Sep 252011
 

Johnny’s is a place that has been around forever (since 1977) but hadn’t received much attention or respect, at least in my circles. That may have changed a little when His Doucheness Guy Fieri dropped by a while back on his “Kansas City Barbecue Tour” for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.  This place came across very well on the program and the food looked great on TV, but everyone I know who had been there said Johnny’s just wasn’t very good.

Apparently not everyone feels that way, because when I stopped by recently, this fairly spacious BBQ joint on Broadmoor was full of people at the lunch hour. There is nothing to alarm the discerning barbecue diner upon entering. You order at a counter, jauntily accented with an old school menu board and a display of barbecue sauces that is dizzying in its comprehensiveness.

The staff persons are very friendly and helpful, particularly the owner who is typically present behind the counter expediting orders or out in the dining room delivering food. Simpler dishes like sliced meat sandwiches are presented right at the counter soon after ordering. Others are delivered to you out at your table.

Menu

The highly touted barbecued chicken is probably one of the better versions around town. As seen in the DDD video, it is smoked and then deep-fried to give the bird a relatively crisp crust. As a result, the chicken is much moister and has a pleasantly crunchy skin, unlike chickens I’ve had at other BBQ joints such as Zarda, who recently served me a dry-ish, flabby chicken that looked better but tasted worse than this one.

That being said, poultry is one of the most forgiving meats to smoke and I was hoping for more wood flavor from Johnny’s bird. While not among the best barbecue I’ve tasted, Johnny’s chicken had a hypnotizing effect on me, and I found myself stripping every piece of meat and gnawing on the bones. The portion is good too-a half chicken seems like a lot but really is only a pound and a half of meat which is rounded out perfectly by Johny’s decent baked beans which are cooked in the smoker but come across as a very traditional, molasses-flavored Boston-style baked bean.

Half chicken

beans

I suspect that the sauce turns a lot of barbecue purists off. It is extremely red, more pronounced than the color of ketchup and is applied liberally to most dishes unless you request that it be left off. While not particularly assertive, it has a distinctive tanginess that complements lighter meats better than beef or ribs. Some diners assume that the sauce is inferior because of its color while I find it acceptable, certainly better than the oddly sweet stuff at the otherwise superior RJ’s up the road.

The fries are nothing special: crinkle-cut frozen numbers that get the job done but really should be better considering the competition from other barbecue joints like Arthur Bryant’s and Oklahoma Joe’s who dish out superb, hand-cut fries.

The burnt ends are prepared well but lack the smoky punch that I expect from the best barbecue. The sandwich comes on a soft hoagie roll, topped with red onions and pickle slices, all of which are utterly unnecessary and ridiculous. At my core I feel that barbecue should be meat, sauce and white bread.

Burnt Ends

The decor is alas, drab as hell, reminiscent of a chain diner like Waid’s. The walls are sadly devoid of much artwork and the furniture is pure, cheap commercial dreck: Formica tables, vinyl booths, industrial carpeting.

Interior

The service is great here all around. The owner is very active in the daily operations and is typically out on the floor delivering food and making sure people are happy. At the risk of being indelicate, I should point out that Johnny’s employs a couple of developmentally disabled bus-people, a practice that I whole-heartedly endorse and appreciate. Those who have worked with such people (as I have have) or have them in your family (which I do) realize that providing a source of income is extremely important in contributing to their quality of life and promoting independence and self-sufficiency. One of the bus-women noticed that my paper towels had run out and chatted with me while replacing them with a fresh roll. I’ve never had a bus-person introduce herself to me before, but she did, and I found it a delightful exchange. Johnny’s gets big kudos for giving an opportunity to people who are often overlooked.

In general, this place is a lot better than I was led to believe, but not among the brightest lights of KC barbecue. I think Johnny’s is legitimate and probably unworthy of ridicule. It’s certainly worth a visit for those who want to familiarize themselves with the range of barbecue available in the area.

