Monk: Harp Barbecue burst on the Kansas City barbecue scene first as a pop-up in 2019 at Crane Brewing in nearby Raytown before owner Tyler Harp eventually opened up a brick and mortar restaurant in November 2022 (also in Raytown). From the beginning, Harp wasn’t beholden to the Kansas City barbecue tradition (that is, burnt ends and a sweet, sticky sauce) and instead imported barbecue traditions from his travels across the country. Sure, his ribs were Kansas City-inspired but he brought back whole hog from Scott’s-Parker’s in west Tennessee and brisket and inventive sausages from visits to central Texas.
In this well-produced video, a crew from Overland, Kansas-based Trondheim Studios interviews Harp on his origin story and also follows him and his staff prepping for a day of service at the restaurant. For Tyler, those days are 14 hour days that begin with him leaving his house at 5 AM in the morning.
Tyler Harp actually grew up in the competition barbecue scene alongside his dad, his uncle, and their friends, and for him Harp Barbecue is a reconnection to those past experiences. And it has even come full circle as now his dad Bob (who he calls his first mentor), helps him out at the restaurant on an almost daily basis. Bob recently underwent a double lung transplant, and in the most touching parts of the video, both Tyler and his dad both get visibly emotional when speaking about the opportunity they have to work alongside each other.
In some people’s eyes, the barbecue scene in Kansas City can be divided into “Before Tyler” and “After Tyler.” While Harp Barbecue may have dropped a few spots down to #6 in the most recent 2023 Best BBQ list from Kansas City Magazine (mostly due to the competition getting stiffer as well as a somewhat rough transition from a pop-up to a restaurant), Harp has made some adjustments in terms of meat suppliers and cooking at a larger scale now. By all accounts he has his sea legs back underneath him, and there’s little doubt he will be coming for the top spot on the next list.
Description: Located in Raytown, Missouri, Harp Barbecue forever changed the culinary landscape of Kansas City. Tyler Harp’s journey from weekly pop-up to national attention hasn’t changed his primary focus, serving the best barbecue in KC.
Harp Barbecue: 6633 Raytown Rd, Raytown, MO 64133
Trondheim Studios is a photography studio and gallery in Overland Park, Kansas.
Monk: Tejas Chocolate + Barbecue initially started in 2015 as a craft “bean to bar” chocolate business by founder Scott Moore (alongside his wife Michelle Holland) who eventually added his chef brother Greg and craft barbecue “to pay for their chocolate making habit.” After coming in at #6 on the Texas Monthly Top 10 list in 2017, I’d say its doing a lot more than that.
In this video Scott, a fifth generation Texan, tells the story of how the combined business came to be after leaving a long career in the railroad industry, the philosophy behind his style of barbecue, and why he chose to open his shop in Tomball, a town of a little over 12,000 located about 33 miles northwest of Houston. And for the movie fans out there, Moore reveals a fun easter egg in that he has named his three Moberg smokers Donny, Walter, and The Dude after the main characters in The Big Lebowski.
Initially open from Tuesday to Saturday, about a month ago Tejas Chocolate + Barbecue announced they will now be open Mondays and Sundays from 11-5pm as well. If you do make it one of the seven days they are open, be sure to check out their inventive sides and desserts in addition to their barbecue.
Description: From the rail industry to chocolate maker, Scott Moore is now the founder and pitmaster of Tejas Chocolate and BBQ. Their craft barbecue earned a spot on Texas Monthly’s Top 50 list. In this chat, Scott talks about how their business changed when they ranked #6 on Texas Monthly’s list, their Moberg offset smokers, and using elevated ingredients.
Monk: Garren and Kelly Kirkman of Jon G’s Barbecue Show join Chigger in a recent episode of The Low and Slow Barbecue Show to discuss their business and their upcoming 2nd Annual Jon G’s Jubilee. As of this writing, a few tickets are still available, and the proceeds benefit the Anson County Partnership for Children.
Oh and thanks to friend of the blog Chigger for the nice link in the podcast description and the shout out during the interview!
Description: Jon G’s Barbecue serves Texas barbecue tradition in the small North Carolina town of Peachland, where he’s attracting plenty of big-city attention. Whether it’s Texas Monthly’s BBQ Snob, Southern Living, or the Barbecue Bros, everyone who makes the trek to Jon G’s sings the praises.
Show up on a Saturday, and you’ll find a line of barbecue fans waiting to taste the good stuff Pitmaster Green Kirkman and his wife Kelly are preparing. Miss him during his one-day weekend lunch service and tailgate party? You’ll find him near Charlotte-area breweries with the food truck that started his barbecue journey over a decade ago. Better yet, find him at Jon G’s Jubilee fund-raiser. That’s where he’s bringing together the best stuff from his barbecue buddies, as well as his own brisket that melts in your mouth and inspires you to plan a journey to his BBQ joint.
