The Uppercut KC Butcher Shop has no seating, yet is a must-try eatery

The Kelce sandwich at The Upper Cut KC // Photo courtesy of The Upper Cut KC

There are quite a few terrific local butcher shops in Kansas City but I’ve never been able to find one with everything I’m looking for until now. The only downside is they are located a small road trip away in Liberty—the Olathe of Missouri. Don’t hold that against it, though.

The Upper Cut KC butcher shop is a small retail space located just west of I-35 off 291 highway. It is woman-owned and managed, which explains how well-run the whole operation is. Mariah Kinkade, the owner, comes from a family that raises cattle. The family had always thought about opening a retail store, and after Mariah graduated from K-State, she felt like it was the right time to go for it. Especially when she saw the quality of beef that was being sold to consumers elsewhere. She was right. In 2022 they were Google’s Top Rated Butcher Shop in KCMO. 

Kinkade and her team are proud of their beef and share specific details on their website: “Our prime Akaushi beef and our Angus Beef is raised at our farm in Richmond, 35 miles east of Kansas City, Missouri. Our Beef is all-natural, raised in a grass pasture, and finished with a NON-GMO silage. There are no antibiotics, no hormones or enhancing products of any kind. We also dry age all of our beef for a minimum of 21 days.”

You aren’t going to find beef like this anywhere else. And if you are a monster like me who loves veal but can never find it—they’ve got you covered. They have huge veal chops for grilling and veal scallopini for your veal parmesan needs.

All of their sausages and brats are handmade, and their burger patties hand-formed. The tomahawk steaks they have are some of the biggest I’ve ever seen. Their fresh seafood changes every week, and the crab cakes they make in-house are out of this world. BBQ pitmasters from across the country are special-ordering hand-cut briskets from their master butchers for competitions.

The food they sell is so good it actually confuses people that there is nowhere to sit down and eat it. But they are a butcher shop first and foremost. They just started selling prepared food to highlight their product. The to-go menu has been taking off, and there are plans to accommodate would-be diners in the future.

Smoky bacon potato salad at The Upper Cut KC // Photo courtesy of The Upper Cut KC

For their sides they have loaded mac and cheese that you can get with brisket or lobster. They have cheesy street corn, loaded mashed potatoes, jalapeno poppers, smoked brisket green beans, and so many more. But the one side that was an absolute revelation to me was their smoky bacon potato salad. The potatoes are cooked in the bacon grease and this results in a depth of flavor I’ve never experienced in a potato salad before. It’s the best I’ve ever eaten and that’s not an exaggeration. I couldn’t stop eating it. If you bring this to a cookout, you will be the hit of the party.

They also have a large selection of ginormous sandwiches to choose from. I had their #7, The Kelce ($19.99). This has over a pound of meat with ham, pulled pork, bacon, swiss cheese, and their housemade sweet and spicy mustard on fresh ciabatta. It was as good as it sounds and fed me for three days. This is a really special place and is absolutely worth the trip.

The Uppercut KC is open Tuesday-Saturday 10 AM to 7 PM and Sunday from 12-4 PM. All lunch orders MUST BE CALLED IN at 816-781-8694. Lunch orders cannot be made online and will take time to prepare if you do not call ahead.