How Could I Have Slept On Barbara Ann's Ribs This Long?

In my nomination of BA's as a great neighborhood restaurant, I mentioned that I had never had the ribs. Terrible oversight on my part. Last week, a BBQ-loving friend was in town, so we went to Lem's for the ribs, then 2 days later, to BA's for the links. The next night, while pondering our options, my friend asked how the ribs at BA's were.

"You know, I've never had them. Only the tips with the combo, which are always tasty..."
"Let's do it."

So with that, we set out for our fourth serving of BBQ in 4 days (the day in between Lem's and BA's was Independence Day)

Mea Culpa.

The slab we got destroyed the competition. On top of that, I prefer BA's sauce to Lem's anyway. This full slab from BA's was right up there with the Honey 1 I've had the pleasure of eating. So I can now wholeheartedly recommend the ribs at BA's. Great Neighborhood Restaurant, indeed. (Oh, and we got a large links to accompany the ribs. Lipitor here I come.)

My Nomination

Barbara Ann's BBQ (and Motel)
7617 S Cottage Grove Av
773-723-4780

Now the question is whether you will ever go to Lem's again. Barbara Ann's having the full package and all.

If one only visited Lem's, Honey 1, and Barbara Ann's, one could almost believe Chicago is a good barbecue town. There are oases even in a desert.

I have to add that I had another sub par round of Lem's ribs last week. I was down on the south side ordering food for the LTH Inspiration Cafe Dinner. I got myself a large hot links from Barbara Ann's and stopped by Lems for a slab.

The Lem's ribs really had this muted taste indicating to me that they may not have been particularly fresh. They were definitely tough. In three of my last four trips to Lem's, I have come away with varying degrees of disappointment. One trip resulted in a stellar slab.

Lem's may be reaching the point that their inconcistency is driven by the fact that they're the big dog (pardon the Leff reference, Mike G)in the neighborhood.

So does anyone know when Honey1 reopens?

If the new location is where I think it is -- on the southeastern corner of Lyndale and Western, directly across Lyndale from Think -- they've still got paper over their windows and I haven't seen any activity for a few weeks.

In that same neighborhood La Bonita finally put "IXCAPUZALCO" on their sign. It still also reads La Bonita, of course.

YourPalWill wrote

I have to add that I had another sub par round of Lem's ribs last week.

I do a good amount of business down in Lem's neighborhood and have had pretty much the same experience you describe the last two times I've been there. Monday afternoon I was having a conversation with one my customers(also named Lem), an old timer whos been in the neighborhood for 50+ years. He claims that Lem passed away, his kids took over and the place has been going down hill ever since.

When I asked Lem whos ribs he likes, he said as far as he was concerned Dominicks puts out better BBQ.

dicksond wrote:Now the question is whether you will ever go to Lem's again. Barbara Ann's having the full package and all.

This has actually happened to me over the past year - in that time Ive made
lots of trips to BA's, well over a dozen (which isnt bad, coming from way over
on the North Side), but only one single solitary trip to Lem's... and that was
because it was a Sunday and BA's was closed I just like BA more in
general - and anyway I usually go with the tip/link combo, which is consistently
terrific.

BTW, on the last trip to BA's (this Saturday), noticed they have a big
magazine article pasted above the ordering counter, complete with
color pictures. Forgot which magazine (maybe Chicago magazine?),
but a magazine that did an article recently on "rib tips in Chicago", going
thru several and rating them. BA's was the champion (which no doubt
is why the article was up there) with 28 points IIRC - second was
Robinsons (Ive never been, where is it exactly?) I believe third was
Honey One, with Lem's trailing further back.... and, the one that made me
laugh, Carson's IIRC brought up the rear with 12 points

Anyone have a link to the article, or know which magazine it was in?
(I havent tried all of em, so cant really judge, but they seem like
reasonable ratings to me - BA's are the best tips Ive had, I really didnt
care for Lem's tips at all, not as good as their ribs, and while Honey Ones
tips were decent, IMHO they didnt match up to BA's - so at least in that
small sampling I sort of agree with these ratings).

c8w

HI,

For whatever it matters, I had my first Barbara Ann's anything just last Sunday. I have certainly been near there, either it was closed or there was no more desire for food (yes, it happens sometimes).

