Day 5 – Coffee Failures, Kansas City and Barbecue Royalty

A concerning trend is beginning to emerge on this trip.

For the second morning in a row, we woke up with mild headaches. Medical experts would probably point to dehydration, fatigue and strong cocktails. We prefer not to speculate.

After breakfast we prepared for departure, although not everyone appeared to be operating on the same schedule. Despite having a discussion the previous evening about what time we should leave, one member of the group — who shall remain nameless — somehow missed the entire conversation and arrived late for breakfast.

The result was a delayed departure.

Well, technically.

In reality we left about 15 minutes behind schedule, which in road trip terms barely qualifies as a delay at all.

Before leaving Oklahoma City we embarked on what has become our greatest challenge of the trip so far: finding decent coffee.

Our first target was a highly rated café in the suburbs. Unfortunately, upon arrival we discovered a queue stretching out the door and a single heroic employee making every coffee by hand. Faced with a 20-minute wait and six hours of driving ahead of us, we reluctantly abandoned ship.

The backup plan was a café in Guthrie, a small town north of Oklahoma City with excellent reviews.

This seemed promising.

It wasn’t.

Somewhere between ordering and receiving our drinks, there was a complete communication breakdown. We asked for lattes and somehow ended up with four house brews that can only be described as weak, watery and deeply disappointing.

The coffee problem remains unresolved.

Onward we went.

The drive to Kansas City was the longest of the trip so far, taking us through Wichita, Kansas, where we stopped for lunch at Station 8 BBQ.

Station 8 BBQ is housed in a restored fire station, and the firefighting theme is impossible to miss. The walls are covered with memorabilia, including vintage signs, posters, paintings and model fire trucks.

Outside, a Betty Boop mannequin stands guard near the entrance holding a portable radio that pipes music into the outdoor waiting area. Inside, there are plenty of distractions to keep customers entertained while they queue, including a pinball machine, free lollies and menus available well before the ordering counter. It was all cleverly designed to make the wait feel much shorter than it actually was.

The barbecue was excellent. Maybe not the best we’ve had so far, but very, very good. At this point we’re becoming annoyingly fussy about barbecue, which probably says more about how much we’ve eaten than anything else.

After lunch we pointed the Smoke Wagon north once more and continued towards Kansas City, arriving at our hotel around 4:30pm.

Following a quick shower, the girls announced it was time for shopping and headed to the Country Club Plaza, Kansas City’s famous Spanish-inspired shopping district. Built in 1923, it was one of the first shopping centres in the United States designed specifically for motorists and is filled with fountains, sculptures and architecture inspired by Seville in Spain. Mikey and I were happy to admire it from a safe distance.

The real reason we’d come to Kansas City was waiting for us that evening.

Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que

Widely regarded as one of the best barbecue restaurants in America, Joe’s started life inside a working petrol station and still operates from the same location today. The queue was already stretching out the door when we arrived, which is generally a good sign and the upside was as you stepped in the door, there is a bar immediately to the left so the first thing you do is order and sip your drinks while you wait another 15 minutes in the queue, very civilized.

The food absolutely lived up to the hype.

The brisket was superb, the ribs were outstanding, the sides were excellent and everything just seemed to work. If we were forced to pick a leader in the clubhouse after five days of eating barbecue, Joe’s would currently be wearing the crown.

After dinner we took a short drive into downtown Kansas City and stopped at Union Station.

Originally opened in 1914, Union Station was once one of the busiest railway stations in the United States, serving millions of passengers every year. Today it has been beautifully restored and houses museums, exhibits, restaurants and public spaces beneath its enormous arched ceilings. Even late in the evening it was an impressive building to wander through and well worth the stop.

By this stage we were feeling surprisingly sensible.

So instead of finding another bar or another meal, we headed back to the hotel and called it a night at the rock-and-roll hour of 8:30pm.

Tomorrow we’ll spend the day exploring Kansas City properly.

There will undoubtedly be more barbecue.

Whether there will be better coffee remains to be seen.

See y’all tomorrow 👋