Mighty, meaty ribs.
That was the primary takeaway from a recent visit to the newish Sierra BBQ in Lenexa, the second restaurant—but a new concept—for owner Ryan Edwards.
Moist, flavorful smoked meats were excellent across the board, but two varieties of pork ribs—spare ribs and baby back ribs—made the biggest impression.
The spare ribs were substantial but still fall-off-the-bone tender while the baby backs were firmer, leaner and so meaty you almost feel like you’re eating a bone-in roast, not a rib. For both, a very judicious use of seasoning allowed the meat and smoke pas de deux to take a starring role.
“I don’t think overcomplicated rubs are the key to good barbecue,” says Edwards, who also acts as the executive chef at his two restaurants, Sierra BBQ (11099 Lackman Road, Lenexa) and Sierra Grill (8659 Penrose Lane, Lenexa). “If I’m cooking a steak, especially on a wood-fired grill, I want that steak to taste like steak. I don’t like the idea of putting so many spices on it that you don’t taste the meat and smoke.”
Edwards comes to barbecue from a fine dining background. A Kansas City native, he attended culinary school in Las Vegas and then worked at several acclaimed restaurants there, including Thomas Keller’s Bouchon at The Venetian and Hubert Keller’s Fleur at Mandalay Bay.
Edwards returned to his hometown to open his own place, the original Sierra Grill, in a refurbished former Quiznos in Lenexa. He moved that operation to a larger space in Lenexa’s burgeoning City Center development and recently converted his original location to Sierra BBQ.
The menu offers few surprises—for now.
Sides include a well-executed baked potato, something you don’t see often at counter-service barbecue joints, as well as potato salad, a creamy slaw, tomato-forward pit beans and classic cheesy corn.
Platters come on metal trays with thin-sliced pickles and pink pickled onions. All meats are served unsauced, with three sauce options on the table.
Of the sauces, the spicy BBQ is your best bet. Visible chili seeds make it look more fiery than it turns out to be on the palate, with the heat providing a welcome counterpoint to the sweet tomato flavor of the base. The basic sauce is sweet and tomato-forward; it could use a little more vinegar to balance it. The third option is a mustard-based Carolina style. I’ve always found such sauces to be overpowering, masking the meat instead of enhancing it, and this was no exception.
Edwards considers Sierra BBQ to be an ongoing work in progress. He’s adding a deep fryer in response to customer requests for french fries, but that’s just for starters. Smoked pork belly sliders with a bourbon glaze will be added to the menu soon, along with hard seltzers and pre-made cocktails to augment the existing beer list. For now, the concept is counter service, but Edwards is considering table service in the evenings.
“We are going to continually work on the concept there, listen to feedback,” he says. “I’m doing the restaurants to make people happy. I’m always open to new ideas.”
