Luther’s BBQ now serving burnt ends, smoked wings in South KC

Pat Murray has spent the last few months eating all the barbecue he could from multiple places across the metro.

But while Murray loves barbecue, this was for work.

“What I wanted to do was familiarize myself with all the competition in town,” Murray said. “I looked at what they were doing right and what I would change.”

After six years owning and operating Murray’s Tables & Tap, at 12921 State Line Road in Leawood Village, he decided it was time to change concepts.

Murray had a partnership with Luther Saulsberry that began in 1997, when they teamed up on Murray’s Pat’s Blue Rib’n BBQ in Lawrence and Manhattan. Later, Saulsberry went on to work at other area restaurants and barbecues including Jon Russell’s Kansas City Barbeque.

Now Saulsberry will be a minority partner in Murray’s new Luther’s BBQ.

He collaborated with Murray on the menu, which includes such starters as smoked wings and barbecue nachos (with brisket, pork or chicken), entree salads, sandwiches such as smoked Reuben, grilled bologna, barbecue pulled pork tacos and veggie burgers.

Luther’s also has platters — brisket, chicken, jerk chicken, salmon and more — and several sides including hickory smoked beans, cheesy corn and mixed vegetables. But the burnt ends are the featured offering.

Murray also is in the sign business with KC Sign Express and counts among his clients some of his favorite barbecues, as well as his new Luther’s. His new sign in front of the barbecue says “Luther’s since 1997,” a nod to when he first collaborated with Saulsberry.

Murray owns the new barbecue with his wife, Leslie. Their daughter, Katie Dubin, is general manager.

Food & Wine lists ‘best bbq’

Food & Wine magazine says good barbecue was once hard to find, except for a few select areas that had an abundance. But now a decent piece of brisket or a memorable pork sandwich can be had in most states.

So in its new “The Best BBQ in Every State” list, which published Tuesday, the magazine focuses solely on the all-stars.

“Good meat, good smoke. Sauce —if any — is an enhancement, not a flood in which to drown inadequacies. No too-clever-by-half litany of sides for distraction, no expensive design jobs, a minimum of carefully laid bric-a-brac, no purposefully distressed walls — really, you don’t need walls at all. That’s barbecue. That’s barbecue at its most thrilling, anyway,” the magazine said.

For Kansas, its pick is Slap’s BBQ in Kansas City, Kan.

“Forever in the shadow of a certain town of the same name, the Kansas side of Kansas City isn’t much to look at — for the longest time, the downtown felt like the set of one of those post-apocalyptic movies, while some neighborhoods adopted an overgrown, almost rural quality.

“When it comes to barbecue, however, this city is far from asleep, having made contributions aplenty throughout the years, and certainly more recently.

“Back in the 1990’s, there was this little joint that began operating out of a gas station, roughly ten blocks west of the Missouri line. That little joint — now called Joe’s Kansas City — went on to become one of the most popular destinations in the region for Kansas City-style barbecue.

“Much more recently, brothers Mike and Joe Pearce once more pulled focus over to the Kansas side of the proverbial tracks with their no-frills Slap’s BBQ, up in the historic KCK neighborhood of Strawberry Hill.

“Real burnt ends, smoked links from the old-school sausage maker down the street, very good ribs — even after expanding capabilities, you can’t be sure they won’t sell out. (It pays to go on the early side).”

Food & Wine also recommended Jones Bar-B-Q by sisters Deborah and Mary Jones Mosely, professional pitmasters for roughly 30 years. It said to order their rib tips, smoked turkey and sausage links.

For Missouri, its pick was Big Baby Q and Smokehouse in Maryland Heights.

“The meaty St. Louis spare rib is a barbecue staple, but back in the day, St. Louis wasn’t what you’d have called a barbecue capital; Kansas City’s the one that saw most of the action, in these parts.

“That’s over now — after a last decade or so of considerable growth, there is now much to talk about, but it seems only fitting that you start off with a big old rack of ribs. Choosing the best is difficult, but start at Big Baby Q and Smokehouse, out in Maryland Heights. Here, Ben Welch, in tandem with his artist dad, smokes a great St. Louis-style rib, along with some of the better brisket in town.”

Food & Wine also mentions other St. Louis barbecues such as Smoki O’s and The Wood Shack.

“And no, nobody’s forgetting about Kansas City, where you should cancel all your other plans, go directly to LC’s Bar-B-Q, and order the burnt ends. Kansas City made them famous — well, Calvin Trillin did the heavy lifting for them — and LC’s has some of the best in town.”

810 Zone closed in OP

In May 2016, 810 Zone relocated from Leawood’s Town Center Plaza to Overland Park’s Corbin Park.

It took a corner space in a new multi-tenant building for a two-story, 8,430-square-foot sports bar with a rooftop deck.

But by early March of this year, it had posted a sign: “We are closed for the rest of the day. Sorry about the inconvenience. 810 Zone Staff.”

The owners couldn’t be reached for comment.

The sign is still there, along with another: “810 may be closed for good, but if you are still hungry, please stop by next door at the Beef Jerky Experience for some free samples.”

Beef Jerky Outlet Experience is a neighbor and says about a half dozen cars still pull up to 810 Zone every day only to find it closed.

Meanwhile broker Block & Co. Inc. Realtors said they are in talks with possible tenants, including a California-based company.

810 Zone, whose menu boasted of smoked meats, had several area locations.

Its Lee’s Summit operation closed for a remodeling in early 2016 and never reopened. Summit Group LLC purchased the building in late 2017, remodeled it and recently opened Pearl Tavern there, specializing in seafood.