New BBQ Spot Coming to North Burbs - Main Street Smokehouse

There is a new BBQ spot opening up in Libertyville.
It's right on Milwaukee ave and is called Main Street Smokers or Smokehouse. It is in the same place where The Juice Zone used to be located. The sign as I was driving by and it says it will be open in the Winter.

I called the City of Libertyville and got some information on this place

Name - Main Street Smokehouse

Chef/Owner - Eddie Moore; owns a catering company and also chef at Wildfire.

Open - scheduled for January 2009

Idea - BBq from different regions, and maybe even other countries.

I cyberstalked the chef and got his email. I've sent him a few questions on the menu, etc and will post his response.

Yes. I am craving bbq today.

It was mentioned in a Dish column in Chicago magazine last month.

Here's is the owner's response to my email that I just received this morning. I've bolded some of the text to make it easier to navigate:

Hey Suhaib,

Im glad your excited about Main Street Smokehouse. We will be opening mid to late January pending everything goes smooth with my build out.

The menu hasnt been finalized, however some things we will be featuring include:
Brisket with a Telicherry Pepper Rub, Pork Ribs, Pulled Pork, Smoked Chicken,
Possibly smoked turkey breast all rubbed with my dry rub I will be selling in the store.
Best Mac N Cheese Ever,
Baked Beans w/ Short Ribs, Butterbeans and White Beans,
Corn Pudding Tamales,
Cornbread and Coleslaw of Course.

Deserts will include Peach and Blueberry Cobbler with a cinnamon biscuit topping, Chocolate Pudding Cake, Apple Crisp.

No Brontosaurus Beef Ribs, however we will have my personal favorite, Beef Short Ribs featured as a special very often. We will be braising them in BBQ sauce.

The Sauces ar as follows: Maple Chipotle Sauce, Apple Cider Ale Sauce, Carolina Vinegar Sauce, Coarse Grain Mustard BBQ Sauce, Alabama White BBQ Sauce possible more to follow.

Our Hours will be 11-9 Tuesday thru Saturday , Sundays open for dinner only and Mondays Closed.

Thanks for your interest and look forward to serving you and all your foodie buddies.

Thanks
Eddie Moore

Great research, Ghazi. That's an ambitious-looking menu - I wonder what type of smoker(s) they'll be employing. The prospect of a small retail component (selling rubs, perhaps implements) is also a nice touch.

Santander wrote:Great research, Ghazi. That's an ambitious-looking menu - I wonder what type of smoker(s) they'll be employing. The prospect of a small retail component (selling rubs, perhaps implements) is also a nice touch.

According to the Dish piece linked above, it'll be a "rotisserie-style pellet smoker." I'm not familiar enough with that type of machine to even hazard a guess about the make and/or model but I'm guessing that someone around here probably is.

=R=

Sounds like it could be one of the Cookshack Fast Eddy smokers.

Awesome research everyone! I am excited about this place, it is close to my work so I can hit it for lunch and on my way home.

Looking forward to this place, as it's 10 minutes from home. Even hoping it makes me put away my Big Green Egg every once in awhile for someone else's que.

I think it's pretty awesome the owner took this much time to write such a detailed personal reply. That's a good sign, I think. His menu looks really diverse across many types of que. No doubt he's at least done his homework.

Last month I was on a rental car bus in Dallas and actually sat next to one of the owners of Smoque. He was very gracious and talked barbecue with me the whole ride to the rental car terminal. He was in Texas visiting friends but also looking for good potato salad. You've got to appreciate folks like that.

opening soon

anxious to check this place out for lunch ..not TOO far from work

I have always heard good things about the wood cooked chicken at Wildfire. He definitely has the touch.

Great news considering all of the chicken place closings as of late...

Any updates on this place?

They were aiming to open last week of February. I emailed the owner last week but haven't heard back yet.

I'll let you know as soon as i hear anything.

close to end of March now..anyone have any word on this place yet?

