Blues BQ

One would think that there’d be a glut of joints offering true barbecue-and-blues experiences in this town. Friendly, greasy dives that you’re able to smell before you enter. Places where casually dressed patrons, surrounded by handbills of past shows, gnaw burnt ends wrapped in white bread and tap their toes to nationally known blues acts. There is only one such establishment in these parts. Down south around 85th Street and Troost stands B.B.’s Lawnside BBQ (1205 East 85th Street, 816-822-7427), a 19-year-old, family-run operation that features live blues six nights a week and a menu full of Kansas City and Louisiana-style favorites, smoked in the granite fire pit out back. While the lineup changes on weekends, B.B.’s has been home to the city’s most celebrated blues musicians, such as John Paul Drum, Diane “Mama” Ray and Lee McBee. Definitely a place to bring out-of-town visitors, B.B.’s has family-style seating, a large deck in front, buckets of beer and an open blues jam on Saturdays. Though the cover charge is never more than $5, it helps to arrive early, especially on Tuesday nights when the much lauded Trampled Under Foot puts down the licks.