ChickHoovenSwine

I'm a Kansas boy raised on BBQ. And Kansas City boasts some of the BEST BBQ joints in the world! A bit of a problem though, I'm also diabetic. Eating right is always a challenge and that makes enjoying those sauces and sides even more challenging. I've compiled a list of 85 restaurants and food trucks in and around Kansas City that bill themselves as Kansas City BBQ. I am going to visit them all on this blog and do my best to stick to a diabetic-friendly diet (but I might cheat a little).

This is my quest! 

They can't all be winners, but this one is!

Chickhoovenswine delivers a great upscale BBQ experience in a low-key space. Found on the second floor of The Parlor in the Crossroads district of downtown KCMO, this place gives off a trendy food court vibe. Follow the sign up the stairs and don't get distracted by the other food choices or full bar.

The menu is simple and to the point, focusing on what they do best. No reason to over-complicate it. They come from a food truck background, so the prices reflected that a little, but for the quality of what you get, it's in no way out of line.

There's plenty of seating in The Parlor, both upstairs and down, plus a covered open-air patio with some great views of one of the greatest cities in the world.

 

Of course we had to try the brisket and we got it two ways. First, one of the specialties: Trash Can Nachos. House made chips piled with your choice of pulled pork or brisket. Add a huge scoop of cheesy corn and drizzle it with warm queso! The brisket was tender and the corn could have been a meal by itself. We took it to the next level with the scratch made sauce - a little sweet, a little spicy.

For me, I went with Tex. A great portion of brisket and sausage served on a hearty bun. Every bite had flavor and the pickles and sauce only enhanced it. I felt like the choice of bun was a little distracting with its size. Overall a great sandwich!

My brother went with the burnt ends, instead of trying one of their other signature sandwiches. Apparently, this is a fan favorite. The no frills fries rounded out the meal. My brother appreciated the bun because it didn't fall apart, but even he didn't eat all of the bread.

I'm happy to see this little food truck has found a home. A little secret - of the three animals mentioned in the name, chicken is normally off-menu, but I suspect you would be pretty lucky to have it when it's available, so be sure to ask before you order. I will definitely be back!

Fairly certain the one and only guy behind the counter was the award winning pit master described on the Parlor website: Eric Westervelt, who started cooking Kansas City-style barbecue in 2005 on the competition circuit, started serving barbecue at fairs and festivals as ChickHoovenSwine in 2010. Now, the business has two food trucks, a robust catering business and its new location in Parlor. ChickHoovenSwine specializes in Kansas City-style burnt ends and ribs. Signature items include the MJ sandwich, made with both slow smoked pork and smoked sausage; and Trash Can nachos, where housemade chips come topped with cheese, a choice of pork or brisket and the restaurant’s from-scratch cheesy corn. The restaurant will smoke meat on site in a smoker installed just for the restaurant. Westervelt uses a homemade dry rub on all the meat, and all of the restaurant’s sauces and side dishes are made from scratch.

Visit them online to see everything happening here:

https://www.parlorkcmo.com/kitchen/chickhoovenswine-bbq/

About the Foodie: After spending almost 15 years in Florida, Mark has returned home to Kansas. He has achieved some success as a Kindle Best Seller and having one of his short stories selected as a winner in the Florida Writer's Association Short Story Collection. Growing up in Kansas, Mark graduated from Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences and received his Bachelor's in Film from the University of Kansas. Mark has written numerous novels, screenplays, short stories and digital series. Inspirational stories with positive messages are his goal with everything he writes. Find Mark's books with keyword "MillerWords" on Amazon or other online book retailers and connect on Facebook.

This is not a paid review. I am an independent customer expressing a non-biased opinion.

Dave and Roscoe

I'm a Kansas boy raised on BBQ. And Kansas City boasts some of the BEST BBQ joints in the world! A bit of a problem though, I'm also diabetic. Eating right is always a challenge and that makes enjoying those sauces and sides even more challenging. I've compiled a list of 85 restaurants and food trucks in and around Kansas City that bill themselves as Kansas City BBQ. I am going to visit them all on this blog and do my best to stick to a diabetic-friendly diet (but I might cheat a little).

