Maybe we should get back to talking about ribs... After years of hearing so much about the greatness of Twin Anchors I finally got around to trying it and was not overly impressed. The big problem was that I was expecting great barbecue and the stuff served at Twin Anchors really isn't barbecue at all. Though the term is often misused, I think most would agree that the essential defining feature of real barbecue is that the meat is cooked slowly in the presence of wood smoke. There is no trace of smoke flavor in Twin Anchors' ribs. If this doesn't bother you and if you favor falling-off-the-bone style (I don't) you might be quite happy here. There are actually a number of positive points about Twin Anchors. The place itself is appealing enough: an old front barroom with a few booths and a larger back room with formica tables. Nothing fancy but it's comfortable. For somewhere that's been around over 60 years I was hoping for a bit more atmosphere though. Service was friendly and casual but professional. From an informal survey of plates passing by me out of the kitchen it seems that the vast majority of their business is ribs. The slab of baby backs ($16.95, I believe) is of good quality, meaty and juicy with significant (but not excessive) fat remaining. The meat is certainly tender; I've never had ribs with softer meat. It is nearly impossible to tear off a rib without the bone slipping out. I don't know how these are cooked but they must be parboiled (or steamed?) then finished on a hot grill (a few char lines were evident) with a little brushing of sauce at the end. There are two types of sauce: regular and "zesty". The zesty is a decent mildly-flavored, not overly sweet, tomato-based version. I didn't sample the regular; I imagine it must be bland, indeed. The accompanying onion rings were quite good (fries or baked potato are also available) but the slaw was poor (gluey supermarket-style). A piece of dill pickle and some squishy black bread also came along. There is a decent selection of beers on tap and a full bar. Not at all a bad experience, though I'd never wait in line an hour or two for it (as some do). Perhaps the problem was with me: I was just hoping for some real barbecue. Twin Anchors 1655 N Sedgwick St (Sedgwick is 400 West) 312-266-1616
Chicago, IL
Twin Anchors, a dissenting opinion
Rene G. wrote: <snip> >really isn't barbecue at all. Though the term is often misused, I think most >would agree that the essential defining feature of real barbecue is that the >meat is cooked slowly in the presence of wood smoke. There is no trace of >smoke flavor in Twin Anchors' ribs. If this doesn't bother you and if you >favor falling-off-the-bone style (I don't) you might be quite happy here. <snip> Rene, I agree completely. The term barbecue is being used to describe any type of meat that is coated in "BBQ sauce" no matter how the meat is prepared and most seem to confuse grilling with BBQ. I personally find steamed ribs that are sauced with a sticky sweet tomato glaze and then tossed on the grill for a few minutes to char up (burn?) an insult to the people who take the time to slow smoke with real wood. Within the framework of real BBQ there are many types of meats, sauces and techniques including, but not limited to; pulled pork from the Carolinas, brisket from Texas and ribs from all parts of the country. All share one important quality, slow smoked with wood. There are many variations of sauces, either added while smoking, after or not at all. There are also many schools of thought as to the proper mop, rub or marinade. My personal favorite is pulled pork South Carolina style, coated with a spice rub, moped with apple cider vinegar mixed with the rub and oil and slow smoked over hickory for 7 to 10 hours. Served with a South Carolina mustard based BBQ sauce. I have been to the much talked about Twin Anchors and while I enjoy the ambiance, beer and burgers, the ribs are not something that I would even consider ordering there. Yes, I have tried them and no, I did not like them at all. The few Chicago rib places that I do enjoy all share the same few simple qualities; slow smoked with real wood, a sauce that is not sticky sweet and meat that still has some chew/texture to it. I do not enjoy falling off the bone, mealy tasting steamed/parboiled meat. There is an excellent FAQ devoted to BBQ, http://www.eaglequest.com/~bbq/faq2/toc.html I currently enjoy going to Chuck's, Hecky's and Lem's. Lems and Hecky's are take out. Chuck's has a spartan, but clean and comfortable dining area and friendly service. Enjoy, Gary Chuck's BBQ 5557 West 79th Street Burbank, IL. 60459 708-229-8700 Lem's 5914 S State St Chicago, IL 60621 (773) 684-5007 Hecky's 1902 Green Bay Rd Evanston, IL 60201 847-492-1182
