Tuesday, 09 December 2008
There are always stretches on a drive you dread, not so much because its bad area or such but you just want to get where your going or you just want to get home! One such stretch of road is Metropolis, IL- home of Superman to St. Louis. Driving thru there on your way to KC is not bad, it's the coming back part that is the hardest. Well this time I decided to make a BBQ detour and go to the well known Mike Mills establishment - 17th Street Bar and Grill in Marion, IL. Mike has a great book he wrote called Peace, Love and BBQ that is a must have on any bbq reading list.
I want to preface my review of the 17th Street Bar and Grill - which is a honest to goodness Southern Style BBQ joint, to say the South did invent bbq but I would like to think Kansas City perfected it !!! My criteria for a BBQ joint is as follows:
1. Does it look like a BBQ joint inside and out? 2. Does it smell like a BBQ joint? 3. Do they have good portions 4. Do they use real wood? 5. Do they have at least 3 of the following- Ribs, Chicken, Pork and Brisket? 6. Does the name have BBQ in it, in some form? 7. Do the side items compliment the meats? 8. Can you dip a french fry in the sauce? If a place doesn't have the above you have to question if they are just playing with BBQ!!! Honestly Cracker Barrel has more criteria than alot of the BBQ places I have visit.
Mike Mill known as the "Legend" is a genius he has built a BBQ empire as the 3 time Memphis In May Champion- back in the early 90's, he is almost a better marketing guy that a BBQer! On the drive back from KC, I was tried of driving and wanted always try his bbq join. I wish that we could have arrived around 11:30p for lunch instead of almost 3:00pm note to self- meats usually set for the lunch rush and aren't quite as tasty! I had baby back ribs and brisket- lets say I loved the cole slaw and bananna puddin the best! ribs and brisket were just average- a bit dry and really burnt on the outside- I think they probably set too long also, which didn't help. I asked the server- what they thought was the best meat they served and he said beef ribs! I would have thought he would have said the pulled pork - which I didn't have.
I will say the cole slaw had a nice vinegar sweet flavor that had me wanting more and the bannana pudding was as good as I had anywhere! The sauce they served was a vinegar sauce with not a hint of tomato- I actully enjoyed this more than I thought, but was not a good french fry dipper! They also had a good rub on the table called "Magic Dust" that I can say is a great rub- I learned alot from Mike's book on making a rub and my rubs are similar.
Might have been a off day- (the best of places can have one) and I would still recommend you stop off to give it a try - 17th Street Bar and Grill might not have all of the criteria above but they are a shrine to one of the legends of BBQ - Mike Mills. So when you need a BBQ detour... give it a try and experiance some honest Southern BBQ!
If you have a BBQ joint you think is the stuff, email and share with me what makes it great, love to hear of the "Shrines of Smoke" in your life. Still reigning champ of the Shrines of Smoke - Jack Stack BBQ in Kansas City as they exceed every criteria and then some!
