Chicago Rib House

Has anyone been to the Chicago Rib House? I walked by the other day and wondered why I have never tried it and never heard of anyone who has.

David Hammond mentioned the vibe, but not the food, over in this thread about Jim's Original. Here's hoping he chimes in.

I've been there, though not for several years. They do baby back ribs in a style most people here would probably term "meat Jell-O."

Chicago Rib House
312/751-2233
312/944-7933
800 N. Dearborn St.
Chicago

gleam wrote:David Hammond mentioned the vibe, but not the food, over in this thread about Jim's Original. Here's hoping he chimes in.

Hey Ed, thanks for the reminder.

I actually liked Chicago Rib House a lot more than I thought I would...especially the fried chicken, which is just floured and fried (nothing fancy here, and I like that there's no gloppy breading on this flash-fried birdy).

Greens were horrible; I salt pizza, I salt everything, but even I thought the sad leaves here were over-salted to the point of inedibility.

Ribs were okay, though they didn't have the smoke flavor I'd hoped for; the tips in particular were good, though, with a jerky-like, amber-magenta crust. I like a vinegary slaw, and that's what they serve here; thee acid balances the rich meat nicely.

Hammond

I've been there. Not a big fan. Meat Jello is an apt description.

Ho, wait. We're talking about two different Chicago Rib Houses. I didn't notice the address on the LAZ post. The one I'm referring to is...

The Chicago Rib House
3851 S. Michigan Avenue
773-268-8750

I was reading all these reviews about meat jello and wondering, what the heck...but this explains it. Again, I'm not presenting this southside rib house as anywhere in the same league as Barbara Ann's or Honey 1's, but my guess is that it's a step above the place of the same name on Dearborn.

My wife and I used to go when we lived in the area. It certainly is a nice alternative to most of the tourist places further East. Although I can't say the ribs were anything special, it was a good spot to grab a beer and burger. From what I recall, they had some decent afternoon happy hour specials.