Finding myself in the area last night and looking for an early dinner, I swung by Lillie Q with a friend and ordered a meat sampler, fries, grits, mac and cheese, and a few beers.

Given all the praise from BBQ crowd on the board, I guess I had high expectations for the meats. Though soft and tender, the tri-tip didn't deliver the smoke flavor I was looking for. A bit of salt helped bring out the smoke flavor, but definitely mild. The pulled pork also needed a touch of salt to bring out the smoke and porky flavors, but the salt did nothing for the lack of bark or textural contrast. I really liked the ribs though - great flavor and, at least for me, the perfect balance between tender and chewy. All three sides were very good. The slice of brioche was a cute stand-in for the slice of white bread, but in it's eggy richness, didn't really play the same functional role.

The friend I was with lives in Knoxville and was raised in Mississippi, and I was raised in Virginia and lived there until I moved out here. We both got a kick out of the Disney-esque caricature of the South. If I order my pulled pork "Southern style" does that mean it'll be drinking Coors Light in the back of a pickup pulled in to a gas station? While rural southerners are fond of canning, I've never seen beer served in Ball jars. I half expected an animatronic redneck plucking a banjo and chewing on a piece of straw. I guess expected a certain amount of country kitsch, but somewhere it went over the edge for me.

-Dan

Tri-tip is a whole different kind of "BBQ" that doesn't really fit the traditional definition -- at least the way it's prepared in its native habitat of Santa Maria. It's more like Baltimore pit beef or Brazilian rodizio the way it's a large cut cooked to a crusty-on-the-outside medium rare over a hot open flame. Not a style that's going to impart a ton of smoke flavor. I like it. Decide for yourself if it's "BBQ." No clue if they are doing it the "traditional" California style, by the way. I assume so based on the reports.

Also, no Coors Light in the South where I grew up. Bud Light, sure.

JeffB wrote:Tri-tip is a whole different kind of "BBQ" that doesn't really fit the traditional definition -- at least the way it's prepared in its native habitat of Santa Maria. It's more like Baltimore pit beef or Brazilian rodizio the way it's a large cut cooked to a crusty-on-the-outside medium rare over a hot open flame. Not a style that's going to impart a ton of smoke flavor. I like it. Decide for yourself if it's "BBQ." No clue if they are doing it the "traditional" California style, by the way. I assume so based on the reports.

Though raised in Virginia, I was born in Southern California and visit family there regularly. I love grilled tri-tip (though I prefer mine marinated, not the Santa Maria minimalist dry-rub style), but that's not what's being served at Lillie Q. My serving, at least, showed no signs of having been exposed to direct heat. Radiator's post points to the tri-tip being done in the smoker and being cooked for hours.

JeffB wrote:Also, no Coors Light in the South where I grew up. Bud Light, sure.

Bud Light is definitely dominant where I lived (followed closely by Miller Lite), Coors Light just happens to be my personal cheap beer of choice.

-Dan

edited to fix typo

dansch wrote:

JeffB wrote:Tri-tip is a whole different kind of "BBQ" that doesn't really fit the traditional definition -- at least the way it's prepared in its native habitat of Santa Maria. It's more like Baltimore pit beef or Brazilian rodizio the way it's a large cut cooked to a crusty-on-the-outside medium rare over a hot open flame. Not a style that's going to impart a ton of smoke flavor. I like it. Decide for yourself if it's "BBQ." No clue if they are doing it the "traditional" California style, by the way. I assume so based on the reports.

Thought raised in Virginia, I was born in Southern California and visit family there regularly. I love grilled tri-tip (though I prefer mine marinated, not the Santa Maria minimalist dry-rub style), but that's not what's being served at Lillie Q. My serving, at least, showed no signs of having been exposed to direct heat. Radiator's post points to the tri-tip being done in the smoker and being cooked for hours.

JeffB wrote:Also, no Coors Light in the South where I grew up. Bud Light, sure.

Bud Light is definitely dominant where I lived (followed closely by Miller Lite), Coors Light just happens to be my personal cheap beer of choice.

-Dan

No Coors east of the Mississippi until 1981

boudreaulicious wrote:No Coors east of the Mississippi until 1981

And on the 11th day of April that very same year, I was born.

