Kansas City Barbecue Restaurant in San Diego

Barbecue Restaurant in San Diego

I feel the need...the need for mediocre barbecue!
Article written by Chris Long

In my never-ending search for great barbecue I ended up at Kansas City Barbecue in Downtown San Diego. In case that italicized line above confused you this is where the “sleazy” bar scene from the movie Top Gun was filmed. Sleazy is actually fine when it comes to good barbecue but you usually have to be able to back up the sleaze with good food.

This place gets my first “meh” rating. The atmosphere is riddled with movie memorabilia and vintage license plates and has a certain rustic feel but the food just didn’t live up to expectations. The pork ribs must have came from an anorexic pig because they hardly had any meat on them. The chicken sandwich was good but over cooked and served on week-old Von’s hamburger buns. The corn on the cob was obviously store-bought frozen and boiled way too long. The only saving grace was the barbecue sauce. It was both sweet and spicy at the same time, much like yours truly, which is exactly what you want in a barbecue sauce. Now I’m not sure if they make it there but most likely came off the grocery truck as well.

For all you booze bags that like to get into bar fights listen up. This is most likely your place. The bar is pretty big and is really nasty and rough, much like the regulars. They have many beers available though their on-tap selection is pretty limited.

Bottom line: if you’re requesting a flyby of this place I would have to throw in another cheesy Top Gun line right about......................now: “That's a negative ghostrider, the pattern is full.”