LAS VEGAS — It didn’t take me long to figure out that you better know your barbecue if you live in Kansas City.
The same thing applies to restaurants serving up barbecue across the country, especially if throngs of Chiefs fans are set to descend on your city like they’ll do this weekend for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
“I know I really have to pay attention because they are experts,” SNS Truck Stop and Diner owner Mike Poniewaz told me earlier this week on the arrival of Chiefs fans. “As soon as they come in, they’re going to ask ‘How’s the barbecue?”
The diner has two tricks up its sleeve to help meet the expectations of barbecue experts.
It starts in the kitchen with chef Cesar.
“Some days, we think are going to be slow, and then suddenly it just buzzes up,” he told me as he worked a dry rub into that day’s meat before placing them into the smoker.
The other trick? Make sure one of your regulars is from the Kansas City area and can help you stay on the right path.
“There’s a lot of chains out here, so it’s hard to come across and find someone who does authentic barbecue their own way,” North Las Vegas fire inspector Kris White told me.
White has lived in Vegas the last 20 years, but before that, he was a firefighter in the Overland Park Fire Department.
“I respect the process of how you’re smoking the meat and how you’re doing it,” he said.
He told me he still flies the Chiefs colors — something that’s even more satisfying now that AFC West division rival Raiders call Las Vegas home.
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