Off the Hook BBQ: A Meaty Carnival of Madness
Step aside Smokehouse, dainty salads and kale smoothies—there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s wielding a rack of ribs like a medieval broadsword. Wardell Hooks Jr., pitmaster extraordinaire, has opened the doors of Off the Hook BBQ at 7506 N. Oak Trafficway, Gladstone, and folks, it’s like someone threw a tailgate party inside a smoker and invited every flavor in Kansas City.
Hooks didn’t just build a BBQ business; he wrestled it from the fiery pits of determination, slept next to his smoker like it was a teddy bear, and prayed to the Holy Brisket Gods. His reward? A brick-and-mortar temple of smoke, sauce, and unapologetically messy joy.
The Menu That Roared
Right now, he’s offering a “starter pack” of meaty mayhem: brisket (both chopped and sliced for your textural pleasure), pulled pork, ribs, jumbo chicken wings that could double as medieval weaponry, and hot dogs so overloaded with brisket, cheese, and jalapeños they should come with a hardhat. There are nacho fries and quesadillas too, because carbs are not the enemy—they are the team captains of flavor.
But on July 29, Hooks will unleash the full menu like a BBQ Kraken: breakfast burritos (brisket for breakfast? Yes, please), Cajun Andouille Sausage, sparerib dinners, burnt ends, and a slab of ribs big enough to make Fred Flintstone blush. There’s also a brisket-topped four-cheese mac that sounds like a cheese-and-meat fever dream.
Opening Day Shenanigans
When Hooks opened for his soft launch, he hoped for a slow, steady trickle of customers. Instead, it was like the BBQ equivalent of Black Friday. People stormed in—construction workers, neighbors, and random drive-by meat lovers—hugging Hooks like he was Santa Claus with sauce-stained gloves. By the end of the night, the ribs were extinct, the brisket was endangered, and the pulled pork was on life support. He took the next day off to smoke more meat, because, honestly, running out of ribs is a felony in Missouri.
As for desserts and Sides? Oh, they’re coming: mac and cheese, beans, fries, potato salad, and even applesauce (for those who pretend to eat healthy while faceplanting into a rib plate). Dessert? Triple chocolate chip cookies with butterscotch morsels and gooey butter cake, aka “Desserts That Should Probably Come with a Confession Booth.”
Regular hours start July 29: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Closed Sundays.
Final Verdict
Off the Hook BBQ isn’t just a restaurant—it’s a full-contact sport where meat and smoke are the MVPs. Wear stretchy pants. Bring extra napkins. And for the love of all that is holy, do not underestimate the nacho fries.
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