If you only could pick 1 bbq place in KC to eat...

Family mini vacation to KC later this week to visit my brother, check out some museums and catch a ball game. Only have 1 dinner slot open to fill with a bbq place of my choosing. If you could only pick 1 in the greater KC area what would it be? We've done Gates several times and Oklahoma Joe's in the past, so they need not apply. For what its worth we'll be staying on the KS side in Overland Park, but anything within 30 miles is a viable option.

Good call on Plowboys. Love their products, may have to put to the top of the list. Oklahoma Joe's is out as we've been there already. Ribs were good when I was there, but want something new. Thanks for the input, may have to take a mini weekend without the kiddos with the sole purpose of hitting about 6 bbq destinations...

Here's what we did - Jack Stack for lunch on Thursday, as it was only half a mile from our hotel. Ribs and burnt ends, cheesy corn and baked beans. Ribs were great, burnt ends disappointing. Under done in my opinion, too much chew left to them. I could take or leave the cheesy corn, but the beans were awesome. Easily the highlight of the meal, and the ribs were pretty darn spot on. Wife had the brisket and burnt ends. She wasn't wowed by the brisket. Said half of it was really good, the other half was left on her plate because it was "off". Once again, she thought the beans were the best she has had anywhere. Ever. They were so good. But - Service, not good. Generally service isn't a big deal at a bbq shack, but this place sells itself as more of a sit down, cloth napkin joint, so I expected more attention to be paid to our table.
Lunch on Friday, we intended to do Arthur Bryant's on Brooklyn and 18th. Drove by and the line was wrapping around the building. Decided with 4 tired kids, to move on. Instead we stopped at Smokin' Guns on the north side of town. Once again, I ordered spares and burnt ends. This time, the spares were ok. Not the best I've had, but not the worst by a long shot. I prefer a more aggressive rub on my ribs. Smoke was good though. The burnt ends were better than Jack Stack, but again fell short of the vision I have in my head when I order KC burnt ends. About half of them were pretty good - tender and full of flavor - the other half could have used another 2 or 3 hours in the heat to break down. Some where chewy enough I had to discard them in my napkin. As for sides, I really enjoyed the sweet potato waffle fries, and the beans were good. Not on par with the day before, but good and straight forward. Wife had the cheesy potatoes and they were good as well. Service here was quick and friendly.
All in all, considering we had 4 kids with us, including 2 - 2 year olds, the two places were ok. I am bound and determined to find a burnt end in KC that lives up to the picture I have in my head. Next time around, we are going to aim for AB's, LC's, Plowboys, and the original OK Joe's.