G Wiv wrote:Barbara Ann Link Lovers,
Vince went on to say that, as of last month, Rib House/Barbara Ann's was sold and will be reopening in the near future under new management. Mack was the owner, he sold the business. Vince has spoke to the new owner, a woman, and they fully intend to keep the exact same hot link from Grant Park.

Enjoy,
Gary

Drove by BA's again last weekend, it still wasnt open - however, scrawled
on the wooden boards that are across the glass were the words "Will Open
Soon".

So, of course, I stopped in and went to the motel office, and asked. And the
woman there said theyd open very soon, hopefully by this weekend she
said. I asked if it was still the same owners, and she said "basically". I asked
if Mack was still around - and by this time she was getting busy and probably
trying to get rid of me, but she said "yeah yeah he is" So I thanked her
and quickly left.

Ive heard this story before so am trying not to get my hopes up - however,
there clearly was *some* movement, the scrawl on the wood claiming theyre
opening soon is new If someone manages to drive by this weekend or
sooner, please do let us all know.

(Oh, and Ive tried links at lots of places now, and still not found anything
remotely as good. Lem's was actually decent the last time, the best of the
second-tier links so far IMHO, but still not a patch on what good ole BA's was
under Mack. Hopefully they'll still be as good when they reopen).

c8w

HELP! I am new to this site! I stumbled onto this site after googling Brudders BBQ and N.N. Smokehouse, which I believe were the same guys. It was the best bbq EVER and if anyone knows where they went, please tell me! Do they own Honey 1?

I just tried Fat Willys Rib shack and was once again dissapointed because it paled in comparison to Brudders! I think my family were the only people to go there and we were very sad when it closed! Any info would be great!

Congratulations JeanneBean...You are registered member 1500 of LTHForum!

And to answer Jeanne's question, no, they don't have the same owners. Honey 1 is owned by Robert Adams Sr., who hasn't owned or operated any BBQ shacks before H1's Division St. incarnation.

And N.N. Smokehouse was owned by Larry Tucker, who now has LT's Grill.

Brudders closed? And had good BBQ? We had some friends that lived quite near there, and we lived pretty close ourselves, but were deeply suspicious of the place, particularly as a spot for quality BBQ.

About 15 years ago my cousins had a housewarming party catered by N.N Smokehouse. It was REALLY good and the location was by Lakeview HS.

Then a few years later Brudders opened up and we were told it was the same guy.

Brudders was really good. Great meat and sauce you could drink. ( it was that tasty!) They had a Sunday brunch buffet.

THe decor was beautiful, New Orleans, jazzy style with a full bar and live entertainment.

It was totally in the wrong neighborhood. We knew it wouldn't last.

I would kill for one of they're pulled pork sammies!

An exciting announcement.....

Evil Ronnie and I were there last night and Robert Jr. said they are planning on adding many new "sides", soon

The Lovely Donna wrote:An exciting announcement.....

Evil Ronnie and I were there last night and Robert Jr. said they are planning on adding many new "sides", soon

Lovely Donna,

No new sides as of yesterday, but Honey 1 was kicking ass and taking names BBQ wise. Tried the BBQ chicken for the first time yesterday and it was really good, moist, smokey, juicy and, due to Honey 1's direct style of BBQ, the skin was damn tasty.

Our friends from Houston really liked the BBQ as well, Jan in particular loved the chicken, and John said the BBQ was better than his favorite, Otto's, in Houston. OK, he didn't really say it was better than Otto's, but he ate 1/2-slab of spares, links and a bunch-o-tips all the while smiling.

Also met Octarine and his two very nice kids, Mike G and for her first, and not last, time at Honey 1 MAG. MAG was awfully quite for 15 or so minutes, so I'm assuming she liked Honey 1 as well.

Robert Jr confided biz has been a bit slow, personally I intended to do my part to help them pick up from the post holiday doldrums.

Enjoy,
Gary

Honey 1
2241 N Western
Chicago, IL
773-227-5130

I swung by last night (7:30) to pick up some ribs and links for dinner, only to find they were out of slabs. Disappointing, certainly, although the combo I got instead was more than good enough to make me forget my worries.

gleam wrote:I swung by last night (7:30) to pick up some ribs and links for dinner, only to find they were out of slabs. Disappointing, certainly, although the combo I got instead was more than good enough to make me forget my worries.

Ed,

Have you tried the wings? They hand bread just before frying and are really quite addictive, crisp and moist. When at Honey 1 with a group I like to order a basket just so I can have one or two along with the BBQ.

We had a basket of the wings yesterday and they were a big hit.

Enjoy,
Gary

I haven't, though they've sounded great in the past. The main reason I haven't is that whatever I get is usually destined for home, 15 minutes away, and I don't like to let fried chicken travel. It just is never the same.

