BBQ in Chicago - Smoke Daddy

Actually, our plan was to visit Smoque today, as it was recommended to us by various locals. Unfortunately, it is closed on Mondays, so we looked for an alternative on the internet. Quickly, Smoke Daddy emerged as the new destination.

Smoke Daddy was opened in 1994 and is currently run by 4 owners. There is also live music 7 days a week.

From the outside, it may seem inconspicuous, but it quickly revealed its own charm upon entering.

We were greeted very kindly by Wendy, our waitress, who led us to our table. As our stay proceeded, we found out that Wendy will be visiting Munich in June 2017. We wished her a lot of fun.

Our order was as follows: Steffi chose a combo of half a slab of baby back ribs and half a chicken, with coleslaw and hand-cut fries as side dishes. I decided on a rib combo of baby back ribs, St. Louis style spare ribs, and rib tips, with coleslaw and smoked beans as side dishes as well. We were able to choose both side dishes freely. This time, we skipped the appetizers, as we didn't want to tackle such a large amount of food as at Belly Up again.

It was the right decision, as the portions were huge. The ribs were smoked with a slightly spicy BBQ sauce. We really enjoyed everything, although I don't think I'll become a fan of rib tips as they are simply too greasy for me.

When they also felt my BBQ interest here, they invited me to visit the holy of holies. The ribs are placed on the rotating grill racks in the gas grill at around 5 a.m. for about 4-6 hours (depending on the thickness of the meat). Smoking is done with a mixture of cherry, apple, and hickory wood. This way, about 200 ribs are prepared every day.

Finally, I wanted to buy the house-made Sweet and Smokey BBQ Sauce, the house rub (spice mix), and a t-shirt. I was almost taken aback when I was told that I would receive the rub and the shirt as a gift, totaling 25 dollars. Apparently, they were pleased that someone from Germany had such a great interest in BBQ. Steffi was also very happy for me. What a great conclusion to our BBQ tour through Chicago...

Overall conclusion: Place 1 for Smoke Daddy, closely followed by Belly Up. The Weber Grill Restaurant came in third place with a little distance.