As a newcomer to KC (from Phoenix), I dived head first into the BBQ scene. Now it seems I'm almost on an Arthurian quest for the Holy Grail of BBQ, and my SO is getting completely burnt out while I march forward. Here's what I've tried so far, in order of best to worst: Oklahoma Joe's: I'm somewhat of an ambience snob. It's not that I need low lighting and "modern" art hanging on the walls to enjoy my meal, but I would have never guessed a restaurant in a gas station would be so good, let alone one of my favorites. One thing I'm learning about BBQ is this sort of ambienece is what one should expect from a "good" BBQ place. I love the meat, the sauce (especially the hot), the sides, and even the pickles and the toast. (But the sausage is unimpressive, yet seems to be enough of a favorite that it's included in two of their combo meals.) I really love their ribs, and I'm not usually a rib fan. What stands out most from OJ's is the sweet smokiness of the meat, which seems more developed and complex than any of the places I've tried so far. Plus, their sauce is a good balance of spices with the right tone of sweetness that doesn't become too cloying. LC's: A distant second to Oklahoma Joe's, the meat was quite good and the sauce was acceptable. Again, the ambience was terrible (even a bit offensive), but whatever. I enjoyed the burnt ends and the smoke ring was clearly visible and lovely. It earns its place in second purely because of the level of smokiness in the meat. I haven't tried any of the sides yet, nor have I tried any of the other meat selections, so I think I need a couple more goes at it before I form more of an opinon. Jack Stack's: So yeah, it's corporate and maybe even a bit dumbed down, but the meat is delicious. That's what matters most to me: Meat first, sauce second. The burnt ends are tender, and has enough smokiness to please my love of smoke. Of course the sides are great, but while everyone seems to love the cheesy corn, we weren't very impressed and preferred the cheesy potatoes. I've had both good experiences at JS and bad. When it was good, it was pretty damned good, but when it was bad it made me swear I would never go again. RJ's & Wyandot: These two are tied in my book. Sides are decent, meat is ok, and sauce is good enough. Overall a little forgettable. Maybe I need to try different things to get a good feel of them. Gate's: Hated it! Even with the gimmicky "May I help you", the service sucked, especially when said gimmick line is shouted at me three or four times while I'm trying to figure out what to order. Then when I asked for a to-go box, instead of an affirmative response, I got a "What for?" Rude, rude, rude. Sadly, the meat and sauce didn't make up for it. I got the combo plate, which had ribs, brisket and ham, served with pickles and a stack of Wonder bread (an aspect of BBQ I find repulsive, which is why I like Oklahoma Joe's toast so much.) Ham was ok, but personally I didn't care it was just ham. Brisket, ok. Ribs were good, but overseasoned. The worst part for me was the sauce. The first thing that hit me upon tasting it was an overbearing, heavy handed use of cumin, which is a tricky spice in my book. It can be used synergisitically with coriander or cilantro with great results, but is easily overdone. The whole time I was eating my Gate's BBQ, I couldn't help shaking my head at why someone would want to make cumin so pronounced in a sauce that would have otherwise been ok without it figuring prominently. On top of all that, the prices suck. A big test for whether a restaurant was good for me or not is if I would ever go back. I would go back to Oklahama Joe's any time, same with LC's. RJ's and Wyandot would be a maybe, but Gate's is an absolutely not! On my quest, the next destination is Arthur Bryant's, plus a handful of others that are smaller and lesser known. There's a Johnny's near me in Mission, so I figured I'd give them a shot (if anyone is familiar with them, I'd appreciate some input pn whether it's worth a try or not.) I also recently bought an offset grill, so once I figure out the principles of fire management, my own smoking should be on its way!