Greedy Man's BBQ & Grill...A True Up-and-Comer

We're back in class for Missouri Bar preparation and after a half week I needed a BBQ injection. I spent three hours trying to concentrate on Federal Civil Procedure when all I wanted to do was get out of the classroom and fill my gluttonous gut with meat and sauce.

A friend, Mike Carrey sat next to me in class and suggested we drive down Volker, take a right on Troost and stop by Greedy Man's BBQ & Grill. We pulled around to park after spying an older man standing on the side of the road with sign beckoning us into Greedy Man's.

I scoured the menu, which was posted across the bottom of the counter, to find no pork sandwich, much to my chagrine. In addition to BBQ, the menu had several sandwich options including multiple versions of a KC style Philly, whatever that means (I should have asked. My bad.) a variety of burgers, including a turkey version, chicken wings with different kinds of sauce, fried fish and shrimp and a standard helping of sides.

I ordered the Big BBQ Beef sandwich, the closest item to my control group, with fries. Mike ordered the Smoked Turkey with Macaroni Salad because they were out of Potato Salad, although they were working on a fresh batch.

I'd like to acknowledge that Greedy Man's prices were among the best I've seen in KC. My meal was $8.00 and Mike's was only $6.50.

The wait was a bit longer than most BBQ joints but usually a medium length wait is a good sign. Too short, and the food is ready before you get there. Too long, and you're just annoyed.

The walls were laiden with records, jazz pictures, guitars and horns and of course press clippings. I walked around taking pictures and read some of the clippings to get a bit of Greedy Man's backstory.

Greedy Man's, owned by Steven Dawkins who had dreamt of owning his own restaurant, is a small, tight hole in a string of buildings with only a handful of tables. The establishment grew from Greedy Man's Lunch Box, a lunch truck that Dawkins used to operate. Dawkins also has a barber's license and is a part-owner of a barber shop.

The young man at the counter, who was friendly and helpful, inquired why I was taking pictures. He said he thought I was scouting to start up a business. I explained my purpose and he asked us several times if everything was cool. It was. Mike said the last time he was there that Dawkins was around and was just as friendly.

While waiting I noticed that there was a drink called Watermelon Woodland. Mike mentioned that last time he was here he found out they make their own soda. When I inquired at the counter to procure one of these unique beverages I was informed they were out. He instead offered me a small cup to taste the Kansas City Peach Tea, which I ended up ordering. The tea was sweet without seeming sugary. I'm not much of a tea drinker so I don't have much to compare it to but I can say I liked it.

An older couple was waiting at the next table and got their food to go which seems to be common there as our food was handed to us across the counter in plain brown bags that held our meals in taped shut styrofoam containers.

I unwrapped my meal to find a reasonable portion for the price I paid. Not what I'd call an abundance but certainly not scant. Actually, the meal seemed appropriate for lunch; there was enough to fill me up but not enough to knock me out as tends to happen at many BBQ establishments.


The sliced chunks of beef came on a plain white bun and the sandwich was simply tasty. The meat had a little fat that I only really noticed because I was examining it closely. Both meals had the character of food that we would have ordered outside at a carnival, concert or festival, meaning a solid combination of price, fuel, texture and taste.

I wouldn't say the meal blew me away but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The rub had a chili powder punch with an unstated strength that refused to overpower the background flavors. Once again, I want to say paprika was involved but I can't really be sure.

A sweet sauce, Baby Ray's I found out later, was spread more than sparingly across the bun. It wasn't quite dripping, but, as the worker at the counter explained, this sandwich was meant for you to taste the rub. The sauce was there for accompaniment, a bass keeping the beat for a lead guitar.

Mike offered me a bite of his sandwich so I had him pull me off a few pieces of the thinly sliced turkey. They turkey rub kicked me across the mouth with a cajun class, but only enough to wake me up. This sandwich too was backed by a simply sweet savory sauce. Greedy Man seems to have found an even medium between spiciness and sweetness. Both sandwiches straddled that line expertly.

I've gotta say the fries could have been prepared better. They tasted as if they had been fried, allowed to sit and then refried after I ordered, which was disappointing. They were mostly crispy, pretty thick and clearly handcut. I think they were covered in the same rub as the beef although they might have had a bit more chili powder, which lingered lightly until I sipped some more peach tea. I thought the cut and spicing were about perfect and I think if I had gotten fresh fries I would have fallen in love.

Mike said the Macaroni Salad was creamy with a that chili powder kick that seems to be a running theme at Greedy Man's. I tasted it and thought it was solid, but I don't really order that side regularly so I have little to compare it to. Mike pointed out that it had a fresher taste than he often finds in such cream-based cold side salads.

Taken as a whole Greedy Man's reminds me of an article I read at Rosedale BBQ about their own restaurant's pedigree. Rosedale and many KC joints started as lunch spots to feed hungry workers a full filling meal at a reasonable price. Greedy Man's is opening new locations according to its website and the business seems to be in an evolutionary stage. I thought it was cool to see a KC joint on its way up, starting from humble roots as other establishments have in the past. You should definitely check this place out. I plan on going back myself to try the chicken wings as Hampton Williams tells me they are outstanding.