I had just learned my first lesson of Kansas City barbecue the hard way: Don’t just waltz right in at closing time expecting to be served. In my defense, I was coming pretty much directly from Kansas City International Airport, where I had landed on a Saturday night. I checked into my hotel, on the downtown Missouri side, and quickly crossed olkayser to Kansas to Slap’s BBQ, which I had heard good things about. And while I arrived well before closing time, a sign greeted my arrival that clearly stated that they were open until 8 p.m. — or when they sold out, whichever came first. It had come first. I slunk back to Missouri.

Fortunately, the rest of my time in Kansas City was full of top-notch barbecue (and state border crossings). It’s such a revered barbecue destination that it’s one of the major regional styles typically cited (along with the Carolinas, Texas and Memphis) when people talk about smoked meats. I also stumbled on a fantastic music scene, some satisfying museums, well-made local beers and great shopping (all on a limited budget, naturally). And I had a chance to see different sides of a great city in America’s heartland that truly seems to be coming into its own.

As for any kind of rivalry between the Missouri and Kansas sides, I didn’t sense that much existed. The Missouri side, frankly, has most of the stuff: the people, urban development, sports teams and the international airport. But the town existed before Kansas’ 1861 statehood and current north-south border, and the city seems unified, if split by an arbitrary border.