Those wings have traveled to my house--about fifteen minutes away--(too) many times. They have been fantastic each time. I second Gary's recommendation!

After sort of gorging on Honey 1 when they first opened, I didn't go there for six weeks or more, indeed the only BBQ I had in that time was in Kansas City. Yesterday was my first trip back-- and damn, it was good. I think it's a step up since I was last there, maybe Mr. A really is settling into a groove with his new smoker, his clientele and everything else. Our food was just spot on (although I will say that I'm a dissenter on the chicken wings, they didn't do that much for me). The smoked chicken is a good alternative for people who don't want the pork, while the ribs, tips and links were just outstanding, juicy, tender, deeply smoky (the ring must have been a quarter inch). Get thee to Honey 1, he's really on his game.

I stopped by last night for a liitle BCS grub with friends. the house was low on slabs. So, we took one slab and 2 orders of 12 wings. The wings were pretty darn good, i must admit. Thw que was it's usual excellent product.

gleam wrote:I swung by last night (7:30) to pick up some ribs and links for dinner, only to find they were out of slabs. Disappointing, certainly, although the combo I got instead was more than good enough to make me forget my worries.

Wow - we were probably there at the same time! Maybe all LTH members should receive a secret ring or necklace. Then, we could exchange a subtle nod when we see each other - like culinary Freemasons!
I was also disappointed they were out of slabs but the combo I ordered was fantastic!

johnny wrote:Maybe all LTH members should receive a secret ring or necklace. Then, we could exchange a subtle nod when we see each other - like culinary Freemasons!

Oh, hell-to-the-naw.

I scan EBay everyday, hoping against hope, that maybe, just possibly, there exists a "Magic Cape of Anonymity."

E.M.

johnny wrote:Maybe all LTH members should receive a secret ring or necklace. Then, we could exchange a subtle nod when we see each other - like culinary Freemasons!

The people on the Knit List make teeny blue socks and pin them to their lapels...

You know, if you look around for large people who seem to have ordered one of everything, that should pretty much do it.

One of the first times I followed a Chowhound recommendation was to Mogotes de Michoacan with my friend Wyatt; it just took him about two minutes to notice an imposing gringo dressed all in black with a black goatee and go, "I wonder if he heard about this where you heard about this..."

I say, a bottle of green "El Yucateco" (sp) on the table should be the secret handshake.

Imagine walking into Cereality next to the Merc and seeing green bottles all over. That would be funny

Willkat98 wrote:I say, a bottle of green "El Yucateco" (sp) on the table should be the secret handshake.

Imagine walking into Cereality next to the Merc and seeing green bottles all over. That would be funny

I guess that is a better idea then mine - which was that we all get a hot dog tattoo on our neck.

johnny wrote:I guess that is a better idea then mine - which was that we all get a hot dog tattoo on our neck.

Could you imagine the heated discussion over which hot dog the tattoo should be?

HI,

At least style of hot dog might be easier than pizza styles!

I've met a few people who either overheard my conversation or I overheard theirs. If it seems like it is someone from LTH, I might ask how did they learn of this place. It is especially apparent if someone is new to a place, seems very familiar with the restaurant and menu already though they have never visited and is carrying around some notes on what to order. Of course, then you get the question: are you a restaurant critic?

Why not the black and brown diamonds of the LTH logo, without the letters, in a pin? It can worn in your hat, coat or shirt.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Why not the black and brown diamonds of the LTH logo, without the letters, in a pin? It can worn in your hat, coat or shirt.

Regards,

Pin? How about bowling shirts?

I still want the LTH clubhouse, kinda like the Ravenite Social Club, to drink excellent espresso and conduct dijion mustard tastings.

Would the bowling shirts have our LTH names embroidered on the front??

Suzy

I would SO buy one of those! Off to CafePress to see what they can do.

I would feel quite guilty if Honey 1 were to fail at their new location due to lack of business. Myself, and other members of this forum have been encouraging them to move for years. They definitely need some better sides and signage, though.

Doing my part, I'm picking up seven slabs and a couple of turkey legs in a couple of hours.

-ramon

I picked up a small tips/links combo and whole chicken on Friday to have for dinner. The links are very good, if BA's are better, my gosh, they must be orgasmic! The fries were better than last time, more done.

I was there around 2 and there were 2 other people picking food up, but no one eating.

Well, the Barbara Ann link is different. It has a different flavor because of the sage in it and so on. It also has dice-sized cubes of fat, which frankly I find I have to pick out the most egregious examples of before I can eat it. At the least, you might want to start with the Honey 1 link, which is pretty damned wonderful, but less obviously lardocious, as your training link.