New BBQ Joint Smokes Overland Park: Adam’s Rib Topples Hayward’s as OP’S King of Zing
I have seen the future of kick ass BBQ in Overland Park and it is Adam’s rib...
Once upon a time that title belonged to a gentleman named Hayward Spears. To this day Spears operates Hayward’s Pit Bar B Que at College and Antioch. During Hayward’s ’70s and ’80s heydays, it owned the barbecue bragging rights for Johnson County. It was also one of the first suburban eateries to cash in on then new liquor-by-the-drink laws in the days when only private clubs could dole out Jagerbombs and the like. It’s spanking new, upscale digs and panoramic views of Corporate Woods merged the otherwise gritty art of eating Kansas City barbecue with fine dining.
That was then…
Today Hayward’s has grown a bit long in the tooth and shopworn to be charitable. And those long lines of suburbanites from its glory years are far fewer and further between by my measure.
Enter former Hayward’s manager Hope Loehr...
Her 10 week old adam’s rib barbecue joint at 9148 Santa Fe Drive is going over huge with the town’s leading connoisseurs of the smoked meat art, police and UPS drivers.
Think of it as a best-kept secret that won’t last long…
The story behind the story?
“I started at Hayward’s when I was 14,” Loehr says. “I was in the 9th grade and we had some great people that came in there. George Brett came in, Frank White. There were long lines out the door – it was amazing – it was so great.”
So who is this New Yorker well on her way to becoming barbecue baron of Johnson County?
“I mean, my degree is in graphic design, I’m an artist,” Loehr says. “But my love is the restaurant business. I left Hayward’s in the 1990s to open up Adam’s Rib at the Loehman’s Plaza in Overland Park because Hayward didn’t want to open Haywards II.”
Loehr’s business collapsed under the weight of 20 some partner-investors diverging opinions and she went to work as senior restaurant manager at Ameristar casino.
Which brings us to her new adam’s rib in the space of the former John Barleycorn restaurant and bar…
“I came in here and gutted this entire place to the brick walls,” she says. “There’s new plumbing, new electricity, new everything. My chef built every wall you see; he’s a (finish) carpenter. We did everything ourselves, the tile, all the staining, all the painting – it took us six months. And we bought all new tables and chairs.’
As for the menu, “It’s ours, my chef’s and mine,” Loehr says. “We make everything in house, nothing is frozen except the French fries and the onion rings. All the ribs are custom cut for us, so you won’t find them anywhere else. We make our sauce every other day – and we have a regular and a hot – so there’s nothing sitting around. Everything is as fresh as can be.”
Loehr’s signature dishes?
“The Carolina sandwich is very hot, people love that,” she says. “It’s made with hand pulled, pulled pork. I hand pull it myself and take any gristle or fat out of it. And we have a Brisket Burger, it’s smoked brisket on a really good Kaiser bun that I put a slice of cheddar cheese and an onion ring on. And the Triple Stack is three pieces of Texas Toast with three different types of meats on it and two slices of cheddar cheese. It’s a very hardy sandwich – it’s a great sandwich if you’re hungry.”
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I agree whole heartedly. Atmosphere is wonderful, food is even better! I am becoming a new regular.
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:23 pm
YOU GOTTA TRY THE FRITTERS TOO! LOVE ADAMS RIB! I DRIVE FROM WESTPORT OUT THERE FOR GREAT BBQ!!!!
June 4th, 2009 at 6:55 am
“It’s spanking new” – please remove the apostrophe.
“fewer and further between” – I think you mean farther – farther is distance.
“I hand pull it myself and take any grilse or fat out of it.” – the word is gristle
“he’s a finished carpenter” – the man may be finished, but his occupation is finish carpenter.
Just trying to help…thanks.
-Dick
June 4th, 2009 at 9:40 am
Adam’s Rib has a good thing going for sure. The portions are ridiculous which probably accounts for the police and UPS drivers. In general it’s your best BBQ bet next to the OP Jack Stack.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Hey Dick,
“It’s spanking new” doesn’t need an apostrophe removed because it means “It is”.
June 4th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I worked with Hope at Ameristar. Everything she does is first rate. I would not expect less.
June 4th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Great a teacher who wants to correct everything. The biggest mistake in barbecue history in KC. KC Masterpiece getting rid of their fritters. Can’t wait to check this place out. Also though not barbecue. Love Strouds turkey lunch special on Thursday I believe. Had enough for three meals.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Bill,
The “it’s” in question is possessive, which means it should not have an apostrophe.
But thanks for playing. Hearne’s not going to correct it anyway.
June 28th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
I ate dinner there on 6/27/09. I was very disappointed. If you are going to have ordering at the counter you need to have it well organized so customers can tell what is going on. Here, those waiting to order end up in line right in front of the customers coming in the door. The real order window is hidden back in the corner and nobody knows they are supposed to go there. Then you must wait at your table and listen intently so you don’t miss them calling out your name when your order is ready. As for the food, average at best. I had a 2 meat combo selecting the baby back ribs and brisket with baked beans for a side. The rib portion was four very small ribs and the brisket was a very small serving. The bean serving was a good size and they were pretty good. Another in our party had a rib combo and his rib portions amounted to only three ribs. We both felt it was a very poor value for $10.99 or so. We also both noted that there was very little smokey flavor in any of our meats. They seem to depend on some type of liquid smoke added to their sauce to provide the smoke flavor. Very nice facility but service, portion size and quality were all lacking in my opinion, and I eat a lot of BBQ. I really recommend going to table service and scrapping the counter servive unless they reconfigure the layout it to make it less confusing and congested at the front door.