Chef J BBQ
Chef-driven smoke in the West Bottoms
Chef J BBQ is a barbecue restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri.
Chef J grew from one of the city's most talked-about pop-ups into a West Bottoms brick-and-mortar in 2020, and Justin Easterwood never scaled up the ambition to match the address. Limited hours and routine sellouts are the cost of a small-batch, quality-first pit—plan the visit around the smoker, not the other way around.
The brisket is the draw, regularly ranked among the best in Kansas City: a dark, peppery bark, an even smoke ring, and fat rendered to the edge of soft. Burnt ends come cut from that same brisket and are just as sought-after, while the pork belly turns up rich and rendered whenever it makes the board. Pork ribs round out a short menu that rewards showing up early. When the day's count runs out the doors close, and the people in line already knew that going in.
- Style: Kansas City Style
- Price: $$
- Neighborhood: West Bottoms
- Serving since 2020
What to order
- Brisket
- Burnt Ends
- Pork Belly
- Pork Ribs
How it scores — 9.1/10 overall
Visiting
- Address: 1401 W 13th St Ste G, Kansas City, MO 64102
- Phone: (816) 805-8283
- Website: https://chefjbbq.com/
Hours: Thu–Sat 11:30am–4pm, Sun 12–4pm (or until sold out)
380 words
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