Above: Along the road between Wichita and Kansas City
I was hoping to see some snow today, and I did! Landing in Kansas City this afternoon, a mix of snow and rain is blowing horizontal in the high winds as we taxi to the gate. Walking to the rental car, the mix of temperatures in the 20’s and blasting gusts of wind make it feel like the cold is slicing any exposed skin. The car windows are covered in ice, another oddly welcome sight. I’m a fan of winter.
The first consideration of any trip to Kansas City is which barbecue place to go to for lunch. I’m stretching and trying a new place for me today – Gates Barbecue. Gates has been around since 1946. I’ve seen their sauce for sale in different cities across the country. I’m heading to the location on Main Street. I’m always interested in what options a barbecue place has to offer other than the usual beef, pork, and chicken. Gates delivers by offering something I only see in a few places – lamb. I want to try some of everything, but lamb doesn’t come on any sampler plate. I’m therefore left with the only reasonable option of ordering two entrees and cutting back on the sides: One order of pork ribs (short ends), a rack of lamb ribs, and barbecued beans.
I get my order and head to the sauce station. I want to try all three – hot, classic, and sweet. I get a call from home as I’m approaching the station and try to multi-task with disastrous results. The first sauce dispenser is set for fire-hose strength delivery. Sauce hits the small cup and ricochets out over the counter and me. A woman worker watching over the sauce stand looks at me with that “I’m going to have to clean that up, you idiot” look.
I try to clean up, still get my sauce, and still talk on the phone at the same time. I move to the second sauce dispenser, still multi-tasking, it still not having sunk in yet about the delivery strength of the dispensers. Another blast of sauce everywhere. This time as I’m trying to wipe up, sauce somehow gets on my phone unnoticed, which I then place against my ear. I now have sauce on my ear. The lady worker slowly walks over against my protests that I’ll clean it up, while I am of course still talking on the phone. She never says a word, just stares me in the eyes with a glare of icy cold mixed with searing heat, never blinking, never looking down while she wipes the dispensers and the counters. I would have come to Kansas City for this experience alone. Human interaction never fails to disappoint.
Apparently the sauce is popular from this sign at the sauce station:
The judgement? The pork ribs today are good, not great – a little dry and overdone. The lamb ribs are extremely tender and sweet. There isn’t a lot of difference in the sauces, but I like the hot best. None overwhelm the meat, just complement it. The barbecue beans are delicious, a meal all by themselves.
Leaving Gates, I head for the World War I Memorial and Museum. I’ve wanted to see this since I heard it was completed a little over two years ago. It’s on top of a hill with no protection from the wind. On the walk from the parking area into the memorial, I think how you would lose some exposed skin to this bitter wind chill if left out in this weather.
I’m a bit overwhelmed by how well this museum has been designed and executed. It has been crafted with such beauty, imagination, and respect. The original buildings, built in the 1920’s, are classic Roman architecture filled with beautiful murals and exhibits. The new part is extremely well thought in flow and design. Even the theatre is inventive. The screen appears to be about seventy-five long and looks like several silk parachutes strung together. Between the audience and the screen, a life-size diorama is in place with soldiers posed marching through mud and water complete with a full-sized bi-plane overhead. I only have an hour available today, but could easily spend two to three hours. I’m anxious to visit again.
The theater:
After a few days spent in Wichita, I head back to Kansas City. First order of business is, of course, which barbecue place to go to for lunch. I’ve heard good things about Oklahoma Joe’s.
When I open the door at the Strang Line Drive location in Olathe, Kansas, I find I’m at the back of a seventy-five foot line to the register – a positive sign. The line moves fairly quickly. No real surprises on the menu. They do have some inventive sandwich combinations and some Cajun dishes like gumbo and red beans and rice.
The back of the line:
I order a pork (their self-proclaimed specialty) and rib combo with chicken gumbo as the side. The gumbo is good, the pork even better, the ribs excellent. The best ribs I’ve had at any barbecue place is at the chain Famous Dave’s. These are nearly identical in preparation and flavor, and deliciously complemented by Night of The Living Bar-B-Q Sauce. Oklahoma Joe’s is a definite recommend.
That night, I head to Country Club Plaza in Kansas City. It is roughly a six block by three block area of nice to upscale shops. All of the buildings are strung with Christmas lights. Even though it is bitterly cold, it still makes for a nice walk. I finish the evening at Houston’s Restaurant. It’s been years since I’ve had their apple walnut cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream. The grilled chicken salad and the cobbler in the dark wood atmosphere make for a fitting, cozy winter dinner, and a pleasant finish to an eye-opening visit to Kansas City.
Country Club Plaza:
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