Pork Shoppe Chicago - New Chicago BBQ Spot opening in April

I read this morning in the Free Red Eye paper there is a new BBQ spot opening on Belmont in the Irving Park area:

The team behind Tizi Melloul is turning to ribs, brisket, cornbread and baked beans at this self-described "boutique barbecue" spot. Come April, when the Avondale eatery is expected to open, pork-loving patrons will be able to pull up a seat at one of two butcher block-topped communal tables and and dig into a menu peppered with organic ingredients and locally raised pork and beef. Booze is limited to bourbon and beer, but there'll be plenty of both. Pork Shoppe also will offer a touch of green with its 'cue: Utensils will be made from recycled materials and biodegradable butcher paper is in the plans.

http://www.porkshoppechicago.com/#

Article:
http://chicago.metromix.com/restaurants ... 00/content

Pork Shoppe
2755 West Belmont Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
773-961-7654

Sounds GOOD! Will have to keep a eye on there web site for menu and see when they open the doors.

yikes, another new bbq spot? gonna be one on every corner pretty soon.

I believe its at 2755 West Belmont, in an old florist space at the corner of Belmont/California/Elston (according to Dish).
Hope its a nice addition to our burgeoning West Roscoe Village/East Avondale/North Logan Square/South Irving Park neighborhood.

polster wrote:"boutique barbecue"

Yikes. If I'm anywhere near that neighborhood, I think I'll likely drive the extra 5 minutes to Smoque.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

polster wrote:"boutique barbecue"

Yikes. If I'm anywhere near that neighborhood, I think I'll likely drive the extra 5 minutes to Smoque.

lol, I wish them well.

I enjoy a good bbq joint as well and Boutique BBQ is not what I am usually looking for. Look forward to seeing how it turns out. Generally when I want BBQ I will go to an old school joint in a bad part of town and that is part of the fun. Hope it works for these folks and will give it a shot.

Jeez, the place isn't even open yet.

jesteinf wrote:Jeez, the place isn't even open yet.

Agreed.

I love a no frills BBQ joint, gas station Q, BBQ Al Trunko, stuffing tips in my mouth as I'm getting chased by rabid dogs, its all good. That said, if the BBQ at the Pork Shoppe is tasty I can live with cloth napkins and pretty waitresses. First visit I might wear my Carhartt bib overalls though, just to make sure I'm in the right mood.

Enjoy,
Gary

jhawk1 wrote:I enjoy a good bbq joint as well and Boutique BBQ is not what I am usually looking for. Look forward to seeing how it turns out. Generally when I want BBQ I will go to an old school joint in a bad part of town and that is part of the fun. Hope it works for these folks and will give it a shot.

Hey Danny,

Do you know anyting about the new pork-related place going into the former Cordis Brothers/Biasetti's space near Toons? The signs in the window look enticing.

It is going to be called the Piggery from what I have been told. Not BBQ but sports and the old Biasetti's ribs and that is about all I know so far. They are going to do alot of work on the inside and blow out the wall facing the diner grill to open it up a bit. Not thinking it will be anything like The Purple Pig or Publican unfortunately. Hope it works out as well.

I have to go with Gary here--let's not prejudge. It's all relative, and frankly (board and public and personal beloved) Smoque could be considered "boutique" compared to more traditional joints, based on atmosphere (look it up ). In fact, its name shares the same three letters ass "boutique", as a clever play on traditional spelling.
Pork Shoppe might be brilliant, less-than-so, or somewhere in between. Let's see. Who knows.
P.S. Has Smoque started offering pickles with their incredible brisket? Never encountered a Texas place with no pickles.

