Q39 Barbecue

So far in two days, we had two delicious but distinct types of BBQ meals.

1. First, we ate at a gas station called Joe's KC Barbecue.

2. The next stop was at a more formal, "white table cloth" dining establishment called Jack Stack.

3. The third and final restaurant on our impromptu tour would be an edgy, modern venue, where a hipster from Brooklyn could feel at home reading Yelp! reviews and drinking craft beers he's never heard of. It was called Q39.

Located on West 39th Street (about halfway between Country Club Plaza and Crown Center), we found Q39 at the end of a strip mall next to a nail salon. What it lacked in neighborhood, it definitely made up for in interior decor.

When you walked in, you felt like you were at a cool new bar/restaurant made for a younger crowd. My father, however, said it felt like he was in a Buffalo Wild Wings, but that wasn't a criticism. It was relaxed, clean, plenty of big screen TVs showing ESPN and had great food. What more could a guy ask for?

When we arrived at 6:45PM on Memorial Day Monday, there was a bit of a crowd gathered just inside the door. Fortunately, my father was able to make advance reservations online.

While Q39 didn't offer reservations on the well known OpenTable, they did offer them on Yelp!'s Seat Me (see bottom right corner in the screenshot photo).

Making reservations were simple, though you clearly had to have a Yelp! account to use it. We even received text messages earlier in the day to remind/confirm our seating - instead of having someone from the restaurant surprise call you from a random number you probably don't have in your phone. For those of you who prefer to never speak to an actual human being, this Yelp! Seat Me was a perfect solution.

We were seated right away in the very spacious dining room.

Off in the corner, you could see a Trophy Wall where they have all the awards their food must have won. At least we thought they were for their barbecue. For all we know, it could have been a bunch of bowling trophies from the local high school.

We were given some adult menus and a kid's menu for me. Similar to Jack Stack, the menu was more complete and had a lot of very interesting items besides barbecue.

But while some pretzel bread with cheddar dipping sauce could hold a 3.5 year over, we didn't come for anything besides their award winning barbecue. Given my father's penchant for over-ordering when traveling (he says he "wants to try everything in case he'll never come back"), can you guess what he ordered?

Yes, you guessed correctly. My indulgent epicurean father went with the "Judge's Plate" of 3 meats. he chose the spare ribs, brisket and pulled pork. It came with a side of cole slaw and a choice of baked beans or french fries.

Given this was such a hipster/millennial type of restaurant, my parents pulled out their smart phones and started photographing their food in super close range.

Remember, if you don't post about it immediately, then it never happened and you were never there.