I enjoyed the hot links without any sauce. I would have tried the fabulous looking chicken, but it was in quarters which was a bigger commitment than I wanted to make. It's been suggest by some here, Erik M perhaps?, that the links are not as good as they used to be. Yet having little else to compare it to, they were plenty good as-is.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:HI,

For whatever it matters, I had my first Barbara Ann's anything just last Sunday. I have certainly been near there, either it was closed or there was no more desire for food (yes, it happens sometimes).

I enjoyed the hot links without any sauce. I would have tried the fabulous looking chicken, but it was in quarters which was a bigger commitment than I wanted to make. It's been suggest by some here, Erik M perhaps?, that the links are not as good as they used to be. Yet having little else to compare it to, they were plenty good as-is.

Regards,

BTW, you had it last *Sunday*? Was that picked up on Saturday and had a
day later? Or is BA's now open on Sundays too? It didnt used to be for
sure, but I have only been there on Saturdays the past few weeks so havent
checked on Sunday hours.

Also, in re hot links - I havent had that earlier experience either, of the "really
good links", since it was apparently 3+ years ago (Ive been to BA's only
for the past 2). However, since I dont have that earlier comparison, they
are quite clearly the best links out there IMHO, and pretty damn
brilliant. (BTW, did you remember to ask for the well-done link pieces? A hint
from on here, and it does make a difference. However, I only ask them for
well-done-pieces, not to get the links well-done - since, when I did that,
they took the links and finished em off in the frier, and IMHO they werent
anywhere near as good that way).

c8w

Hi,

This was for the Inspiration Cafe dinner, which probably indicates Will picked them up on Saturday. (Will - care to comment on the reheating instructions?)

The links we had seemed 'well done,' though Will will have to comment from his experience.

Just before the 4th of July, I smoked some Cajun chicken sausage my sister bought from a coworker. I included homemade Polish sausage I bought from on the southside just before Christmas. I probably smoked them to to your specification, which meant the chicken was a tad bit dry and the Polish was still quite good. What a difference a little fat makes!

Regards,

The chicken and sausage that Cathy ate on Sunday were indeed picked up on Saturday. We reheated both in a 325 oven with no cover for about 45 minutes.

The sausage holds up particularly well to reheating.

dicksond said:

Now the question is whether you will ever go to Lem's again.

You know, considering that the Lem's slab is more expensive, that seems like a die I won't be casting again any time soon. My loss, perhaps, but I think Honey 1 is set to open around the end of the month. 2 retail sources of quality slabs should tide me over. Now, about that WSM.....

c8w wrote:BTW, on the last trip to BA's (this Saturday), noticed they have a big
magazine article pasted above the ordering counter, complete with
color pictures. Forgot which magazine (maybe Chicago magazine?),
but a magazine that did an article recently on "rib tips in Chicago", going
thru several and rating them. BA's was the champion (which no doubt
is why the article was up there) with 28 points IIRC - second was
Robinsons (Ive never been, where is it exactly?) I believe third was
Honey One, with Lem's trailing further back.... and, the one that made me
laugh, Carson's IIRC brought up the rear with 12 points

The article was in the June 9-16 issue of Time Out Chicago. Ribs (not tips) were rated, using Kansas City Barbecue Society criteria, from 6 places: Barbara Ann’s (28 points), Robinson’s (26), Fat Willy’s (25), Honey 1 (24), Lem’s (16), Carson’s (11). The Robinson’s they rated was the 655 W Armitage location.

Kerensa and I and a friend went to Barbara Ann's for the first time yesterday. Traffic was so bad on 90/94 that we had to make a quick stop en route at Jim's Original for a pork chop sandwich and polish to temporary slake Kerensa's appetite, who had foregone solid food in the morning in order to leave a proper resting place in her belly for the BBQ to come.

I was pretty pleased with the BBQ - especially the hotlinks, which, when dunked, crazy-bread syle in the little cup of hotsauce, are especially good. The ribs were pretty good, although i'm not ready to rhapsodize like Time Out or the posters in this thread. Maybe I had an off-slab, but there was very little structural integrity to the spares: the bones fell right out, it was impossible to detach a single rib with accidentally deboning the meat. At the same time, the ends and edges were a little overcooked and tough. Also, there was a slick of unrendered pigfat under the sheaf of meat on top of the slab, which surprised me. I think it's usually rendered out in other slabs I've eaten. The weirdest thing was that there was no sign of the smoke ring that was so prominent in the TimeOut article. Either they got a better-prepared slab than I did, or everybody's getting better ribs than me from Barbara Ann. Tips were very good.

