Blame it on the lure of smoke hanging heavy in the air or the primal attraction of meat, but barbecue breeds allegiance. Depending on where you grew up or what you grew up eating, you might prefer a full rack of sauce-slathered ribs or fat slices of juicy brisket. Millions love a messy pulled pork sandwich crowned with coleslaw, while others can’t get enough of barbecued chicken.
When I dream of smoked meat (a totally normal thing to do, right?) my mind floods with images of a peculiarly Chicago creation: the rib tip and hot link combo.
It’s a meal born of thrift. Rib tips can be found at the bottom of a rack of spare ribs. This section is often removed and discarded because it is ridden with cartilage, and there was a lot of leftover rib tips back when Chicago had the stockyards. Thanks to an influx of German and Eastern European immigrants in the early 20th century, sausages were also plentiful.
While not the most expensive cuts, when treated carefully by expert pitmasters, the combo hits with maximum force. If you don’t mind some deft eating around the inedible bits, rib tips offer unbridled bites of absurdly juicy pork. And what better partner for something so unhinged than an aggressively seasoned and spicy link of sausage? As is tradition, these meats rest upon a bed of french fries where they are drenched in sauce (unless you ask for sauce on the side) and covered with a couple slices of white bread.
This unique Chicago dish often cooks in what’s called an aquarium pit or aquarium-style smoker. In a post on Amazing Ribs, barbecue expert Meathead Goldwyn describes the device as featuring a cooking grate “surrounded by thick tempered glass … making the whole apparatus look like a giant aquarium with ribs swimming in them.”
Ever since Honey 1 BBQ decamped from Bucktown to Bronzeville in 2015, it’s become exceedingly rare to find this combo on the North Side. But head to the South Side, and the combo reigns as the most popular barbecue option.
Unfortunately, you may have heard that it’s been a heartbreaking decade for South Side barbecue. Uncle John’s BBQ, the most acclaimed outlet for the rib tip and hot link combo, closed in 2014, and Mack Sevier, the pitmaster behind the improbably smoky and tender meat, died in 2015. The same year, Barbara Ann’s, where Sevier first made his name before opening his own place, closed. Before the year was out, James Lemons, one of the founders of Lem’s Bar-B-Q House, died at the age of 87.
With no new places opening, it seemed as if South Side barbecue was headed for a sad, slow decline. At least that’s what a number of publications declared. But spend any time on the South Side and you’ll see that barbecue hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, over the past couple of years, most of the classics have survived and a crop of new places have joined the field. This made it the perfect time to assess the whole scene, so I spent the past few weeks visiting 18 barbecue joints.
The Full Slab (8340 S. Stony Island Ave.) opened in the neighborhood of Marynook in October 2018. Owner Sam Gilbert first got in the barbecue game in suburban Grayslake in 2006, but the South Side native longed to return one day to the city. “I always wanted to come back home,” says Gilbert.
Gilbert actually began his career as a project engineer. When he caught the barbecue bug, it made sense to him to approach smoking meat by obsessively researching every detail. “I went out and got the best equipment,” says Gilbert. “It’s about being able to replicate food the same way, day after day. Lots of people don’t understand the connection between being a project engineer and cooking. To me, they are one and the same.”
This also means that he doesn’t use an aquarium smoker, the standard gear on the South Side. Instead, Gilbert uses an Ole Hickory, an indirect smoker powered by gas. Wood is placed in a separate chamber, allowing him to regulate both the heat and the smoke.
Also shunning the aquarium smoker is Nine One One BBQ Shack (2734 W. 111th St.) in Morgan Park, which opened in October 2018. Cortez Trotter says he picked the name because he’s a retired first responder, and he wanted to give a nod to all the first responders in the city. He uses a Southern Pride smoker, another one powered by gas. (It’s the same brand used by Barry Sorkin at Smoque BBQ on the North Side.)
Trotter describes the restaurant as a place serving “old school scratch recipes and smoked meats,” with a focus on “consistency.” Instead of just fries, the shop offers a range of side dishes (called comfort sides here), including greens, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes and baked beans. “I just want to give people good, fresh barbecue and comfort sides, without a long wait,” says Trotter. While he’s excited about the food, Trotter made sure I understood that he was most pleased with his staff. “These are a bunch of young people that I’m so proud of,” says Trotter. “They are top-shelf.”
