I moved to a city that really and truly considers itself a food town. Every type of cuisine you’d ever want can be found in Chicago, but there are definitely specific dishes that they are famous for. Of course, everyone knows about deep dish pizza, regardless of whether or not they love it. And Italian beef sandwiches! And hot dogs. The triumvirate of Chicago cuisine. It seems, though, that when I get a craving for barbecue, I’m left….wanting her in my new town. Not to say there isn’t any here, because there is, just not the kind that I cut my BBQ teeth on in my old hometown, Kansas City.

In fact, I am so loyal (as are many KC transplants) that every time I visit I head to the nearest grocery store and stock up on my two or three favorite brands of sauces. As in, a grocery cart full to haul back, if I’m driving. The checkout folks are never surprised, either, they know what it’s for, and I’m not the only one buying carts of sauce. Believe it or not: people see me and usually give me a big thumbs up sign!

The bottles make great gifts for those who have never had the singular pleasure of true Kansas City barbecue, and I make sure there are plenty to get me through the rest of the year, too. Which reminds me, I should probably stock up on my next road trip.

I buy ground bison, too, whenever I can. Because I went to college in Kansas, one spring break some friends and I camped in the countryside. Spring break was early, so we even though we froze our butts off, we ate well, grilling bison meat we bought in the back of a small town hardware store.

Back home in Chicago, this bison burger on a flatbread is one of the first things I make when I have the sauce. The lean bison meat is perfect with my favorite sauce and will be perfect with yours, too. A perfect cure for the BBQ blues. (Go Royals!)

Amy at Flatout