kick that left me sweating slightly. The chicken was present and accounted for and I think that this side in conjunction with the Z-Man Sandwich made my visit. I think that, in the fashion of Zarda’s beans, Oklahoma Joe’s should package and sell their gumbo at grocery stores.

Other Pit Crawlers had these things to say. The Sausage is basically a bratwurst, and we wouldn’t recommend ordering it. If it was served at a ball game or during a backyard drink off, then it would be great. It’s just not what one would expect from one of the 13 places to eat before you die. The Pulled Pork and Ribs however are some of the best you can get your saucy hands on.  

In summation, Oklahoma Joe’s is a great place to eat. If you go you have to get the Z-Man Sandwich, Pulled Pork or Ribs, and the Smoked Chicken Gumbo. The atmosphere is great, the food is great. If you do as Public Enemy says and "Don't Believe the Hype,” then you will have a meaty and rewarding eating experience.

Smoke N Babes

                A few months ago when we started this BBQ Pit Crawl I think all of us had one major thought in mind. What a great excuse to get out and eat at our favorite BBQ spots. But it quickly became more than that. A chance for five guys to make each other laugh, de-stress from the daily  grind, help people find where to go for good CUE, and most of all adventure. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”.

                   So while taking a detour from Baldwin City, Kansas and passing through Gardner Kansas, out of the corner of my eye there it was -Smoke N Babes BBQ. Never heard of it? Neither had I till then, but that’s when I decided that all of my choices on this tour were going to be places I’ve never been and with a bit of luck places I’ve never even heard of. So this Adventure begins at 213 E. Main Street Gardner, Kansas 66030. The place is small, so don’t blink as you drive by, and when you go in be prepared to bump knees with the rest of the patrons. It’s about the size of your average bedroom with something like four or five tables strategically placed. The walls are mostly painted like a chalk board for customers to draw on while their food is being prepared. Their hours are short during the early week 11:00am to 2:00pm, However they're open till 8:00pm Thursday through Saturday. So if  its dinner you want go later in the week.

                    Jack our chicken man had the chicken dinner with fries and corn nuggets, Zach had the burnt ends dinner with beans and cole slaw, Travis had the half slab baby back dinner with fries and fried green beans, Dennis had the carolina style pulled pork sandwich with corn nuggets, I had the burnt end sandwich with fries and beans, and Dennis and myself shared a half slab of baby back ribs and a combo sandwich that had spicy sausage and brisket.

                   So lets start with the meats! The chicken was smoked perfect with nice texture and  a good flavor. It pulled from the bone with ease and was tasty and moist. The ribs were also smoked well with great texture, pulling from the bone nicely. We had the baby backs because they were sold out of their spare ribs which I was told was their specialty. The ribs were sauced but only after they were pulled from the smoker, so if you're on the dry side of the WET VS DRY RIB WAR you might ask to not have them sauced. The pulled pork on the carolina style sandwich was good, but we thought the slaw didn’t have much flavor. The burnt ends were among some of the best I’ve ever had. Cooked with the perfect amount of smoke and as tender as any I’ve ever had the pleasure to eat. The sausage was a huge hit as well. We had the spicy sausage on our sandwich. For those of you who don’t like the heat they also have a regular sausage. It was tender and sweet with the right amount of heat and no toughness. Last but not least comes the brisket. Wow I loved this brisket. It was chopped not sliced-- which is a bit more common in the south. Personally I like it both ways, however in this case it was the perfect texture for the flavors used to cook this meat. Sweet and spicy with hints of smokey hard woods.

                   Now Lets talk sides and sauces. Two sauces sat on the tables regular and hot. Between the two we all felt the spicy sauce was far better. Nothing wrong with the regular just not nearly as memorable. The fries were good, but just fries. I’m a seasoned fry guy myself. The cole slaw as we said earlier didn’t have much flavor, and the corn nuggets were a bit under cooked. I should note Dennis thought they were cooked fine and even though I thought they were a bit under done I also thought they were sweet and tastier than many I’ve had. The fried green beans had a perfect batter on them to complement the bean and the baked beans were some of our favorites as well.

