MISSOURI
“I’VE ALWAYS LOVED THE BLUES AND BARBECUE,”
Lindsay Shannon tells me on the front porch of his joint.
“I remember as a kid in the early ’60s going to the Kansas City A’s games at the old Municipal Stadium. I’d go grab a barbecue sandwich and a bleacher seat. The whole thing cost about four bucks.” (Image 94)
Image 94
A lot has changed since then. The A’s left town. Municipal Stadium is long gone, but you can still get some really great ’cue in KC. It just costs a little more.
Lindsay started barbecuing in high school and continued at college. “It was hard to find good barbecue in Philadelphia, but I did find a great joint, Bea Bea’s Lawnside. It was in a tough neighborhood. I always got a kick that it was called ‘Lawnside’ since there was no grass or trees.”
Lindsay did eventually return to Kansas City, where he sold ad space on billboards. He also met and married Jo, who did public relations.
Ever the blues freak, Lindsay was frustrated when he couldn’t find it on KC radio. He approached the local public radio station about hosting his own show in ’77. That lasted nine years; then he brought the show over to commercial radio, where it still is today. Along the way he helped establish the first Kansas City Blues Festival in 1980. “I was also barbecuing for the festival on fifty-five gallon drum barrels,” he adds with a laugh.
It took Lindsay nearly ten years, but he finally made the leap and opened up his own place in 1990. “It was only a matter of time,” Jo says.
She soon said farewell to the corporate world to join him. She handles the accounting and ordering. “The back of the house,” as Lindsay puts it. “I take care of the front.”
He named his place after the original Bea Bea’s, keeping the authenticity by locating it in a fifty-year-old building. True to the original Lawnside, there is no lawn or trees. He did change Bea Bea’s to just the initials B.B.’s, but Lindsay would not confirm or deny my suspicion that he did this after the blues legend B.B. King. (Image 95)
Image 95
The Shannons got it right, mixing live blues and barbecue and sprinkling a little Cajun in for good measure. They really succeeded in bringing a diverse group of folks together. It is not uncommon to see hardcore bikers next to suburban families next to blues lovers—all having a wonderful time. (Image 96)
Image 96: B.B.’s Lawnside Bar-B-Q 1205 E. 85th Street • Kansas City, MO 64131 • (816)822-7427
LINDSAY SHANNON’S B.B.’S LAWNSIDE BARBECUE GUMBO
You can use any kind of smoked meat such as pork, beef, chicken, iguana ... served over rice.
Peel and chop onions and then core, seed and chop peppers. Trim and chop celery and then cut okra; chop barbecue meat.
Melt butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add onions, bell peppers, celery and okra; cook, stirring occasionally, until soft (about 20 minutes). Add garlic powder and season with salt and pepper. Increase heat to high, then add water, meat, tomatoes, and chicken stock to pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until meat is fork-tender and falling apart (about 30 minutes). Add okra, red pepper, Worcestershire sauce and Louisiana hot sauce (more if you like) and continue cooking until okra is tender and gumbo has thickened. Serve over rice.