Oklahoma Joe’s- Kansas City by Colin Curtis
Posted by cassipeters in BBQ on May 3, 2010
This past weekend we ate at one of our favorite BBQ places in the city, Oklahoma Joe’s. You may know this place for being the BBQ joint in a gas station with the packed parking lot and almost always has a line out the door.
The people standing in line aren’t crazy, they just know what awaits them at the end. If you have never stood in the line yourself you are truly missing out. Honestly I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anyone there to buy anything other than BBQ. We got there around 3pm on Saturday so luckily the line wasn’t out the door but it was darn close.
Aside from being an award winning BBQ joint, Oklahoma Joe’s was my grandfather’s favorite BBQ, and in the last couple years my parents and I have realized why. Oklahoma Joe’s isn’t a place to grab a quick pulled pork sandwich while you’re rushing through your lunch break nor is it a place to pick up a slab on the way home for dinner. It’s an experience all on it’s own.
Standing in line with a hundred others waiting for your turn to order you favorite, or if you’re like me you spend that whole time contemplating what you will order and always end up getting the same thing anyways. Then getting up to the window and always being amazed how the workers can take so many orders at once, and get them all right by just yelling it back and forth. Then trying to find a table in the small and crowded sitting area, or piling in with complete strangers who are all brought together by the tradition of Kansas City BBQ.
This visit I happened to notice that the star of one of my favorite shows had been here and left his mark. Anthony Bourdain famed cook, author food critic and star of the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations” named Oklahoma Joe’s one of the “Top 13 place to eat before you die“, Oklahoma Joe’s made the cut with some of the top restaurants in world.
People may disagree on who has the best BBQ. Here, the brisket (particularly the burnt ends), pulled pork, and ribs are all of a quality that meet the high standards even of Kansas City natives. It’s the best BBQ in Kansas City, which makes it the best BBQ in the world.
Now let’s get to the food. My go to meal is the pulled pork “Carolina Style” (pulled pork with Bubbas sauce and spicy slaw on top) and a pint of spicy slaw.
While this visit I spent my wait in line trying to choose between in and the “Z Man” (Provolone melted on beef brisket with 2 onion rings on top on a Kaiser bun), I once again went with my usual.
My mom ordered beef “Carolina Style” and my dad went with the short end and a couple bags of fries for us to share. Needless to say we were all very full in the end.
I know there is lots of debate about where in Kansas City the best BBQ can be found, but as anyone will tell you it all depends on what type of BBQ you’re looking. There is a reason we are the BBQ capital of the world.
With that being said Oklahoma Joe’s is the hands down winner of the best pulled pork title. The meat is a perfect moist and smokey compliment to the sauce, and when you add the spicy slaw on top it just doesn’t get any better.
Now my dad swears ribs are the best, and Anthony Bourdain agrees with him. The ribs are a perfect blend of smokey flavor and moist pink insides, no sauce needed but if you choose to add it no worries because Oklahoma Joe’s sauce was named the “best sauce on the planet” a well deserved title.
So if you’re in Kansas City head on down to Okie Joe’s, but you better hurry the line may be around the block by now.
BBQ and Van’s Pig Stand written by Joe Bob
Posted by cassipeters in BBQ, Norman on April 21, 2010
Joe's dad with the big smoker!
BBQ, Barbecue, Bar-B-Cue, however you spell it. The cuisine should bring about strong emotion if you were raised anywhere in the rural south. Where I was raised; there was only two kinds of food served on the picnic table at family reunions, fried catfish (noodled) and BBQ. Yes from a young age I was taught the fine art of real BBQ and corrected if I ever referred to grilling as Barbecuing. Most of the teaching came from the family pit master, my uncle Rick Peters. I have revered this man from a young age for his ingenuity and culinary expertise. He just recently fabricated one of the largest mobile smokers I’ve ever seen (see photos), from which to serve friend and family alike. After many years of hands on training, he has passed down to me the smoking techniques and recipes needed to create great BBQ. So, needless to say I’m born and bred BBQ, and I know a good rib when it hits my taste buds.
I travel ALOT and I can tell you that some of the finest BBQ in our great country is served in Oklahoma. One such establishment is Van’s Pig Stand in Norman, OK (original Van’s is in Shawnee). Occupying a former service station of Highway 77, it has the vintage BBQ look to match the taste. I always order the rib plate and “make it a van” which means, add a side of fries. Throughout my travels, I’ve found this to be an Oklahoma BBQ thing. The ribs never fail to exceed by high BBQ standards by falling off the bone and having just the perfect char on the outside, not to hide the beautiful, pink, flavor filled pork underneath. In addition I could write another whole entry on the sauce itself. It’s the kind of BBQ sauce that is good enough to put on a piece of bread and just eat by itself. It’s has the perfect smokey/spicy mixture. The BBQ served at Van’s pig stand is second to none in the country, trust me I’ve tried it all.
Hot Link Dinner from Van's
Van’s (as Norman locals call it) also holds a special place in my heart. It’s sentimental value came about after countless mid-day lunch meetings with my then girlfriend and now wife, Cassi Peters (the Okie Foodie!). Over a plate of ribs and smoked sausage we discussed our days events, trials and tribulations. Van’s tasty dishes clang to mine and Cassi’s stomachs through mid-term tests and over time football games at Memorial stadium. For these reasons, nothing comes close to Van’s Pig Stand for me!
Rib Dinner from Van's
So I was in NYC for 18 hours this weekend…
Posted by cassipeters in Travels on April 20, 2010
Yummy
For those of you that don’t know…I travel… ALOT. I went to New York City (one of my favorite places on Earth) this weekend for about 18 hours. It was a fun little trip, complete with Joe almost running over John Legend (yes the famous singer, and yes it was really him!).
We ate at Lombardi’s, one of our favorite pizza places on Earth. We tend to eat here each time we go because it is so yummy.
We also stopped by the new Brgr and it was delicious. Very much like Oklahoma’s own Republic, but a more fast food type restaurant.
Quick trip to the greatest city on Earth.