Jesteinf said it before hand as well as Gary but I gotta say it as well...to pass judgement on a place before its open based on the phrase "boutique BBQ" is nuts ..no worse than some places that use the term Pit BBQ with no pit on the premises
im sure there will be plenty of time to praise or criticize it once its open....myself im looking forward to trying it out
as far as "fancy" pork..well if its as good as the Berkshire Pork we were treated to at Smoque last year or what I cook for my yearly BBQ ill pay the extra price tag..its nice to treat yourself once in awhile
Personally Im just happy to see more BBQ places opening in Chicago..

I agree, who know how this place will be until it opens. I will say this though. I've very much enjoyed the food at Lambert's in downdown Austin, which bill's itself as "fancy bbq". (And God knows I've had crap from various aquarium smokers; cf recently discussed place not too far from Oak Park.)

I'm heading to Blue Smoke in Manhattan (Danny Meyer's BBQ place). (I will report back). If I can manage that, I can manage "Moto'cue" in Chicago.

not sure anyone didnt wish this place success, just theorized it might be pretty expensive based on the pork and beef they plan on using & based on the article in the first post, seeing ribs are already expensive in a Chicago where a slab of ribs is already $20+.

its all good.

GAF wrote:I'm heading to Blue Smoke in Manhattan (Danny Meyer's BBQ place). (I will report back). If I can manage that, I can manage "Moto'cue" in Chicago.

Ive heard good things about Blue Smoke from some trusted sources..will be interested in your findings
remember to eat your ribs with your pinky out

My puffy shirt is just back from the dry cleaners.

GAF wrote:My puffy shirt is just back from the dry cleaners.

Pictures please

Of course, thrifty as it is, IBP cooked over Kingsford isn't good BBQ. Traditional BBQ in its purest (and in my opinion, best) form involves local, naturally-raised pigs cooked over local hardwoods. Neither is going to be "cheap" compared to the obvious alternatives. Hell, the best old-school BBQ "joints" of NC, TN, and Texas were way out in front of the "localvore" movement simply because they kept doing things the way they'd been done for the past 500 years.

The graphics associated with the Pork Shoppe make me hopeful that the owners have a vision that includes keeping things close to the Eastern NC ideal. The cynic in me wonders whether they aren't just looking at the Publican and similar spots in NY and CA (and London) and applying the "back to basics" aesthetic to BBQ for marketing purposes only. We'll see.

But I'd pay a little more for traditional BBQ made with good local meat. Anyway, even "expensive", local, organic pork is cheap compared to other meats. I buy organic dressed whole hogs for about $3 a pound. And I buy at most a couple a year, so I don't get any real discount. Certainly not the crazy-low buck-a-pound you get at Peoria, but still not so much that raw food costs are going to be an overwhelming part of the price at a place BBQing good pork -- especially if they take whole carcasses and break them down in house. The real cost will be in the labor associated with doing it the "right" way.

For me, the question is: can a place like this find and pay someone to do the quality work of a pitmaster like the guys at Barbara Ann's or Uncle John's, then keep them around? Opening a hipster taqueria in this town has to be relatively easy given the huge number of talented taqueros in Chicago's enormous Mexican community. Opening an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria took a whole lot of vision plus artisans and a pro pizzaiola from the old country. This is somewhere in the middle. It can be done. I hope it happens.

JeffB wrote:Of course, thrifty as it is, IBP cooked over Kingsford isn't good BBQ. Traditional BBQ in its purest (and in my opinion, best) form involves local, naturally-raised pigs cooked over local hardwoods. Neither is going to be "cheap" compared to the obvious alternatives. Hell, the best old-school BBQ "joints" of NC, TN, and Texas were way out in front of the "localvore" movement simply because they kept doing things the way they'd been done for the past 500 years.

The graphics associated with the Pork Shoppe make me hopeful that the owners have a vision that includes keeping things close to the Eastern NC ideal. The cynic in me wonders whether they aren't just looking at the Publican and similar spots in NY and CA (and London) and applying the "back to basics" aesthetic to BBQ for marketing purposes only. We'll see.

