Any BBQ joint worth a damn will not put sauce on the BBQ, they leave that to the customer. There are several good BBQ joints in KC. The original Oklahoma Joe's in KCK is one of my favorites. They never sauce the BBQ and the red beans and rice are amazing.
And as far as KC BBQ, I'll pass on that too. We had some at one of them supposed famous places, We were NOT impressed.
Overabundance of sauce I've always felt was to cover up bad meat. I wonder what you're supposed to use to cover up bad sauce on bad meat?
I've never been to Arthur Bryant. To be honest, I've had several people tell me it wasn't worth going to, so I never made the effort to try it. You are the first that said they like it. I may have to give it a chance.KC native here. Not trying to pick fights, but I like Arthur Bryant more than OK Joes. Notes was good, but they've over expanded and quality suffered. Just my opinion mind you. Everyone has favorites