Recently, I was shipped off to the Kansas City metropolitan area to attend training for work.  Despite growing up in the Mid-Atlantic/New England area, I’d developed a taste for good barbeque over the years.  I’d tried North Carolina barbeque and found it a bit too vinegary for my tastes, so I was excited to try Kansas City barbeque as I prefer thick and sweet barbeque sauces.  A coworker recommended two barbeque places in Overland Park, Kansas – Hayward’s Pit Bar B Que and Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue.

I headed to Hayward’s Pit Bar B Que  on the first day for lunch.  I got there early, but it quickly started to fill up.  Hayward’s is a family-owned and operated restaurant; there are only two in Overland Park.  They did, however, have their own brand of barbeque sauce which was pretty tasty.  For lunch, I had the pulled pork sandwich with thick cut fries and baked beans.  The pork itself was tender and quite good, even without the sauce.  The sauce was thick and tangy, with a dark red color.   The beans were pretty standard baked beans and the fries were pretty standard as well.  Overall, it was a good meal for only $9.00.  Hayward’s has a full line of barbeque sauces that are sold in local Kansas grocery stores.  If you’re in the Overland Park area and need a quick, cheap barbeque fix, you can’t go wrong with Hayward’s.

A few days later, I ventured over to Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue  for lunch.  Jack Stack is a much more upscale restaurant than Hayward’s and has several locations in the Kansas City area.  Jack Stack also has a complete online store where you can ship their barbeque anywhere in the United States.  For lunch, I had the sliced meat lunch plate with pork, brisket, and French fries.  One of the locals in my training had also recommended the cheesy corn bake side dish, which I ordered as well.  The meat was absolutely divine.  Both the pork and the brisket were incredibly tender and juicy.  They had been smoked with just the right amount of rub, leaving the meat incredibly flavorful.  Unlike Hayward’s, there was no bottle of barbeque sauce provided for you on the table; instead, they serve you a small side dish of sauce with your meal.  The sauce was darker and thicker than Hayward’s, and slightly sweeter.  The cheesy corn bake was a delicious concoction of cheese, corn, and bits of meat (I didn’t ask, but I believe it was ham.)  While it costs extra, it is definitely worth adding to your meal.

To end things on an even sweeter note, I ordered the Triple Chocolate Brownie for dessert.  It’s one of the best desserts I’ve ever had, hands down.  The brownie comes out warm, and is more like a molten chocolate cake than a brownie.  The inside is slightly soft and gooey with a slight milk chocolate taste.  The brownie is topped with warm chocolate sauce and is served with vanilla ice cream.

In sum, I would highly recommend both restaurants to visitors to the Overland Park/Kansas City area.  Hayward’s has the home/family-owned restaurant feel to it, while Jack Stack is more like a fancy steakhouse.  Personally, I preferred the barbeque at Jack Stack, but that’s because I like their style of barbeque sauce the best.  And if you’re really in the mood for a Kansas City barbeque feast, you can always order it online from Jack Stack.