Mary Lee's Smokehouse

Down in the area last night I spotted this joint right on the NE corner of State and Cermak. Grand opening banner proudly displayed on two sides of the place, and a well lit newish looking sign. Now I know what a lake trout feels like. I succumbed to the flash, and the word bbq. (Warning, cellphone pix ahead)




Using diplomacy, I asked the 3 yr old what sounded better: "Chinatown, or bbq." Each of the three times I asked, the answer was "bbq" with enough authority that I felt pretty confident he would eat well, so, I called up Mary Lee, and placed an order.

Tip link combo (sub turkey link) sauce on the side:

I didn't get a shot of the link, hunger took control.

1/2 chicken dinner, sauce on the side:


So their menu says they have turkey links. I asked what brand they were and was told GW sausage, maybe CW sausage. I figured I'd give it a shot. Fine grind, not very sagey, not very spicy. Not dry, but I just was not a big fan. Moo and Oink's turkey hot is like 50 x better imo. The tips were damn near perfectly prepared, but had no smoke flavor. I saw a massive bag labeled "LUMP CHARCOAL" in the middle of the kitchen, and an aquarium smoker. I'm guessing all charcoal, and no wood. The tips had great bark, which led to succulent meat underneath. Just no smoke flavor at all. They were good, just no smoke flavor. Like, none. Odd. The fried chicken (which was labeled as "glazed" on the menu - which kinda made me think it was bbq'd but I should have known better, right?) was very decent. Food service fries and white bread- nothing new there. Sauce tho. The HOT sauce was great. Had some kind of clovey thing going on, and I really liked it a LOT. It wasn't really hot, although it got a little warm after repeated usage. I would definitely not worry about getting it "mixed" like at some placecs where the hot sauce is just flat out searing **cough, cough, e69th street cough, cough**

Anyway, this was just decent, might be worth a trial if you have a hankerin and in the area, but do not want Chinese.
If I were to go back, I'd get a tip and regular link combo, or a tip and wing combo.
http://maryleessmokehouse.com/

Happy to finally see a report on Mary Lee's, thanks. The place has been open nearly a year now. I stopped by for a menu in early June (had just come from a meal in Chinatown so wasn't interested in eating) and was told they'd been open three months.

Mary Lee's "Grand Opening" last Spring


I was also told they use a mix of wood and charcoal. From what you say, maybe more charcoal than wood.

Mary Lee's Smokehouse
2 E Cermak Rd
Chicago
312-225-4544