Mike Mills BBQ

Upcoming Memphis trip approaches. My hubby heard about a bbq place called Mike Mills-- main restaurant is in Murphysboro, Il...We will be driving to Memphis from Champaign after dumping off the kid and the main restaurant might be too far out of the way, and is closed on Sunday on the way back. Looks like there is an outlet/offshoot in Marion, Il tho===anyone know if its the same goodness as the main place??

mike's place is great ,been a few times.here are a few also .
alittle off the path is strawberry's bbq in holcomb,mo.
try these


viewtopic.php?f=15&t=28523&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Mike's 1st restaurant is indeed in Murphysboro, just west of Carbondale. It is called 17th Street Bar & Grill. They serve Mike's three time Memphis In May Championship 'Que. It's good stuff, but it's best not to go in there with expectations raised too high. There's a big difference between preparing a single pork shoulder or brisket for a panel of trained judges and smoking up enough of same to feed several hundred people a day. In other words, it's good, but if you're expecting a revelatory experience in Barbecue, you are bound to be disappointed.

Now, if you're passing through Marion, my favorite is Triple E Bar-B-Q. Excellent grub from pulled pork to brisket, to ribs. our latest discovery there is the grilled bluegill sandwich. It's listed on the menu as fried, but we asked to have it grilled, and the kitchen happily complied. The resulting piece of fish was as good as, and possibly better than the best hunk of walleye I have had while dining in the Twin Cities.

Buddy

P.S. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, when you you're in Memphis, check out Payne's Bar-B-Que. This is real Southern 'Que. Sandwiches served with an amazing mustard slaw piled on top and a thin, red, vinegary sauce drizzled over the whole thing. Be sure to try a pulled pork sandwich and the Barbecued Bologna-positively transcendent!

Triple E Bar-B-Q
906 East Deyoung Street
Marion, IL 62959
(618) 997-1369

(Along with several other locations around southern Illinois)

Payne's Bar-B-Que
1762 Lamar Avenue
Memphis, TN 38114-1737
(901) 272-1523

(Second location in a better part of town, but why would you go there?)

Hi,

There a number of references to Mike Mills.

Regards,

The wife and I just made a stop to the original 17th Street on our way home from Memphis in May.

It was our last stop after having tasted 21 pulled pork, 6 baby back rib, 2 spare rib, 2 brisket and endless sweet tea tastings over the course of 2 1/2 days.

The best thing we had by far was the full rack of Baby Backs at 17th Street.

I have been to the Las Vegas location of Mike Mills Championship BBQ and the one in Marion you refered to but neither were close the the origional. Not to say the Marion outpost is bad, it is actually better than many other regarded places but it just isn't the same level of bbq IMHO.

Oh and the hush puppies were the best I have had in a long time!

Regards,

Bourbon

BuddyRoadhouse wrote:There's a big difference between preparing a single pork shoulder or brisket for a panel of trained judges and smoking up enough of same to feed several hundred people a day. In other words, it's good, but if you're expecting a revelatory experience in Barbecue, you are bound to be disappointed.

While it's been my experience that most restaurant competitors cook more than a single anything, I could not agree more regarding the difference in quality of BBQ.

After a half dozen or so comparisons, being featured on TV or having a room full of trophy's seldom reflects the quality of BBQ you might have at their restaurant. I think the biggest difference I have found was when I stopped at Jack's Old South BBQ & Grill in Vienna, GA. On the Main Street on the way to the restaurant I passed a storefront filled with their trophies. The sampler platter I had, to be kind, was mediocre at best.

Ron

MIM & KCBS Certified Judge

We usually go to one of Mike's places when we visit Las Vegas. At the Rainbow Blvd location I recently had the worst brisket sandwich ever. It was like a piece of shoe leather. When I complained to the waitress she said she noticed I was having trouble with the thing....but offered no explanation. It couldn't have been the first served that day as it was towards 2:00 in the afternoon. I gladly accepted a credit on my check and left.

That said, the Memphis Championship BBQ location near the airport (on Warm Springs Rd) provides good, although not great, stuff consistently.

I very much agree with the earlier posters who pointed out the difference between competition 'que and restaurant fare.

Just returned from a speaking engagement in southern Illinois. Because 17th Street Bar and Grill was recommended to me by several people attending the Soul Food presentation at Culinary Historians last month, I figured it was worth checking out. I'm by no means a leading expert on BBQ, but I can tell good from lame, and this was very good. I was staying in Marion, so it was the Marion location I visited. First night in town, I had the chicken wings, which came highly recommended by the enthusiastic staff (and, the menu noted, had been voted best wings by Food and Wine Magazine), and the beef brisket. Sides were collards (which needed the offered pepper vinegar, though which were otherwise fine) and fried okra, which was outstanding. Wings were great -- smokey, spicy, moist, tender, and flavorful. The beef brisket took a moment's readjustment -- had to remember we were closer to Memphis than Dallas. Then I enjoyed it tremendously.

