Arthur Bryant's

Hello, I'm Arthur Bryant. Yes, THE Arthur Bryant

On The Road...The Kansas City BBQ Disappointment, Volume 1
I have this theory about BBQ food and it's fairly straight forward, BBQ is meant to be good and affordable, focus on the affordable. Affordable is just my fancy marketing term for cheap. By cheap, I mean regionally since cheap by NY standards is different from cheap by, say Missouri standards.

Why? Well, I've spent enough time in Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia to know that the best BBQ that's ever been devoured by yours truly has been equal parts delicious and cheap. It's comfort food, comforting to the soul as much as the wallet.

All that said, my first KCMO experience with their take on BBQ was quite the letdown. The "must have" Arthur Bryant's, noted as one of the best in KC for decades, was truly a let down. I compare to when you were in high school and there was this guy/girl that you just HAD to go out with and when the opportunity finally came to really get to know this person, they were really just a waste of your present time and all the nights you spent dreaming about this day. Mr Bryant, I'm not blaming you but I'm kinda standing here pointing a finger at the employees that are soiling your good name and mooching off your reputation. Unless of course, if this is what you meant BBQ to be.

What went wrong? Well, for starters, the service here is a shade worse than awful - and this is coming from a New Yorker. Maybe the employees at this establishment on Brooklyn Ave were trying to embody the attitude of my hometown. If so, it worked but you still suck. Fear not though, you don't suck nearly as much as your "pulled pork." I use the term loosely because this pork could have easily been sipped up via a straw. It was a large pile of mush with little texture. On a happy note, I enjoyed the house hot sauce. The other meat you see on the tray at right is meant to be sausage. I compare it to room temperature bologna. Mmmmm, mmmm not good. A stack of white bread for the heck of it and you have $12 down the drain.

Which brings us full circle to my theory on BBQ. That is NOT $12 worth of food. Well, maybe in NY. Maybe they think they're in NY because they're on Brooklyn Ave, albeit in KCMO but this was the exact reason many of the locals said to avoid Jack's Stack BBQ, "it's too pricey" and go to Arthur Bryant's, "it's cheap and the best."

Rating - 1.5/5 - This was not my first taste of KC BBQ but it was the must have BBQ spot according to many. Good thing I don't hold grudges.

Their site - http://www.arthurbryantsbbq.com/index.htm

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