[quote="ppezalla"]SM's does have a beef sandwich but is (unfortunately) is not brisket. Dave's is pretty good, it is smoked and is tasty.

Actually it is a brisket but we chop it up so we can make it a sandwhich instead of a dinner item

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brisket


On wikipedia, it describes brisket as being, "Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest."

Specifically, I remember being told by Bart, that Smokin M's uses chopped meat from the butt, not from the chest region. I am a bit upset, because there seems to be alot of confusing messages about exactly what is being sold at Smokin M's. I'm also not thrilled that my mother got hung up on last evening when she called to inquire about the level of snow outside of the restaurant in the parking lot. She was trying to find out so that we could decide whether I could manage getting out of the car into Smokin M's, considering my disability. Not good.

When I posted my last (and one of the few) review(s) of actual food in this thread, I noted that at least that particular day, the chopped beef was top round:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Beef_cuts.svg

Couldn't be farther (literally) from the brisket. They may have changed things, but that day, I saw the round with my own eyes in the smoker. The shoulder (Boston Butt is part of the shoulder) was the pork, which was very good, edging out the beef in my opinion. BP - agreed that some of the communication has been puzzling or contradictory; the snow is slowing all of us down, so I sympathize.

Santander wrote:When I posted my last (and one of the few) review(s) of actual food in this thread, I noted that at least that particular day, the chopped beef was top round:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Beef_cuts.svg

Couldn't be farther (literally) from the brisket. They may have changed things, but that day, I saw the round with my own eyes in the smoker. The shoulder (Boston Butt is part of the shoulder) was the pork, which was very good, edging out the beef in my opinion. BP - agreed that some of the communication has been puzzling or contradictory; the snow is slowing all of us down, so I sympathize.

Too much snow. I hope that it doesn't snow again this week.

Sorry guys my bad i asked him again and it is round the first couple weeks we tried to use brisket but round came out better.Also whoever hung uo on your mother can you give me the time of day I THINK I KNOW WHO DID IT and will be handeld you can count on that. That is rude and un professional and I am very sorry for that email me BP the little bastard will be taken care of by me and come in during the day and we will take care of you man

Let's clear up the confusion I hope this helps

We sell Rib Tips (pork),full and half slab St. Louis Ribs,full and half chickens(smoked on the pit),BBQ Beef (round)sandwhiches and Pork Sandwhices,deep fried chicken wings (our own recipe batter),Hot Links(home made and cooked on the pit),Cat Fish(deep fried),Talapia(deep fried),full and half pound shrimp(deep fried),Coleslaw(Home Made),Sweet Potatoe Pie(home made),Fresh Cut French Fries.The meat for the sandwiches are smoked on the pit for hours and yes not brisket but round.Hopefully this will clear up some of the confusion.Hope to see you all soon sorry for the confusion.

Hey Candy - will be out in FP tonght for a cooking class..may stop by afterwards
How did you all like the sauce sauce???

Had another slab of ribs a couple of days ago - perfectly cooked, could not have been better. And the fries contiue to be the best around. I don't know what is so difficult about slicing up a potato and dropping it into hot oil but not many people seem to be able to do it. But M's has got it down.

sauce was good but of course not as good as ours

My mother called around 8pm on Wednesday evening.

Folks,

Gentle reminder, for items that may not be of general interest to the rest of the board the Private Message system works well.

Thanks in advance,
Gary

My wife and I had lunch here yesterday. I would say, first of all, that it smells great, smells like BBQ. I will say second of off, that I'm just not a huge proponent of the Chicago aquarium style of BBQ. A master like Robert Adams can conduct it really well, but I find that the average place just cannot pull off great product from it. So, that said, I found the stuff OK but not memorable. I would return for sure, as it's not that far from my house, but I would not call it destination Q.

Fries were good.

Happened to be in the hood to get a car wash and remembered hearing about this place and while we had just finished a late breakfast I thought we would stop by for a link and tip combo. A taste in the car and a snack for later.

The links were good! Juicy, spicy and split.

It was a bit of work to get to the meat on the tips. They were a little bit past tender but the smoke flavor was nice and strong. A bit too much bone for my tastes.

Forgot to try the fries fresh. Doh!

After having the terrific tips at Honky Tonk (big and meaty, not tightly chopped) and Lem's (just great!) It will be hard to replace those two in my heart.

I will give M & M another try.

My recommendation to M & M... Stop by Lems and Honky Tonk and give their food a try. My parents were in the catering business for 30 years and would always head out to different places to compare and pick up tips. I think you can write it off as research.