This is my quest!

The one I hoped I wouldn't have to write...

Went to Famous Dave's for the sake of being thorough and complete on my list. I think it is safe to say that BBQ is one of those foods that should never be corporately mass produced. The experience at Dave's has generally declined over the years and this most recent (and final) trip came in at the low end of the scale. Starting off with the cheese curds as an appetizer left me with a funny after-taste.

The app came out only moments before the food. So by the time I got to the broccoli, it was cold and squishy. And no, that is not a partially eaten order. That is how the presentation was delivered to the table. The brisket and sausage sandwich was a bit skimpy on the portion and the sausage itself was chewy.

Famous Dave's website says "A passion for authentic BBQ is behind everything we do. We source the highest quality meats and trim them up like we’re in a competition. Our Pitmasters get their hickory logs smoldering around 4 a.m., hand-rub them with fresh spices, and slow-cook them to perfection."

Sorry, but I have to ask "they hand-rub their hickory logs"???

If you want quick and convenient, check out their website: https://www.famousdaves.com/

I'm throwing in a little bonus review, so that I don't come off as a total downer on this one.

Roscoe's BBQ is a little place in Edwardsville, Kansas. The review will be short just like their odd hours - open 11AM to 5PM Tuesday through Friday, closed Saturday and Sunday, then only 11 - 3 on Monday. By the way, these are their PRE-Covid hours. In short, good ham and decent brisket served on a couple slices of white bread, which did not hold up very well against the sauce and grease. If you can get there when they are open, it's worth a try, but don't go too far out of your way.

They only have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RoscoeskcBBQ/

About the Foodie: After spending almost 15 years in Florida, Mark has returned home to Kansas. He has achieved some success as a Kindle Best Seller and having one of his short stories selected as a winner in the Florida Writer's Association Short Story Collection. Growing up in Kansas, Mark graduated from Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences and received his Bachelor's in Film from the University of Kansas. Mark has written numerous novels, screenplays, short stories and digital series. Inspirational stories with positive messages are his goal with everything he writes. Find Mark's books with keyword "MillerWords" on Amazon or other online book retailers and connect on Facebook.

This is not a paid review. I am an independent customer expressing a non-biased opinion.

Where There's Smoke

 I'm a Kansas boy raised on BBQ. And Kansas City boasts some of the BEST BBQ joints in the world! A bit of a problem though, I'm also diabetic. Eating right is always a challenge and that makes enjoying those sauces and sides even more challenging. I've compiled a list of 85 restaurants and food trucks in and around Kansas City that bill themselves as Kansas City BBQ. I am going to visit them all on this blog and do my best to stick to a diabetic-friendly diet (but I might cheat a little).

This is my quest!

Yes, I know, this one is not in Kansas City. It's not even on my list, but here we go!

Sometimes, road trips are necessary. This particular one took me to Columbia, Missouri. Naturally, I typed BBQ into Google and came up with plenty of exciting options. I drove a little out of the way and found an unassuming facade sharing the same foundation with a gas station. If Joe's made it work, why not here too?

The secret was extra parking in back! 

Once inside, we found the menu to have....well, everything. 

The atmosphere was part down-home BBQ and part college sports. They even had a Wall of Fame for a hot dog eating challenge. Five dogs in five minutes. Sounds simple enough, but that's not why I was there.

Did I mention my brother was with me on this adventure? We were able to sample a little bit more of the menu than I would have by myself. So we went with two appetizers: fried okra and Portabella mushroom fries. The okra was your standard fare, but paired with Alabama White Sauce. If you haven't had it, think of a basic vinegar BBQ sauce with horseradish and about a cup of mayonnaise. As our server said, "It's life changing." The Portabella fries were nice thick slices of the deep-fried mushroom top. No mouth burning here like your typical fried mushrooms. They had a half or full option and good thing we went with the half order.

A special section of the menu is dedicated to mac & cheese sandwiches. Yes, they thought it was a good idea to put mac & cheese on garlic toast. They were right! This particular serving came with burnt ends, but they offer 8 crazy options.

