Why Kansas City
Visit the Barbecue Capital of the World!
Kansas City is world renowned for barbecue! Kansas City's barbecue tradition traces back to the early 1900s. Kansas City was then known as "cowtown" and for its large cattle stockyards. This led to a number of pitmasters coming to Kansas City for work and fueling the barbecue craze that continues today. Kansas City barbecue is characterized by being slow-smoked over varieties of wood and having a sweet sauce made with brown sugar, molasses, and tomatoes. Be sure to try burnt ends, a Kansas City specialty! Burnt ends are chunks of crispy and flavorful meat cut from the point of a smoked beef brisket. Originally given away for free as scraps, they are now a staple at local barbecue joints.
Today, there are over 100 barbecue restaurants in Kansas City, as well as numerous barbecue festivals and competitions throughout the year. The most notable barbecue competition in the world is the American Royal World Series of Barbecue, more than 500 local, national and international teams smoking meat for two weeks each fall. With all these options, there is sure to be a barbecue joint you will love!
Famous Barbecue Restaurants
Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue
Started in 1957, Jack Stack started as a humble barbecue stand with a limited menu. In the 1970s, Jack Fiorella created the first Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue branch in Kansas City. Fiorella's Jack Stack stood out in the Kansas City barbecue competition by cooking their meats over hickory wood. Today, Fiorella's Jack stack has evolved into a small chain of restaurants in Kansas City and the largest wood-fired barbecue kitchen in the United States. It has been rated among the best barbecue in the United States by several organizations, including being named "#1 Barbecue House in the Country" by the Zagat Survey.
Address:
Multiple locations in Kansas and Missouri
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Arthur Bryant's
Arthur Bryant's is synonymous with barbecue history in Kansas City. Henry Perry is known for being one of the first to sell barbecue in Kansas City. Charlie Bryant, Arthur Bryant's brother, worked for Henry Perry and eventually took over the Perry restaurant. Arthur then took over Charlie's business in 1946, and renamed the restaurant Arthur Bryant's. The restaurant and its famous sauce continues to succeed today. The restaurant displays photos of the many famous politicians, actors, actresses and sports figures that have eaten at Arthur Bryant's over the years.
Address:
1727 Brooklyn Ave
Kansas City, MO
Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que
The founders of Joe's Kansas City started out participating in local barbecue competitions. Their competition team, Slaughterhouse Five, won numerous awards and became recognized as one of the top competition barbecue teams in the country. In 1996, Jeff and Joy Stehney opened the original Joe's location in a gas station. Since then, they have become a Kansas City icon. Zagat named Joe's KC as "Kansas City's Best Barbecue" and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain listed the original Joe's location as one of "13 Places You Must Eat Before You Die".
Address:
3002 W 47th Ave
Kansas City, KS
Jones Bar-B-Que
Jones Bar-B-Q is an independent family-owned barbecue joint. Originally started in the 1970s, sisters Deborah "Little" and Mary "Shorty" Jones continue to serve customers following their family recipes. In 2019, the Jones sisters and their barbecue joint were featured on Queer Eye and they started bottling their secret sauces. Bloomberg News has since named Jones Bar-B-Que Coconut Pineapple sauce as one of their five favorite barbecue sauces.
Address:
6706 Kaw Drive Frontage Rd
Kansas City, KS
Welcome to Chiefs Kingdom!
Experience the excitement of an American football game! Kansas City has been home to the Chiefs football team since 1963 and has one of the most loyal fan bases in the National Football League. Chiefs fans are known to pack Arrowhead stadium on game day and tailgate beforehand. Arrowhead stadium has the reputation for being one of the toughest and loudest outdoor stadiums, making it difficult for opposing teams to play in. In 2014, Chiefs fans and Arrowhead set the Guinness World Record for being the loudest crowd in an outdoor stadium with a sound reading of 142.2 decibels. That is comparable to standing 100 feet (30 m) from a jet engine. The Chief's mascot is a wolf named K.C. Wolf, after a group of rabid fans in the team's early days who were known as the "Wolfpack". K.C. Wolf is one of the most popular NFL mascots and was the league's first mascot inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2006.
See the City of Fountains
Kansas City has over 200 registered fountains. During the 1800s, the vision was for Kansas City to have "more boulevards than Paris, more fountains than Rome". This design aesthetic persisted throughout the years, leading Kansas City to be nicknamed the "City of Fountains". Many of the fountains are scattered through Kansas City's parks and at the Country Club Plaza.
The Country Club Plaza is a retail and restaurant district in downtown Kansas City with a distinct Spanish style. Planned in 1922, J.C. Nichols designed the Plaza to emulate the architecture of Sevilla, Spain. While the Plaza continues to be a high-end shopping district, it is also an open-air public art gallery. There are more than 30 statues, murals, fountains, and tile mosaics on display. Additionally, there are major architectural reproductions, such as a half-sized Giralda Tower of Seville (the tallest building in the Plaza). Every year, the Plaza's buildings are decorated with holiday lights, with thousands of people coming out each to view the official lighting ceremony. The Plaza's "Season of Lights" is one of the city's oldest traditions.
Home of Boulevard Brewery
A trip to Europe in 1984 sparked the desire to create an American beer full of flavor and aroma in John McDonald. Upon returning to Kansas City, he made the dream come true and sold the first keg of Boulevard Pale Ale in 1989. Since then, Boulevard Brewing Company has grown to be the largest craft brewery in the state of Missouri, with 8 beers available year-round and various seasonal beers. In 2016, Boulevard Brewery opened a new Tours & Rec Center to ensure that anyone who wants to visit can come to the brewery each year. The restored 1929 building also houses a Beer Hall and a outdoor Rec Deck with shuffleboard. Visitors can enjoy a beer and the view of downtown Kansas City from the Rec Deck. After a tour, stop by Ponak's Mexican Kitchen, where the first Boulevard beer was sold.
Visit the Cradle of Jazz
Jazz flourished in Kansas City during the 1920s and 1930s, becoming knows as a "cradle of Jazz" along with New Orleans, New York, and Chicago. Prohibition laws were largely ignored in Kansas City. Tom Pendergast, known as the political boss of the time, ordered officials to ignore prohibition laws in parts of Kansas City. Because of the lax liquor laws, bars and clubs in Kansas City thrived during this time, especially in the now famous Jazz District at 18th and Vine. At one point, there were over 100 nightclubs in the city featuring Jazz music and allowing musicians to make their mark in the city. Its in Kansas City the bluesy and smooth sounds of jazz started, eventually spreading across the rest of the country.
You can still visit some of these legendary spots today. The American Jazz Museum is located in the 18th & Vine Jazz District. The museum features interactive exhibits to celebrate the Jazz greats and Jazz's role in Kansas City history. The Blue Room is named after the famous 1930 Street Hotel club and hosts over 20 live shows each month. The Majestic Restaurant was once a prohibition-era speakeasy. Today, the lower-level is a classic Kansas City steakhouse and jazz club featuring some of the best jazz acts in the country. The Phoenix Jazz Club is one of the oldest jazz and blues club in Kansas City and hosts live shows 6 days a week.