But I'd pay a little more for traditional BBQ made with good local meat. Anyway, even "expensive", local, organic pork is cheap compared to other meats. I buy organic dressed whole hogs for about $3 a pound. And I buy at most a couple a year, so I don't get any real discount. Certainly not the crazy-low buck-a-pound you get at Peoria, but still not so much that raw food costs are going to be an overwhelming part of the price at a place BBQing good pork -- especially if they take whole carcasses and break them down in house. The real cost will be in the labor associated with doing it the "right" way.

For me, the question is: can a place like this find and pay someone to do the quality work of a pitmaster like the guys at Barbara Ann's or Uncle John's, then keep them around? Opening a hipster taqueria in this town has to be relatively easy given the huge number of talented taqueros in Chicago's enormous Mexican community. Opening an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria took a whole lot of vision plus artisans and a pro pizzaiola from the old country. This is somewhere in the middle. It can be done. I hope it happens.

where do you get your hogs?

Raw food cost is indeed a large factor. A traditional bbq place serving only shoulders and ribs is not going to be buying whole hogs and breaking them down in house.

When I started Galewood Cookshack, I was using factory pork, priced anywhere form 99¢/lb. to $1.19/lb. for bone-in butts, purchased by the case from places like Restaurant Depot and also direct from wholesalers. A 12 lb. raw shoulder yields 6 lbs. of cooked, serveable meat.

For several reasons, I decided to minimize both my personal and professional use of factory farmed meats. Wholesale prices for bone-in butts from suppliers ranging from small family farms in Illinois to Niman Ranch averaged $2.35/lb. I haven't heard of any farmers charging much less. They still need to make some profit, too. Now your food cost is at $4.70 per pound of serveable meat.

The average consumer may be willing to pay "a little more" for a pulled pork sandwich made from local, sustainable sources, but almost 2x? I don't know. A small operation like mine, with low overhead, could make the decision to *gasp* simply make less money per sandwich. Or maybe Pork Shoppe will have other items with higher profit margins to make up the difference.

Labor isn't exactly negligible, but even a charcoal and stick burning pit like mine needs minimal tending. The pitmaster/mistress is going to be there anyway, cooking and prepping other things.

I'm hopeful about Pork Shoppe. "Boutique" surely was a poor choice in wording for something associated with fire, smoke, sweat, meat and fat.

grace

JeffB wrote:
But I'd pay a little more for traditional BBQ made with good local meat. Anyway, even "expensive", local, organic pork is cheap compared to other meats. I buy organic dressed whole hogs for about $3 a pound. And I buy at most a couple a year, so I don't get any real discount. Certainly not the crazy-low buck-a-pound you get at Peoria, but still not so much that raw food costs are going to be an overwhelming part of the price at a place BBQing good pork -- especially if they take whole carcasses and break them down in house. The real cost will be in the labor associated with doing it the "right" way.

swine dining wrote:"Boutique" surely was a poor choice in wording for something associated with fire, smoke, sweat, meat and fat.

So was the effete, precious, monosyllabic "Smoque," and we got over it.

I just pronounced it "smook" as in toque and assumed they were Canadian.

Santander wrote:

swine dining wrote:"Boutique" surely was a poor choice in wording for something associated with fire, smoke, sweat, meat and fat.

So was the effete, precious, monosyllabic "Smoque," and we got over it.

swine dining wrote:The average consumer may be willing to pay "a little more" for a pulled pork sandwich made from local, sustainable sources, but almost 2x? I don't know.

But you don't have to double the cost of the sandwich to recoup your extra food costs. . . . just add the extra food cost. For example let's say you make a 1/4 pound sandwich with $1.18 per lb factory meat and even with 50% shrinkage the meat cost is 59 cents per sandwich. You may sell that sandwich for $5.00, which I would guess is fair considering all your other expenses and the fact that most people dererve some money for their work.

