If you've been following this blog you've certainly heard me rant and rave about the importance of authenticity in how I judge a barbecue establishment. While I still consider this aspect to be of consequence, certain experiences have helped me understand that there is more than one way to sauce a sandwich. Big T's, an old-fashioned, wood-floored, wood-walled, grease-filled joint, further lessened the significance that I will place on authenticity in the future. 
Big T's sits on Blue Parkway which tranforms from Volker just a few miles away from the plaza. The old-looking establishment rests quiet and quaint with a set of smokers stuck outside in the parking lot. I sensed trouble as soon as I glimpsed the idle smokers, bereft of the streaming grey mist that usually accompanies such devices. Dan Thode, who drove Logan Beets and I to Big T's on our way to the Lake of the Ozarks, explained that the smokers had been billowing when he drove by at about 8:30 the previous night on his way back to Raytown. This observation implies that Big T's meat, like many in KC, is smoked the day or night before. While this factor is not controlling, it tends to result in less smoke-flavor.
We ordered at the counter and I got a double-pulled pork on white bread, fries, beans and a piece of corn on the cob. Beets and Thode both got beef sandwiches on bun with fries. The service was slow and indifferent. While waiting for our meals to arive at our booth, we gazed around the dimly lit dive to find posters and old newspaper mockups, mostly referencing events from the Negro Leagues. One of these discussed an event when Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb played against Negro League players. Being sports fans we were all regailed by the ancient articles. Old farm equipment also adorned the walls giving the joint an old-fashioned air.
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| Thode and Beets |
The greasy thick-cut meat sat slathered on the bread, sauce splashed on top. The slimy, juicy pork had decent fat content, nothing disguisting but it definitely was not hidden. I like a greasy, kind of fatty, sandwich so this aspect wasn't really a problem. My beef (sorry) was with the preparation. The meat was not hot or really that warm, and it lacked much of smokey taste or really any flavor other than pork. The meat alone, was basically boring. Beets and Thode had similar assessments about their sandwiches. "I prefer a smokier beef," Thode said simply.
Although the sandwich came with sauce Thode and I both had to return to the counter to ask for more. After I waited, being ignored by several employees, the counter attendent returned from emptying the garbage cans, and I was given a styrofoam cup full of hot, not just warm, sauce. I've never been served bbq sauce at this temperture before and it seemed the sauce might be kept hot to cover up the meat's coolness.
The thin mixed liquid was composed of a strong vinnegar base backed by pepper and tomato-something. For a second I thought I tasted ketchup, but I cannot vouch for that observation. By itself the sauce was nothing special. I've had similarly mixed sauce served superiorly all over Kansas City.
I will say though, that mixed together, the sloppy sandwich and the rigid sauce created a serviceable meal. I realized, and Beets agreed, that our sandwiches actually got better as we ate them.
"There's a good balance between the meat and the sauce, but the meat depends on the sauce," Beets explained. He added that he thought the two facets blended well.
The fries were a soft greasy substantially portioned pile of potatoes. I thought they could have used some addition, some alteration, some adaptation from a standard, although seemingly cut in house, fry, or that they could at least have been served hot. I prefer a crispier fry, but I did enjoy these, once salted and slathered in sauce.
The beans, laiden with beef, maintained a strong meat-flavor in addition to a tint of maple or brown sugar that blended well. Overall these beans were about average, but we all agreed that the beef flavor raised their bar a bit.
The small cut of a corn cob was simple, honest and served with butter. I enjoyed the cob-presentation.
Overall, I did have a good experience at Big T's, but the food really was nothing special. Big T's does have a drive-through but as Beets complained, "In my experience it takes forever."You can get better meat, better sauce, better beans, and better fries just a bit down the road and across the street at LC's (and many other places in town). Big T's is worth stopping in if you're in the area, hungry and want the KC joint atmosphere, but you can do better.