But not all of the new spots have abandoned the aquarium pit. Trice’s Original Slab Bar-B-Que (1918 E. 71st St.) in South Shore, co-owned by James and Tonya Trice, opened in 2018 with a large aquarium pit in the kitchen. James Trice says that it was important for him to use that kind of smoker to continue the South Side tradition. But he has also put a focus on offering more kinds of side dishes (try the mixed greens) and only serves fresh-cut fries.
With a number of classic places still serving exceptional smoked meat, and a trio of recent additions hungry to try new things, it’s a great time for barbecue on the South Side. Here are my six favorite places to visit, listed in ascending order.
6. The Full Slab
Sam Gilbert may not use an aquarium pit, instead favoring a massive Ole Hickory smoker, but he knows how to cook rib tips ($13.50 for rib tip and link combo). The meat here has an almost crunchy exterior that surrounds meltingly tender meat kissed with smoke. The sausage has a crisp casing, along with a heavy dose of black pepper. The combo is also served with fresh-cut fries, instead of boring frozen ones. 8340 S. Stony Island Ave., 312-620-7522, thefullslabchicago.com
5. Nine One One BBQ Shack
Cortez Trotter uses a small Southern Pride smoker to create some exceptionally tender rib tips ($5.99 for small). The dark red sauce nicely balances sweet and tangy. Instead of putting the fries under the meat, they are served on the side, so they stay extra crunchy. In fact, all of the sides are taken seriously here, especially the creamy mac and cheese. With actual seating, this Morgan Park shop offers a level of comfort few other barbecue places on the South Side can match. 2734 W. 111th St., 773-238-9111, nineoneonebbqshack.com
4. Honey 1 BBQ
Robert Adams made the move from Bucktown to Bronzeville without missing a beat. The rib tips ($7.50 for mini rib tip and link combo) still come out of the aquarium pit completely saturated with smoke, with a supple tenderness. The sauce, which lends the restaurant its name, is definitely sweet, but also tangy, with a real heat to it. That’s also true about the hot link, which might be the spiciest of all that I tried. 746 E. 43rd St., 773-285-9455
3. Lem’s Bar-B-Q
Even though co-founder James Lemons died in 2015, smoke still billows out of the stacks of Lem’s on 75th Street. The rib tips ($14.25 for small rib tip and link combo) still get covered with a rub heavy with nose-tingling black pepper, and each bite is tender and packed with smoke. The coarsely ground sausage is still made in house, and it packs a punch of heat. The vinegar-based sauce provides the right slap of acidity to the meat. 311 E. 75th St., 773-994-2428, lemsque.com
2. Uncle J’s BBQ
Though it opened in 2014, Uncle J’s has some serious connections to Uncle John’s, the barbecue joint owned by the late Mack Sevier. Uncle J’s is owned by Sevier’s stepdaughter, Ella Hughes, and her husband, Jimmie. It even has Uncle John’s old smoker. The menu is not an exact copy, but there’s no doubting the tiny operation serves the biggest and juiciest rib tips around ($14 for a rib tip and link combo). They are served with my favorite sausage link on the South Side, which bursts with coarsely-ground meat packed with heaps of red and black pepper. The sauce is thick, sweet, tangy and moderately spicy. While the unseasoned fries (from frozen) aren’t worth discussing, everything else about this tiny Bronzeville stand is top-notch. 502 E. 47th St., 872-244-3852
1. Trice’s Original Slab Bar-B-Que
When I took a bite of the rib tips shortly after this South Shore restaurant opened last year, I immediately knew that Chicago had a serious new barbecue contender. It’s only gotten better since then. James Trice owns the shop with his wife, Tonya, and he’s immensely proud of the rub he uses on the meat. He should be. The rib tips ($13.49 for tip and link combo) sport a complex spice profile, equal parts sweet and spicy, while the meat has the texture of absurdly juicy thick-cut pork chops, except these also have a smoke aroma that stays in your nose for minutes afterward. The aggressively seasoned sausage adds a kick of spice and salt. It’s tied together with a stunning sauce, which balances tangy with a fascinating fruity note that somehow doesn’t cover up the meat as much as pull it in new directions. Even the fries, an afterthought at so many South Side barbecue joints, are fresh cut and creamy inside. Right now, if you’re interested in experiencing Chicago-style barbecue, this is the place to visit. 1918 E. 71st St., 773-966-5018, slabbbq.com