G W. wrote: > I currently enjoy going to Chuck's, Hecky's and Lem's. Lems and > Hecky's are take out. Chuck's has a spartan, but clean and comfortable > dining area and friendly service. Thanks, Gary (and everyone else), for your comments and suggestions. I'm well aware of Hecky's and Lem's (and love 'em both) but I'd never been to Chuck's. Until last night, that is. Chuck's is good, real good (more details later). I especially enjoyed the pulled pork and their truly outstanding hot BBQ sauce. I just wanted to mention that Chuck said next week he'll be cooking a special Mardi Gras menu: gumbo, jambalaya, etoufee, oyster po' boys, etc (menu will vary from day to day; you can call for details). He said he's even thinking of buying some real china plates (damn, he's really going upscale!). If he's as good with cajun/creole as he is with barbecue, it should be well worth a visit. If someone checks it out, please do let us know how it is. Chuck's BBQ 5557 W 79th St (at Central) Burbank 708-229-8700 Mon-Sat 11-9, Sun 11-8
Rene G. wrote: > Chuck's is good, real good (more details >later). I especially enjoyed the pulled pork and their truly outstanding hot >BBQ sauce. I just wanted to mention that Chuck said next week he'll be >cooking a special Mardi Gras menu: gumbo, jambalaya, etoufee, oyster po' >boys, etc (menu will vary from day to day; you can call for details). All these posts about ribs had me thinking that we haven't visited Chuck's in a while. On Thursday we were in Indiana for a wake and a group of us decided, (ok, I decided and convinced the others) to stop at Chuck's for ribs on the way back to Chicago. It was great and even the fall off the bone, I don't really need teeth to eat ribs, faction in the group enjoyed Chuck's. I called around 8pm knowing that they closed at 9pm and asked if it was all right if we came in late, no problem was the answer and it wasn't. We arrived at 9pm and ordered ribs, tips, links, sandwiches (brisket, Chuck's special and pulled pork) We also had an appetizer of wings and generally made gluttons out of ourselves. Chuck has a new sauce that is hotter (spicier) than the standard and packed a punch. The sauce was made with Chuck's secret combination of peppers and was quite complex. Chuck's years at Frontera Grill really showed though in the sauce. We also sampled the peach cobbler and bread pudding and while I am not a bread pudding fan, everyone else loved it and the peach cobbler was excellent. Both were served with Blue Bunny ice cream, Blue Bunny has obtained cult status in parts of Texas and was a nice counterpoint to the peach cobbler. Even my sister in-law, the I only like fall off the bone, not spicy, no need to chew, I'm not hungry just a few bites of a brisket sandwich for me, loved the ribs and ate a half of a slab. My only problem with Chuck's and I say this every time we leave, is that I wish they were closer to where we live. Enjoy, Gary Chuck's BBQ 5557 W 79th St (at Central) Burbank 708-229-8700 Mon-Sat 11-9, Sun 11-8
User-Agent: tin/pre-1.4-980226 (UNIX) (FreeBSD/2.2.5-RELEASE (i386)) Xref: alexander.INS.CWRU.Edu chi.eats:4110 Lee K. wrote: > In article , [email removed] (Eric > Holeman) wrote: >> Oh well. At least Krispy Kreme has finally migrated north. Maybe Johnnie >> Ray's won't be too far behind. > Where is there a Krispy Kreme near here? Not near Northwestern... about 43rd and Harlem, where Candlelight Theatre used to stand. It was packed around three yesterday afternoon on my way to Chuck's BBQ. The suburb is Summit, I think. Jude