Find out the story behind Jon G’s, what makes the Barbecue Saturday experience so unique, and why so many Carolina barbecue people say his name when they’re talking about the state’s best-smoked meats. In this episode, Pitmaster Garren Kirkman makes his second visit to the Low & Slow Barbecue Show, and he brings along his wife, Kelly Kirkman. to talk about their business and charitable endeavors.
Note: a version of this article originally appeared last month in The Smoke Sheet, a fantastic national barbecue newsletter that I regularly contribute to. For more information on how to subscribe, visit bbqnewsletter.com.
Monk: For this year’s edition of the Carolina BBQ Festival, while some pitmasters were new and the festival changed locations from Camp North End to Uptown (not to mention it was now part of the Charlotte SHOUT! Festival), not too much changed in terms of the quality of the barbecue served from two years ago when I went to the first edition of the festival.
Speedy: Well, here was one other big change: your boy Speedy made an appearance! I happened to be in town to catch a couple final Charlotte Hornets games as a season ticket holder and Monk’s Spring Break travels aligned with us going to the festival on Saturday.
On the drive in, Monk gave me a rundown of the scene (i.e. the pitmasters) before the festival, and I must say I was pretty excited about the volume of talent from all across the great state of North Carolina (oh, and the lesser Carolina as well). We arrived to beautiful weather on a warm Saturday, checked-in, got our wristbands for some refreshing beverages, were issued our silverware, and we were off to explore the smoked meats across Victoria Yards.
Monk: Elliott Moss made his third straight appearance at the Carolina BBQ Festival and while he is now under his own banner of Moss & Moore Barbecue instead of Buxton Hall Barbecue, he brought his ever-familiar whole hog. They may have been out of slider buns for us but with a few dashes of vinegar-pepper sauce in a cardboard boat this whole hog was reminiscent of the pork from Buxton Hall, of which we are both big fans.
Moss did give me a little bit of an indication of what will be next for him as he posted last month that he would be leaving Asheville this spring, but I will leave the details of the forthcoming announcement up to him. What I will say is that it looks like he is staying in the Carolinas and will still be cooking whole hog barbecue. More to come from Moss in the coming weeks and months.
Speedy: Walking up to Jon G’s Barbecue tent, I saw a heavenly site – a tower of beef rib bones – and I knew we were in for a treat. Beef rib slider with pickled onions on a potato roll? Yes please! The bar is high for Jon G’s and they did not disappoint. This sammie is what dreams are made of, and this is my winner for bite of the day.
Monk: I always enjoy catching up with Matthew Register of Southern Smoke BBQ at barbecue festivals, and for this festival it was a family affair with his wife and three kids in tow helping him serve some delicious smoked cheese burger sliders. Despite some issues with wood, Register more than delivered on this burger and was one of two non-traditional barbecue bites that stood out on the afternoon.
Speedy: I am on record as saying that any item that is not strictly smoked meat is secondary in the barbecue setting, but City Limits Barbeque made me question that stance with the pork belly hash and Carolina gold rice. I would easily eat a generous portion of this as a whole meal and might even be willing to venture to Columbia some time to check out the full experience at the James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Southeast, which was announced just days before the festival.
Monk: While they were out of consommé by the time I got there, the mini smoked brisket quesabirria taco with avocado salsa from Lawrence Barbecue was still one of the highlights of the festival for me. This was the other standout change of pace bite from the more traditional barbecue served throughout the festival. It’s also a nice crossover of Lawrence Barbecue with owner Jake Wood’s sister concept Leroy’s Tacos. Both are worth making the trip to Durham for a visit, or perhaps Wood’s upcoming barbecue festival next month in Raleigh, Gettin’ Piggy With It, another great collection of Carolinas barbecue talent.
Speedy: Monk had been raving to me privately about Sweet Lew’s sausage game for a while, so I was pumped to get to sample a link at the festival – and it did not disappoint. The sausage was flavorful and smoked perfectly, and did not crumble. The man knows what he’s doing around a sausage stuffer.
Monk: Phew! The Barbecue Bros attendance at this year’s Carolina BBQ Festival came together at the last minute (big thanks to friend of the blog Chigger Willard of The Low and Slow Barbecue Show) but thankfully Speedy and I were able to make it happen.
It’s such a great festival in large part due to the effort by Lewis Donald along with so many others. Next year, I can’t recommend enough for anyone within driving distance (or even beyond like in Speedy’s case) to make the trip to Charlotte and attend because there’s not too many other instances where you can taste so much good barbecue from throughout the Carolinas in one afternoon.
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