And the winner is....

This post is fun, and painful to write. First of all, thank you to Kevin for agreeing to go on this trip with me. It's been a long time since he and I could catch up, and have good "brother time" together. I look forward to making this an annual event. Secondly, there will be some that say that we didn't give Kansas City a fair shake. On this, I defer to Kevin's expertise. We had several people say that Oklahoma Joe's is the best BBQ joint there, along with Jack's Stack, Gates-n-Sons, and others. Kevin eats at Oklahoma Joes probably once a month, so his opinion in this contest weighs heavily. Their sauce is amazing, but this is a contest about meat- not sauce. The highway collapse in southeastern KC prevented us from going there. I have eaten repeatedly at Jacks Stack, and at Gates. They simply aren't as good as the other places we went (with the exception of Pork n Pig- they flame that place.) Finally, this isn't a serious thing. Sure, we will send t-shirts to the winner, but that's about it. I'm sure my dozens of readers will understand.

So, without further ado- here are the winners:

Best Ribs- Neely's. Pappys came in close 2nd, but man, I must admit that these ribs from Neely's were the best I've ever had. I'm still thinking about them.

Pulled Pork- Pappy's. It was the most succulent, and had the best flavor.

Sausage- Split decision- Kevin says Neely's, I say 17th street. Brothers will never agree on everything.

Bologna Sandwich- Neely's. Of course, they were the only ones to offer one, but it was freaking delicious.

Beans- 17th street. The ones at Neely's came a close second, with Pappys not far behind. I just loved the tanginess, and the fact that they had 3 separate kind of beans in them.

Sauce- 17th street. More on the mustard/vinegar side, it was tangy, refreshing, and the only one we bought.

Dry Rub- Neely's. Even though it has a cheesy picture of Patrick and Gina on the side of it, it's killer. I bought some, and put it on potatoes last night.

Overall Winner- As much as it hurts me to say it (I was rooting for my home team of Mike Emerson and the boys at Pappys), this coveted prize, and t-shirt, goes to....

......NEELY'S. We had to take all things into consideration, but this was a BBQ road trip. Their meat was the best overall.

Thanks for putting up with my ramblings. Back to our regular-scheduled programming on Monday.

Until then, Cheers.