                   All in all we greatly enjoyed our visit along this path and I hope we left a trail for others to follow.

          Cary

The Salt Lick, Round Rock Texas

The Salt Lick

3350 E Palm Valley Blvd
Round Rock, TX 78665

photo by Jack Wier

The Salt Lick is everything a destination barbecue joint should be.  There are a few locations, one in the owner’s home town of Driftwood, Texas, another in Round Rock, Texas and a two others at  the Austin and Oklahoma City airports.  I went to the Round Rock location. When you park in the huge parking lot your mouth starts to water because the scent of smoking meat is everywhere.  Walking in the door you see a huge open pit barbecue with several cooks working around it.  The apparatus can probably cook a dozen beef briskets at once, which is good because they are in great demand. The Salt Lick is not an establishment that that worries about decor. The only decorations on the walls were a framed Texas Flag and an awesome picture of Nolan Ryan holding a guy in a headlock while punching him.   The Salt Lick is known for its beef brisket. When my family sat down at our table, we asked the waitress for her recommendations.  She said that the ribs and brisket were fantastic.  She also mentioned that the Point was her favorite cut of meat and went on to tell us a bit about the smoking process that the brisket goes through at the Salt Lick. This woman knew her barbeque.  My Dad ordered the brisket and said it was the best he’d ever had.  This statement is important because before we went to the restaurant my Dad had all but given up on smoking brisket; saying that he just couldn’t seem to smoke it in a way that keep the meat from drying out.  I should also say that my father is no novice when it comes to barbecue.  He is a devotee of the Smoke Ring, knows about the Bullsheet and I got him a Ro-Man Porkpuller for Christmas. My Mother ordered the pulled pork sandwich and she said that it was very good as well.  The pulled pork at the Salt Lick is Caroliona Style; bun, pork, coleslaw, sauce and bun. I had the half a chicken and got a half with all white meat.  All of the chicken I had was moist and flavorful.  Accompanying each meal was a side of coleslaw and potato salad.  The coleslaw was bland but it, like everything all on your plate, I really enjoyed it with lots of sauce on it.  The potato salad was actually a brick of yellow mashed potatoes served at room temperature which I really enjoyed.  Traditional Texas barbecue has no sauce just a rub.  It is only in the last few decades that barbecue restaurants there have started including sauce on their meat. At the Salt Lick all of the meat was served dry though each table had a good-sized bowl of both sauces. Though it’s a relatively recent phenomenon; the Salt Lick has a tasty pair of barbecue sauces, Regular and Hot.  The sauces are mustard based which is something I had not tasted before.  Both sauces were also heavily flavored with sugar and onions. Depending on your personal point of view the sole drawback to these sauces was that the hotter one was not very hot.  In my opinion “Hot” barbecue sauces should be approached cautiously, used sparingly, and blow your head off while bringing out the flavor of the meat.  I used both sauces liberally on my entire meal and it wasn’t until my plate was almost empty that I was sweating and my nose was running. Whatever you choose to eat, The Salt Lick deserves all of its acclaim as a great barbecue restaurant.  Any barbecue aficionado should go there in you’re in the neighborhood.  

As always, may your pits inspire awe. - Jack

The Shack

Guy Fieri might want to consider coming back to The BBQ Shack in Paola, Kansas, and taking down his posters.  When the Bit-By-Bit BBQ Pit Crawl arrived at the Shack with high expectations, based on Guy’s endorsement on his “Diner, Drive-Ins, and Dives” program, and on many word-of-mouth recommendations over the years, we were very disappointed.  Very little lived up to all that we had been told.

Admittedly, when we walked into the place shortly after noon, they were busy.  A girl’s softball team had arrived just ahead of us and pretty well filled the seating.  That circumstance caused some of the problems we experienced, but is not an excuse for the generally mediocre to poor quality of the food we were served.

