LC’s

Should You Book LC's?

If you are choosing between LC's and Joe's (formerly Oklahoma Joe's) for your first Kansas City barbecue stop, LC's makes a stronger case for the serious eater. Joe's has the profile and the tourist traffic; LC's has the reputation among people who follow the Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats list closely. Ranked #376 in North America in 2024 and carrying a Recommended designation in 2023 from that same guide, LC's earns its place as a reference-point stop on the Blue Parkway; a stretch of Kansas City that has shaped the city's barbecue identity for decades.

What to Expect

LC's is a carry-out-first operation on the east side of Kansas City. Walk in as a first-timer and you are likely to encounter a short line, a no-frills ordering counter, the kind of smoke that hits you before you reach the door. The pit work here is the point; long, wood-driven cooking that produces bark with genuine depth. This is not a restaurant that dresses up its product. The sourcing philosophy at a place like LC's is direct in the leading sense: the quality argument lives entirely in how the meat is handled and how long it spends over smoke, not in menu language about provenance. That approach produces results that hold up against far more elaborate operations.

For a first-timer, the guidance is simple: come for the ribs and burnt ends, which are the products that have built LC's reputation over decades of operation under founder L.C. Richardson. Do not come expecting a sit-down dining experience with tableside service. The room is functional, the focus is the food, that is the correct trade-off for what you are paying.

Ideal time to visit

LC's is open Monday through Saturday, 11 am to 9 pm, closed on Sundays. The timing advice matters here: arrive at or shortly after 11 am if you want first-pick access to what comes off the pit early in the day. By mid-afternoon on a Friday or Saturday, popular cuts can run out. Midweek lunch, Tuesday through Thursday, is the lowest-traffic window and gives you the leading chance of a relaxed order with full availability. Friday lunch is a reasonable middle ground if your schedule requires it, but expect more foot traffic. Avoid the Saturday rush if you want any control over timing.

Ratings and Recognition

• Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats, North America #376 (2024)
• Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats, Recommended (2023)

Practical Details

Hours: Monday–Saturday 11 am–9 pm; closed Sunday. Reservations: Not required, walk in. Booking difficulty: Easy. Dress: Casual, no expectations. Budget: Cheap Eats tier per OAD classification; plan for a low-cost per-head spend. Address: 5800 Blue Pkwy, Kansas City, MO 64129. Phone/website: Not publicly listed, visit in person or check current listings before travelling.

How It Compares

See the comparison section below for how LC's sits against other Kansas City barbecue options.

Pearl Picks Nearby

For a broader look at eating and drinking in the city, see our full Kansas City restaurants guide. If you want to extend your visit, our Kansas City hotels guide and bars guide cover the wider picture. Other Kansas City options worth considering include Antler Room for a more composed dinner format, Beer Kitchen if you want something more casual in a different register. blue bird bistro is a useful option for plant-forward eating. For context on how LC's fits into the broader American barbecue conversation, CorkScrew BBQ in Spring is the Texas reference point that OAD followers often compare it against. KC Turkey Leggman is the other KC street-food option worth knowing about. And if you are mapping out a broader US dining trip, Le Bernardin in New York City, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, and Smyth in Chicago sit at the opposite end of the format spectrum, useful for calibrating how KC's leading cheap eats compare to the country's highest-end tables.