New Oklahoma Joe's

When a new Oklahoma Joe's opened in Leawood, a coworker of mine insisted that we go on the day after it opened. We got there at about 11:15am, and in typical Okie Joe's fashion, there was already a line out the door. But don't worry, they have a bar right by the door, so they can sell you a Boulevard beer to sip on (or chug, depending on your personal preference) while you wait in the line that snakes around the perimeter of the interior of the restaurant. This location has nearly the same interior design as the location in Olathe, but does not have the mystique of the gas station location. But then again, we all know how I feel about finding great food in less than normal locations (i.e. trucks and gas stations).

This Oklahoma Joe's offers the same menu as the other two locations, but many will tell you that there is no reason to order anything other than the Z Man. The Z Man features brisket topped with smoked provolone cheese and two onion rings. The Carolina (with fries) is my personal favorite, being the perfect mix of Carolina and KC bbq, which is perfect for the man that is the perfect mix of Carolina and KC himself (yours truly). The Carolina features pulled pork (that is advertised as "Carolina style", but is really more a mix of KC and Carolina, but always 100% delicious) topped with cole slaw that has a bit of a zip to it and OK Joe's famous sauce. Admittedly, I did second guess my usual when I saw the size of the daily special Smokey Joe's that they were serving up. I always order the side of fries, with the word "side" being used loosely, as the "side" is the size of a Mac truck for the low low price of something like $2.79. I recommend splitting the fries with a friend, they are some kind of wonderful though. I have never been temped to try another side dish at Okie Joe's, as I know the beans cannot beat Jack Stack, and none of the other sides appeal to me as much as a year's supply of fries covered in seasoning salt. *Side note regarding the fountain pop: There are numerous diet options (including my personal favorite Pepsi Max), and you will need them after eating this gigantic quantity of food, unless you want to end up with "The Sugars" like Paula Deen.

Some call Oklahoma Joe's the best BBQ in KC, some have a problem with that because it has "Oklahoma" in the name. I personally do not think that it is the best BBQ in KC, because I don't believe that any one place has the best BBQ in KC, but that each BBQ joint has one thing that they do that distinguishes itself from the others. Okie Joe's is the place to go to get a rockin' sandwich! I do not personally have a problem with the joint having "Oklahoma" in the name, because it doesn't matter where Joe is from, it just matters that he has become a KC Icon (and not an Icon like that copy cat bridge that they built on the Paseo and named "The Icon" like there wasn't one just like it already existing in Charleson, SC). I look at it this way, if Joe were from Kansas, then no Tiger's would want to eat there. If Joe were from Missouri, people would feel like they need to wear their best jean shorts to enjoy Joe's BBQ. That being said, OK Joe's is an awesome joint. I applaud them for building a third location in an attempt to thin out crowds at the existing two locations, but it looks like that many more people are now enjoying Joe's special brand of BBQ.

I do recommend OK Joe's to anyone looking for a great sandwich, just make sure you go at an off time (like 3pm), so then you will only have a 10 minute wait.

Most Awesome Tacos Ever!

One of the most awesome and one of the least awesome parts about my job, at the same time, is the travel. Spending time away from my wife sucks, but it allows me to try smaller regional restaurants when I travel and it also allows me to gain airline and hotel points to take my wife awesome places so that we can try awesome new restaurants together. This story is one of those business travel adventures.

When most people think of Dallas, they think of nice warm weather. It seems like almost every time I go to Dallas, I run into some form of crazy weather event. I was snowed (or rather iced) in during the week that the super bowl was in Dallas. Then the next time I was in Dallas, I ran into this:

 Yes, that is hail that is nearly the size of a softball. That was not the largest piece, that was just a piece that was easy to grab outside the door of the rental car place (where I was waiting out the tornado warning). I had placed my things in my rental car before the sirens began to sound. I went back inside until the warning had cleared. Upon returning to my rental car in the lot, I saw that the back window had been smashed by the hail and shattered glass all over my things. I was given 2 other rental cars, each of them had windows shattered when I went out to them, before I was told to "go out there, find one with a good window and we will give you that one". It was quite an awesome experience!

I had already caught the last flight out and waited for a tornado warning to clear, so it was already late before I began my 2 hour drive to my hotel. I had to find a gas station to go get a Rockstar (my favorite energy drink). As fate would have it, I missed my turn onto the highway, which took me on a frontage road straight to a gas station that not only had Rockstars, but also has a 24 hr window that sold street tacos.

The window sign advertised the different tacos in Spanish (with the English names in parenthasis). They had all of the regular suspects: carne asada, carnitas, chorizo, and pollo. They also had other great options like spicy beef and beef tongue along with breakfast favorites like huevos rancheros and egg tacos. My favorites are the spicy beef fajita (that comes with sauted onions and peppers) and pollo (that comes with the traditional cilantro and onions). All orders come with limes, red salsa, green salsa, and a grilled jalapeno. The salsa verde is my favorite (but to be fair, I am quite partial to salsa verde). The grilled jalapenso is the perfect finisher for the tacos, but make sure you have something to cool your mouth after finishing it, as the grilling just intensifies the kick. You can also get them with avacado for an extra 50 cents or so, and the avacado is perfectly fresh and ripe (which is the dead give away that you are not in Kansas anymore).

As all great taco places, this place is cash only, but tacos are only $1.50 (so it won't break the bank). You can pay at the front of the gas station with a card and then show them the reciept at the window, but that is about as close as you can get to paying with a card. This place is incredible! They have the best tacos I have ever had in my life! The corn tortillas are perfect, the meat is good, and the salsa verde is great! I now make a point to take the wrong turn that took me to this gas station every time I am in Dallas. Sometimes multiple times per trip. If you find yourself in the neighborhood, make sure to check it out!