Tag Archives: Chef Darryl Bell

Napa Meets Kansas City At Stateline Road Smokehouse

(Clockwise from top): beans & greens; burnt ends, baby back ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and mac & cheese.
(Clockwise from top): beans & greens; burnt ends, baby back ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and mac & cheese.

Darryl Bell has known he wanted to be a chef since he was all of 8 years old, when he was already stirring up pots of lentil and hot water-corn bread at his family’s stove in Kansas City, MO.

He more than made good on that dream, cooking in such illustrious kitchens as Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro in Yountville, Alinea in Chicago, and Press in St. Helena.

This summer, he finally opened his own restaurant, Stateline Road Smokehouse in Napa, named for the major thoroughfare that divides Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS.

Chef-Owner Darryl Bell.
Chef-Owner Darryl Bell.

It was an endeavor that took a long two years to turn a former auto repair shop into a casual, welcoming restaurant, which I had a chance to finally visit a couple weeks ago.

Even at lunch time on a Friday, the place was packed with folks chowing down on trays heaped with smoky tender meats.

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Step Up Your Grill Game With Stateline Road BBQ Products From A Pedigreed Chef

Grilled steak and mushrooms get elevated with Stateline Road BBQ Truffle Sauce.
Grilled steak and mushrooms get elevated with Stateline Road BBQ Truffle Sauce.

When you get samples in the mail of new barbecue products from a chef who’s cooked at Michelin three-starred Alinea and rose to executive sous chef at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Yountville, you know you’re in for something special.

Such was the case when I unboxed the goods from Chef Darryl Bell, Jr., whose Stateline Road BBQ products have already garnered a following. Bell started tinkering with his barbecue sauce while working at Bouchon, where he’d use it to spiff up staff meals, much to his co-workers’ delight. When he got up the nerve to let Keller try it, the renowned chef was so impressed that he put it on his menus served aboard Seabourn luxury cruise ships.

Bell, now chef de cuisine at Press in St. Helena, was born and raised in Kansas City, so he knows barbecue inside and out. In fact, Stateline Road BBQ is named for the major thoroughfare that divides Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KC, a region that’s a hotbed for some of the country’s best barbecue joints.

Stateline Road BBQ's line of products.
Stateline Road BBQ’s line of products.

You can purchase Stateline Road BBQ products on its web site. In spring 2022, though, it’ll be easier to get your hands on them when Northern California Whole Foods stores start carrying them.

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