Welcome to Jack Stack Barbecue in Martin City Missouri! Over the years, I've worked for both Venture Stores/May Company and Montgomery Ward. Both companies had several stores in the Kansas City Market and the resulting store visits provided ready access to the Kansas City BBQ scene. When I first started coming to Jack Stack in the 70's, it was called Smoke Stack Barbecue... No matter, as it's still operated by a branch of the Fiorella family, actually the 4th generation of the family. Another family member still operates a Barbecue restaurant in Kansas City and that restaurant is named 'Smokestack'.
On our latest personal trip to Kansas City, with limited time available, Laurie and I had to decide whether we should go to Jack Stack or to another non-BBQ place that we really like. In the end, we decided to go to Jack Stack vs. Stroud's with it's pan fried pork chops. We knew that we were going to sample some Memphis BBQ on the way home and we wanted to compare that BBQ with the Memphis version so we could report back to Larry, aka "Big Dude", our local BBQ expert. (http://bigdudesramblings.blogspot.com/)
Laurie ordered the 'Three Rib Platter', with Beef, Pork and Lamb Ribs. It was accompanied by a hunk of toast and Jack Stack's Hickory Pit Beans. Her favorite ribs by far were the lamb ribs...she even let me taste one! Next in line were the beef ribs... The pork ribs were good, but they didn't measure up to those smoked for us by Big Dude! The other highlight on her plate was Jack Stack's beans...
I ordered the 'Jack's Best' platter. This included the Crown Prime Beef Rib, Baby Back Pork Ribs and Beef Burnt Ends. I also ordered the Beans and the Cheesy Corn Bake. The Burnt Ends were #1 for me, followed in order by: #2 - the Jack Stack Beans...full of bits of meat and flavor; #3 - the Beef Rib...very nice; #4 - the Baby Backs...better than the ribs that Laurie had, but again not up to the standard set for us in East Tennessee, and; #5, the Cheesy Corn Bake...Laurie liked it but I didn't think that it had a lot of flavor.
We were stuffed when we finished our platters...actually leaving some odds and ends...but we still managed to order a dessert to share. This is the Vanilla Rum Bread Pudding...and it too was excellent!
We would recommend Fiorella's Jack Stack to anyone who enjoys good Barbecue! Good quality and good service. Our very competent waitress has worked for Jack Stack for over 24 years! She said that they're such good people to work for, she's never really considered leaving.
There are 4 Jack Stack locations in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area... Martin City is the original, but other restaurants are located in Country Club Plaza, Overland Park KS, and in the Kansas City Crossroads Art District. In addition to BBQ, we saw some great looking steaks and seafood dishes being served at nearby tables. The phone number for the original Martin City Restaurant is 816-942-9141. Learn more about Jack Stack at http://www.jackstackbbq.com/.
I've been busy the past two days and just getting caught up on blogs. Looks like you had a serious plate of food. I appreciate the kind words about my Que and looking forward to your making the Memphis ribs and some of the other meat comparisons for me. I'll cook us up a mess and we can sit around with an adult beverage and sample BBQ.
ReplyDelete