Q39 – Chicken Wings And Pork Ribs
I readily admit that I’ve never bought into the hype of Q39. A lot of people rave about them, but I’ve never been that impressed with their barbecue. My Mom, who had never eaten there before, wanted to try it this Mother’s Day, so i thought it would be a good opportunity to try something there that I haven’t had before. I decided to try the “Q Pork Spare Ribs” and “The Best Wings On The Planet.” More on that later.
We went to the Q39 restaurant in Overland Park, which is located on the corner of College and Antioch. We arrived around 5:30 on Sunday night and got a table fairly quickly, but the restaurant was pretty full. And loud. If you’re a fan of a quiet dining experience, this isn’t the place for you. They pack you in like sardines with tables that are placed very close together.
Our service was good all evening, but there were unexpected charges on our bill when we got it. We did not get menus. They had a table tent at each table with a QR code to scan to view the menu on your phone. There were four of us and three of us ordered the brisket plate with burnt ends. I was the oddball and ordered the wings and ribs. We received our food about 20 minutes after ordering.
The ribs come with a honey glaze barbecue sauce on them. I enjoyed them quite a bit. They had a really good flavor. My only complaint is that these are “fall off the bone” ribs. Some people like their ribs that way, but I like the meat to stick to the bone. These fell apart way too easily and were very messy. But they were tender and flavorful, so that is a minor complaint.
As for the “best wings on the planet?” Definitely not. I suppose it’s a self-proclaimed moniker. The wings had a chipotle barbecue sauce on them. I wasn’t a fan of it. They also advertise these as “jumbo wings.” Maybe I’ve eaten at The Peanut too much, but I would not classify these wings anywhere near “jumbo.” Take a look and judge for yourself.
Sure, they may be a bit larger than buffalo wild wings, but I wouldn’t falsely advertise them as “jumbo.”
I bought three of the meals and the total was $118.93. As I looked over the bill, I noticed that they charged a dollar up-charge if you order vegetables as your side dish. When we ordered, the waiter rattled off the side options and never said that there was any kind of up-charge if you wanted vegetables. Three of us ordered vegetables. When I mentioned it to the waiter, he said nothing. No apology, no explanation, just silence. Alrighty then.
Speaking of the sides, I had coleslaw and the aforementioned vegetables. Neither was anything special. The coleslaw tasted like something you might buy in a container at your local discount grocery store and the vegetables tasted like they were nuked. I don’t choose my barbecue restaurant choices based on the side dishes, but for as expensive as this place is, you’d think they could do better than that.
My Dad mentioned his brisket was tender but had no taste to it. He said he wouldn’t ever go back, and if he was ever cajoled into it, he wouldn’t order what he ordered on this evening.
I liked my ribs and my Mom said she really liked her meal, so perhaps I’m being too hard on this place. I just don’t understand why it’s so over-hyped and overpriced. It’s slightly above average barbecue that costs way more than it should. My suggestion is to pass on the wings and brisket. A lot of people rave about Q39 and those people will disagree with me, but it is not changing my opinion. There are a lot of better choices for barbecue in Kansas City.
