Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que
The benchmark. The institution. The Z-Man.
Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que is a barbecue restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri.
Joe's Kansas City operates out of a working gas station in Westwood and is, by wide agreement, the gold standard the rest of the city measures itself against. The gas-pump address is part of the legend—proof that the best barbecue in a barbecue town doesn't need a dining room to make its case, only a smoker and a line out the door.
The Z-Man is the icon: brisket, smoked provolone, and onion rings stacked on a kaiser roll, a sandwich that long ago crossed from menu item into Kansas City shorthand. Behind it sit impeccable burnt ends among the most sought-after in the city, clean-smoked pork ribs, and a brisket whose consistency across every cut borders on uncanny. It feels genuinely local rather than tourist-facing—which is, of course, exactly why the tourists come from everywhere to stand in that line.
- Style: Kansas City Style
- Price: $$
- Neighborhood: Westwood
- Serving since 1996
What to order
- Z-Man Sandwich
- Burnt Ends
- Pork Ribs
- Brisket
How it scores — 9.8/10 overall
Visiting
- Address: 3002 W 47th Ave, Kansas City, KS 66103
- Phone: (913) 722-3366
- Website: https://joeskc.com
Hours: Mon–Sat 11am–8pm
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