For me, I went with the Sampler. which basically meant I had a taste of everything. And yes, I went with the house cut fries. My blood sugar numbers were good, so I splurged a little. That meant I got to try both the Alabama white sauce and the house made spicy BBQ sauce. Both good. My only complaint here was the plate (or pizza pan, rather) being too small. My food kept falling onto the table. All of the meats were good, but middle-of-the-road. Nothing really exploded with flavor, but all were tender and juicy. The real winners were the ribs. Lots of meat on the bone, nice and smokey. I liked the flavor of the sausage, but the casing did not have that snap. Parts of it were too chewy to eat. I'll admit I don't know enough about sausage to know if that was because of how it was cooked or how it was packed.

In summary, a good experience with friendly staff. I would go back to try the brisket mac & cheese or the smoked BLT.

Check them out online or jump in the car for that road trip! 

https://comosmokeandfire.com/

The restaurant says: We are a family owned and operated BBQ restaurant located in Columbia, Mo. With a fun and friendly atmosphere, we provide a dining experience that is without peer. Our family always had a vision of a restaurant we wanted to open, and we dreamt that someday we would make it a reality. We even used to brainstorm it and taste test recipes at our family gatherings. Today, our dreams are unfolding and coming to life every day at Como Smoke and Fire! We are proud of what we have created, and all of our extended family is here at the restaurant. Como Smoke and Fire is our second home and we hope it’ll become yours as well. We look forward to seeing you here.

About the Foodie: After spending almost 15 years in Florida, Mark has returned home to Kansas. He has achieved some success as a Kindle Best Seller and having one of his short stories selected as a winner in the Florida Writer's Association Short Story Collection. Growing up in Kansas, Mark graduated from Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences and received his Bachelor's in Film from the University of Kansas. Mark has written numerous novels, screenplays, short stories and digital series. Inspirational stories with positive messages are his goal with everything he writes. Find Mark's books with keyword "MillerWords" on Amazon or other online book retailers and connect on Facebook.

This is not a paid review. I am an independent customer expressing a non-biased opinion.

A Little Bit of Something

I'm a Kansas boy raised on BBQ. And Kansas City boasts some of the BEST BBQ joints in the world! A bit of a problem though, I'm also diabetic. Eating right is always a challenge and that makes enjoying those sauces and sides even more challenging. I've compiled a list of 85 restaurants and food trucks in and around Kansas City that bill themselves as Kansas City BBQ. I am going to visit them all on this blog and do my best to stick to a diabetic-friendly diet (but I might cheat a little).

This is my quest!

Sometimes, it's all about random chance (or fortuosity). That happened today when I found this unassuming "little joint" over in Independence. I sure wasn't expecting to try a new BBQ place today, but it worked out just fine.

The restaurant used to be an auto body shop and there are plenty of memorials to show for it.

I didn't get to experience the true ambiance due to their carry out only setup, but the few interactions I had were with pleasant people. I appreciate those businesses that make the extra effort in these "trying times".

I went with the Torpedo, seen under Specialty Sandwiches. There was no price difference with or without sides, so enters my dilemma. As you know, eating BBQ can be a challenge for a diabetic, but I am up for the challenge. Since all of their sides were either potato, corn or added sugar, I had to make some sacrifices. Sadly, I opted not to try any of their house made sauces. Cheesy corn and Mac & Cheese were going to put enough of a hit on my levels, so I skipped the bread on the sandwich, as well.

The Torpedo is an excellent combination of ham, brisket and sausage with melted cheese on top. Most of my cheese stuck with the bun and I didn't find out what kind it was. However, the meats made up for the aforementioned sacrifices. The ham was thick cut and smokey. The sausage, a little dry in takeout form, had a nice spicy finish. The brisket? My favorite of the three and absolutely worth a return trip.

That's a beautiful thing, isn't it?

Overall, a great value for the money, with a heaping pile of meat on the sandwich.

A Little BBQ Joint says "We are a family owned business that offers delicious mouth-watering BBQ, great choices of smoked meats, as well as our very own sauces and sides. Our goal is to provide great food, great service, and a great atmosphere to our customers!"

