Crazy Good Barbeque Bar & Eats: The Same Tender Barbecue with a New Look!

When Crazy Good Eats opened in 2015, the local owners had one goal in mind, to serve delicious, quality, smoked barbecue meats and sides to the South Olathe neighborhood and beyond. And that’s what they’ve done for the past seven years.

Now that they’ve achieved their first goal, Crazy Good Barbeque Bar & Eats has refreshed its name and logo, expanded the interior of the restaurant to feature a gorgeous and swanky bourbon bar, built a patio deck for outdoor dining and broadened the menu to feature a weekly smoked meat special highlighting a unique menu option.

“We’re very excited about these upgrades and changes that we’ve been able to introduce and deliver to our customers,” said longtime KC resident Maggie Lemay. “We knew we had to be very food focused out of the gate to ensure that customers understood we could deliver quality food that tasted great. Now we’re able to expand a bit and have more fun, bring in live music, open the outdoor deck and expand the menu with our Saturday Night Smoked Specials. These specials offer a unique, creative approach to our menu and the customer experience.” Some examples of our specials include Rack of Lamb, Pork Shank Osso Bucco Style, Meat Loaf, Beef Short Ribs, Shrimp N Grits, Salmon and much more.

Before opening the restaurant, they had become known throughout the region for their award-winning competition barbecue and hand-crafted sausages. The husband and wife team were excited to open the home-grown restaurant delivering this same competition quality and taste in every bite to Olathe diners as well as the restaurant’s very popular catering business. Folks planning weddings, corporate events and family gatherings love working with Crazy Good Barbeque because they know they will work with the owners personally, and best of all, they trust the quality and taste of the customized menu and reliability for their events.

How is Crazy Good Barbeque different from other KC barbecue restaurants? The restaurant has a smoker on site, and Maggie’s team takes great pride in their methods of cooking; it’s the mastery of the art of slow-cooked meat that creates their amazing flavors. The result is tender, juicy, flavorful smoked chicken, ribs, burnt ends, pork shoulder, brisket and other meats so tender that they serve it without sauce! “Done right, cooking low and slow in the smoker allows the richness of moist, tender flavors to shine through on meats, and no sauce is required,” Maggie said. It’s up to the customer’s specific taste if they want sauce, which sauce and how much.

I’ve been a regular at Crazy Good Barbeque since the beginning, and it’s only gotten better with age. I always recommend a few mainstays to newcomers, and I’m ecstatic that the Lemays are showcasing their talents in the kitchen with these new weekly specials along with the monthly bourbon tasting dinners. 

It was a yummy day when I spent time with my HERLIFE Cravings tasting friends and shared some of my longtime favorites I’ve enjoyed since the restaurant opened at the northeast corner of 151st and
Mur-Len in Olathe.

You can’t go wrong with the Championship Platter, and if you’re new this is where to start. Two ribs, brisket, a quarter chicken, pulled pork and sausage. All of the meat at Crazy Good Barbeque is hand sliced, not on a machine, giving the barbecue a home-prepared feel with the expertise that each slice of meat is cut to make the meat more tender and to promote a better eating experience.

We ladies love our salads, and Crazy Good Barbeque does a great job with its signature salads. I’ve loved their signature Aunt Bea’s Salad with the mandarin oranges, feta cheese, red onions and walnuts, but the Smoked Cobb Salad might be my new choice because it features smoked chicken along with all the traditional Cobb salad toppings.

But these barbecue sandwiches are going to blow you away. If you haven’t been to Crazy Good Barbeque yet, make the time to try both of these heavenly sandwiches. First, the Burnt End Burner comes with burnt ends topped with provolone and onion strings, served on a bun with house-made creamy horseradish sauce. I love this flavor combo explosion and the crunch! Next, the KC Original, hickory smoked brisket and pulled pork topped with thick crispy bacon and onion strings. This one is slightly tamer than the burner, but equally delightful. 

If it weren’t for sides, I wouldn’t love barbecue as much as I do. And Crazy Good Barbeque does them better than anyone, starting with their very distinctive Loaded Potato Casserole. Almost indescribable it’s so good, this warm potato casserole isn’t the one your aunt makes every Thanksgiving. It’s creamy, has bacon, potatoes, onions, spices and other deliciousness. My family loves the Mad Meatballs featuring glazed all-beef meatballs wrapped in bacon, and I’m told it’s served at nearly all of CGB’s catering events because they’re just that good. The Jalapeno Poppers are jalapeno halves stuffed with three cheeses and house jalapeno cheddar sausage, just the right amount of kick and oh, so flavorsome. Wowsa! 

I’m so glad the owners of Crazy Good Barbeque have checked a few goals off their list during the past seven years. Delight customers. Check. Serve quality delicious food. Check. I’ve happily been along for the ride. Now, I’m thrilled that they’re expanding their menu offerings. I know it will be crazy good!

Written by: Megan Neher

Crazy Good Barbeque, 16695 W. 151st Street in Olathe, is open from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Sundays. Dine-in guests order and are served their food at the counter, then can find a table to enjoy the newly renovated restaurant, deck and beautiful bar. A convenient drive-through pick up window is open for online or call-ahead orders. 

16695A W 151st St
Olathe, KS 66062
913-839-1774
crazygoodeats.com