Now you decide to buy local, organic meat at $2.35 per lb. All your other expenses remain the same - same pit, fuel, time, sauce, rent, bun, staff, servingware - and the cost of meat doubled to $1.18 per sandwich (59 cents more). You could sell that sandwich for $5.59 and make the same profit per sandwich.

The business case comes from figuring out whether you can sell as many or more $5.59 sandwiches with local meat than you could $5.00 sandwiches with factory meat. Or if you could charge $6.00 for local vs $5.00 for factory.

Yes, 2x the food cost, not the total sandwich. My turn for poor wording

I think your hypothetical $5 sandwich is a quite a deal if it's tasty, considering the price of doing business in Chicago. All this talk of bbq is making me hungry, I think a run to Smoque/smook is in order soon!

Grace

MelT wrote:
But you don't have to double the cost of the sandwich to recoup your extra food costs. . . . just add the extra food cost. For example let's say you make a 1/4 pound sandwich with $1.18 per lb factory meat and even with 50% shrinkage the meat cost is 59 cents per sandwich. You may sell that sandwich for $5.00, which I would guess is fair considering all your other expenses and the fact that most people dererve some money for their work.

Swine Dining thanks for some hard numbers which provide insight for us none food industry types. As far as the cost for a local pig I have been buying 1 year hogs which we kill and turn into food for $.65 cents a pound. And while I believe these hogs to be representative of a lot of cottage industry pork in the region which are not given drugs and hormones they are certainly fed a diet of primarily factory produced genetically modified corn and wheat.

MelT wrote:

swine dining wrote:The average consumer may be willing to pay "a little more" for a pulled pork sandwich made from local, sustainable sources, but almost 2x? I don't know.

But you don't have to double the cost of the sandwich to recoup your extra food costs. . . . just add the extra food cost. For example let's say you make a 1/4 pound sandwich with $1.18 per lb factory meat and even with 50% shrinkage the meat cost is 59 cents per sandwich. You may sell that sandwich for $5.00, which I would guess is fair considering all your other expenses and the fact that most people dererve some money for their work.

Now you decide to buy local, organic meat at $2.35 per lb. All your other expenses remain the same - same pit, fuel, time, sauce, rent, bun, staff, servingware - and the cost of meat doubled to $1.18 per sandwich (59 cents more). You could sell that sandwich for $5.59 and make the same profit per sandwich.

The business case comes from figuring out whether you can sell as many or more $5.59 sandwiches with local meat than you could $5.00 sandwiches with factory meat. Or if you could charge $6.00 for local vs $5.00 for factory.

This was my reasoning. The meat at Riviera (or Pastoral or wherever) obviously costs more and is worth more than many places serving inferior sandwiches at roughly the same price. Yet both do well, the former for many years, the latter more recently and fabulously so in the Loop. And this new place isn't in a particularly high-rent neighborhood. Seems do-able, especially if they sell beer.

PS, my assumptions also included the possibility that the "Boutique" might be buying whole hogs because (1) that's sort of the thing to do these days and (2) the most "traditional" of traditional BBQs cook whole hogs (not just --or even --ribs and shoulders), as so well documented here by PIGMON and others. One can hope.

when this place opens can someone mark it as open ?
will probley wait to here some reviews before i go to check it out .
it could be a south bound train.

Dear All-

Thanks for starting the Pork Shoppe topic! I was so glad to read that people are already talking about it. I feel very lucky to actually know the owners and chef of Pork Shoppe and I've been able to listen in a little bit on what they're trying to do. These are just 2 guys trying to start a BBQ joint where they want to be everyday. They want a place for their new families, for the neighborhood, and a spot to get a great meal using as much of Illinois product as they can. They've been working their butts off to get everything in order for the spring opening and I'm sure if they were writing this they would invite every single one of you to stop in and grab a bite as soon as they open. Comments and criticisms are all welcome! (But let's hold off on he criticism until these dudes actually open the door...)

I know I'll be there all of the time so I hope to see you there too!