1727 Brooklyn Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri;
Step into the fluorescent light, and you walk into Kansas City barbecue history: Arthur Bryant worked for Henry
1727 Brooklyn Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri;
Step into the fluorescent light, and you walk into Kansas City barbecue history: Arthur Bryant worked for Henry Perry, who opened the city's first BBQ joint in 1908. The international destination (thanks to Calvin Trillin calling it "possibly the best restaurant in the world") hasn't changed much over the years.
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I call these places Heritage Barbecue Sites. My definition? The joint (and it is usually a joint, not a restaurant) must be at least fifty years old and cooking its meats on an actual pit. The current barbecue craze has put barbecue restaurants (i.e., not joints) on virtually every corner. They typically use wood-enhanced ovens, which can do a fine job of reproducing the taste of old-fashioned low-and-slow barbecue. But for the real deal, you need to step into an actual smokehouse.
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