Overall, a more satisfying experience than recent orders at Lem's, but I'm not ready to give up on my old favorite entirely.

We ate on Rainbow Beach at 77th and the Lake, one of the rotating outdoor dining rooms that I use when going south of Hyde Park for BBQ. 67th St beach is another good spot, as is Jimmy's or the dining area at Hutchinson Commons on the U of C campus. Also, when at Lem's the hood of my car, or the strip of stainless steel that forms a ledge around the building.

We ate on Rainbow Beach at 77th and the Lake, one of the rotating outdoor dining rooms that I use when going south of Hyde Park for BBQ. 67th St beach is another good spot, as is Jimmy's or the dining area at Hutchinson Commons on the U of C campus. Also, when at Lem's the hood of my car, or the strip of stainless steel that forms a ledge around the building.

Thanks for the where-to-dine-on-takeout tips. Not necessarily having friends nearby to offer food in exchange for a place to sit and eat has always been a hang-up. Some food takes travel well and others don't, though I prefer to have it close to when the kitchen handed it to me.

Thanks!

Regards,

Rainbow Beach is good, but still a 10-15 minute drive from Barbara Ann's or Lem's. It's a little further than I remembered - I was there last with my family during college, when we toted Leon's from 75 & Stony over there. But there are benches, lake breezes, garbage cans and bathrooms.

Ah, Rainbow Beach! It must be over thirty years since I was last there, but the smell of dead alewives on the shore still comes back to me every time someone mentions it. I grew up in that area, and spent many happy childhood summers there. I doubt, however, that we ever brought barbeque to dine on - usually PB&J sandwiches.

Sounds like the perfect meal on a summer day.

As others have noted in the Lagniappe thread, Gary, Stevez, Pigmon and I went to Barbara Ann's after lunch to present the Great Neighborhood Restaurant placard. Gary also had a copy of the Slow Food book that BA's appears in to give to Mack.

The whole thing came off perfectly; we even got to meet Barbara Ann, who was there picking up the proofs of the photos from her daughter's medical school graduation. We tried to get a photo with her, but she was not feeling photogenic. It is my understaning that Barbara Ann owns the Motel and the restaurant, but that Mack is the manager of the BBQ side of the operation.

We also found out that Mack is the man behind "Uncle John's Hot Links;" these are the hot links he smokes for consumption at BA's, the raw links are also available for sale, a 20lb. box costs $32. Mack used to make the links himself, but he said he "couldn't keep up with demand," so now the links are made to his specification at Grant Park Packing, I believe.

After the photos had been taken and the GNR card taped over the counter, we got down to the eating. If I recall, we ordered a half slab and a tips-n-links combo for consumption on the spot. Said consumption resulted in a funny exchange between us and another patron. The 4 of us were standing around the back of Stevez's jeep in the small parking lot to the south of the restaurant. The gentleman who had ordered after us came out to his car and asked "if we thought we were at a Bears game, tailgaiting." He then advised us of another BBQ place in the neighborhood that offers seating. (I can't remember the name of the place, Gary might) Gary's response: "Yeah, but the BBQ here is much better." On this point, we were all in agreement.

The tips and links had us all forget about whatever shortcomings the lunch at Lagniappe might have had. (nb: the owner/operator of Lagniappe was not in the kitchen for our meal, we had a culinary student in her employ cooking for us.) The tips shone especially, and as Gary noted, even the fries were good. Great food, great company..I am so glad that my Great Neighborhood Restaurant nomination went to such a deserving place.

unbeknowneth wrote:He then advised us of another BBQ place in the neighborhood that offers seating. (I can't remember the name of the place, Gary might) Gary's response: "Yeah, but the BBQ here is much better." On this point, we were all in agreement.

Unbeknowneth,

We were talking about Captain Curt's BBQ which has a few locations and a line of BBQ sauce. I've been to Captain Curt's a few times and they are not, IMHO, in the same league as Barbara Ann's, Honey 1 or Lem's.

Unbeknowneth gave Mack the GNR, which he seemed genuinely pleased to be receiving.



So much so that, for the first time in all the years I've been going to Barbara Ann's, he allowed me behind the counter to take a few pictures.

