Anthony Bourdain once said that Joe’s Bar-B-Que is the best BBQ in Kansas City, which means it’s the best BBQ in the world. This place is on his 13 restaurants to eat at before you die list, and none of these superlatives are an exaggeration. I’m not hugely into BBQ, so I may not be the world’s foremost expert on its quality, but I can easily say that Joe’s in Kansas City, Kansas, is the best I’ve ever had, and I would probably return to KC just to eat here. We ate here in early November, 2023.

The original restaurant is literally part of a gas station. There are several suburban outposts now too, and they are all very very busy with locals and folks like us who have made the pilgrimage for the best BBQ in the world. We visited the original restaurant at around 11:30 am on a Monday, hoping that there wouldn’t be a line wrapped around the outside of the building. In fact, there wasn’t much of a line at all when we arrived, with only about 4 groups ahead of us. The place filled in by noon, but there were only ever about 10 or so folks in line, and there were always tables available to eat at.

There is a bunch of indoor and outdoor seating here, and the line moves at such a pace that you get your food relatively shortly after you order, and there seems to always be room for folks to sit down and eat. There are a bunch of people here grabbing takeaway and have phoned in their orders too, so don’t be too discouraged if there’s a long line when you show up.

I ordered the world famous “Z-Man” sandwich, which was shaved brisket on a kaiser roll, topped with provolone cheese and onion rings. Man, I don’t know who decided to put onion rings on a BBQ brisket sandwich, but it was amazing. This brisket was super tender and flavorful and not bogged down with too much sauce. The meat is really the stand out here and the prep is perfect. The bun is toasted and fresh and delicious and holds the goods very well. I loved it.

I also ordered the fries and mac and cheese for sides. I loved the fries which were super crispy and seasoned nicely. The mac and cheese was gooey and not too mushy.

Brian had a half slab of ribs and enjoyed it a ton. There are several different kinds of BBQ sauces at the table which he used to amp up the flavor of the ribs too.

We were in and out of Joe’s in under an hour, bellies full and happy. This place is definitely the best BBQ I’ve ever had, is completely reasonably priced, and a place you don’t want to skip if you’re even remotely in the area.