What Anthony Bourdain thinks of Kansas City

Barbecue got sexy for an hour. Then it got dirty. And then everybody started to have tummy rumblings. That was the world of Kansas City, according to Anthony Bourdain and his Cold War-era sidekick, Zamir Gotta (In Russia, barbecue eats you) on Monday night’s No Reservations.

“Tomorrow I’m going to burn these sticky, smoky, airborne grease-infused clothes and have a nice green salad … with a hunk of brisket on top,” Bourdain said as he neared the end of his eating rope.

Bourdain’s Kansas City-focused episode of his Travel Channel show was a testament to the strength of his intestines and his refreshing understanding of the borders of State Line. Although, if there’s one bone to pick, it’s watching him use a fork and knife to demolish a beef rib at Jack Stack. The tablecloths may be white, but your fingers should be good and filthy by the end of the meal. Let me put this in terms that a New Yorker can understand. It’s like pizza. Leave the silverware untouched.

That said, he seems to understand the critical elements of eating barbecue, correcting Zamir when he suggests the sauce is more important than the meat and then offering this rule:

“The first rule of barbecue in my book: Do not waste precious real estate with a bunch of sides, no matter how enticing.”

You can watch a recap of the episode here and get a detailed breakdown via the Miami New Times’ Short Order blog. Here’s a list of all the places he visited during the episode and a clip of the radio interview he did with Fat City’s Charles Ferruzza for KKFI 90.1.

What did you think of the episode?