With brisket egg rolls and noodle curry, Thai-inspired barbecue restaurant opens in JoCo

When Teddy Liberda would whip up a spread of traditional Thai food for family gatherings, barbecue was usually in the mix.

But he put his spin on the Kansas City favorite — giving it a Thai-influence through brining or marinating the meat in fish sauce or lemongrass.

Now the public can try this Thai barbecue at his new Buck Tui BBQ. It opened Thursday for limited hours and curbside only. The dining room of the former Plowboys Barbeque, at 6737 W. 75th St., is under renovation and should open by March for full-service with a bar.

“We’re not changing the game, we’re adding a lane,” said owner and pitmaster Liberda. “But we’re paying respects to our forefathers — Arthur Bryant’s, Ollie Gates who was recently inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame. We’re just making it more diverse.”

Buck Tui is a term of endearment for a chubby boy, he said. The stocky Liberda has been called that by family and friends since he was small.

Liberda’s mother, Ann, was born in Thailand and met his father, a U.S. Air Force pilot, during the Vietnam War. She came to the U.S. in the mid-1970s and opened Thai Place in Overland Park, later adding more locations. Ann currently owns and operates Thai Diner in Lawrence.

“She was a pioneer with Thai food in Kansas City,” he said.

He started working in her restaurants while in middle school and later trained at the former Florida Culinary Institute. He opened Waldo Thai in 2018 with his wife, Pam, who also is executive chef. They have two daughters in the Shawnee Mission School District.

When the pandemic started, they needed to beef up sales at Waldo Thai and started offering Buck Tui BBQ pop-ups there and at other restaurants, events and then the Farmers’ Market in Overland Park, where it built a Johnson County following.

He uses the flavors of northeastern Thai cuisine in his Kansas City barbecue and locally sourced ingredients.

The menu includes brisket egg rolls and Tiger Cry wings (in his spicy Tiger Cry sauce) for appetizers; chicken ginger soup; smoked mushroom salad; The X Man sandwich (brined brisket, pulled pork, Thai sausage, barbecue sauce, papaya slaw and Tiger Cry sauce on a Farm to Market Bread Co. egg bun); a bánh mi (with smoked chicken, chicken liver mousse, ginger pickles and jalapeno on a hoagie); noodles, rice bowls and brisket curry.

It also has Thai BBQ platters with a choice of brisket, chicken, pulled pork, sausage or ribs. Sides include papaya slaw, sticky rice and jasmine rice.

Buck Tui BBQ plans to start a Sunday brunch in late March or early April, and will have a new deck in front seating about 30 people.

Liberda had signed a lease for a space in south Johnson County but a water pipe burst in the building and pushed the opening back. Then he heard that Plowboys wanted to close its Overland Park location just east of Metcalf Avenue.

“It was a win-win. He needed out and I needed in,” he said.