Our last visit to Kansas City ended in a disappointing trip to a hole-in-the-wall barbecue joint (Wynedotte BBQ???) based entirely off the suggestion of a hotel clerk.
I wasn't making that mistake again.
This time I did my research before hand. Armed with a list of about 10 recommended barbecue joints, and some previously viewed video clips of local restaurants, the decision boiled down to location and amount of time we'd be spending in line.
The top of the list... Oklahoma Joe's.
First I'd like to congratulate and thank my two wonderful children (and their 2 cousins) for being as patient as they were waiting in line for over an hour just to order food.
Then, I'd like to tell you that Oklahoma Joe's was worth the wait and the money (although I think I was overcharged for my ribs).
The set up: We visited the original Oklahoma Joe's, embedded inside a gas station like we see with so many McDonald's and Subway's in Interstate towns nowadays. The line however, was wrapped through the building and almost around the first corner of the building on the outside.
We were told it would be about an hour wait to order, which was pretty close to correct (about 70 minutes). At the half-way point, (when you enter the building, it's a gas station/restaurant combo, so you're entering just to the side of a fuel pump and a few feet from a station attendant), you pick up a copy machine produced menu. The reason is simple, if they've got a line like that every night, there is ZERO reason to print them on some nice laminated paper, the "printing" is irrelevant. What matters is what you're ordering.
And even that doesn't matter because everything was pretty fucking good.
I ordered the 1/2 slab of ribs (but am pretty sure I was charged for the full slab). It came with a side (beans, slaw, spicy slaw, potato salad, something else I don't remember that's probably more beans) and texas toast.
The strange part is that being a non-traditional "fast-food" place, you get your food almost immediately. I'm sure it's done that way on purpose, since you've already waited 60+ minutes, any more time to wait after ordering is just not smart. Instead, they've got plenty of everything at least parcooked, so once you order, they finish it off in seconds/minutes and you're good to go.
The ribs were delicious, very tender, juicy and full of flavor. Didn't really need sauce, but being there, you had to at least try the 2 flavors on the table, original and a hot sauce who's name I don't remember even though the name was sheer genius.
The fries were equally good and my wife's Z Man sandwich(?) was awesome as well - a brisket with 2 onion rings on top. The potato salad was easily the low point, and while it wasn't bad, I'm certainly not going to spend much time discussing it with anybody.
To make a long-story a little shorter, I'll just say, the wait was worth it, even with 4 kids under 10 in our party. And frankly, I'm not even that disappointed that I (believe) I was charged extra on my meal because the taste easily outweighed the cost.