Devan Dignan takes a deep dive into KC’s ’cue scene with his constantly updated online Kansas City Barbecue Bible

Photography by Zach Bauman.

When Devan Dignan came to Kansas City, he was looking to fully immerse himself in all the city has to offer, and being a lover of food, delving into KC’s barbecue scene was natural.

So he begat the Kansas City Barbecue Bible—probably the most complete and comprehensive online guide listing every barbecue purveyor in the expanded KC metro region, including nine Missouri counties and five Kansas counties. 

Dignan’s “Bible” takes its subject matter seriously but is written in a wry, tongue-in-cheek style (“In the beginning, Henry Perry created Kansas City barbeque”). 

It lists more than 100 barbecue restaurants, divided into Missouri and Kansas “testaments.” Each testament is divided into “books” by county – i.e., “The Book of Jackson,” “The Book of Wyandotte.” Entries for individual restaurants range from 200 to 300 words and include addresses, hours and, in most cases, “What Should I Get?” and “Buyer Beware” recommendations. It’s not a ranking, though; the restaurants are listed alphabetically by county.

In two years, the bible has garnered more than 13,000 page views.

The barbecue bible was originally posted in 2023, and Dignan updates it monthly. It is an outgrowth of an earlier project, a website called disKCovery, designed to promote all the good things about Dignan’s adopted hometown. 

“Once I moved to Kansas City and dove into all that the city had to offer, exploring this city’s barbeque scene and learning all I could about it was of the utmost priority,” says Dignan, who grew up on a farm a few hours north of KC. Dignan credits raising hogs and cattle on the farm for fostering his appreciation for meat and its preparation.

Dignan launched the Barbecue Bible’s parent site, disKCovery, in 2021 and includes posts on everything from the best fried chicken and doughnuts to neighborhood guides, local theater, the Parade of Hearts and more.

Like more than a few unique creative efforts launched in the early 2020s, Dignan was spurred by the impact of the Covid pandemic. He saw a lot of the things he loved in Kansas City struggling to survive and wanted to do something about it. “My desire was to, as safely as possible, get people out there to support the local sights and small businesses,” he says.

Dignan describes the overall venture as a labor of love and estimates that he devotes more than 400 hours a year to maintaining it and adding new articles.

The disKCovery site also includes Dignan’s two-part ranking of the region’s 24 best barbecue restaurants, separate from the Bible. 

His top three:

Slap’s BBQ, 553 Central Ave., KCK

Joe’s Kansas City, 3002 W. 47th Ave., KCK

Chef J BBQ, 1401 W. 13th St., Suite G, KCMO

For that list, he provides a fairly deep dive into his evaluation standards:

“The primary consideration has to be the pedigree of smoked meats,” he writes. “Yet, an appraisal of the sandwiches, sides and sauces is equally essential. The level of service, accessibility, general atmosphere, value for the price, flexibility of the menu, uniqueness of signature offerings and overall atmosphere all have to be factored in as well.”  

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