Oklahoma Joe’s BBQ

Beyond the shamrock gas station’s pumps and past the racks of Hostess cakes, a warren of tables and booths makes up this barbecue joint. Oklahoma Joe’s began life on competitive BBQ circuit in the early 90’s as the Slaughterhouse Five, a team of barbecue enthusiasts who got together to cook at weekend championships around the Midwest and the South. The team won so many awards that by 1996, they opened a restaurant. Compared with Kans as City institutions like the circa-1920 Arthur Bryant’s, O.J.’s was a modern place, using state-of-the-art smokers that cook meat with a combination of natural gas and wood.