The staff was great! Keep up the good work!

I can't believe most of who posted an opinion on here about Smokin M's can be right. First of all I've eaten for years without taking a single picture of my food (new place or old) which 1 or 2 of you seemed to do when it comes to this "new place". I believe a few of the posts (at least 4 or 5 of the posters) are either owners/relatives of this new business and you're trying to persuade new customers into believing this place is better than what it is. I find it funny how most on here say its to die for where others I know who actually went there said the meat was either under cooked or over cooked. I guess if I opened a new business I'd try this scheme too. Good luck to your whole family of posters Smokin M.

chi-town wrote:First of all I've eaten for years without taking a single picture of my food (new place or old) which 1 or 2 of you seemed to do when it comes to this "new place". I believe a few of the posts (at least 4 or 5 of the posters) are either owners/relatives of this new business

You'll notice, as you become more familiar with LTHForum, that many people take pictures of their food all the time. It may seem strange, but it's standard behavior for many people who post here.

You're correct that some of the folks in this thread are associated with the restaurant, and they identified themselves as such.

You'll notice, as you become more familiar with LTHForum, that many people take pictures of their food all the time.

And that most threads have at least one actual review of food per page of comments; this is kind of a weird one.

To that end: I continue to enjoy the pork and beef sandwiches, the links, and the fries; I'm on a tip moratorium for a while, after a first stellar experience and extremely chewy followups (though the raw product is high-quality, I believe). The family couldn't be nicer and I'm glad to see they've been apparently doing pretty good business. The fish is now being kept to its own area of the aquarium (appropriately) so I haven't detected any of the cross flavors that marred one particular visit. With the good pricepoints, service, links, and fries, I'm very pleased to have them within arm's reach.

chi-town wrote:I can't believe most of who posted an opinion on here about Smokin M's can be right. First of all I've eaten for years without taking a single picture of my food (new place or old) which 1 or 2 of you seemed to do when it comes to this "new place". I believe a few of the posts (at least 4 or 5 of the posters) are either owners/relatives of this new business and you're trying to persuade new customers into believing this place is better than what it is. I find it funny how most on here say its to die for where others I know who actually went there said the meat was either under cooked or over cooked. I guess if I opened a new business I'd try this scheme too. Good luck to your whole family of posters Smokin M.

I dont think anyone has proclaimed the food is "to die for". In fact I think the comments have been pretty consistent in that there seems to be some growing pains and some inconsistent food but overall the BBQ is decent. The biggest question though..have you tried it personally? It might be your best bet then you can judge for yourself and post your opinion. Also this forum is full of photos of of food..not just Smokin M's thread

Ok maybe i didnt know this forum well enough to know that all you people like to post photo's of food but I dont know if I want to spend 16.00 bucks plus tax to find out the ribs may or may not be under or over cooked. I guess ill wait for better reviews from people I know and not workers/owners/family.

Stopped by yesterday and tried the sammies...

Good! ... and at $5 with the fabulous fries a very good value. Now don't get me wrong as this isn't the beautiful sliced brisket sandwich like Honky Tonk or the awesome pulled pork that comes off of my smoker but a very good sandwich for the price. A good smokey flavor.

Another thing, as I was waiting for my order the pit master was preparing a plate of rib tips and they looked a world of difference from what I received over the weekend. A nice and meaty chunk with the little circle of cartilage or two in the center.

Maybe they have upgraded the quality? I will stop back soon and see.

Stopped by yesterday and tried the sammies...

Good!

I think so as well. I stand by my earlier comment that this is what Russell's sandwiches should be in this vein (fresher bread, more meat-tasting meat).

chi-town wrote:Ok maybe i didnt know this forum well enough to know that all you people like to post photo's of food

It's what we refer to as food porn.

chi-town wrote:Ok maybe i didnt know this forum well enough to know that all you people like to post photo's of food but I dont know if I want to spend 16.00 bucks plus tax to find out the ribs may or may not be under or over cooked. I guess ill wait for better reviews from people I know and not workers/owners/family.

Sorry for your bad first impression. Welcome to this forum.

If you peruse a few other threads you will find them chock full of photos of the food and much more pointed posts about the pros and cons of the food. This thread just got sidetracked a bit.

One member did try the ribs and they did get a glowing review...

ppezalla wrote:I have been back a couple more times.

