I'd heard pretty good things about Zarda's Bar-B-Que, so out
of curiosity and a sense of completeness and because we were
just a couple miles away from the place we did takeout from
there, too. The burnt ends come already mixed - beef, pork,
and sausage - and sauced with this ketchupy mess; they were
truly burnt and on the whole rather unpleasant. Perhaps we
should have gone inside and sat down, so they wouldn't have
slung the dreckiest leftovers at us, but they get judged on
their worst efforts: not good.

Q's Que, another well-recommended joint, is no longer at the
Do Drop Inn but out rte 7 south of 70 in an arid-looking
neighborhood of strip malls many of whose spots are vacant.
Here you go inside for the takeout, so in a face-to-face
transaction they're not so tempted to do you wrong. Anyhow,
they treated us well, the brisket being quite tasty though
only semi-tender, the burnt ends pleasantly fatty and with
good smoke flavor. They also sell Boulevard, so I had an
amber ale while chatting with the staff (one man out back
making the order and a woman in front at the register)
waiting for our takeout package. The hot and regular sauces
both had a good cumin kick. but I found them on the sweet
side as is common around here.

The Truman Library was the attraction of the day and the
reason we were in Independence at all. Worth the trip,
especially for those interested in the Cold War, the Civil
Rights movement, machine politics, the atomic bomb, well,
just about anyone. We spent well over two hours there and
could easily have used a couple more. The town of
Independence, not so much. It seemed a bit drab, and the
Truman sites downtown were sequestered off, which was all
fine, the more to spend at the library.

Scholarship is hard work and brings on a powerful hunger,
and I'd heard about Wabash BBQ in the little town of
Excelsior Springs about 30 miles up the road. Housed in an
old train depot, this is a BBQ pilgrimage holy site, and I
was excited to try it out. Of course, such anticipation is
likely to be deflated, and it was, somewhat. Both the burnt
ends and brisket were decent, but they didn't seem up to
big city standards, and the sauce was average at best. A
good point was the $3 beers. Table service was slow but
willing. The bathroom off in the corner started to overflow
while we were there; this wasn't that awful of a deal, but
I had to go to the dingy bar next door (part of the same
outfit) to relieve myself.

As we had midday flights out, it seemed sensible to book
at the airport Hilton. As ever before, the rooms here were
acceptable, nothing special, but what was interesting was
Munchin' Hogs at Cafe Weatherby - some claim that this
hotel restaurant offers some of the best barbecue in town,
so, being slightly disappointed by the Wabash, I went
downstairs for a brisket sandwich for us to split for a
bedtime snack. The beef came, oddly, on a buttered brioche,
and presauced with a very average sauce, but never mind
that, the meat itself was tender, fatty enough for me to
enjoy but lean enough for normal people, tender, and smoked
just enough. Fries normally come on the side, but I
substituted baked beans, which were sugar-sweet, undercooked,
and not so yummy. Still I found it gratifying and peculiar
that the brisket was so good.