One of BBQ’s basic staples, ribs, were not available to our group.  A little more than an hour after the Shack’s stated opening time, they were sold out.

Of the menu items we were able to try, our group found most to be very run-or-the mill, or inferior.  The list of our opinions is as follows:

·         The burnt ends were rubbery and chewy, and not very flavorful.

·         The beef brisket was dry, and hard, and again not particularly tasty.

·         The sausage, likewise, was dry.

·         The pulled pork was tender and moist, but it too was not very flavorful, as if not enough rub had been used to prepare it.

·         The Carolina-style pulled-pork sandwich was OK, but the slaw used on it wasn’t as tangy as I prefer.

·         The ½ chicken was OK, but not noteworthy.

·         The seasoned fries were under-seasoned.

·         The fried pickles were generally inferior to those we have tried at other BBQ restaurants.

·         The fried okra, cheese sticks, and corn nuggets were acceptable if you discount them being tepid instead of hot.

The few things our group sampled that we found to be good were:

·         The Atomic Buffalo Turds (bacon-wrapped jalapenos stuffed with creamed cheese) were quite good.

·         The Sweet Fire BBQ sauce we found to be very tasty, with the Hot Sauce being a close second.

·         The Onion straws had good flavor and were cooked and seasoned well.

It should be noted that none of our food was really served hot.  It was mostly just warm, as if it had been sitting awhile.  If that were the case, and we believe it was, that would not have helped the quality problems.

The service was not good.  To start with, our group of four was not greeted or seated by the restaurant staff, but by the bus driver of the softball team, who juggled their group to make space for us.  When a waitress finally came to take our order, she warned us there might be a wait, but we had no expectation that it would end up being almost 2 hours.  That particular problem became increasingly annoying as more and more people who came in after we did, started getting served ahead of us.  When that number reached seven parties, we complained.  At that point, our food magically appeared within moments, and it was clear that it had been sitting awhile.

In picking the establishments we planned to visit and review, The BBQ Shack had been high on our list of places to try.  We left very disappointed and The Shack had fallen so far down the list that it will be some time before any of us try it again.

Dennis Constance on behalf of The Pit Crawlers

Johnny's

Shawnee Mission, Kansas

Chicken is my favorite meat.  When I was born there was an ominous thunderclap, and a series of dark clouds could be seen over poultry farms throughout the Midwest. I picked Johnny’s for this leg of the pit crawl because their chicken was supposed to be the best in the region.  Before I get to the chicken, I should mention that a trip to Johnny’s is worth it just to see the way the place is decorated.  Hundreds and hundreds of barbecue sauce bottles adorn shelves on the walls when you first walk in.  My personal favorite was Fartless Barbecue Sauce, though I’m pretty sure that’s flagrant false advertising on the company’s part.  The guys and I spent several minutes looking at all of the bottles for names, places of origin and sauce ingredients.  In addition to the bottle collection there are numerous pictures of “classic” outhouses in and around the bathroom. 

Before I even sat down I got the impression that the people at Johnny’s knew what they were doing.  I believe that Johnny’s does have the best barbecued chicken I have eaten thus far.  I have not eaten as much barbecue as some of the other Pit Crawlers but I am the group appointed chicken connoisseur.  The dark meat was really really flavorful and moist.  Even the white meat had a lot of moisture to it, which is hard to do when you are barbecuing chicken. 

The other Pitcrawlers also spoke highly of the ribs there.  If you go to Johnny’s be sure and add a rib. Two of our number went so far as to say that the ribs were perfect, yep perfect. They may not be perfect every time but the staff at Johnny’s has it in their capacity to smoke a perfect rib. Although we didn't love all the sauces, the hottest sauce they offer is fantastic.   Also if you go, be sure and get the fried pickles.  Johnny’s pickles are cornbread fried, well-seasoned and firm.  When you bite into one you taste more than just salt.  We enjoyed them immensely.  Johnny’s BBQ is well worth the drive.  If you go, tell them the Barbecue Pit Crawlers sent you.
- Jack