There's not many things I claim to be an expert in. That said, as a kid growing up in Topeka in…read morethe 80's and 90's, I can lay claim to being a stone-cold expert in consumer fireworks. Since moving to KC in the mid 00's, we've been going to Crazy Joe's to scratch our annual fireworks itch! Yes, spending any money on fireworks is like "literally setting your money on fire," but I would submit that when given the opportunity to set off explosions and blow things up, and not only is it considered a non-jail-able offense, but rather "patriotic", then there's just about nothing more entertaining to do with your money! This is Black Cat domain, which happens to be my weapon(s) of choice! Great quality, reliability, and an impressive show are all trademarks of the brand. What really sets this apart from other explosive stops are the wonderful folks staffing the tent, the ample, graveled parking, the sheer size and selection of the stand, and, of course, competitive prices!

The prices were decent but we spent $150+ today and we got mainly their brand and have had quite a…read morefew duds

Service and food is absolutely wonderful!! For the amount of QUALITY food you get for meal is so…read moreworth it!

We ordered a family meal. We enjoyed the ribs and the beans! They were definitely the highlight of…read morethe meal. The pulled pork was average, and the brisket was very bland.

Everything was cooked to perfection, it was so good that I left six bones on my plate!! - Conor G…read more age 8

A wonderful BBQ restaurant!! Outstanding food, top notch service. And the restaurant is nice, a…read morebit loud, but I can overlook that. Try this place today!! Enjoy!!

During our late December 2025 visit, a group of 10 of us went to Blind Box BBQ for dinner, and the…read moreservice was spectacular. We shared a variety of dishes, including nachos, sandwiches, and a few Rashee plates. My personal favorites were the ribs, cornbread, and collard greens. The nachos were perfect for sharing and disappeared quickly. The kids loved the mac and cheese and cornbread, while the guys couldn't get enough of the burnt ends. In general, I think BBQ is often freshest during lunch hours, but we still had a fantastic reunion dinner. The manager even stopped by our table to check on us and shared a bit of the restaurant's history, which was a nice touch. Our family had a great evening and a memorable meal!

Arrived at 630pm. Order put in at 639pm. Got waters. Orders 2 meals, all 5 happy hour apps, and old…read morefashioned 10 min later. Still nothing and the waitress said the drink should be coming out. 25 minutes later I asked about the drink and the waitress confirmed the order was in. 5 min later and the hostess came with the drink. Food came out sooner after. There was musician there that night and we had gone thru 3 songs and his intermission before we got anything we ordered. Overall food was ok. Ribs are good and sticky. Burnt end pillows - you couldn't tell if it was just chopped beef. Not to write about the chicken sliders. Pretzel bites were like a cut up long piece with a toasted texture instead of a chewy inside. So we asked for the bill. Took 5 min to get that. We had some gift cards. Our waitress struggled with that and another waiter assigned. Overall it took another 20 min to pay the bill. The waitress came out with the bill onetime. I gave her my number for the rewards. Then, she was gone another 5 min and came back out with things for another table. I showed her the gift cards and she said she would come back. Another waiter came to take the cards and receipt. Another 5 min when she disappeared. The waitress came back with the bill with deducted gift cards and my credit card. But she didn't bring a pen. In short, they were slow in all aspects - initial order, drinks, food, and bill. What should have been a 45 minutes stay was more like 1 hr and 40 min. Food is decent but be ready for a long wait if your staff has more than 3 tables.

We were eating late lunch so it was 3pm on a Monday & pretty quiet. We tried burnt ends, the sauce…read moreoptions are good & definitely KC style. The burnt ends were very much the burnt ends of the beef - my husband really liked them but I had some dry bits that were not fun to eat around. Mac & cheese was good, not off the charts. Cheesy corn very good & nice flavor! Onion rings were panko-crust & pretty crunchy (tearing up roof of mouth) but fresh & tasty. Slaw was good enough. Overall good food, will eat here again is 3-4 out of 5 on each item. Service was great, friendly & prompt

