Barbara Ann's BBQ closed (temporarily, hopefully)

Had posted earlier, having visited BA's on Thursday and finding it closed, requesting
if anyone had further information. Obviously nobody did. Thus, being on the
Southside this Saturday, went back to BA's - and it was closed again. This
time, however, there was a sign in the window - permit lost or some such
I think it said. It was dated the 13th IIRC.

Not sure what it all means - maybe heatlh-code violations? Like I said the last
time, there were a couple people inside BA's on Thursday (there werent on
Saturday) who mouthed (I think) "a few days" when I asked for how long.
I really do hope thats true - would be a halfway-major tragedy if it doesnt.

Some guy walking by saw me looking at the door forlornly, and told me to
go to "The Slab" on 79th - said they were the best (I asked about hot links,
and he said they were excellent). I stopped by and got some, but they
were only ok - not a sixteenth as good as BA's nonpariel.

In my depression I ended up going to Tacos El Pacifico, then picked up budin
from Pupuseria el Salvador, and finished up with the last ice of the season
from Mario's (which closed on Sunday). But my depression at the
(hopefully temporary) loss of BA was only partly lifted.

If anyone knows more, please do post and let us know - especially you guys
on the Southside who may get there oftener than us up North.

c8w

I'm relatively new to Chicago and LTH, but what a great forum. I've been in the city for about 6 months and, having discovered LTH several months ago, have used it to find culinary gems all over the city (thank god for something other than the dross of citysearch).

I kept seeing Barbara Ann's mentioned as one of the best BBQ places in the city (if not the best). I had been left cold by my BBQ experiences near my neighborhood (I found Smokedaddy average, Fat Willy's downright disappointing), so last Wednesday evening I got some friends together for a post-work pilgrimage to the south side. It took some convincing ("you read about it where?" "you actually read food blogs?" "how far is it?"). You can imagine my chagrin when, after forty-five minutes of traffic-hell and increasing hunger on the Dan Ryan, we finally pulled up in front of Barbara Ann's only to see "CLOSED" printed by hand on a piece of cardboard. My friends now think I've lost my mind. I'm willing to try it again, but I can't drive that far just to see if BA's happens to be reopened. So southsiders, or those of you who frequent the neighborhood, please keep the rest of us posted! I can't find any information anywhere else, and I can't wait to give it a shot.

The good news, Fred, is that Honey 1 should be reopening shortly on the north side.

I, too, experienced the disappointment of BA's closure on Saturday. If you're down that way, you're fairly close to Lem's which is a good back up.

Here's your answer. From the City of Chicago's website

http://w20.cityofchicago.org/health/sea ... id=1067450

Phil wrote:Here's your answer. From the City of Chicago's website

http://w20.cityofchicago.org/health/sea ... id=1067450

Thanks BTW, appreciate it. Anyone nkow how long these suspensions usually
last? Any chance BA's will be open this weekend? Am craving the hot
links again

c8w

YourPalWill wrote:The good news, Fred, is that Honey 1 should be reopening shortly on the north side.

I, too, experienced the disappointment of BA's closure on Saturday. If you're down that way, you're fairly close to Lem's which is a good back up.

Theyre not bad backups, no - but Ive tried both, and IMHO neither are close.

Basically Iam going on hot-links - there is a *huge* difference IMHO. Its a
personal preference, but the BA's link is just very coarsely ground, and
I prefer it by a very big margin to either Lem's (which some people just
adore) and Honey1.

So, you know more about this than anyone, you tell me - is there anyone
else who does a hot-link of that style? Not as good as BA's, ok - but
a hot link that is more coarsely ground, rather than the Lem's style
(which is fine in its own way, but a very different style IMHO)? A coarse
ground link, with a fair bit of seasoning inside, red pepper flakes
visible when you bite into it etc? (I tried "The Slab" last week - again,
not a bad link, but not a coarse grind, and IMHO nowhere near as
good).

c8w

Usually places clean up hard for the inspection and reopen quickly, but who can say?

Mike G wrote:Usually places clean up hard for the inspection and reopen quickly, but who can say?

So I dropped by this Saturday, and it was still closed. This time I went into the
office however (where one can also rent rooms as a reasonable hourly
rate), and asked (about the BBQ spot, not the rates). The woman told
me they would be trying to open quite soon - maybe even open by next
weekend. Which, if true, is excellent news.

I shall probably be in Hyde Park again next Saturday, and if so will try and
drop by and find out if it has reopened. If anyone gets confirmation (one
way or the other) before that, please do let us know

c8w

Mike G wrote:Usually places clean up hard for the inspection and reopen quickly, but who can say?

This is out of my area and pure speculation, but if you look at the citations issued by the city, it looks more like remodeling the poor restaurant design than clean up hard is needed.

Things like not having a working sink within so many feet, may mean one was never there or it may mean the one that was there quit working. Regardless without one working like the city wants, they ain't re-opening.


pd

Maybe we can move BA's to the north side, too. My cardiologist could become a rich man.

YourPalWill wrote:Maybe we can move BA's to the north side, too. My cardiologist could become a rich man.

Its open! Hallelujah!

Had already eaten at TDP and was full, decided to cut across South Chicago
and maybe pick up some jerk on 79th before hitting the highway. And then,
mysteriously, I thought "why not just drive down 76th instead, down to
Cottage Grove, drive past BA... and then drive up to 79th for the jerk".
Clearly it was a Higher Power moving the car. As I was at the light about
to turn onto Cottage Grove I thought I spied smoke! And so it was...
lights on, 3 cars in the lot, smoke visible over the chimney.

On entering I found one of the employees opening up the Soft Drink machine
and putting coins in, trying to get it to work (he did, eventually, before I had
left). This was the first day of Barbara Ann's reopening, after almost 2 months!

Needless to say I picked up the usual tip/link combo - was too full to really
eat, but I can verify its still IMHO the best BBQ deal in town by size (ie IMHO
better than Hecky's Mutt deal). Also that the one tip I had was pretty damn
decent, and the one link I tried was obviously the best one Id had in the past
couple of months. Cant tell if its back to full form yet or anything - but the
*type* of link is still the same, still the coarse ground masterpiece that is
not replicated anywhere else in town (and I now say this after much
fruitless searching How well its cooked etc is a different matter, but
I personally havent even found that type of link elsewhere, and thus IMHO
nothing comes close to BA's hot link.

They said they would be trying to keep everything the same - timings,
ingredients etc (the price was the same today too), and at least 2 or 3 of
the people behind the counter were the same as before. However Mack
was not around sadly - and on asking I was told they werent sure he'd
be around, he might just have decided to quit and head back home presumably
That will obviously be a massive loss, but maybe one of the guys who
worked with Mack has learned enough...

Anyway. Just wanted to share the great news - as well as comment on the
amazing luck that enabled a North Sider to somehow be in the vicinity on
the day it reopened!

c8w

c8w wrote: However Mack was not around sadly - and on asking I was told they werent sure he'd be around,

c8w,

Both good and bad news. Great that Barbara Ann's open again, bad that Mack is no longer the Pit Man.

As the late, great Reverend 'Belly' Maynard was fond of saying, "it ain't the pit, it's the pitmaster."

Enjoy,
Gary