Peregrine Honig's unborn fawns weren't the only Kansas City flesh to star on reality television last night. The Travel Channel's Man v. Food also spotlighted this fair hamlet, with host Adam Richman racing around town clogging his arteries and interviewing people who make Kansas City look like a town full of fiendish meat addicts.
It was beautiful -- right until he got to the versus part.
Richman started at Oklahoma Joe's, the venerable gas station/barbecue shack that's simultaneously won and stopped the hearts of locals for the past several years. He tasted a little bit of everything, but focused on the burnt ends, breaking down the process step-by-step and practically drooling over the outcome.
From there he hit Stroud's, where he marveled over the simplicity of its famous fried chicken -- breaded with nothing more than four, salt and pepper, and painstakingly tended to in a shallow pan rather than a deep-fryer. He also found a woman who wore a Stroud's sweatshirt to Shroud's and threatened to drink gravy through a straw. That's real commitment.
Finally, Richman came to the crux of the show -- the part where he takes on a city's greatest food challenge. In Kansas City, this apparently is the Ultimate Destroyer Challenge at Papa Bob's Bar-B-Que, a sandwich the size of a small baby. It features six different meats, including two three full-sized hamburger patties, and a plate of french fries you could build a fort with.
It was the grossest thing on TV since the Great Snooki Crotch Shot of '09.
Richman failed. In fact, he didn't even come close, barely scarfing down half of the sandwich. But that's not surprising. No one has ever defeated the Ultimate Destroyer, which makes it less of a Challenge and more of a Thing You Honestly Can't Do, But If You're Dumb Enough to Try, By All Means, We'll Take Your Money.
By the time it was all over, I couldn't decide if I wanted to puke or look up the hours of operation at Stroud's. It was all very confusing. But Richman -- whose show I'd never seen, and who was pretty likable when he wasn't eating -- painted a nice, loving picture of KC, which is always fun to watch.
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I have to sadly agree, made me hungry for OK Joes and Strouds...but a good KC episode!
You just coined a great nickname, and you got it right for fried foods: Shrouds. A wonderful Freudian slip. Love the stuff. I'm being measured for my shroud even as we speak.
Should have just had Okie Joes make a 6 lbs Z-man. That would have been more fun
What i couldn't get over was how often Adam kept saying, "It's so dry ... it's so dry ..." while pouring on the sauce. That is not a sign of good bbq. I bet he was thinking, "I wish this was OK Joe's."
That thing was awful and unappealing. Those hamburgers looked like pucks. I can't imagine many people even want to try with the $48 price tag if you fail. I start to feel uneasy after eating 1/2 pound of one barbecue meat, let alone 7.
As for food challenges in KC, there are a few popping up. Amigo's in KCK has had multiple ones in the past, the current being a giant hamburger. El Azteca in Raytown has a 5lb burrito that was pretty tasty the time I tried it. Wheat State Pizza in Olathe has a giant pizza. The owners of La Cocinita Mexican in Overland Park once mentioned a 12 tamale challenge.
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