Someone wrote: > The classic Kansas City BBQ is Arthur Bryant's. It is indeed very good, > but one should read Calvin Trillin's books, including "American Fried", to > get authentic warnings about rating Kansas City BBQ. ...and also Kansas City hamburgers (Winstead's lives! Or does it?), but I digress...The authors of the book _Real Barbecue_ (their names escape me right now; it was published by Harper & Row in 1986) cite Trillin's judgement thusly in their survey of Kansas City 'que: "Where else can you eat at THE SINGLE BEST RESTAURANT IN THE WORLD -- and it isn't even the best in town?" I know many of you will probably find the decor artificial, and the attitude of the employees cloying (HI, MAY I HELP *YOU*?), but in the opinion of *this* native Kansas Citian, the barbecue at Gates' and Sons' (1400 Swope Parkway (at The Paseo) and at least four other locations in the area) has Bryant's beat. The sauce is tomato-based, as at Bryant's, but where Bryant's is rather flat and somewhat grainy, Gates' has a very peppery kick and a hint of sweetness. Their meat is of better quality as well, although Bryant's may have better burnt ends. Oh, yes, you can buy Gates' sauce in area supermarkets, and in the airport gift shops. Then again, all this may have changes since the last time I was there (1988). But I doubt it. These places, both of them, are Kansas City Landmarks, and not to be tampered with. _________________________________________________________________________ Sandy F. Smith [email removed](215) 898-4940 Administrative Assistant, Graduate Division, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, 16 College Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6378 (Opinions mine, not Penn's. If they want 'em, they gotta pay for 'em.)
Barbecue