Bates City Bar-B-Que - Shawnee, Kansas Bates City Bar-B-Que in Shawnee, Kansas deserves a place among the better known Kansas City Barbecue restaurants, but I wish they used real plates and utensils. The walls of the restaurant are lined with dozens of personalized license plates, sports photos, old signs and pithy sayings by Tom the owner. The prices at Bates City BBQ are quite reasonable. A 2 pound slab of pork ribs is $20 all the time and pounds of smoked meat starts at $17. The ribs are little more tender than I like, falling off the bone, which many other people prefer. I like to be able to pull it bone and have the meat come with it - to have pull a little with my teeth as I take it off the bone. My family doesn't agree. Eother way, they still taste great! My favorite meat is the sausage. which is nicely spiced before cooking and has so much full smoky flavor from the grill that I don't think it needs any sauce at all. The shoestring size fresh cut fries look like leftover scraps, but they taste great! A $4.75 order is usually enough for two people. The sauce is a fairly typical KC style sauce, perhaps a little less spicy than most. The meats come drenched in the sauce and I prefer to order them dry, with the sauce on the side. The burnt ends come soaked in sauce regardless. The name "Bates City Bar-B-Que" came from the owner Tom Roberts' first restaurant which he opened in 1976 in Bates City, Missouri. That Bates City Bar-B-Que is still in business under Tom's old partner, but this one opened in 2000. I've never met Tom, but his personality is literally written all over the walls of the restaurant. The sons have taken over the running of the restaurant. The employees do not park in front of the restaurant and most orders appear to be to go. When I arrive, it often looks like the restaurant is closed, but it has always been open as scheduled.
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