Adam's Rib: OPEN for bidness

Adam's Rib
9148 Santa Fe Trail Drive (west of 87th and Antioch, east of the JoCo library)
O.P., KS

JoCo's newest barbecue restaurant opened this morning for business, and by chance I ended up becoming one of their first customers.

Any time I come across a new place that does BBQ, I am compelled to try it. Every place does their thing a little differently, which is always intriguing. (Ditto for pizza joints.)

Once I saw the main sign go up a while back, I've been drive-by stalking it about once a week to see if it was open. I hadn't planned on driving that direction today, but after seeing Owen anoint spare ribs as the bracket-busting champion of meats, my Pavlovian salivation dictated that I ditch my previous plan of getting a salad at Hy-Vee. I figured I'd check to see...

The little garage-sale-sized "Now Open!" sign brought a smile to my face. Game on.

Upon walking in the door, I was greeted warmly by an enthusiastic cashier. It took me a few minutes to figure out what I wanted, because the menu was interesting: all the normal brisket/burnt end/rib offerings, plus things like BBQ Nachos and Pacific Island Ribs. They also have a huge list of sides.

I settled on a Rib & Brisket platter with beans. Yeah, I knew it was way more food than I needed for lunch, but these three things (along with sauce) are what make or break a BBQ place for me.

I ordered at one register, then paid at another. I think the logistics will probably necessitate a change once they get busy, since people will be lined up out the door really quickly.

The second register is where I found out the place had been open all of an hour. As in, it was their first day.

They offer one size of fountain drink: 32oz. Bravo, I say. They have Strawberry and Fruit Punch at their fountain station; I know a lot of people dig those with BBQ.

They called my name, and there was my food. A huge hunk of pork ribs (three of them, I think) and big, thick slices of brisket, alongside a pickle spear, 3 slices of white bread, and a styrofoam container of beans.

I dug into my side first. The beans were THICK--about the consistency of a hearty chili. There were big hunks of brisket in there. They had a nice, sweet finish. I really enjoyed them, and I normally prefer spicy/smoky to sweet.

The ribs were huge, but I ended up having to sacrifice a portion of them...they were just too fatty. Not the intramuscular "marbling"-type fat, but big hunks of nothing but fat. Don't get me wrong; the sheer size of the portion kept me feeling far from shortchanged, and I know ribs are a long way from chicken breast on the leanness scale anyway.

My issue with the ribs was that they were somewhat "undersmoked". I had a few bites that didn't have much flavor and needed sauce. But they were cooked perfectly--just the right texture.

The brisket was cut into big, thick sheets, which is how I prefer it. It always seems juicier and smokier that way. Good stuff.

The sauce definitely hits the sweet notes harder than the spicy ones, but I liked it even given my aforementioned preferences.

Overall, the food was solidly above-average, even on this first day of operation.

But what will make the restaurant succeed, in my opinion, is the quality of people running the show. I had two different employees check on me, including the owner Hope. She wanted to know what I honestly thought of the food, and she was very receptive. More than that, she's passionate about what she's doing, and she's got friendly people staffing the place. I smiled a lot when I was there, and how often can you say that about lunch?