The story of barbeque is one of patience and tradition. You take an unpopular cut of meat that may be tough or inexpensive. You place it over low heat for most of a day and you end up with something glorious. You do this for many years and eventually you may get to open a restaurant. Once that happens, you must not change what you do because barbeque fans demand consistency, as well as familiarity. If you’re going to call your barbeque, ‘Kansas City barbeque,’ it better be true to the style.

But just as coffee culture has slowly shifted over the past decade in Kansas City, the axis of KC barbeque is ever so gently tilting. The Rub puts barbeque in a bowl in Olathe, Plowboys BBQ is currently playing around with brisket in an egg roll, Q39 has table service and craft cocktails, and now Char Bar Smoked Meats and Amusements (their Pickled Pig sandwich is above) is looking at the flavor of smoke as a defining menu concept (a link and peek at their menu is below). The joy of where this goes is that we’ll find new ways to enjoy the food that defines this city.

We’ve also got your weekend guide ready. You can sip bold beers at the Strong Ale Fest in Westport, toast the return of JJ’s Restaurant (which reopened this Wednesday) and chill out at Snow & Company in Gladstone. Eat well.

A big thank you to this month’s newsletter sponsor, About the Coffee (3185 Terrace). This three-year-old coffee lover’s paradise has all manner of brewing gear for sale and is a great place to learn how to get the most out of your coffee equipment. Brew better.