Kansas City is the official barbecue capital of the world but you wont find any BBQ North of downtown in the BBQ Dead Zone. Kansas City has over 80 barbecue restaurants and that is more than most states. Check out our new BBQ Guide Map for the route to your favorite rib joint. Whether you like the traditional classics like Gates or Jack Stack, or if you enjoy the newcomers like Q39 or Kansas City Joe’s we certainly have excellent BBQ selections.
A noteworthy oddity and personal insult is that there are a pittance of barbecue restaurants north of the river. The Kansas City BBQ Dead Zone is in the northeastern area of the metro and stretches east from SmokeHouse on North Oak to Wabash in Excelsior Springs. Explanations for the sparse que are hard to find. This is a very populous part of the city and is filled with many successful restaurants and several commerce retail zones. Frankly, we’re baffled. The BBQ Dead Zone is prominent and almost seems purposeful, but we have struggled to expose any sinister strategy for this depravity. The most northern edges of Kansas City and Liberty can be a little yuppie and perhaps the Northland dainty dinners prefer chicken fingers and Happy Meals to smoked meats, however being a snob hasn’t stopped ritzy Johnson County Kansas appetites from hosting dozens of local BBQ joints. The lack of BBQ in the Northland is a real mystery. Most perplexing is the likelihood of profitability for any decent bbq joint considering the lack of competition.
Enjoying BBQ is a way of life and makes this city great. Someone, anyone, PLEASE open a BBQ restaurant in Liberty and bring some of Kansas City to the Northland! 
Fred is a enthusiastic and opinionated food writer that dreams in barbeque, craves street tacos and boasts about organics. Fred is an adventurous eater who balances the local classics but loves to try out the new spots and trends. Fred loves the Downtown/Crossroads/Westport lunch scene and is currently campaigning for true BBQ in the BBQ Dead Zone(aka: Liberty MO).
It’s getting deep here, I call BS all over this post!
Dickey’s, MO 291. Not very good, but it is Q.
It’s now 2017 and the BBQ Dead Zone is showing signs of life. Mudhole BBQ just opened up this year and Rob Magee has mentioned plans to open up a new Q39 location on 152 near Liberty in 2020. Nature abhors a vacuum — or maybe this article made the difference? Whatever the reason, it seems the Northland won’t much longer be a wasteland for good BBQ.
Try Scott’s kitchen at 4:35 and ambassador drive up by the airport it may be the best barbecue in Kansas City and for sure the best in the northland by far. There brisket, burnt ends and ribs are some the best I’ve ever had . Danny Edwards brisket is about equal .Q 39‘s ribs are about equal JackStack’s Burnt ends are about equal. Try it you will like it .