I’ll be in Kansas City next week for work. Staying in the Briarcliff area. Could anyone recommend some decent bbq, places to go, places not to go, etc? I don’t think I’ll have a lot of free time, but that could change. Thanks!

I'm going to side-step the BBQ debate for now, and give you some other calorie ideas in that area...

Chappell's- Are you a sports fan at all? This restaurant has one of the craziest collections of sports artifacts and memorabilia you'll ever see in one space. The food is good (not amazing), and the prices aren't retarded. They somewhat split the difference between home style and traditional bar food. Their best regular menu item is probably the London Broil.

Tay's Burger Shack- Add some emphasis to shack because that's what this place is. This is what you would get if Five Guys was a single location independent operation. The beef is grass fed. The fries most likely enter the building as whole potatoes, but they season the hell out of them. They have Sriracha ketchup and Sriracha mayo on the tables, which is different. The pricing isn't much of a bargain for what really is burgers from a shack, but they are pretty decent burgers, so there's that.

In-A-Tub- Do you like food with consequences? Do you? Boy do we have a trashy but fun food option for you. In-A-Tub deep fries pretty much everything they serve. Their specialty is tacos. They deep fry the whole thing, then add lettuce and powdered cheese. Yeah... powdered. It's kinda like the stuff that comes with boxes of mac. Much of it coagulates with the beef/fryer grease for extra awesomeness, but a lot of it stays dry for a sharper taste. When I'm stupid enough to eat here, I tend to get mine with a side of zucchini (also fried).

I'm more familiar with the southern parts of the city, but that should be a good start.

Go see the Arabia steam boat downtown and the WWI museum, you will be blown away by both.  Both of these absolutely kick the shit out of the Smithsonians for quality and quantity.

BBQ wise - Gates is a good choice but honestly any should be good as KC and STL don't ef around and if it;s bad BBQ it doesn't stick around

I second Gates BBQ.  I think Joes KC is over hyped.

Go see the plaza maybe?

FYI. The best old school BBQ joints are in the hood. Near and in Zip code 64130. One of the most violent in the nation. Bring your favorite pistol.

A bit of a thread drift. In your travels if your anywhere near Marshall, Mo, stop by The Brick BBQ in beautiful downtown Marshall. Absolutely the BEST BBQ I've had since moving back to Missouri. I grew up on Gates & Arthur Bryant's . I've sampled a few other places now that I'm back home. The Brick BBQ rates #1 with me so far.

http://www.thebrickbbq.com

The buffet at Harrah's casino is pretty good.  The BBQ at Dicky's is hit or miss.  The Bonefish Grille is sort of a foodie place and expensive.  Fogo de chao is good but expensive.

Nailed it.

I'll give it a whirl next time I'm close. From a former KCMO densient, thats a pretty tall claim to say its better than KCs offerings.

LC's is a trip. Or slide I guess I should say, damn near went flying walking in there the floor is so greasy. I got the "crazy honky" look when I mentioned the black dust on all the styrofoam cups at the drink fountain machine. It is smoke dust ( I doubt the rangehood fan was working). BBQ was pretty good, but I have no desire to return.

Now that I reflect on it, I'm surprised I didn't get shot in that place.

Q39 is not really "Hipster" the head chef was a competition foe for a long time.
he was head chef for Hilton Hotels and his competition team is/was Munchin Hogs at the Hilton.
Pretty good...

Gates over Joe's? that is Odd if anyplace is way over hyped it is Gates!
Same with Bryants... WAY WAY overhyped...

Never had anything bad at Jack Stack even when it was Smoke Stack and the only location was Martin City...

There are quite a few pretty good BBQ places in town...

Plowboys was Pork Pullin Plowboys in competition...

The Woodlot
RJs BBQ in Shawnee
Bates City BBQ is pretty tasty too...
Slaps in KCK on Central
Smokin Guns in NKC off swift...
Hog Jaw also in NKC

I had similar thoughts the first time I went there, but damn I thought the food was amazing.

Thanks for the tip on the burger place!  Ate there this weekend, it was awesome!