NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002 11:03:08 CDT Organization: Giganews.Com - Premium News Outsourcing X-Trace: sv3-x7ckLSrrdoIGrm9LII0JBTun4tt9mPjbUYpxM+b0roqTSyNTQWKsjDp/KGgb3Rkhevpc/+4RHXUHtCts/5sfUR8++5dSEYxeiTydeeGqf9C9T7j+== X-Complaints-To: [email removed] X-DMCA-Notifications: http://www.giganews.com/info/dmca.html X-Abuse-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers X-Abuse-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly X-Postfilter: 1.1 Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002 16:03:08 GMT Xref: usenet.INS.cwru.edu alt.food.barbecue:51200 On Fri, 19 Jul 2002 13:44:41 GMT, Grant Baxter wrote: >I'm going to be spending a week in Chicago next month. Are there any >BBQ places worth a visit? Grant, I posted the following two emails to a BBQ list I am on, you may find them interesting. By the way, if you enjoy Chinese, Bruce Cook's suggestion of Three Happiness at 209 W Cermak is an excellent one, that is one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. Enjoy, Gary xxxxxxxxx Good to hear from you, don't know about being an expert, but I certainly enjoy a bit of BBQ now and then. It would be helpful if you were a bit more specific as to what type of BBQ joint you were interested in checking out, Chicago rib joints run the gamut from upscale steak restaurants posing as rib joints to two stool take-out joints with great ribs, but no ambiance. Actually the two stool joints have ambiance, post apocalyptic ambiance, but ambiance none the less. The other type of rib joint in the Chicago area is found on the far South Side and near South suburbs, these are sparse in decor, running almost to coffee shop interiors, but with passable ribs, for the most part. In Chicago there are two distinct types of ribs, meat jello/fall off the bone and ribs that still have texture/flavor. The meat jello ribs are typically par boiled, slopped with sauce then grilled, the texture/flavor are slow smoked all the way through. Upscale restaurant meat jello ribs are best exemplified by Freddy's Ribhouse, two Chicago locations, which is part of the Ruth's Chris chain. Upscale restaurant, not quite meat jello, but still not such great ribs Carson's for Ribs fits that bill. Nice, but not quite as upscale restaurant Gale Street Inn for meat jello ribs. Please be aware that while I use the term meat jello in a derogatory fashion, 90% of the people living in Chicago feel that this is the PERFECT rib, I am in the minority. Good bar atmosphere for meat jello ribs, consistently rated one of the best in Chicago, Twin Anchor's Bar atmosphere, a bit of a dive, but good music and decent ribs, not great, but decent. Smoke Daddy's Nice atmosphere with acceptable ribs, pork, sides and thin cut sweet potato fries, Bone Daddy, is probably the type of place you are want to visit. Bone Daddy is just enough out of the way, in a semi industrial area, to give it a big city flair, but is a comfortable restaurant with modern interior, large bar, lots of seating, both inside and out, good service and decent BBQ. Bone Daddy has live music, but not every night. A good South suburban choice is Chuck's BBQ in the Southwest suburb of Burbank. Coffee shop meets hot dog stand interior, no booze, but good ribs, New Orleans and Mexican specials and a very friendly owner. On the far South side another coffee shop looking rib joint with just this side of acceptable ribs is the Patio, which is a small chain The near South side of Chicago has the best, IMHO, ribs, but very low ambiance. My favorite is Lem's, both locations. Lem's is mostly take out, but there are two rickety stools for the really intrepid diner. Leon's DD&S and a few others are good as well. Hecky's in the North Suburb of Evanston has decent ribs, take out only though. I have been to a few of the Major chains that have branches in Chicago, Dave's, Red Hot and Blue and a few others, not very good in my opinion. There is a BBQ joint in Westmont, a Western suburb of Chicago, that I have heard was good, Uncle Bub's, but I have not tried it as of yet. Let me know if this is the type of information you are looking for or if you would like me to amplify on one or two of the places I mentioned I would be happy to oblige. I will also be happy to give you addresses and directions to the places you are interested in visiting. In addition to the places I mentioned, there are many, many more BBQ places in Chicago, I will be happy to list a few more. Thank you for the invitation to accompany you on your BBQ trek if you are coming into Chicago on the third for a November fourth game, I assume your BBQ trek is on Saturday November third. If so, I may be able to join you, but will have to let you know later in the week, if you do not mind. If you would like to speak on the telephone, I would be more than happy to have a conversation on Chicago, Chicago ribs restaurants and BBQ and/or food in general, some of my favorite topics. <Smile> Regards, Gary xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Joe, Kidding about the Famous Dave's thing. <Smile> Where to send your friend depends on a few things, is he actually staying in Downtown Chicago, how far is he willing to travel and does he mind wearing a bullet proof vest to eat ribs. In the Bullet proof vest category there are three excellent rib joints on the South side of Chicago, Lem's, Leon's and DD&S, of the three Lem's is my favorite and the only one with seating, if you call two rickety stools at a chipped counter seating. In the you won't get shot, but still 'interesting' neighborhood category, Smoke Daddy gets the nod. Good BBQ, bar atmosphere and the occasional live music. Smoke Daddy is next to an interesting bar, Phyllis, which has music of the 'youthful' variety, but tolerates us old folks pretty well. A surprisingly nice restaurant and very acceptable ribs, pork, sides and thin cut sweet potato fries, Bone Daddy would be my choice to send an out of town visitor. Bone Daddy is just enough out of the way, in a semi-industrial area, to give it a big city flair, but is a comfortable restaurant with modern interior, large bar, lots of seating, both inside and out, good service and decent BBQ. Another suburban choice is Chuck's BBQ in the Southwest suburb of Burbank. Coffee shop meets hot dog stand interior, no booze, but good ribs, New Orleans and Mexican specials and a very friendly owner. The other suburban choice would be Hecky's in Evanston, a Northeast suburb just outside of Chicago. Take out only, but good ribs, both spares and baby backs. Regards Smoking in Chicago, Gary Bone Daddy 551 North Ogden Ave. Chicago, IL. 60622 312-226-6666 Lems Bar Bq House 5914 S State St Chicago, IL 60621 (773) 684-5007 Chuck's BBQ 5557 W 79th St Burbank, IL 60459 (708) 229-8700 Hecky's Bar-BQ 1902 Green Bay Rd., Evanston, IL 847-492-1182 D D & S Bar B Cue 7100 S South Chicago Ave Chicago, IL 60619 (773) 643-5411 Leon's Bar B Cue 1640 E 79th St Chicago, IL 60649 (773) 731-1454 Gale Street Inn Chicago 4914 N Milwaukee Ave Chicago, IL 60630 773-725-1300
Chicago, IL