I got caught up in work and forgot to post his latest email response to me. I received this email on March 13th:

Hey,

Soon! Northshore gas is waiting on a permit from the state to change the size of the gas line coming in to the building. I am at the mercy of the state right now and growing more mpatient by the day.
Needless to say, this is allowing me a little more time to tweak and perfect the menu. Wait til you try my Apple Cider Ale sauce with the pulled pork. Ive been eaing this stuff 3-4 times a week and still cant get enough.
Looking forward to getting open and satisfyng some appetites!.


Eddie Moore
Main Street Smokehouse
536 N. Milwaukee
Libertyville, IL 60048

I drive past it daily on my commute to and from work. It does not look like it will be opening anytime soon.

Did Main Street Smokehouse ever open? Because if it has, I sure haven't noticed it in my last couple of passes up & down Milwaukee Ave. Gas line issues? Sounds like it might be a Southern Pride...

Also, small newsflash: it looks like there is another BBQ place getting ready to open in North Chicago/Waukegan. On the SW corner of 10th & McAlister there is a freshly painted (red & white) building right that has recently erected a large smoker smokestack! There are still lots of permits stuck in the windows and sigange as of yet, so I really don't have any other information at this time. But it's kind of hard to hide the fact you have a major size smoker going in, when you install a 20ft smokestack!!

Here is a picture of the building last year: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ei=H0T7ScTZCYK0NcOJyccE&q=waukegan&ie=UTF8&ll=42.341274,-87.836584&spn=0.000993,0.002403&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=42.341274,-87.836465&panoid=m_Rl1WFIKy0KQpIIuR8zYQ&cbp=12,202.10650043504097,,0,2.2136686377157217

I'll try to keep everyone posted, or if one of you more vigilant LTH'ers is able to get the scoop, please let us know.

abf005 wrote:Did Main Street Smokehouse ever open? Because if it has, I sure haven't noticed it in my last couple of passes up & down Milwaukee Ave. Gas line issues? Sounds like it might be a Southern Pride...

I drove by a few days ago and people were working inside. I had not seen that happening in long time, so that's a good sign.

I heard that they are supposed to be opening this month. Anyone that has been a chef at Wildfire, must have talent.

I too was dissapointed with how long that it has taken them to open, but after knowing how libertyville can be with permits, I understand. Remodeling my house in Libertyville took twice as long as it should have, and this is downtown mainstreet, where there is a lot more critiquing. I just can't wait to try it out.

According to the Main Street Libertyville newsletter, Main Street Smokehouse is also going to be one of the offerings at Libertyville's Lunch in the Park every Friday this summer.

The sign in the window now says that they are opening this month.

Went there opening week. They're still working out the kinks, and going through like a soft opening. They smoke everything themselves, its kind of a play on Smoque in the city but it's own version. Ribs aren't fall off the bone, they're smoked for I think like fourteen hours so they have tons of flavor. Their brisket, pork, and chicken is so soft and flavorful. I really like how all the meat comes dry. The restaurant has a bunch of homemade different sauces that are amazing and really compliment the different types of meats. I definitely recommend coming here. They're closed on Sundays but otherwise open Mon-Thursday 11AM-8PM, then Friday and Saturday 11AM-9PM. I went their first week of opening and they ran out of some foods but it is understandable because the food they serve isn't just something you can make right away then serve, their smoking process takes over night, more then 14 hours. This is damn good barbeque and I really push everyone to go in and try it out.

thanks for the heads up. Ive been anxiously waiting for them to open up. Look forward to checking them out

Head's Red BBQ wrote:thanks for the heads up. Ive been anxiously waiting for them to open up. Look forward to checking them out

Cool! I'll meet you there!

BTW: Big Ed said this guys was from a chef at Wildfire and he knows him. Said he make some darn good food, so I'm really anxious to try it.

is his name anonymousey?

abolt wrote:is his name anonymousey?

The chef/owner? I believe its Eddie Moore from what i gathered from the emails that was posted here from him.

I have been there a few times and loved the food. I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Eddie, who seems very down to earth and enthusiastic about his menu. I just wish that he would have some kind of fish on the menu, like smoked salmon. He has been there every visit and explained his approach to bbq. The restaurant itself has a warm feel with the historic pictures of the downtown area, which kept me occupied during the wait. Eddie mentioned that he is planning on opening the patio in the back for dining, so I am looking forward to another place to dine outside.

