KANSAS CITY: Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue
101 W 22nd St
Kansas City, MO 64108
816-472-7427
Open M-Thur 11-10, F-Sat 11-10:30, Sun 11-8
http://www.jackstackbbq.com/
"The wait is sixty to ninety minutes", said the hostess. This joint was hopping from the American Royal crowd, not to mention the NASCAR and "Farmageddon" (Iowa State vs. Kansas State) crowds, but we were there for the long haul. A few Boulevard beers on draught from the crowded bar helped to ease things along, and we were into a white clothed table in a mere forty minutes. Lighting was at about candlelight level, so reading the menu was a chore and the photos from dinner are terrible, but the food was good. The menu is full of smoked options along with steaks and seafood, and you won't find your average 'cue sides here either. Choices range from smoked baked beans with brisket drippings to the famous cheesy corn bake. I had searched this menu online several times before the big day, so I was already set.
Crown Prime Beef Ribs are not your usual beef rib. They are thick cut leaving plenty of the prime rib portion on the rib. They are then smoked and cut into four inch thick behemoths. A single rib was enjoyed as an appetizer by our table. Ravenously hungry, we tore into the rib before proper photo documentation, but only about 1/4 of the rib made it on my plate which made for several mouthfuls of tender beefyness. Smoke was not able to penetrate the entire cross section, but bites that included the thick crust had plenty of smokiness.
Another appetizer offered was an array of burnt ends, and we opted for the pork burnt ends. These were essentially chunks of pork that had been charred over an open flame. The result tasted more like charcoal than BBQ.
Among their many rib possibilities, Jack Stack is probably most famous for their lamb ribs. With all of the fat in these ribs, it was good thing it was well rendered. Given the strong gamey flavor, it was hard to distinguish any smoke. I usually enjoy lamb, but I wouldn't order these again. The pork ribs were better if unmemorable. They came with a slathering of sweet sauce and also had little smokiness. The meat was plenty tender, but it was almost too mushy.
A plate of sliced sausage was above average for KC 'cue. The meat had a medium grind with a seasoning similar to italian sausage although it is consistently referred to as their special recipe Strawberry Hill polish sausage. My guess is that it's made by Krizman's. The casing had a good snap, and the overall flavor was excellent.
Brisket (not pictured) was thin sliced with moderate smokey flavor. The lean meat tasted mainly of roast beef. The sides were all they are billed to be. The hickory pit beans had a deeper smokiness than the meats and the sweetness was almost caramelized into the beans. Onion rings are enormous, crispy, and satisfying, and the cheesy corn bake is a new favorite.
Jack Stack is not your average BBQ joint. Their huge selection of items, and their white tablecloths seem to be suited to please the masses, but the quality of the meat is above average, and their attention to the non-BBQ items does not take away from their smoked items. I will surely return when I'm in KC again.
Rating ***
3 comments:
"The wait is sixty to ninety minutes", said the hostess.
That tells me all I need to know about the "attitude" of this place. Sounds like they could care less if you patronize their business and I won't. And whats with the "white tablecloths?"
JR
Did you transfer your food to another table to take the picture??? I don't see any white table clothes under those plates. They do not have white table clothes. Furthermore Mr. Anonymous, 60-90 minutes is a perfectly reasonable wait when this establishment can execute large parties with relative ease. And by large parties I mean 8 tops to 40 tops. When dealing with the logistics of these parties they are as accurate as humanly possible. These wait times are projected just like any other restaurant and they've always been able to exceed my expectations. You don't get to walk into a place and be at the front of the line. The food is amazing and I'd be perfectly happy to be seated in 40 minutes with that kind of a wait knowing there were 20 or so groups of people ahead of me. This tells me they care about my business, as they are a family owned, and do the best they can to get their guests a table.
It reminded me of tony roma's with better sides and a better staff. Corn and coleslaw were excellent. Burnt ends...so so. Ribs--all of them, i had the combo--were clearly preboiled b4 cooking. The prime rib was practically pot roast in some sections. I was very disappointed by the overhype for a nice place with average bbq, and after joe's, that is saying something. Arthur bryant is my last try for lc before i give up on kc bbq.
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