1/2 Burnt Ends BBQ - Kansas…read more When you're in Kansas/ Kansas City area, BBQ is non-negotiable. Since we were staying near our Airbnb, we searched for a local place and landed on Burnt Ends BBQ, a restaurant that's well known for its barbecue sauces. We walked in with no expectations and were quickly seated. Our server, Lily, greeted us right away, took our drink order, and brought out complimentary cornbread bites. Those little bites were a fantastic start to the meal. If I lived nearby, I'd probably order those every visit. I had already decided what I wanted, but my wife was doing her usual "let me study every item on the menu" routine. Lily recommended the All the Ends Platter, so I changed my order and we decided to share it. The platter included beef, pork, and corned beef burnt ends. I chose the creamy coleslaw while my wife selected the baked potato salad. Presentation was excellent. Everything looked like it was going to be outstanding. Unfortunately, the flavor didn't quite match the appearance. The corned beef burnt ends were decent, the pork was just okay, but the beef was easily the best of the three. Since Burnt Ends is known for its sauces, I sampled all four. None of them were what I'd call unforgettable, but my favorites were the Thick & Bold followed by the Honey Glaze. The sides were a mixed bag. The baked potato salad was served warm, which makes sense considering it's modeled after a baked potato, but both my wife and I prefer potato salad cold. It just wasn't for us. The creamy coleslaw also seemed to be missing something. It wasn't bad--it simply lacked the flavor I was hoping for. Since neither of us cared much for the sides, my wife ordered a basket of fries. Crispy, hot, and perfectly cooked. Sometimes the simplest things are the best. After finishing the burnt ends, we decided to order a half rack of ribs. I'm glad we did. They turned out to be one of the highlights of the meal--tender, flavorful, and worth the extra five dollars. The biggest disappointment had nothing to do with the food. The dining room was uncomfortably warm. It wasn't very busy, yet it felt like the air conditioning either wasn't working or simply couldn't keep up. It definitely affected the overall experience. In the end, the service from Lily was very good, the complimentary cornbread bites were excellent, the fries were spot on, and the ribs were the best thing we ate. Overall, it wasn't a bad meal--it just wasn't the memorable Kansas City BBQ experience I was hoping for. If I were only in town for a few days, I'd probably continue exploring some of the other local BBQ spots before returning. Chef T's Scorecard: * Food: 7/10 * ‍ Service: 9/10 * Sides: 6/10 * Atmosphere: 5/10 (Too warm to be comfortable.) * Value: 7.5/10 Overall: 1/2 (3.5/5)

Fantastic! Gates Bar-B-Q Is the Best of the Best! Good…read morePeople Great Food! Beautiful place! Comfortable Dinning and Well Known for The Flavor of Gates Bar-B-Q! We Will Go here every time!

I was pleased to walk into no line at the counter. My mood soon changed when I encountered a young…read morewoman with the nastiest disposition I've experienced at Gates. Certainly not befitting of a BBQ institution in Kansas City. This was around 9:15pm. Hopefully, you can narrow down who was working the register at this time and retrain them. Food was great. Service was awful. Don't let bad employees sully such a great reputation.

Great pulled pork sandwiches wow. Service was good very friendly. I haven't tried anything else…read morebecause I always grab and go and enjoy at home. Great place for pulled pork sandwiches and I'm very picky

RJ's is always pretty good, but I hadn't been in for quite a while and I was pleasantly surprised…read morethis time. Since the weather wasn't going to cooperate for Father's Day, I decided to take Dad out for BBQ. Admittedly the first and second choices were basically unavailable due to world cup fans flocking them, so the wait times were untenable. While RJ's was busy, there was fortunately no wait. I opted for chopped brisket and turkey with fries while the old man went with a pulled pork po boy. Thought the food was really, really good. Service was excellent. The world cup was on all the TVs and the music in the background was fantastic. Overall a 5-star stop. P.S. - The Caribbean Rum Punch was a nice way to wash the meal down, very tasty.

Just wow. I don't know what happened, but the management/owners really need to get in and take a…read moregood, hard look here. Food - What I got was really good, at least a 4-star meal, possibly edging close to that 5-star. But they had run out of their signature dish, the bloomin' onion. This little appetizer is also IN many of their other dishes. Running now is not a little faux pas. The staff, while polite, was unapologetic for any of this, including the wait of 45 minutes before we discovered that they hadn't put down our party and just left us sitting with no idea WHY we were in their waiting room. This... I am sure it was a one-off. Always before, I had good food and good service. I will try them again and hopefully be able to write a redeeming review to counteract this one.

We arrived at a good time. Just after shopping, it wasn't too busy. The booth was a bit rundown but…read morenot too bothersome. McKenzie was our server. For the most part she was pleasant but on occasion her response was short and curt and a bit snide in some ways. It was 6 of us so you can imagine we needed things if it wasn't provided in a timely fashion or if she forgot. We weren't the only table disappointed or waiting quite often for her attention. Our food was delicious overall and our drinks was so potent and good.