Not sure what that has to do with BBQ, but clearly very fascinating.

-Dan

dansch wrote:Not sure what that has to do with BBQ, but clearly very fascinating.

Dan,

You are bit young to remember, and so is Boudreaulicious for that matter, but Coors was a big deal in the Midwest mainly for the fact it was impossible to obtain. I remember carting a case of Coors in my luggage from a California visit. Seems impossibly silly now, but back when I was a lad...........

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

dansch wrote:Not sure what that has to do with BBQ, but clearly very fascinating.

Dan,

You are bit young to remember, and so is Boudreaulicious for that matter, but Coors was a big deal in the Midwest mainly for the fact it was impossible to obtain. I remember carting a case of Coors in my luggage from a California visit. Seems impossibly silly now, but back when I was a lad...........

Enjoy,
Gary

Staying off topic. When I was in the military (in the 70's), and stationed in NC, our unit flew to the Mojave desert for a big joint desert training excercise. When we loaded our vehicles on the aircraft to return back east, the Air Force could not figure out why they weighed so much more going back than they did coming west. It was because of all the cases of Coors hidden in the trucks. We even purposely left behind a couple of big tents to make up for the extra weight. Your tax dollars at work.

As I recall, the going price for a sixer of coors in NC was about $8, a 400% markup over the normal PX price for other brews. I still don't know what the fascination was, except for its lack of availability. It was (and still is) pretty crappy beer. I also remember in the 1980's, driving up to Stevens Point WI to buy cases of bar bottles of Point beer. I still have a baseball cap somewhere with their old tagline, "When you're out of Point, you're out of town". Ahh, the good old days before micro-breweries and mega-hoppy beers.

but Coors was a big deal in the Midwest mainly for the fact it was impossible to obtain.

Make that Great Lakes; we had it in Kansas, which is assuredly Midwest. I assume the dividing line was the Mississippi or some such. Don't forget, Coors is what the Bandit was trying to get past Smokey:



Anyway, yeah, Lillie's Q's is nothing like Santa Maria tri-tip, it's lightly smoked on the outside, very tender inside. I love it.

Actually, the Ks/Mo line. Coors was considered a regional beer and was sold in 11 Western states.
Here's an interesting piece on their business model and how it changed:
http://faculty.haas.berkeley.edu/meghan ... _Coors.pdf

New winter menu items available now @ Lillie's Q

Texas-style hot link
Lillie’s Q has added a housemade Texas-style hot link to its list of BBQ meats. The Texas-style hot links are half beef and half pork, and they are smoked in-house for about two hours.

There’s a “Hot Link Sandwich” served on a brioche bun for $8, and patrons can make the sandwich “Southern Style” (topped with housemade coleslaw) for an additional dollar. The hot links are also available by the half-pound ($10) and by the pound ($18).

The Texas-style hot link is also available as part of the “Taste of LQ” where patrons choose three of the five Lillie’s Q BBQ meats (Texas-style hot link, pulled pork, baby back ribs, tri-tip, quarter chicken) as a platter. The “Taste of LQ” costs either $17 (without baby back ribs) or $19 (including baby back ribs).

Hush puppies
A new “For The Table” appetizer. Housemade corn batter is mixed with scallions and pimentos, then formed into balls, and finally deep-fried. The light and crispy hush puppies are served with a housemade sweet potato dressing for dipping. There are nine hush puppies in each order, and each order costs $5.

Collard greens
A new side. The collard greens are braised with ham hocks, pork stock, cider vinegar, hot sauce, and onions. Each order costs $4.

Grilled pimento cheese
A new “Non-Q” item added to the menu due to customer requests and popularity of the pimento cheese appetizer. Lillie’s Q pimento cheese (cheddar, pimentos, jalapenos, Duke’s Mayonnaise, spices) is spread between two slices of thick brioche Texas Toast. The sandwich is then cooked in cast iron and served hot. The grilled pimento cheese sandwich costs $8, and patrons can add housemade bacon to it for an additional dollar.

