You are not a true Kansas Citian until you’ve had these 10 iconic restaurant dishes

Update: Readers share their favorite iconic Kansas City menu items. Read about them here.

Kansas City has been dubbed the barbecue capital of the world, with burnt ends a noteworthy tradition.

But locals also have other dishes they are fanatical about, ones they grew up ordering with their families. Some of these popular restaurant offerings started as short-run specials but quickly made it to the permanent menu for generations.

Their legions of fans might argue that you aren’t a true Kansas Citian unless you’ve at least tried their favorite iconic restaurant foods.

We’ve put together a list of 10 of these must-try, must-love foods, knowing full well that readers may have their own additions as well.

Dixon’s Famous Chili

Vergne Dixon sold his chili from a street cart before opening the first Dixon’s Chili Parlor at 15th and Olive streets in 1919. It is now in its third generation.

A favorite of President Harry S. Truman’s, Dixon’s chili comes in three styles (juicy, soupy with bean broth, or dry), a variety of “fixins’” including onion, grated cheese, jalapeno relish and sour cream, and a choice of “plates” such as tamale covered with chili beans and meat; beans covered with meat; and spaghetti with chili meat and beans.

Location: 9105 E. U.S. 40, Independence.

Garozzo’s Ristorante, chicken spiedini Garozzo

It’s chunks of chicken (marinated in spices, herbs, lemon, garlic and olive oil), rolled in Italian bread crumbs, skewered and charbroiled, and drizzled with Amogio sauce.

Owner Mike Garozzo is of Sicilian descent. His father’s family preferred beef spiedini, while his mother’s family favored veal. But his chicken version debuted with the original Columbus Park restaurant on April 6, 1989.

“I only had two chicken dishes. At that time people were watching their cholesterol,” Garozzo said. “My uncle suggested a chicken spiedini. I said, ‘Are you crazy? No one will order chicken spiedini.’ I had never seen it. So I made it like my grandmothers did, but with chicken. Once you try it, it’s really good.”

Locations: 526 Harrison St.; 9950 College Blvd., Overland Park.

In-A-Tub, deep-fried tacos

They use deep-fried Perez Food Products tortillas with fresh ground beef and topped with red sauce (mild, hot or extra hot) by Silva’s Foods in Kansas City, Kansas, shredded lettuce and — what sets these apart — bright yellow-orange powdered cheddar cheese.

In-A-Tub buys 10,000 pounds of the powdered cheese annually (delivered four times a year) at a cost of $46,000, and the tacos now account for just over 50% of its sales. But customers also can order shredded or nacho cheese with their tacos.

A napkin holder on the wall has the words: “Powdered cheez removal devices. Limit 65 per customer.” It serves as a warning of what’s to come.

In-A-Tub opened in 1951 as an ice cream store called 50 Flavors Isle and evolved into a restaurant by about 1959. Founder Marion Carpenter put tacos on the menu when “many area residents didn’t know what a taco was,” the next owner once told The Star.

“One of the things I’m super proud of, that I have worked to keep the recipe the same, and the powdered cheese is very hard to come by. Cheddar would be cheaper,” said third owner Aaron Beeman. “I call myself the caretaker. I’m trying to keep it the same.”

Locations: 4000 N. Oak Trafficway and 8174 N.W. Prairie View Road.

Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que, Z-Man sandwich

Jeff Stehney, founder of Joe’s, created the Z-Man sandwich in 1997, and it was a favorite of sports radio host Mike “Z-Man” Zarrick. His station ran a contest to name the sandwich, but customers were already ordering the “Z-Man.”

The original comes stacked with slow-smoked beef brisket, smoked provolone cheese and two crispy onion rings, all on a toasted kaiser roll. Customers also can order chicken and pork versions.

The Z-Man has had some national shoutouts.

Actor Paul Rudd drops in when he’s back in his hometown. He was quoted in a Bon Appetit article saying, “It’s a killer sandwich — maybe my favorite in the world.”

When Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC talk show moved to the 10:35 p.m. time slot in 2015, he welcomed Kansas City by saying: “Someone please send me a Z-Man sandwich” to celebrate.

“Thank you @joeskc for sending this delicious Z Man sandwich to my mouth,” he then posted to his Instagram.

Fans order some 245,000 Z-Man sandwiches annually.

Kitty’s Cafe, tenderloin

The cafe has been Asian-owned since it was founded in 1951 by a Japanese American couple, Paul and Kitty Kawakami, who had been confined to a U.S. internment camp out West during World War II, although they were born in the U.S.

Their restaurant quickly gained a following for its tenderloins — three thin pieces deep-fried in tempura batter, and topped with lettuce, pickles and a bit of house-made hot sauce.

