A Little BBQ Joint - Independence, Missouri A Little BBQ Joint opened in Independence, Missouri in 2013 and quickly developed a loyal following, but we had not heard about it until the owners participated in a car restoration project on the TV show Gear Dogs in 2017 which was filmed in Gardner, Kansas. Although the clientele is heavily from the east side neighborhood, this BBQ restaurant draws customers from across the Kansas City area. We give A Little BBQ Joint high marks for the food and higher marks for atmosphere. The owners (father and son, Don & Fabian Bauer) also own Glory Days Custom Shop and created many of the furnishings of the restaurant from their auto body shop. The walls are covered with automotive memorabilia. The seats in the booths are bench seats from old Fords, Chevys and Cadillacs. A 1967 Cadillac front end is built into the carry out counter and a 1965 Chevy Impala is built into the bar. I went to A Little BBQ Joint to try the barbecue, but the picture and description of the chili dog in the menu caught my attention, so I had to try it. The open faced 1/2 chili dog was quite good. I liked the grilled dog and sauce of the chili. Making the chili with smoked brisket sounded good, but after a couple of bites, I picked out the brisket. Its flavor didn't compliment the dish in my opinion. The chili dog came with battered fries which were average at best and the least impressive part of our meal. I wish they came with pickled or cooked jalapenos instead of raw. We also likes the chicken and 3 pork rib dinner plate which comes with two sides. The meats and baked beans all looked fabulous and tasted as good as they looked. The meats had a smoky, seasoned flavor and needed no added sauce. For me, the ribs were just the right amount of tender without falling off the bones. The beans were sweet and tasty, though much like the chili, the meat in the beans didn't appeal quite as much to me. The cheesy corn didn't look as special, but was one of the best cheesy corns which I have had. One downside for some chicken fans, other than chicken tenders, there is no breast meat available, There are three tomato based barbeque sauces and while there was no need to add them to the meat, I tried them on the French fries. "Sweet Sister" is mild and thin. "Mad Housewife" is a little sweeter and has a little spice, but is still similar to Sweet Sister. "Mad Mother-in-Law" is thicker and much spicier. It is my favorite, though some people may want to tone it down with a little of one of the other sauces. After three visits to date, I put A Little BBQ Joint in the top 25% of the many Kansas City barbeque restaurants which I have tried. I want to return to try some other meats, particularly the bacon wrapped meat loaf, to see if there are any which stand above the rest. That may take a while, since meat loaf is only prepared on Wednesdays and I have been told that it runs out early,
copyright 2017-2024 by Keith Stokes |
