Smokin' Guns BBQ

Smokin' Guns turned out to be the first official restaurant in the challenge. I had seen the Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives episode featuring this place, and it looked awesome. Sarah had actually been here before, so she gets no points for going. NO POINTS FOR YOU.

Since it's up in the industrial area of North Kansas City, it's not the type of place that will see a lot of foot traffic.  It's actually a pretty small place, and the first thing that struck me when I walked in is how quiet it was.  The dining room had probably 3 or 4 tables occupied, but with no music going or really any sounds it felt like we were walking into a funeral home.  I think it was especially noticeable since our 1 year old Gunnar has taken a liking to screaming for fun.  We made sure to liven the place up a bit.





This is one of those places that has a big plastic board with stick on letters that contains pretty much the entire menu, and you order at the counter.  Since I had heard good things about the brisket on Diners, I knew I had to get that, plus I have to try the pork at every BBQ place ever, since that is the true test of BBQ (in my mind, at least.  Maybe I just love pork too much?)  And of course ribs had to be on the plate.  Which made my decision of a combo plate pretty easy.  They seem to emphasize the baby back ribs on the menu, though, which is what I went with.





Westy and Ashley got pretty much the same thing, but tried the sausage instead of the brisket.  And Sarah went with the smoked chicken.

I think we all agreed that the sauce was really good.  The bottle on the table had a label that said 'original' but I never got around to asking them what the other options were.







The beans were pretty good, pork was done well, and the brisket was excellent.  The ribs weren't terrible, but they weren't great either.  I liked the rub, but they didn't have that fall-off-the-bone thing going on.  You had to work a bit to get the meat.  And even though the potato salad is probably some purchased, pre-made stuff, I love it.  I loved it so much that I'd go back there tonight just to get more.  I tried the sweet potato fries and they seemed like they were purchased from a wholesaler, but they were still pretty damned good.  I thought the chicken was basic, and not quite tender enough for my tastes, and the sausage tasted too much like Italian sausage and not enough of a smoky flavor for me to give it very high marks.

Gunnar didn't like his food that we brought with us.  I don't blame him.  He ate more of the barbecue than this crap:












I know Westy had some pretty harsh things to say about the ribs and the pork, so I'll let him elaborate on that when he gets a chance.

smokingunsbbq.com

Smokin' Guns BBQ
1218 Swift Ave
Kansas City, MO 64116-4012
(816) 221-2535