Check them out online: https://alittlebarbqjoint.com/

About the Foodie: After spending almost 15 years in Florida, Mark has returned home to Kansas. He has achieved some success as a Kindle Best Seller and having one of his short stories selected as a winner in the Florida Writer's Association Short Story Collection. Growing up in Kansas, Mark graduated from Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences and received his Bachelor's in Film from the University of Kansas. Mark has written numerous novels, screenplays, short stories and digital series. Inspirational stories with positive messages are his goal with everything he writes. Find Mark's books with keyword "MillerWords" on Amazon or other online book retailers and connect on Facebook.

This is not a paid review. I am an independent customer expressing a non-biased opinion.

The Journey Begins - Brobecks

I'm a Kansas boy raised on BBQ. And Kansas City boasts some of the BEST BBQ joints in the world! A bit of a problem though, I'm also diabetic. Eating right is always a challenge and that makes enjoying those sauces and sides even more challenging. I've compiled a list of 85 restaurants and food trucks in and around Kansas City that bill themselves as Kansas City BBQ. I am going to visit them all on this blog and do my best to stick to a diabetic-friendly diet (but I might cheat a little).

This is my quest!

As of this writing, I've already had the pleasure of eating at about 25 of the places on my list. 

To be fair...

...I will revisit them all in my journey.

Starting today, my first experience will officially be Brobecks Barbecue. 

Brobecks' sign states they do Smokey Mountain Style, not one of the Big 4 Regional styles with which I am familiar.

Their menu goes on to explain, "We do barbeque a little differently here at Brobecks. We use our special rub recipes on the meats and then smoke them and serve 'em dry (without sauce). There are several choices of sauce you can use, including some local favorites. Use as little or as much sauce as you like, but we think our meats are good enough you may just eat them without sauce!"

Given the restrictions of the pandemic dining conditions, I won't comment on the atmosphere, because it's just weird everywhere. I will say the interior was simple with a few folksy signs and decorations.

I started off with a tall glass of water and an appetizer of Smokey Hot Wings. And they were both! A delightful sauce with just the right amount of heat. My server was friendly and attentive, but never gave her name - she did however recommend the house specialty of Smoked Ham Salad. I will save that for next time. Yes, there will be a next time, if only for the wings!

They offer some rotating specials such as Smoked Baked Potatoes, Burnt End Stew and Red Beans & Rice. However, I was raised on brisket and that is the standard by which I will rate all of my experiences. I ordered Ol' Ray's Favorite.

It came down to my choice of three meats and two sides. I didn't ask if the baked beans had sugar, but they were standard fare. The white cheddar mac and cheese was good, but the sauce ran down to the bottom of the bowl leaving some bare noodles on top. As for the meats: thin sliced brisket, ham and jalapeno cheddar sausage. Ultimately, the smoked ham was my favorite. And they were right, it stood quite well on its own, without sauce. Both the sausage and the brisket were on the dry side. Pairing the slices of sausage with some pickles did the trick there. The brisket was sliced very thin, which left it the driest item on the plate, but still with a good smokey flavor. My server offered two house sauces to relieve the dryness - a vinegar-based mustard and a sweet molasses-based sauce. I used them sparingly to finish off the brisket. We don't waste food around here.

All in all, reasonably priced with friendly staff. I would keep them on the list for future visits, but on to the next one!

More info at their official website - BrobecksBBQ.com

About the Foodie: After spending almost 15 years in Florida, Mark has returned home to Kansas. He has achieved some success as a Kindle Best Seller and having one of his short stories selected as a winner in the Florida Writer's Association Short Story Collection. Growing up in Kansas, Mark graduated from Sumner Academy of Arts and Sciences and received his Bachelor's in Film from the University of Kansas. Mark has written numerous novels, screenplays, short stories and digital series. Inspirational stories with positive messages are his goal with everything he writes. Find Mark's books with keyword "MillerWords" on Amazon or other online book retailers and connect on Facebook.

This is not a paid review. I am an independent customer expressing a non-biased opinion.