Anthony Bourdain's Favorite City For Barbecue Is A Wildly Underrated Midwest Foodie Paradise

Anthony Bourdain didn't hand out food endorsements lightly, but when it came to barbecue, he made his position crystal clear. In an article penned for Men's Health, Bourdain said that Kansas City served the world's best. Obviously, people listened. When the article was written, Bourdain had already eaten his way across continents, and coming from someone who could've picked anywhere on the planet, that endorsement carried serious weight.

Kansas City has always been more than what meets the eye, though its reputation for barbecue does tend to overshadow everything else (rightfully so). This is the city that once got dubbed the "Paris of the Plains" during Prohibition, when political boss Tom Pendergast kept the speakeasies flowing and the jazz clubs hopping. The fountains still flow, the jazz legacy lives on, and that rebellious nightlife spirit continues to pulse through the streets. But somewhere along the way, the rest of the country started sleeping on Kansas City's food scene.

That's their loss, because Kansas City has been building something remarkable while nobody was paying attention. The barbecue will always be here — there's even a vending machine dispensing it now — but the city's food scene has exploded in directions that would surprise most people. This is one of America's top barbecue destinations, yes, but it's also where you'll find some of the most exciting cooking happening in the Midwest right now.

When talking about food in Kansas City, barbecue obviously has to make the list. And what better place than the one that got Anthony Bourdain to declare it the best in the world? Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que occupies a gas station, which tells you everything about this city's approach to great food. Jeff and Joy Stehney started as competition barbecuers before settling into this unlikely location, where they smoke chicken, pork, beef, and whatever they feel like, using Missouri white oak. The burnt ends that made Bourdain lose his mind? Those used to be scraps until Kansas City pitmasters decided to turn trash into treasure.

But while the barbecue will always be incredible, it's not all Kansas City has going for it. There's a variety of cuisines worth exploring, and Palestinian food ranks high on that list. Baba's Pantry earned a spot on Bon Appétit's list of the country's best new restaurants in 2022, which means if you're in Kansas City, you absolutely have to try it. Inside, you'll find four tables packed with people in what amounts to a neighborhood deli case. Yahia Kamal (known as Baba) stocks Middle Eastern ingredients alongside his falafel and hummus, and the deli case stays loaded with house-made spreads and pickles that locals buy by the jar.

Even familiar cuisines get the Kansas City treatment at The Italian Sausage Company — despite being farther away from the city center. This spot serves sandwiches instead of the usual pastas or pizzas you normally find in Italian restaurants. The No. 7 sandwich, for instance, towers with enough Italian meats and aged cheeses to feed a family, built on bread that can barely contain the whole glorious mess. And, just like other Kansas City joints, they'll treat you like family even if you've never walked through their doors before.