You can look at them all here: http://twitpic.com/375yrz

(Disclaimer: I own my own PR company, and Lillie's Q is one of my clients.)

had a great time at lillie q 's yesterday .
about 40 bbq people , ribs & tri tip was tops

Last night was a lot of fun! I had a chance to see some old friends and meet a bunch o new BBQ enthusiasts!

Everything was good, but for me the Fried Pickles, Pimento Cheese and Tri-Tip were the best.

Ron_L wrote:Everything was good, but for me the Fried Pickles, Pimento Cheese and Tri-Tip were the best.

Agree on the Tri-Tip, with ribs a close second. Pulled pork a little watery and devoid of smoke, but Texas style hot links more than made up.

Lillie's Q Tri-Tip



Texas style hot links



Lillie's Q Ribs



Fun interesting evening in the company of BBQ guys and gals. Thanks to Dave 'Sweet Baby' Raymond for organizing and Charlie McKenna/Lillie's Q for hosting.

Enjoy,
Gary

A crowd of the X clan and me descended upon Lillie Q's after some cocktails at the Violet Hour. We were hungry and immediately ordered fried pickles, the pimento spread and hush puppies. Loved the spiciness of the pimento spread. The pickles were steaming hot just out of the fryer. They were good, just a bit on the salty side. The hush puppies didn't excite me as much. They seemed dry and weren't as hot as I would have liked. We continued the sharing theme with an order of shrimp and grits, ribs (8 bones), a combo platter with hot links, pulled pork and tri-tip, plus an assortment of sides (mac & cheese, collard greens, green beans, coleslaw, and sweet potato fries.) There was not a scrap of food left and that wasn't just because we came in hungry. We all had our favorites: me = tri-tip, Mr. X's nephew = pulled pork, and so on. No dessert for our crew as it was getting late. It was a great meal and I look forward to going back again.

Made my first visit to Lillie's Q Friday night with friends. They were packed at 9:45, to the point that we opted to split up with my friends taking an open two-top while I grabbed some space at the bar. Nice selection of beer was a pleasant surprise, and I started with a Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA before deciding on a Taste of LQ with the pulled pork, tri-tip, and Texas-style hot link. I knew it would be too much food, but opted for a side of mac and cheese as well.

The tri-tip was great - tender but not devoid of chew, with a medium-level yet very prominent smokiness. Delicious without sauce, and by far the highlight of my meal.

Texas-style hot link had no snap to it whatsoever, which was disappointing. Flavor was fine, but rather muted. Not a bad option as part of a sampler, but nothing I would ever want to make my main dish at Lillie's.

Pulled pork was having an off night based on some of the past feedback in this thread - not very porky, devoid of smoke flavor entirely. It became a vehicle for sampling their fine sauces.

Mac and cheese was fine - nothing phenomenal, but slightly above average.

By the time we left at 10:45 the only other customers were at the bar, so we caught the tail end of the Friday night rush at 9:45. It was a good meal all in all, and I will gladly return, most likely the next time friends want to spend a night drinking in Wicker Park. Next time will probably be the tri-tip and ribs though, and skipping sides to give that banana pudding a try if possible.

Had a fantastic dinner at Lillie's Q this past Independence Day.

Started off with a drink - Lillie Palmer 90 proof Moonshine

Ordered Fiancee the 125 proof because I'm a jerk that way.

Once we ordered drinks, it was time to get our meal going
OYSTERS Eastern North Carolina Vinegar Sauce

I love oysters. That being said, it was difficult to enjoy because of the sea of salt placed in the pan.

CORNBREAD Tupelo Honey Butter
SEASONED FRIES Carolina Dirt

Fantastic. Cornbread was a bit drier than I'm used to, but when dipped in that honey butter, nothing else mattered.

PULLED PORK SANDWICH BBQ Pork, Brioche Bun

Amazing. Pulled pork was fantastic (as to be expected), but the coleslaw really made the dish. Haven't had great slaw since my vacation to North Carolina.

TASTE OF LQ Pick of Three Meats

Decided to go with their (from left to right) BABY BACK RIBS Ribs, Carolina Dirt, Apple Glaze, PULLED PORK, and QUARTER CHICKEN Chicken Breast, Wing, Carolina Dirt.
Not much to say here. Everything was right on point and I would partake in again given the chance.

