KCRag Forum

I'm hoping that half of the people in the lunch line magically won't be able to find the place anymore.

KCMax wrote:Petty provincalism once again rears its ugly head in Kansas City. Film at 11.

Hey at least this reaction is born more out of pride in the city and its BBQ status. BBQ seems to be one of the few things that pretty universally gets Kansas Citians to puff out their chest with civic boosterisim.

KC Joe's would have been better. But - I think there are some ownership issues with the restaurants the partnership owns in Tulsa OK. With the opening of the restaurants in Tulsa, it's probably good to end the confusion as to the origin of the place but there may be a recognition problem especially since the restaurant has received so much press from outside of KC. Visitors looking for what some have called the best bbq in the universe may be scratching their heads during their next visit to KC.

In the meantime, Tokyo Joe's comes to KC, from... Denver.
http://www.kansascity.com/living/liv-co ... 00519.html

Looks like the name change has to do with a split in ownership. OK Joe's stays the same in OK. Local owners in KC area get the name change. OK Joe's will have a new partnership/concept with Leawood's Rye.

Huh....thought Bread & Butter was the new Rye partner.

Call in, order ahead, skip the theme-park line.

Oklahoma Joe's coming to DC

http://dcist.com/2014/09/oklahoma_joes.php

KCMax wrote:Oklahoma Joe's coming to DC

http://dcist.com/2014/09/oklahoma_joes.php

Dang. They are really going to water down the old name. Good thing they are changing it in KC, but yet another instance where the nationally known thing (KC Masterpiece) is not as well respected in KC as the name would suggest.

I actually think OK Joe's is kind of going downhill, we had ribs a few weeks ago and they were horrible. I've had much better ribs at Rosedale for about 5 bucks less a slab. I have never had anything at OK Joe's that has really wowed me.

I was also disappointed in my list visit to Joes (leawood location). Food wasn't great, and definitely was not worth the line.

lock+load wrote:I was also disappointed in my list visit to Joes (leawood location). Food wasn't great, and definitely was not worth the line.

That one is not nearly as good. The KCK location is still top notch IMO.

Now that OK Joe's has announced that today is the official name change to Joe's Kansas City, you can open your own "Oklahoma Joe's" franchise.

This is why the local owners decided they needed to change the name. The original "Joe" still owned the name, even though he has not had ownership in the restaurant since the '90s. He decided to use the name for franchising. The local owners are protecting (and distancing) themselves as they continue to win awards from franchise restaurants that might put out a marginal product.

https://d1qkyo3pi1c9bx.cloudfront.net/D ... dcf50f.pdf

Was a little critical of Q39 when it first opened (pricey, small portions, trying too hard with service, little smokey flavor, indoor pits, etc) but have gone back a few times and must say it is worth the price. I take visitors here every time now and they are pretty wowed. The burnt ends are astounding, crispy on one end and falls apart on the other, as if each morsel is hand crafted. The ribs quite good too, better than KC Joes best days (Joes still better with pulled pork). Sides are well above avg but still rather pricey. Wish they were in a better location, like Xroads or River Market.

Agreed, have been a half dozen times and the food has been great every time, particularly the ribs. Went last Tuesday for a family get together and the place was completely mobbed, yet the service was still first rate.

The layout and decor is really nice, creates a very comfortable vibe.

Perhaps they will expand in the future? One of those local "chains"?

Visited Char Bar and came away totally impressed. They've done an amazing jog with the space and the BBQ is championship quality similar to Q39. The burnt ends were absolutely fantastic. Not surprising as Meat Mitch is behind the food. The furniture, fixtures are very well done and fun. Love the big island-like bar. The dollars that must have been put into this venture...whoa. Really looking forward to seeing the outdoor completed.

I didn't love Q39. Ok 'cue, kinda expensive, bland cassoulet. Haven't been back. May give it another shot thanks to you guys.

Certainly kind of expensive, but it's also a full service sit down restaurant that most joints aren't. Someone pointed out that it should not be your only source of bbq and probably not your first. It's got cloth napkins for crying out loud.

That's a lot of what I didn't like about it. The Jack Stack thing, trying to upsell barbecue as a sort of "gourmet" experience or whatever just seems inauthentic and cheesy to me. I don't have a problem with it in theory, but it seems like the food is never as good at those places as it should be to justify the elevated price and fancy surroundings. I have a hard time justifying spending more money on not-quite-as-good food when I can spend significantly less and get the bomb elsewhere. Which is probably why I was so epically disappointed in the cassoulet. I thought they might have finally been the ones to elevate the food to a point that justified the setting, but they hadn't.

I should give them the benefit of the doubt, though. Maybe it was just a bad day for cassoulet that day. And, again, the 'cue was above average. Better than Jack Stack anyway.

Pretty awesome to live in a town with so much bbq we can afford to dislike some of it. Think of the poor deprived people in Vermont.