How does Arthur Bryant’s beef stack up for Kansas City BBQ experts? Let’s eat and find out

Kae Lani Palmisano
·2 min read

Editor’s note: This is Part 2 of How to Eat Kansas City Barbecue Like an Expert, a series that follows food and travel journalist, Kae Lani Palmisano, as she applies Barbecue Hall of Famer Ardie A. Davis’ barbecue judging criteria to Arthur Bryant’s, Gates, and Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que. Click here to watch Part 1, here to watch Part 3 and here to watch Part 4.

A lesson on Kansas City barbecue history is incomplete without talking about Arthur Bryant’s. Both Arthur Bryant and his brother Charlie Bryant learned the barbecue trade under Henry Perry, the father of Kansas City barbecue. Arthur Bryant’s is the birthplace of burnt ends, the humble bits of charred brisket that started out as a freebie given to customers and eventually evolved into a Kansas City favorite. It’s also where the sweet and tangy tomato-based sauce that characterizes Kansas City’s signature flavor, gets popularized.

So it was fitting that the first stop on this barbecue blitz was Arthur Bryant’s where Davis recommended I try the beef and fries. I also ordered some burnt ends because it felt like a crime to not get it in the place where the dish was first created.

The chef grabbed a fist full of juicy brisket and plopped it on a simple slice of white bread next to a bed of lightly crispy fries. The burnt ends were served in much the same way: a couple of slices of white bread topped with a saucy mountain of caramelized cubes of brisket. There are no frills. The focus is on the barbecue.

Davis had a lot to say about Arthur Bryant’s fries. “Their fries are some of the best you’ll ever eat,” says Davis in Part 1 of How to Eat Kansas City Barbecue Like an Expert. According to Davis, these fries are made from fresh potatoes that are cooked to order in pure lard. “They’re so delicious. They have a sweet flavor,” says Davis.

Unlike the burnt ends, which are evenly coated with a generous helping of Arthur Bryant’s iconic spicy, sweet, tangy sauce, the beef sandwich is served bare. For barbecue purists who prefer no sauce, the beef sandwich is subtly smoky and irresistibly juicy. But if you’re a fan of sticky and sugary sweet sauce, the sandwich is a great blank canvas to sample from a line-up of Arthur Bryant sauces which are conveniently placed on every table in front of a giant stack of napkins, which you’ll absolutely need when you’re done your meal.

Watch Part 2 for my tasting notes on Arthur Bryant’s, and thoughts from fellow diners. And if you missed it, be sure to check out Part 1 for my interview with Davis on Kansas City barbecue and how to approach eating it like a judge, Part 3 for Gates’ brisket and Part 4 for the Z-Man at Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que.

How to Eat Kansas City Like an Expert is part of our Guide to the City of Fountains. If you or someone you know is new to Kansas City or you want to get to know more about your hometown, sign up for below for the City of Fountains newsletter!