Once a six-stool diner, Kitty’s Cafe is now to-go and cash only.

Location: 810 1/2 E. 31st St.

Minsky’s Pizza Cafe & Bar, barbecue pizza

Some California celebrity chefs claim to have invented barbecue chicken pizza back in the early 1980s.

But Gregg Johnson, founder of Minsky’s, thinks he was the first, and it happened by a fluke. After opening his south Plaza restaurant on March 6, 1976, he would take a break at Jake Edwards Bar-B-Que next door. Edwards suggested making a barbecue pizza.

“I said, ‘You’re kind of crazy. I have never heard of that.’ But we tried it and the employees liked it, so we put it on as a special,” Johnson said. It became a permanent feature a year later, and now Minsky’s sometimes partners with local barbecue restaurants on other specials.

“I guess I’m the father of the barbecue pizza,” Johnson said.

Also try: The top seller is Minksy’s Prime Cut with pepperoni, hamburger, American and Italian sausage, and bacon. But Minsky’s also has long had a vegetarian pizza, first dubbed the Salubrious; the name changed to the easier to pronounce Nature’s Choice in 1998.

Locations: 18 in the metro and Lawrence.

PeachTree, peach cobbler

Since opening in 1996, Peachtree has become known for its traditional Southern comfort food — fried chicken, lemon catfish, salmon croquettes, smothered pork chops, Salisbury steak and candied sweet potatoes.

Peach cobbler is one of several desserts and one of the most popular dishes, tying into the restaurant’s name.

Terrance Ramsey, general manager of the 12th Street location, won’t share the recipe beyond peaches and dough. But he said they make it fresh just before the restaurants open. They go through 10 to 12 pans a day, with about 15 servings per pan.

“We can’t keep it in stock,” he said.

Locations: PeachTree Restaurant Buffet, 600 Eastwood Trafficway; PeachTree Cafe’Teria, 2128 E. 12th St.

The Peanut, Buffalo chicken wings

The location at 5000 Main St. was a pharmacy and then a speakeasy before Prohibition ended. Owner Melinda Kenny saw a recipe in the Kansas City Star for Buffalo chicken wings around 1990.

“I thought that would be fun to do, but we created our own recipe,” she said. “We didn’t have fryers, just electric skillets, and we didn’t put them on the menu, it was just word-of-mouth.”

A year later, the Peanut installed fryers to keep up with demand. At first it was hard to get consistent wing sizes, but now her vendor, US Foods, comes through with uniform pieces.

The restaurant industry ”is all about consistency,” she said. “And people are overwhelmed with how big they are. We serve the entire wing, and it counts as one wing, and we make our own blue cheese sauce.”

Each restaurant goes through about 35 boxes a week, with nine dozen wings per box.

Also try: The BLT with cheddar cheese, red onions, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on toasted whole wheat.

Locations: Kenny owns the original location at 5000 Main St., as well as the downtown restaurant at 418 W. Ninth St. Licensees own locations in Mission, the Northland, Olathe, Overland Park and soon, south Kansas City.

Stroud’s, pan-fried chicken

Stroud’s traces its roots to 1933, when Guy and Helen Stroud opened a barbecue shack near 85th Street and Troost Avenue.

During World War II, beef was rationed, so Helen switched to pan-fried chicken.

The cooks use a simple recipe of salt, pepper and flour, but take their time frying it up in skillets instead of the easier to use deep fryers.

“It’s all in the temperature, the turning, and being careful how you are cooking,” said Tammy Ruff, general manager of Stroud’s Oak Ridge Manor in the Northland. “We are blessed with having the same two guys who have been here since 1983.”

Also try: The cinnamon rolls.

Locations: Northland, Overland Park. It also has Stroud’s Express operations in Lee’s Summit and Mission.

Town Topic, burgers

In 1937, Claude Sparks opened a diner in a little white building downtown. Now in its third generation, Town Topic still uses fresh beef with shredded onions, seared on a grill.

Lifestyle website Thrillist has dubbed it “one of the finest renditions of a diner burger in America.”

Locations: 1900 Baltimore Ave., and 2021 Broadway Blvd.

What did we miss?

Do you have iconic Kansas City dishes that you think should be on the list? Maybe Winstead’s towering Skyscraper sodas and shakes big enough to share — or not?

Some Kansas City operations are already setting up to have the next iconic dish: House-made brown butter and toasted pecan ice cream at Betty Rae’s Ice Cream, cheese slippers from Ibis Bakery, Christopher Elbow Chocolates, and Cosmo Burgers.

Tell us what you think below. Or email Joyce Smith at jsmith@kcstar.com and put “iconic dishes” in the subject line.

This story was originally published July 6, 2021 at 5:00 AM.