One thing I didn't really care for were their COLLARD GREENS Greens, Ham Hock


Fantastic meal. Next time I'm at Lillie's, I will skip the Oysters and (based on what's been said) sub their tri-tip for their quarter chicken.

Since my last post about a year ago, I've had two visits to Lillie's Q and I think they're doing a really fine job. The brioche bun which was too buttery on my initial visit has been fine on two subsequent visits.

I also want to say that they're serving my favorite shrimp and grits in town. They're certainly not perfect, but pretty damn good. Grits are really creamy but with some bite (I don't like my grits too smooth) and quite buttery. The shrimp are really aggressively and nicely seasoned. My only complaint is that there's so much grits and only five shrimp - they could use a good sauce to bring the two together because you end up with an uneven shrimp to grit ratio. That being said, great flavor . . . much better than what I've had at Big Jones for example. I still think my favorite version of the dish is the one served with head and tail on at Dante's Kitchen in New Orleans.

I must have really bad luck. I went for the third (and what I imagine will be last) time this past weekend and hadn't planned on posting until I saw BR's post above.

I still found the brioche bun to be overwhelming and ended up eating my pulled pork with a fork. Seasoned fries were good, but came out lukewarm at best. Most importantly, the pulled pork was mediocre, delivering neither smoky nor porky flavor. Texture was also an issue; even the bits that visually looked like crusty bark were mushy. It definitely struck me as pork that had been pre-pulled and held too long.

Credit where credit is due - I do really like their Carolina Gold sauce.

-Dan

At Fresh Farms in Niles, the store that seemingly has everything, they now sell Lillie's Q BBQ Sauces.

Fresh Farms
5740 West Touhy
Niles, IL 60714
847-779-7343

My wife and I had a spontaneous dinner here at last night. Spontaneous due to the freaking traffic on the Edens and Kennedy that messed up our original plans.

Anyway - we we had theater tickets in the neighborhood. I figured I'd park the car in the 'hood and somewhere between where I park and the theater, we'd find a spot for a quick bite. The Parking Gods were watching over me and I found a free spot off of North Ave that didn't involve the money-grabbing LAZ machine and/or a neighborhood permit.

Back to the food. Walking along North Ave, we passed this place. It was packed. Lucky us, no wait for a table.

We each ordered a eight bone portion of ribs along with a side of coleslaw. My wife ordered her ribs dry. Good eats indeed.

Other than the noise level making conversation difficult, I would definitely make a return visit to work my way through the menu - perhaps at an off-peak time.

They had a fire early this morning - http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/5 ... -74826230/

Their statement:

We come to all of you with heavy hearts this morning. Last night after our Bucktown restaurant closed, a fire broke out down in our basement. The fire started from a hot water heater down in the basement. There's been significant fire damage to the restaurant and to the apartments upstairs. Thankfully nobody was injured in the restaurant or in the apartments upstairs. Our Bucktown location and our Chicago French Market location are closed indefinitely. We're so grateful for all the outpouring of support from everyone. We'll be back somewhere, somehow, and someway.

https://www.facebook.com/LilliesQ/posts ... 4690676320

this is so sad. I never went to the original location, but I had been enjoying the French market one.

Lillie’s Q chef/owner Charlie McKenna re-opened his Chicago French Market location in the West Loop (131 N Clinton St) at 11am today with an extremely limited menu – just a week after its Bucktown location suffered significant fire damage.*

Pulled pork sandwiches on brioche buns ($7), pulled pork by the half pound ($9), pulled pork by the pound ($17), and sides of Southern-style coleslaw ($3) will be the only food available for sale today at the Lillie’s Q French Market location. Today, the French Market location will remain open until all the food – prepped at Ovie Bar & Grill in the Metra Transportation Center that adjoins the Chicago French Market – is sold.

The Lillie’s Q French Market location will resume its regular schedule of opening at 10am on Saturdays starting tomorrow. The regular French Market weekday schedule of opening at 10am resumes this Monday. The Lillie’s Q French Market location will serve a limited menu for some time, and will close each day when all its food is sold.