Johnny’s hickory House Bar-B-Que
5959 Broadmoor St
Shawnee Mission, KS 66202
www.johnnysbbqkc.com
(913) 432-0777

Johnny's Hickory House Bar-B-Q on Urbanspoon

[google-map-v3 width=”350″ height=”350″ zoom=”12″ maptype=”roadmap” mapalign=”center” directionhint=”false” language=”default” poweredby=”false” maptypecontrol=”true” pancontrol=”true” zoomcontrol=”true” scalecontrol=”true” streetviewcontrol=”true” scrollwheelcontrol=”false” draggable=”true” tiltfourtyfive=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkermashupbubble=”false” addmarkerlist=”Johnnys B-B-Q, 5959 Broadmoor Street, Mission, KS{}restaurant.png” bubbleautopan=”true” showbike=”false” showtraffic=”false” showpanoramio=”false”]

  10 Responses to “Johnny’s BBQ: 5959 Broadmoor, Mission, KS”

  1. I agree 100% with this review. People who deride Johnny’s do so not because the food is bad, but because they’re spoiled by (insert other bbq place they like better). I live relatively close to Johnny’s, but I also live less than 10 minutes from Bates City, Quick’s, and RJ’s. Frankly, I like those three better. But I’d eat at Johnny’s before Woodyard and WAYYYY before Wyandot.
    (An aside: I would say Johnny’s longevity means they’re doing something right, but how do you explain Wyandot?)
    Bottom line – Johnny’s would be the best BBQ joint in the vast majority of American cities.

  2. i love it – “not worthy of ridicule”… another informative and hilarious review!

  3. Jon and I ate here a couple weeks ago. We had never heard of it before. He’ll be posting something about it on the blog soon. I really enjoyed it though…reminded me of bbq we would have way back in the 1970s before everyone became an expert and opened their own restaurants.

    We couldn’t decide on where to go for lunch that Saturday and just used the Urban Spoon Shake application on our phones and it was the first thing that popped up. Only after that did we find out it was on DDD. It is way outside of our 49/63 bubble, but it was a fun road trip.

  4. Thanks for weighing in folks. I almost expected people to pile on the hate but it’s nice to see I’m not insane for thinking Johnny’s was pretty decent. Wyandot BBQ is one of KC’s greatest mysteries. All I can think is that the location is good and there aren’t other BBQ options in the immediate vicinity. John Eric, I’ll look forward to Jon’s review.

    • We both liked it much better than RJ’s. The service was much better. We spoke to friends about this place later that day at our weekly dart tournament and everyone was saying how much they liked it. Apparently they have breakfast and a couple of our friends eat there for that meal on a regular basis. I don’t remember seeing a breakfast menu.

      Usually when we go out to our weekly Saturday lunch the dining room is empty – because we eat 11-ish. We were glad we got there when we did. There were only a couple of people in front of us in line. By the time we got our food, the line was to the front door. So, it looks like they must have some admirers.

  5. Ever tried to smoke a chicken? Not a lot of fun. I’ve been on a BBQ team for a few years and have been stuck with the clucker. OK chicken is certainly doable, outstanding chicken is a colossal pain in the ass. Having said that, I’ve eaten at Johnny’s and couldn’t agree more. Nice folks, good food and fair prices.

  6. I have lived in Mission for twenty years and I know really good BBQ. Johnnys is decent everyday BBQ that is not bad at all but not the best either. It’s good enough for me and to drive anywhere else is a waste of time. Unless I’m by Bryants at the Legends or LC’s. My two personal fav’s.
    They do deserve better recognition. Been eating their for twenty years now. They DO do things right.

  7. Hey Dave – Wanted to let you know that something seems to be awry with your RSS feed. For the last week or so, every post has been feeding through with the contents of the Lobito’s review (but its own post title).

  8. I had never eaten at Johnny’s until I saw the special about the joint on tv. I went there with a few family and friends and we all ate something different.

    I had the chicken and really thought I was eating something from HyVee that had been warmed up.

    Had 4 kids with me including 3 teenagers. I think it was the first time I have ever seen left overs on their plate. Now if a teenage football player doesn’t finish his plate, there is something wrong.

    I like reviews, just be honest. People eat there because it is close.