I thought I was the only one. Service and food both sucked the only time I've went to Gates
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Fuck you!
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Heh
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Mr Rieke died in 1997 and his wife in 2002. I think his Daughter runs the place now. I always got the half slab of long ends back in the day. Also Mr Rieke always hand cut his fries I am not sure but I dont believe they are anymore but still good.
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Thanks for the history. As a naive student, I only knew what tasted great.
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You know you can always tell them to hold the sauce. Any BBQ aficionado always sauces on the side for god sake this isnt Texas.
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I actually had there food in the 60s. My mom worked as a secretary in the grain mill next to Rosedale. She would order take home and pick up after work ended. It started out as a lunch counter popular with the railroad workers and millers. They kept requesting his bbq meats that he had every friday so a BBQ joint was born.
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The ribs have always been country style, and are fatty and the consistency of pot roast. Not their best menu item. Turkey, brisket, all the sides are excellent. Best drink selection of any BBQ joint in the city. The fries are spectacular. Crinkle cut, and served in little wax baggies. Sauce has a fruity apple/cinnamon kick. It's one of my favorite places in the city. Great value too if you don't mind eating off a styrofoam plate.
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Some other places in the city that deserve mention: Smoking Guns BBQ in North KC has (IMHO) the best burnt ends. I'm not a real big fan of burnt ends. Usually they're way too greasy and sloppy for my taste. Smoking Guns version is great, and the rest of their menu is very good too. Big T's is a joint just east of LC's on Blue Parkway. Their mixed plate is HUUUUGE. You get a lot of food, enough to feed two for sure. And they have a drive thru, which I love. And they're open Sunday. LCs is iconic, no better beef sandwich. It's messy, so get a lot of napkins. LC's, Big T's and Gates on US 40 are the closest BBQ joints to the stadiums. A sleeper place in near where I live in Independence called "A Liittle BBQ Joint" near US 24 and River, just west of Hi-Boys. They have an outdoor patio in good weather, and hot rodders like it because it has a classic car motif theme. Food is decent, not my favorite, but it's good. Nice people there too. They donate food to a lot of local charity events.
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Nice. Thank you.
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Great rundown.
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When I am back in KC, I'll get beans from Jack's to go and then buy brisket or ribs from someplace else.

I'm happy with the ribs I make, but don't have the energy to try and also do beans. Maybe I should look into mail ordering just the beans.
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Jack Stack's beans are one of their signature items. Their onion ring stack is pretty spectacular too, but doesn't travel well.

When I was a kid, there was a place on 40 Highway not too far from Cool Crest called The Driftwood BBQ. It was a sit down diner kind of place. If you ordered BBQ beans, they came in a little ceramic bean pot, like a coffee cup size, but like a little jug shaped pot just big enough to dip a spoon into. They kept the beans piping hot, and that was outstanding. I wish places still did that, but I'm sure those were a bitch for the bus boys to wash. They looked kind of like this, but were individual serving sized.
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I've been to all those places but Big T's, little bbq joint is pretty good for a place that's not far from my house.
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It says in the article, 50,000 votes went to Zarda's in the final. 92,000 over the 4 week event.
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