I went there today for lunch with a few other people. Overall, I certainly rate it better than average for Lake County, but I must confess to being somewhat underwhelmed, as I was really hoping for a home run of a place in my backyard.

The ribs were flavorful, with some tenderness throughout without being too chewy. You get your choice of sauces on the side, with the Maple Chipotle sauce standing out to me. They are billed as "dry rubbed baby back ribs," but they are certainly served wet. Not dripping in sauce, but not even close to dry. Still unclear why they publicize them on the menu board as Memphis dry rubbed. Overall, above average, and confused on one's definition of wet or dry.

We also had the pulled pork, which was again above average for this part of the Chicagoland area, but there wasn't a lot of flavor in the meat, certainly not close to what I've eaten at the classic places in the U.S. that make pulled pork in a wide variety of regional styles.

The sides were more of a highlight than the meat. The mac & cheese was solid, with lots of flavor and breadcrumbs on top. I can't place the flavor of the beans, but they were in a thicker sauce than most bbq joints and they had a lot of flavor. Butter beans were part of the bean makeup too. The fries seemed to be fresh cut and were better than average. The cornbread was completey different than what you'd expect. It's much thinner and much more flavorful than most, seemingly due to the way the butter is mixed in. It's a really, really small piece though, even smaller than if you had two piles of two Triscuits stacked side by side.

My biggest disappointment, however, was with the pricing for their main items as dinners instead of sandwiches (dinners/plates come with two items and cornbread, while sandwiches come with a choice of one side). The rib dinners were a good value at $18 for a full slab or $10 for a half slab. But the prices for the other dinners are borderline outrageous: $14 for a brisket plate and $12 for pulled pork or bbq chicken. For comparison, Smoque is $3.50 less for their brisket platter and $2.50 less for their pulled pork platter. Their sandwich prices are in line with Smoque: $9 for brisket and $8 for pulled pork.

So while it's nice to have a better than average bbq place less than 10 minutes from my house, 9 out of 10 times I'm still going to pay the extra for gas and go through the aggravation on the Edens to head down to Smoque when I have a hankerin' for premium barbecue and don't feel like cooking on my Big Green Egg. I'll even head over to Big Ed's in North Chicago for some tips most of the time I don't feel like driving to Smoque.

If Main Street Smokehouse gets more reasonable on their prices for the dinners, that'd be enough to make me a more frequent visitor. But right now, in terms of quality and value, Main Street isn't even in the same zip code as Smoque, both literally and figuratively. Oh how I wish they were.

Just finished takeout from Main St. Smokehouse, still toothpickin' away.

Met the restaurant's effusive owner, Eddie, upon entrance and subsequently ordered two orders of lean brisket ($14) and a full slab of baby-back ribs ($18). I picked BBQ baked beans, mac & cheese, cornbread and cole slaw as my sides that came with the platters.

The ribs were serious stuff, very meaty & just the right amount of resistance from the bone. Some of the very best I've had, and I savored my portion (rest of family staked their claim) greedily. The adjunct sauce was tangy, more hickory than sweet, and proved a worthy counterpoint.

Brisket was almost as good. I asked for it lean, and that's what they delivered, a few moist (even for carryout) slices cut like a London broil and some pulled pieces. Explosive taste, and truth be told it did not need much if any of the white sauce that accompanied the brisket on the side. Personal taste, but this meat stands on its own.

However, the sides definitely need work to keep up with the stellar entrees, as there was nothing at all remarkable about any of them, except maybe the homemade cole slaw, which had a nice tang & freshness. Also, at least for take out, fourteen bucks for maybe 4 ounces of brisket & two smallish-sized side orders seems a bit steep--a couple more oz's & I'd feel better about the price. Conversely, the ribs at $18 seems about right for the obvious high quality of the slab. Again, they were awesome.

Eddie told me they've been open for a week now, and they seem to be hitting a stride of sorts in their neat, funky location on Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville. Next time I'll eat in & do a comparison.