"I dream of those burned edges. Sometimes, when I'm in some awful overpriced restaurant in some strange town—all of my restaurant-finding techniques having failed, so that I'm left to choke down something that costs $7 and tastes like a medium-rare sponge—a blank look comes over my face: I have just realized that at that very moment someone in Kansas City is being given those burned edges free." —Calvin Trillin on the burnt ends from Arthur Bryant's. More

Photograph from TheJosephBoys on Flickr Barbecue has inspired all sorts of mania, but has it gone too far when a modern dance company bases a piece on the iconic American food? In mid May, dance students at the Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company in Kansas City will be performing the Gates B-B-Que Suite, inspired by Gates Bar-B-Q and Kansas City jazz: The piece is described as a "loving and playful look" at the tradition of Kansas City barbeque. Set in a barbeque restaurant, the choreography is intended to capture the "microcosm of society" in dance as people socialize and eat this favorite Kansas City cuisine. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on May 14 and at 8 p.m. on May... More

The barbecue contest at the American Royal in Kansas City essentially comprises two competitions that bring in a total of about 500 meat-smoking teams. Serious Eats walked the 20 acres of smokin' action on Saturday and came back with this photo gallery. Dig in! More

The lord moves in mysterious ways, but how often is artificial cheddar powder involved? Virgin Mary toast was just the beginning of religious visions you can eat. Kelly Ramey of High Ridge, Missouri, was just crunching along when she spotted "Cheesus," the crucifixion-reminiscent single Cheeto she's now storing in a special box. "I looked at that and thought, oh, my, that looks like Jesus...it was just like wow!" She's not selling it on eBay because "of the joy that it's bringing." The best is when pastor David Bennett of Kirkwood United Methodist Church asserts, completely straight-faced and unfazed by the episode, "people can find Jesus in each of us like she's found in this object." Whether singing gospel hymns,... More

For this week's roundup, we asked our friends Jane and Michael Stern over at Roadfood.com to name some of their fried-chicken picks. And the chicken at these joints comes with a heaping side order of charm. More

Serious Eats's Adam Kuban revisits a handful of the barbecue joints he grew up around in Kansas City. On the menu: pulled pork at LC's, ribs at Oklahoma Joe's, and burnt ends at Arthur Bryant's (pictured above). More

From back the alleys off Beale Street in Memphis to the cattle yards of Kansas City, Smokestack Lightning takes a look at urban 'cue. More