Friday, May 21, 2010

Visiting Hallmark and Eating BBQ in Kansas City

Post # 1 for today......read the following post for more about our stay in Missouri.

We read about the great reputation Kansas City has for fixing great barbecue.  Sooooo we knew we had to get us some!  We looked around for a day or two and then we got a couple of suggestions as blog comments.  Turquoisemoon suggested Oklahoma Joe's and that one sounded good. 

On the way to our BBQ lunch we stopped off at the Visitor's Center for Hallmark Cards.  It is on Pershing and 25th Street in the Crown Center Complex in Kansas City.  It wasn't any big deal, but it was a fun place to see.  We were on our way for BBQ anyway.  We saw several displays for their cards throughout the years.  Founder Joyce Hall (a man) started the company to sell picture postcards and it has grown into this gazillion dollar business. 

We were greeted by 2 friendly ladies at the main entrance.  They pointed us on the way for the self-guided tour.  They gave us some free cards, too.   (click on photo for larger view)


After looking at scads of card displays and a showcase of their famous Christmas ornament collections, we watched a woman making a die cut for one of their greeting cards.  Then we saw a man working a stamping press for afixing some gold foil writing to some greeting cards.  He took time to explain the process to several of us standing there.


Hallmark's Maxine was on hand if you wanted to have a photo taken with her.  We chose not to.


After this tour of Hallmark, we continued on our way to Oklahoma Joe's for that lunch.  The restaurant is located inside a convenience store at a gas station, but off on it's own side.

When you go inside you wait in line to place our order.  Then you take it to a table to enjoy.  We had no idea what to order, so I asked the young lady standing in front of us.  She gave us all sorts of good advice and told us what were her favorite items.   So we ordered the Smokey Joe special which was brisket and pork combo with the special BBQ sauce.  We split an order of fries and a bowl of BBQ beans. 


It was out of this world fantastic BBQ !!!!!   I have to say it was even better than the BBQ we ate down in Texas.  (don't tell the Texans I said that)   If you are ever in the Kansas City area....do not hesitate, but RUN out for some great BBQ.  You won't be sorry.


Until next time.....so long for now!

8 comments:

Gypsy said...

I agree that Kansas City BBQ is fantastic. Sometimes I like SW Virginia and KY BBQ as well, without all the sauce. Just plain BBQ smoked meat.

turquoisemoon said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed Oklahoma Joe's.

Al Bossence said...

I think you should have gone to the BBQ first & then brought some food back for Maxine at Hallmark. She's looking a little thin there in her picture.

Sam&Donna Weibel said...

Boy that looks like a great sandwich, Sam has also commented on how good the KC BBQ is as he had some on his trips in the area. Thanks again for e-mailing your answer to our questions. Be safe out there, we are thinking of you. Sam & Donna.

Happytrails said...

Thanks for your post. I enjoyed the info about Hallmark and never would have thought that Joyce Hall was a man. You BBQ sandwich looked really good. Must have been a good restaraunt, there seemed to be a large crowd in line. Mike & Gerri

Jerry and Suzy said...

Every area of the south has its own special type of BBQ, and we have enjoyed several of them -- can't say which we like best. Yours sounded delicious.

Rick said...

I think I'd have passed on the Hallmark place and spent an extra hour at Oklahoma Joe's! That's a great looking bbq sandwich!

KarenInTheWoods said...

YUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYY!

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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
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