"Few pitmasters have had as big an influence on KC barbecue in recent years as Tyler Harp. Since coming on the scene in 2019, he’s launched a local barbecue festival, an educational podcast, and inspired a host of aspiring craft barbecuers to switch to offset smokers. Harp only operates on Fridays and Saturdays inside Raytown’s Crane Brewing, and he almost always sells out; get here early to sample his incredibly rich sausages and thick slices of fat-marbled, perfectly smoked brisket. If you’re thinking that sounds like Texas-style brisket, you’re right. But Harp has never let regional expectations define his cooking, adopting techniques from across the country even as he pays tribute to the pitmasters that first put KC on the map." - Liz Cook