Given a few more days in Kansas City, I might have managed an exhaustive BBQ survey. Given just one day and two vegetarians for travel companions, I opted for a solo progressive lunch that set two popular BBQ destinations up for showdown: Rosedale Barbecue and Oklahoma Joe’s.
Local insiders independently suggested both: Rosedale with 3/4 of a century of BBQ experience in the city and relative upstart Oklahoma Joe’s with only 14 years of operation out of a gas station in the south end of town.
Rosedale has only been in their current location since 1990, but it somehow managed to pack quite a few more of its distinguished history into the space. It feels like BBQ whereas Oklahoma Joe’s feels more like a cafeteria at a truck stop (which isn’t all that far from the truth). Ambiance goes to Rosedale.
Both serve up tasty pulled pork sandwiches. Rosedale’s is bigger with a great bun and good smoke, but Oklahoma Joe’s was the better sandwich. It’s meat was moist and smokey while Rosedale’s larger portion was on the dry side. I also preferred Joe’s two sauces (one sweet and one hot) to Rosedale’s single signature tangy sauce. Locals claim you either love or hate Rosedale’s sauce. I liked it. I just liked Joe’s more.
In addition to the pulled port I ordered at both places, I also tried one additional meat at each. At Rosedale I ordered Burnt Ends: good flavor again, but also too dry. At Joe’s: a single rib which turned out to be fall-off-the-bone tender and brilliant slathered in either of their sauces.
Yet possibly even more memorable than anything else I tried were the unexpectedly wonderful “corn nuggets” that come as an optional side at Rosedale. I expected something along the lines of a deep-fried cornmeal hush puppy only to be surprised by biting into one to discover a sweet creamed corn inside a crunchy shell. Like their sauce, I expect you will either love the nuggets or find them bizarre. I loved them.
I also appreciated the service at Rosedale. Joe’s is a machine with a line sometimes stretching like a snake through the restaurant out the door onto the gas station asphalt. Rosedale is slower, steadier with a single woman waiting under the “Order Here” sign at the end of the bar. Without out the pressure of Joe’s line, she had the time to talk me through their menu and suggested I try the corn nuggets. I would have missed them on my own and life without having tasted one of those nuggets would be a less wonderous thing.
Here then would be the showdown winners by category:
Ambiance: Rosedale
Best Pulled Pork Sandwich: Oklahoma Joe’s
Best Sauce: Oklahoma Joe’s
Best Side: Rosedale
Service: Rosedale
By unweighted totals, Rosedale wins, but Joe’s meats and sauces (the heart of barbecue in my estimation) were superior. I believe I’m going to have to call it a draw and come back to try them both again. Tough duty that.
When I do I plan to replace the vegetarians with other omnivores so we can and take our run at legendary barbecue as a team. And if we do this, it would be unforgivable not to expand the field to include other storied spots. You are welcome to suggest who should be on the list for round two and any critical categories we must include.
