I'm in KC hanging out with my youngest, so when in Rome, or KC as the case maybe. You need to go try some BBQ. For this trip we picked Q39 instead of Slaps BBQ which has, hands down the best turkey, and pit beans I have eaten. But were not here to talk about Slaps.
Q39 is a more up scale joint than a lot of places. Walking in we were met by a hostess and shown our table. The waiter was hot on the heels of the hostess taking drink orders.
The menu at Q39 is a mix of traditional BBQ fare and some more modern fusion items. For an appetizer we got the smoked and grilled pork belly.
The waiter really talked up their award winning brisket, so we figured we had to try it out. I got the 3 meat plate with pulled pork, brisket, and spare ribs. Choosing beans and street corn for my sides. My kid got the two meat plate with the smoked chicken and the sausage to cover the rest of the meats on offer. The only thing we didn't try were the pork belly burnt ends.
The pork belly with caramelized onions and slaw with some fussy named aioli was okay. The pork belly was a little dried out but the fat was well rendered, so I think it the dryness was from either poor holding or from the grilling. Rather than being undercooked. The slaw was slaw. Not bad, not great. Had the pork belly been rich and juicy the slaw would have been a good compliment to it. But since the pork lacks the deep richness that a really good pork belly can bring to the party, the slaw was just kind of another add on.
The pork belly was a good indicator of what the rest of the meats were going to be like.
The award the brisket was 3 slices of flat that lacked any meaningful bark. While the smoke profile would best be described as delicate. It was there, but you had to look for it. The slices were on the thick side and didn't stand a chance in the bend test, but did give way to a gentle tug. For KC brisket it wasn't bad but it's like looking for a good Chicago bar pizza and getting a slice of NY style. It's not what you wanted, but you aren't sad to eat it.
The pulled pork was pulled pork. Tender, juicy good pork flavor, and boring as hell. But I have to be fair, there have only been a couple of times that I have had pulled pork, including my own, that I have really enjoyed. I'm just not a fan. The sauce they serve on the side was pretty good. It's a slight spicer version of the classic KC sauce, and does a lot to improve the pulled pork.
The combo plate came with two bones of the spare ribs. If you like fall of the bone, borderline mushy ribs, then you'll only be saddened by the lack of rub on the ribs. Again you need the sauce to save the day. Without the sauce they are just overcooked restaurant ribs. If I had to pick between the pulled pork and the ribs, I would get a hamburger.
The sausage was good. There wasn't a snap to the casing, but overall it was a good sausage with a fair bit of spice, and a course grind that I like. Our Texas peeps would probably have a different opinion, but when don't they?
The chicken was a airline breast breast and had a decent smoke profile, but the skin was pretty chewy. The rub on the chicken was sweet and reminded me of the rub from The Shed in MS. Sadly this chicken was a poor pretender to the chicken from The Shed. Again, it wasn't bad, but just not really good either.
My side of bean was good, but knowing that I could have been at Slaps and having the best beans I have ever eaten, they didn't really have a chance to wow me. Have I mentioned that Slaps BBQ in KC has the best beans? Q39 has good beans, but they are a little sweeter than I like.
The street corn was not bad, but lacked the bold flavor that you would expect from street corn.
The service was top notch from the start to the finish. The hostess, waiter, and food runners were all friendly and efficient. No complaints about the service at all.
I'm writing this the day after we ate and I'm a little surprised as I disect each of the meats on their own merit. On the whole I wasn't disappointed by the meal over all, but I know there are better examples of everything we had close by. So while this review might seem harsh, I'm not saying that you should avoid Q39. I'm just saying you can do better. Especially if you go to Slaps BBQ, and get the turkey and of course the beans.
Q39 is a more up scale joint than a lot of places. Walking in we were met by a hostess and shown our table. The waiter was hot on the heels of the hostess taking drink orders.
The menu at Q39 is a mix of traditional BBQ fare and some more modern fusion items. For an appetizer we got the smoked and grilled pork belly.
The waiter really talked up their award winning brisket, so we figured we had to try it out. I got the 3 meat plate with pulled pork, brisket, and spare ribs. Choosing beans and street corn for my sides. My kid got the two meat plate with the smoked chicken and the sausage to cover the rest of the meats on offer. The only thing we didn't try were the pork belly burnt ends.
The pork belly with caramelized onions and slaw with some fussy named aioli was okay. The pork belly was a little dried out but the fat was well rendered, so I think it the dryness was from either poor holding or from the grilling. Rather than being undercooked. The slaw was slaw. Not bad, not great. Had the pork belly been rich and juicy the slaw would have been a good compliment to it. But since the pork lacks the deep richness that a really good pork belly can bring to the party, the slaw was just kind of another add on.
The pork belly was a good indicator of what the rest of the meats were going to be like.
The award the brisket was 3 slices of flat that lacked any meaningful bark. While the smoke profile would best be described as delicate. It was there, but you had to look for it. The slices were on the thick side and didn't stand a chance in the bend test, but did give way to a gentle tug. For KC brisket it wasn't bad but it's like looking for a good Chicago bar pizza and getting a slice of NY style. It's not what you wanted, but you aren't sad to eat it.
The pulled pork was pulled pork. Tender, juicy good pork flavor, and boring as hell. But I have to be fair, there have only been a couple of times that I have had pulled pork, including my own, that I have really enjoyed. I'm just not a fan. The sauce they serve on the side was pretty good. It's a slight spicer version of the classic KC sauce, and does a lot to improve the pulled pork.
The combo plate came with two bones of the spare ribs. If you like fall of the bone, borderline mushy ribs, then you'll only be saddened by the lack of rub on the ribs. Again you need the sauce to save the day. Without the sauce they are just overcooked restaurant ribs. If I had to pick between the pulled pork and the ribs, I would get a hamburger.
The sausage was good. There wasn't a snap to the casing, but overall it was a good sausage with a fair bit of spice, and a course grind that I like. Our Texas peeps would probably have a different opinion, but when don't they?
The chicken was a airline breast breast and had a decent smoke profile, but the skin was pretty chewy. The rub on the chicken was sweet and reminded me of the rub from The Shed in MS. Sadly this chicken was a poor pretender to the chicken from The Shed. Again, it wasn't bad, but just not really good either.
My side of bean was good, but knowing that I could have been at Slaps and having the best beans I have ever eaten, they didn't really have a chance to wow me. Have I mentioned that Slaps BBQ in KC has the best beans? Q39 has good beans, but they are a little sweeter than I like.
The street corn was not bad, but lacked the bold flavor that you would expect from street corn.
The service was top notch from the start to the finish. The hostess, waiter, and food runners were all friendly and efficient. No complaints about the service at all.
I'm writing this the day after we ate and I'm a little surprised as I disect each of the meats on their own merit. On the whole I wasn't disappointed by the meal over all, but I know there are better examples of everything we had close by. So while this review might seem harsh, I'm not saying that you should avoid Q39. I'm just saying you can do better. Especially if you go to Slaps BBQ, and get the turkey and of course the beans.