Next night, not having seen much other than chain places as I drove to my speaking engagement in Carterville, I decided to return to 17th St., to try the award-winning ribs. I started with the southern-fried dill pickles, which were awesome -- and clearly intended for sharing (I had to take most of them home) -- thinly sliced, hot, crisp, spicy, and great. I got the half slab of ribs, which had a nice smoke ring, lots of meat, and good flavor. I'd order these again. Sides this time were hush puppies (very good, though not better than my own) and brisket-flavored green beans (kind of grew on me, and I decided I liked them, but mild enough to kind of suffer in comparison to the bold, spicy flavors of the pickles and ribs).

While I'd try one of the other places recommended up thread, given the opportunity (because, as noted above, this was not a revelation), if I were back in the area again, I wouldn't feel it was a hardship if I had to return to 17th Street Grill.

Thanks for bumping this thread, Cynthia. I've been meaning to post about a trip I made to the Murphysboro location of 17th Street BBQ last summer.



Having heard many tales of uneven quality at various times of the day (like any other BBQ shack worth its salt), I wasn't sure which 17th St. BBQ would meet me on my inaugural visit. Luck was on my side, because we timed our visit just right to get some fresh from the smoker ribs.

17th Street BBQ Rib Platter




As you can see from the above picture of my friend Kara Zor-El displaying a cross section of a rib, there was a nice smoke ring and, though this particular slab of ribs wasn't real meaty, they were cooked perfectly with just enough tug to make them interesting. The sides (beans & mac & cheese) were decent, too. For commercial BBQ, I was very impressed.

Somewhat surprisingly, the thing that made this meal memorable was dessert. I ordered vanilla pudding and this BBQ shack staple turned out to be the best version of 'Nilla Pudding I have ever had.

17th Street BBQ Vanilla Pudding


Besides having slices of banana and the requisite 'Nilla Wafers, the custard itself was especially banana forward. The pudding alternated layers with real whipped cream in a parfait-like arrangement. If, like me, you're a vanilla pudding fan, don't miss this version.

17th Street BBQ
32 N. 17th Street
Murphysboro, IL 62966
618 684-3722

2700 17th Street
Marion, IL 62959
618 998-1114

stevez wrote:

As you can see from the above picture of my friend Kara Zor-El displaying a cross section of a rib...

Well of course you were joined by Kara Zor-El. Murphysboro is only about 60 miles from Metropolis, as the crow--er, Supergirl flies.

Buddy

Stevez -- Thanks for the photos. Looks pretty much like the ribs in Marion. Tasty.

Stopped in Marion on the way back from Nashville for some fuel and dinner. Didnt think I was in the mood for any more bbq, but after eating at another spot I had to get a 1/2 slab to go. @$18 pretty steep - ok ribs., nowhere near as good as I had in Nashville. Still gotta try the Murphrysboro spot some day.

1/2 slab - Marion local - i did like the sauce and the magic dust:

Hi,

I was so close to Cairo, Illinois, I was less than 30 minutes away. I did not go, because it is just so depressing.

Instead I let the gps bring me to 17th St BBQ in Murphysboro, Illinois. Mike Mills died just before New Year's Eve in 2020 and fortunately his family is keeping the tradition alive.

For years, I would try to go the (now closed) Marion location. It would either be a Sunday or too late in the evening, though I still drove over hoping against hope.

On my way to my destination last weekend, I stopped at Murphysboro for my first ever meal under the Mike Mills roof. After consulting with someone at the next table, I ordered a 5-ounce pulled pork sandwich. The waitress suggested sides of baked beans and mac and cheese. Sadly the mac and cheese was the only disappointment with mushy overcooked macaroni with a dull sauce. The baked beans had several types of beans including lima in a sauce remarkably similar to the BBQ sauce.

The pulled pork was moist and smelled of smoke, but only had a few scatterings of bark. I consider it somewhat my fault, because I forgot to note I like bark when ordering.

When I left, I decided this would be my destination for late lunch on my way home. I announced to my hosts of my plans, they began to recommend better places to go. None were known to be operating that day, so they suggested I stick with my plans.

My mind danced between their Reuben or their brisket sandwich. For many years, Reubens were my default choice if available. I got myself out of that rut, but seem to be drifting back. I did order the Reuben that came with a pickle covering the cut edge of my sandwich. I ordered collards as a side. They were delicious with no additional sauce needed and what they did use was vinegary.

The cost difference between the Reuben and brisket sandwich was 50 cents. The brisket promised five ounces of meat. The Reuben was delicious, though could have used more meat. Certainly what they offered was less than five ounces. Was I really unhappy, not really though I would have enjoyed more.

It took over 20 years for this meal to finally happen. I hope to do it again soon, which is a relative term in my life.

On may way down I57, I did get a hamburger melt at Schoop's and the complimentary breakfast offered Saturday morning had biscuits and gravy.

As for driving, I did 886 miles. Truly I am a road warrior.

Regards,
Cathy2

Hi,

I forgot to mention, after I ordered I saw an appetizer I found very enticing: freshly made pork rinds or Chicharrones with magic powder sprinkled on.

I resisted ordering any for the trip home. Part of of me was proud to overcome the temptation and the other half kicking myself, especially when I have no idea when I may visit.

Regards,
Cathy2