* (I am the publicist for Lillie's Q)

The Lillie's Q location in Bucktown (1856 W North Ave) is slated to re-open in mid-June pending inspections and permitting. The Bucktown location has been closed since the restaurant caught on fire back on May 14 after a hot water heater in the basement malfunctioned and caught on fire.

Lillie's Q chef Charlie McKenna and his competition BBQ team (which includes his father, Quito) are currently in Memphis and will compete this weekend in the whole pork shoulder category at the Memphis In May World Championship Barbeque Cooking Contest.

The Lillie's Q Chicago French Market location at (131 N Clinton St) is still serving a limited menu (pulled pork, slaw, occasionally collard greens) Monday thru Saturday.

(I am the publicist for Lillie's Q)

daveandrews3 wrote:The Lillie's Q location in Bucktown (1856 W North Ave) is slated to re-open in mid-June pending inspections and permitting. The Bucktown location has been closed since the restaurant caught on fire back on May 14 after a hot water heater in the basement malfunctioned and caught on fire.

The Lillie's Q Bucktown location re-opens to the public at 5pm tonight with its full food and beverage menu.

The Lillie's Q Bucktown location will resume its regular hours on Friday, June 14. The Lillie’s Q Bucktown location will open at 11am daily. The Lillie's Q Bucktown location will close at 10pm Sunday thru Thursday and will close at 11pm Friday thru Saturday.

* I am the publicist for Lillie's Q

daveandrews3 wrote:The Lillie's Q Bucktown location re-opens to the public at 5pm tonight with its full food and beverage menu.

The Lillie's Q Bucktown location will resume its regular hours on Friday, June 14. The Lillie’s Q Bucktown location will open at 11am daily. The Lillie's Q Bucktown location will close at 10pm Sunday thru Thursday and will close at 11pm Friday thru Saturday.

* I am the publicist for Lillie's Q

Is the French Market location back to the full menu, then?

Independent George wrote:

daveandrews3 wrote:The Lillie's Q Bucktown location re-opens to the public at 5pm tonight with its full food and beverage menu.

The Lillie's Q Bucktown location will resume its regular hours on Friday, June 14. The Lillie’s Q Bucktown location will open at 11am daily. The Lillie's Q Bucktown location will close at 10pm Sunday thru Thursday and will close at 11pm Friday thru Saturday.

* I am the publicist for Lillie's Q

Is the French Market location back to the full menu, then?

The French Market location will be back to its full menu early next week. I'll make sure to keep you all in the loop when it does. Thanks.

The Lillie's Q location inside the Chicago French Market is back servings its full menu as of today. The French Market location menu is slightly different than the Bucktown location menu. You can view the French Market menu at http://lilliesq.com/frenchmarket.htm and click on "Menu" on the top left.

Lillie's Q ~ Chicago French Market location
131 N Clinton St
Chicago, IL 60661
no phone

Hours:
10am to 7pm Monday thru Friday
10am to 4pm Saturday
closed Sunday

* I am the publicist for Lillie's Q

I finally made it to Lillie's Q for dinner last night. There was a 45-minute wait when our party arrived at 8 PM, so we headed down the block to the Southern for a few beers. It was a good place to pass the time while waiting for our table to open up.

After being seated, we ordered some oysters, deep-fried pickles, cole slaw, baked beans, 1lb of the tri-tip and 1lb of the pulled pork.

Of the sides/appetizers, the deep-fried pickles proved to be the star of the show. My two dining companions agreed that they were fantastic. Great, flavorful batter and a nice snap. The oysters, beans and slaw were all good as well.

The barbecue was uneven. On the one hand, all three of us found the pulled pork disappointing--no smokey flavor, not much bark, soft meat. It just wasn't good. On the other hand, we all thought the tri-tip was terrific--tender meat, nice beefy flavor, great texture. No sauce was needed for this dish. My only regret was that there wasn't more.

Overall, I would definitely return to Lillie's Q, although I may skip the pulled pork next time. Instead, I'll get the tri-tip and hot links for sure--and possibly the fried chicken, which looked spectacular.

Serious Eats sure liked their pulled pork sandwich, enough to select it as best in Chicago. http://chicago.seriouseats.com/2013/07/ ... icago.html