Pickled veggies are a great element to cut barbecue’s smokey richness, but at Smoke ‘n’ Seoul, you won’t receive the usual go-to of pickles and onions on your meat platter. Instead, you’ll be served glorious, tangy and funky kimchi.
Husband and wife Greg and Nancy Stears’ Korean barbecue food truck relies heavily on Korea’s most popular side dish throughout their menu. There’s the popular, and, according to Greg, most approachable menu item, the pulled pork sandwich, which is sauteed and topped with kimchi. Kimchi is also in the mac and cheese and potato salad. For Greg, it was an obvious choice to pair Korean flavors with his hearty smoked meats. As a former engineer, he says once the concept came to him, it was impossible to shake off. Nancy, however, grew up in Queens, New York, in a traditional Korean household, and she struggled to envision her family’s cuisine infused with KC’s prized culinary genre. She’s not the only one.
“A lot of people are excited about [our food], but there’s definitely people that are apprehensive,” says Greg. “We get people asking all the time ‘What is kimchi?,’ and when you tell them it’s fermented cabbage, people don’t get too excited about that.”
For the wary or new customer, fear not. The Korean elements throughout Smoke ‘n’ Seoul’s menu rarely set themselves apart from the dish they’re infused in, and that’s a good thing. The kimchi, which is made from scratch and sauteed in the pulled pork, tastes zingy, yes, but also balanced and tamed. The brisket rubbed with gochugaru, or Korean red pepper flakes, still tastes traditional and delicious. Like Greg and Nancy, Smoke ‘n’ Seoul’s cross-cultural menu is more of an act of marriage than it is a random pairing.
Based in Gardner, Greg smokes the meats in an offset smoker in his driveway (the rest is made in the Stears’ commercial kitchen right in their home). He says his baby back ribs—smoked, smothered in their spicy gochujang-based Mama Ssong sauce and finished on the grill—are unlike any other in town. Admittedly, due to their intensive process, the ribs make rare appearances. Luckily, Smoke ‘n’ Seoul pops up around the metro regularly (the best way to keep updated is their website, smokenseoul.com). If you don’t see ribs on the menu, start with the kimchi pulled pork sandwich and follow it up with the kimchi potato salad, and, as Greg says, “embrace the funk.”
Runners-Up
Point & Flat BBQ
Chef-driven and craft forward, Point & Flat consistently pops up at Johnson Country’s Discourse Brewery and Friction Beer Co. in Shawnee. You can’t go wrong with a platter of tender meats, but upon a recent visit, the brisket grilled cheese on chile cheese sourdough made a lasting impression.
SMOAK Craft BBQ
SMOAK is a no-brainer when enjoying sports in KC. Whether you’re at Kauffman or Arrowhead stadium, the wood-fired meats will ensure a good time no matter the score.
Kansas City Smoked
Ronnie Oswald’s barbecue truck is popping up at the Overland Park Farmers Market every Saturday morning this summer. It sounds cliché, but don’t skip the brisket here. Or the mac and cheese. Or the sourdough French toast served with a fried egg and blackberry glazed pork belly.
