Kansas photos - BBQ, Beer & Field level access

[Matt Cotcher]

I spent Thursday - Sunday in Kansas City & Lawrence covering the game. I also hit a few bbq joints and a craft brewery. All in all, I'd say KC is a good city by midwestern standards - scenic country, good highway infrastructure, low traffic and enough downtown neighborhoods to make the city feel vibrant.
 
The scorecards:
 
Smokin' Guns BBQ
Meat - Very tender but not the smoky flavor I'm accustomed to from Texas 'que.
Sides - The beans and the potatoes were both outstanding.
Dessert - Very good, but not remarkable.
Overall - If this place was in Austin, I'd eat there 5-6 times/year.
 
Jack Stack BBQ
Meat - Even more tender than Smokin' Guns, but the same lacking smoky flavor. You can tell when you're eating high-quality beef.
Sides - Both were even better than what was served at Smokin' Guns, which was very good. These were as good of barbecue side items as I've ever had anywhere.
Dessert - Had to skip it and head to the airport. Disappointing menu choices which was surprising.
Overall - Using the same scale as above, I'd eat here once a month if it was in Austin.
 

Free State Brewery
I am a big fan of craft beer. I don't turn up my nose at the mass produces varieties - I'm not a beer snob, but I'll always pick a craft brew over a yellow fizzy. With that in mind, Free State was excellent. They had a dozen of their brews on tap and the Octoberfest that I had was really good. It was definitely of the American style on Festbier/Marzen, but very good good for what they set out to brew.
 
(Note: There are captions for all photos. In full screen mode, you have to keep moving the mouse/cursor to see them.)

 

[JimsTexas]

They need Jeff S. to show then hows it done. My friends y'all have a  great day

 

[Aaron Carrara]

Rubbed Nuts?

 

[Duke C #11]

I hope you tried the cheezy corn at Jack Stack. Mmmm!

 

[Matt Cotcher]

I hope you tried the cheezy corn at Jack Stack. Mmmm!

I missed on the cheesey corn. I think that's a specialty of one of the other locations. But judging from those 2 sides, I'm sure it's excellent.

 

[Matt Cotcher]

Sheesh - echeese, SFLHG, joeywa et al rip me because the first edition had no food photos.

Now that the food photos are here.......

 

[Duke C #11]

Crickets do NOT make my mouth water.

 

[UTK66]

Good work Matt.

 

[Matt Cotcher]

Good work Matt.

Glad you enjoyed it. I'm more comfortable behind a keyboard than I am a camera, but the images tell a good story too.

 

[joeywa]

Sheesh - echeese, SFLHG, joeywa et al rip me because the first edition had no food photos.

Now that the food photos are here.......

Matt, good pics. Thanks for sharing.

One thing to keep in mind, Jack Stack uses hickory fired brick ovens, not a traditional pit. That's why you don't get the same smoke flavor you're accustomed to.

And FWIW, any place at advertises Rubbed Nuts is prob not where I'll be looking to have some BBQ. perhaps you should've asked about the Happy Ending there.

 

[Matt Cotcher]

Matt, good pics. Thanks for sharing.

One thing to keep in mind, Jack Stack uses hickory fired brick ovens, not a traditional pit. That's why you don't get the same smoke flavor you're accustomed to.

And FWIW, any place at advertises Rubbed Nuts is prob not where I'll be looking to have some BBQ. perhaps you should've asked about the Happy Ending there.

That makes a ton of sense (re: Jack Stack's). The meat was incredibly tender & definitely high grade beef.

 

[Lukus Alderman]

Good stuff Matt.

In my opinion, BBQ without smoke flavor isn't good BBQ...but that's just this guys opinion.

 

[PeteA422]

Yeah, BBQ without smoke flavor is called a pot roast!