Tried the ribs - very meaty, well cooked, tender but not sliding off the bone. The sauce is so-so. Didn't mind it the first couple of times I had it but by the time I had it with the ribs, I had had enough. Will keep geting the ribs but might use Lem's sauce.

ppezalla wrote:Had another slab of ribs a couple of days ago - perfectly cooked, could not have been better. And the fries contiue to be the best around. I don't know what is so difficult about slicing up a potato and dropping it into hot oil but not many people seem to be able to do it. But M's has got it down.

Based on this (even though I am not much of a rib man) I might give them a try and I will make sure to grab a few photos for you.

chi-town wrote:Ok maybe i didnt know this forum well enough to know that all you people like to post photo's of food but I dont know if I want to spend 16.00 bucks plus tax to find out the ribs may or may not be under or over cooked. I guess ill wait for better reviews from people I know and not workers/owners/family.

the workers and owners are not the ones who are posting reviews on this place. They have responded to some posts in the thread but thats about it. You really should not keep posting that based on personal speculation.

I stopped by for lunch today and am happy to report that the rib tips were top-notch. Night and day compared to the last time I had them. Maybe it was just a lucky day, but I'd encourage others who were waiting to see if they improved to give them another try.

Glad to have confirmation that the non-sandwich items can have on days (as has been my occasional experience). I had a pork sandwich there on Thursday which was excellent again.

Ann Fisher wrote:I stopped by for lunch today and am happy to report that the rib tips were top-notch. Night and day compared to the last time I had them. Maybe it was just a lucky day, but I'd encourage others who were waiting to see if they improved to give them another try.

I thought they looked a lot better.

Panther in the Den wrote:Another thing, as I was waiting for my order the pit master was preparing a plate of rib tips and they looked a world of difference from what I received over the weekend. A nice and meaty chunk with the little circle of cartilage or two in the center.

Maybe they have upgraded the quality? I will stop back soon and see.

I will be back soon to give them another try.

Oh, boy! So close to home too!

I stopped by for a take out lunch last week and was also very impressed by the rib tips, and of course the fries. Tips were meaty, tender but not jello-y. I took the hot bbq sauce on the side, which was wonderful, smoky with a nice kick. Service was fabulous - they are so friendly there and as many have said, its a place you really root for to succeed. We will be back and are happy to have it in the neighborhood.
LO

Trying to keep my expectations tempered, but it sounds like I gotta make my return visit over there soon. Couldn't be a better time, as I just stocked up on baby backs, for the warmer months a comin. Kinda got sad as I was skinning them, and rubbing them down, only to stick them in the freezer for future use. Totally got me in the mood for Q yesterday. I even started looking for that Famous Dave's gift card I got for xmas!

Stopped by tonight and got some of their ribs...



As I mentioned I am not a rib man (and even less of a photographer (sorry for the blurry pics)). They were good! A little tension coming off of the bone and a good flavor. The smoke flavor is always nice and strong.

Also tried again the tips and links combo...



A world of difference on the tips! Juicy, meaty, a little finely chopped but a very good meal. You get a lot of food for your money.

The links were also again nicely firm with a good amount of spice and the fries great as usual.

The new hours are ...

Sunday thru Wednesday - 10 am to 10 pm
Thursday thru Saturday - 10 am to midnight

(708) 488-0123
(708) 488-1885

Delivery coming soon!

Having grown up amongst the homes and structures of Mr Wright in Chicago's nearest westerly hamlet I ate A LOT of Parkys growing up and naturally thought that Robinsons Ribs were the best.
On occasion I would even save my dollars to get Robinsons tips and walk up Madison to Parkys and order fries because in my opinion they were better together than apart.
I may be wrong about that point but it seems the folks at Smokin M's agree wholeheartedly.

Last night I had the tips and wings. The wings were solid with a sweet yet spicy mild sauce ([i]I will leave out the personal relationship to Uncle Remus at Central and Madison in the late 80's, it is NSFW).

The tips were surprisingly good with a full permeation of real smoke flavoring and plenty of meat. There were some dry spots which I attribute to a slow night and I assume the aquarium is stoked up a little higher on the weekends which might lend a little more char to the tips but those small preferences aside the tips were spot on.
The fries were as good as good can be for someone who grew up at Parkys or Gene and Judes. Fresh, long cut, nicely browned but not too crispy with plenty of grease and salt.

About 7:30 business seemed pretty slow and the cooker looked full. I hope this place is getting more patrons than the ones posting here.

I will be back.
Maybe they will start serving ice like Ginas. If they do, Forest Park here I come!