Mack's 'Violin', a Chicago style Aquarium Smoker




40-lb box of Hot Links


Mack loading Hot Links on the Smoker


Barbara Ann's Hot Link after a few hours on the smoker


Mack's eye view. (Steve Z, Pigmon, Unbeknowneth)


Barbara Ann's Tips and Links


Smoke Wafting from Barbara Ann's (picture taken by Unbeknowneth)


Barbara Ann's BBQ and Motel (Picture by Unbeknowneth)


Barbara Ann's Motel Lobby


Church directly across the street


Additional pictures <Here>

We had an interesting and enjoyable time at Barbara Ann's. Learned a little more about Barbara Ann's and Mack, met Mack's very nice wife Shirley, even met Barbara Ann. Not only that, but the tips, links and ribs were simply terrific.

Great nomination Unbeknowneth, thanks for inviting us all along.

Enjoy,
Gary

I've got the in-laws coming into town and want to pick up some BAs for dinner tomorrow evening. It'll be my first trip to BAs, and I'm very much looking forward to it. Of course, I'm sitting on my hands waiting for the new Honey 1 to open as well. That will be a lot closer.

So, what should I get to please a group of 5? How far will a slab go? Two slabs and a large tips and links? A third slab? Or should I double up on the tips instead? How about sides?

your input is appreciated...

w-

What size appetites do these people have? Assuming a mixed crowd, I'd either go with 2 slabs and a large tips/links, or a full slab, a large tips, and a large links.

a mixed crowd yes. at the risk of sounding even more vague, i'd say two have above average appetites (my father-in-law and myself). then, say, three average. i don't really know how much pork they'll be able to put away. but i want to be on the safe side, as i'd rather have leftovers in any case.

maybe 2 slabs, one large tips, and one small (or regular size, not large) links.

i recognize this is a somewhat ridiculous line of questioning. it'll get eaten, no matter.

thanks!

whitesnake wrote:maybe 2 slabs, one large tips, and one small (or regular size, not large) links.

Whitesnake,

Unless you live within walking distance of Barbara Ann's, for a couple of bucks additional get a large order of links as well. Better than the off-chance of your in-laws sitting at your dinner table looking both fondly and forlornly at a sauce smudged, yet empty, plate of Barbara Ann's terrific links.

Enjoy,
Gary

point taken, Gary. i'm quite far away, in roscoe village, so there will be no return trip if we run out. precisely the type of prodding i was looking for.

in that case:

2 & 1/2 slabs of ribs
1 large order of tips
1 large order of links


should i order sauce on the side? do the ribs and tips come sauced? or?i've seen this discussed in different variations here before, sauce/sauce on the side, and can't recall which is the best way to go.

thanks for the suggestions ...

w--

Everything comes sauced by default (they'll ask you if you want regular or hot, I and many others get a mix of the two).

I always just let them put the sauce on, but if it's your first time you might want to get the sauce on the side, so you can apply it judiciously.

And definitely get a boatload of the links, well done. They're spectacular.

Hi,

Careful on the definition of well-done for the links. I'm sure you mean links which are longer cooked. I read where someone here asked for well-done then they dropped the links into the deep fat fryer.

Regards,

whitesnake wrote:

should i order sauce on the side?

You really should frame such questions with smiley's so we know you are kidding. Yes, sauce on the side. Darn it, now I want hot links for lunch and I simply don't have the time today.

Kman wrote:

whitesnake wrote:

should i order sauce on the side?

You really should frame such questions with smiley's so we know you are kidding. Yes, sauce on the side. Darn it, now I want hot links for lunch and I simply don't have the time today.

That's why I'm so desperate for Honey One to open up. I work less than a mile away. And yet, no love, because they're still. not. open.

So desperate.

I might have to go to barbara ann's tonight just to have my fix.

If you're in the new Honey1 neighborhood, I encourage you to try Calvin's Barbeque reviewed herein.

I've dined there three times now and been very satisfied each time with my take away booty of smoked meats and southern style veggies and desserts.

I DO recommend sauce on the side at Calvin's.

It's on Armitage east of California.

I agree that these are the best hot links anywhere!

I put them in spaghetti, too. And I would buy a 20 lb. box of those suckers if the box wasn't bigger than my freezer!

As for the fried chicken....

Well, let's just say that one day I orderd a fried chicken dinner. Just trying to branch out a bit, you know.

Absolutely unseasoned. At least that day. Made me wish that I had ordered some hot links with it. I could have used one of the links to give the chicken pieces a little flavor rubdown!

What is a hot link? Italian sausage? Also what does llRC mean? I'm new around here so go easy! Thanks!