Kansas City–style barbecue
Kansas City barbecue refers to the specific inner city style of barbecue that evolved from the pit of Henry Perry in the early 1900s in Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is renowned for barbecue. Kansas City, Missouri has more than 100 barbecue restaurants and proclaims itself to be the "world's barbecue capital." There are large, well attended barbecue cooking contests, the two most notable being in Lenexa, Kansas and at the American Royal.
In 1977, Rich Davis began the efforts to nationally market a more suburban version of barbecue sauce called KC Masterpiece (which is now owned by a division of Clorox). Efforts by Arthur Bryant's and Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q to export Kansas City barbecue beyond the metro area have not been commercially successful, although the two do market their sauces to travelers at Kansas City International Airport. Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue has been shipping its barbecue nationwide since 2000, and also offer their sauces and fully cooked pork rib packages at the airport.
Henry Perry
Kansas City traces its barbecue history to Henry Perry, who operated out of a trolley barn at 19th and Highland in the legendary African-American neighborhood around 18th and Vine.
Perry served slow-cooked ribs on pages of newsprint for 25 cents a slab. Perry came from Shelby County, Tennessee near Memphis and began serving barbecue in 1908. The style of Kansas City and Memphis barbecue are very similar, although Kansas City tends to emphasize using as much sauce as possible. Perry's sauce had a somewhat harsh, peppery flavor.
Perry's restaurant became a major cultural point during the heyday of Kansas City Jazz during the "wide-open" days of Tom Pendergast in the 1920s and 1930s.
Arthur Bryant
Working for him was Charlie Bryant, who, in turn, brought his brother, Arthur Bryant, into the business. Charlie took over the Perry restaurant in 1940 after Perry died. Arthur then took over his brother's business in 1946, and the restaurant was renamed Arthur Bryant's. In the process he sweetened Perry's sauce with molasses "so that you could eat it on bread."
Arthur Bryant's, which eventually moved to 1727 Brooklyn in the same neighborhood, became a stopping ground for baseball fans and players in the 1950s and 1960s, because of its close proximity to Municipal Stadium, where the Athletics or A's played their home games during that period.
In 1974, Kansas City native Calvin Trillin wrote an article in New Yorker Magazine proclaiming Bryant's to be the best restaurant on the planet.[citation needed]
Despite new-found fame, Bryant did not change the restaurant's very simple decor, which consisted of fluorescent lighting, formica tables, and five-gallon jars of sauce displayed in the windows, even as Presidents Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan stopped by.
Bryant died of a heart attack, in a bed that he kept at the restaurant, shortly after Christmas of 1982. The restaurant is still open. The barbecue sauce has peppers, herbs, different spices combined to make a sweeter, yet still peppery sauce. The sauce and restaurant continue their success.
Gates & Sons
In 1946 Arthur Pinkard, who was a cook for Perry, joined with George Gates to form Gates and Sons Bar-B-Q. The restaurant was situated initially in the same neighborhood.
More molasses was added to the Gates barbecue sauce to make it sweeter. Gates also expanded its footprint in a more conventional way, with restaurants all displaying certain trademarks -- red-roofed buildings, a recognizable logo (a strutting man clad in tuxedo and top hat) and the customary "Hi, May I Help You?" greeting belted out by its employees as patrons enter.
Gates has opened restaurants throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. Gates also sells barbecue sandwiches at Kauffman Stadium during Kansas City Royals home games.
The Gates family has become Kansas City royalty, including limos with "Strutin" license plates. Ollie W. Gates, the current owner, has used his popularity to bring notice to local Black rights, including the 18th and Vine district (special thanks to former Mayor now Congressman Emanuel Clever).
KC Masterpiece
In 1977, Rich Davis capitalized on the inner city reputation of Kansas City barbecue to form KC Masterpiece, which evolved from his "K.C. Soul Style Barbecue Sauce."
KC Masterpiece was sold to the Kingsford division of Clorox in 1986 and now claims to be the number one premium barbecue brand in the U.S. The KC Masterpiece brand tastes actually sweeter than the classic Bryant's and Gates sauces.
Davis has held KC Masterpiece barbecues on the White House lawn for George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.
According to the History Channel, Mr. Davis bucked the trend of KC BBQ restaurants by developing his sauce first, then creating a restaurant. The History Channel states that the usual trend is to develop the restaurant first, then develop the sauce (as in Bryant's and Gates). The History Channel also states that KC is the crossroads of the BBQ community (due to the early influence of railroads), and also states that the sauce of the restaurant is the most important feature of KC BBQ.
When Davis sold the rights to his sauce to Clorox, he announced plans to build a franchise of barbecue restaurants. Although new restaurants were indeed built in major metropolitan centers across the country, all except for the original restaurant in Overland Park, Kansas have since closed.
Other Famous Kansas City BBQ
Other famous and popular Kansas City BBQ restaurants include the following:
- Brother Isaac's BBQ website
- BB's Lawnside Bar-B-Q (known for indoor and outdoor dining and live blues)
- Danny Edwards Famous Kansas City Barbecue (formerly located next to the Sprint Center)
- Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue
- L.C.'s Barbecue (close to the Truman Sports Complex)
- Oklahoma Joe's BBQ (known for its original location inside of a gas station)
- Rosedale BBQ
- Woodyard BBQ
- Smoke Stack Bar-B-Que
- Wyandot BBQ
- Zarda Bar-B-Q
- website featuring reviews of 100 area barbecue restaurants
Kansas City Barbeque Society
The Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS), with over 6,000 members world-wide, is the world’s largest organization of barbecue and grilling enthusiasts. KCBS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "promoting barbeque and having fun while doing so."
KCBS sanctions more than two hundred barbecue contests across the U.S. each year and offers assistance to civic and charitable organizations with producing these events. The KCBS has developed a set of rules and regulations that govern all official KCBS competitions.
KCBS offers educational programs, consultation services, and civic organization presentations to help spread the gospel of barbecue. The mission of the Kansas City Barbeque Society is to celebrate, teach, preserve, and promote barbecue as a culinary technique, sport and art form. website