Kansas City- Arthur Bryant's BBQ

On a recent business trip to Kansas City, I found myself unable to pass up the opportunity to visit Arthur Bryant’s BBQ. After all, this place is one of the reasons that Kansas City is famous for barbeque. In fact, the Bryant family can trace their barbecue roots back to Henry Perry, the father of KC barbeque.  According to barbecue history, Arthur Bryant’s brother Charlie was an employee of Henry Perry. The family then opened their own restaurant which Arthur eventually took over.

Look for this sign.

The original headquarters is on the Missouri side of the border but there is a relatively new location on the Kansas side, at the Legends Outlets shopping area in Wyandotte County. I imagine the atmosphere is better at the original location, or at least more of what I would traditionally expect a barbeque restaurant to look like, however, I didn’t go for the atmosphere. I went for the famous food.

You might see this truck too.

At first I thought the price of my ham and pulled pork combo meal plus fries was a bit large, and then the server gave me my amazingly large portions of food and it was worth it. It was certainly more than enough for me, and I’m not little! The fries were plentiful and hot and the ham was acceptable. I’ve noticed a lot of bragging about their vinegar based sauce (sweet tomato based sauces are more the norm around here) so I’ll just be nice and say I must have had some out of a bad batch.  I prefer a sweet tomato sauce.

Get sauced.

For a good one, you might try Hillsdale Bank Barbecue’s “The Sauce”. That being said, Arthur Bryant’s also has sweet and spicy varieties that are more like what I would expect to find in Kansas City.

Eat and be merry.

Now, let’s talk about the pulled pork. If had to describe this stuff with one word, it would be “wow!”  This was some of the best pulled pork I have ever eaten. I shoveled it down as quickly as I could and then found myself wishing for more. Arthur Bryant’s is certainly one of Kansas City’s most famous eateries and their pulled pork has got to be one of the reasons why! I can’t wait to try the original location and their nearest rival, Gates Bar B-Q, on my next trip to Kansas City!

Until next time- Swine and Dine!

Chris