17th Street Barbecue

Was on out way to Cobden and stopped in for some Barbecue. Everyone was so friendly. The owner happened to be in the building and came over and spoke with us. The food was absolutely delicious we did the sampler so we could try a few things. Everything was good! They have this seasoning called Magic Dust. We purchased a bottle to take home. If your looking for some great food and a warm welcoming environment stop on in.

I really like this place. The waiters were very nice and over the top accommodating. They made sure that the food allergies were taken seriously. More than that they had a whole gluten-free menu which I really appreciated. The only feedback I would have is I wish that the gluten-free menu would have not showed croutons in the salad but anyone with the allergy would know not to get them.

I first ate here back in the 90s, when I was a student at SIU. I often ate here with my buddies and I have fond memories of the place. I make in down this way every five years or so and I make it a point to come here. It's as delicious today as it was then. The place hasn't changed and I love it. There is no need to change perfection..

I can't say I was a fan of the food. The pork tasted like old crawfish and the nachos were drenched in grease. I will say the fried pickles were wonderful, along with the atmosphere. The pig theme was well done and everything looked clean

Lauren was such a great server! Made this a 5 star! We had a large group and she kept everything in order for us. She kept checking in and made sure our drinks were full. We tried a bunch of different dishes. The ribs and brisket were the best. The sausage and pulled pork were good. The potato salad and fries were the best I've had in a long time. The fried pickles were so satisfying. The Mac and cheese was average. The green beans were not bad. Appreciate the variety of sauces on the table as well, the flavor in the sauce was good across the board. Overall I highly recommend this place if you enjoy good BBQ. The prices are very reasonable and the service is absolutely incredible. Most of the dishes were very well done and I would absolutely come back.

"Dear Lord Baby Jesus", We thank you so much for this bountiful UPS overnight delivery of premade & frozen 17th Street Baby Back Ribs. I just want to take the time to say thank you to my family and my beautiful handsome striking son Jasper. Serious world class ribs to my Florida door....not joking!!!

Happy birthday Abby! I hope you had a great one! Brian. Thank you for all the great advice. We actually took your directions on a good way to get back home. You and Joe took great care of us from behind the bar. Abby is a remarkable young woman. It was a delight to have her take care of us. Found out after 55 years. I like pimento cheese. Would highly recommend it and the sausage as well as the pulled pork to the banana pudding. The bread pudding, the brisket... Etc etc. Melts in your mouth. It's like little pieces of heaven. We actually spent more on stuff than we did on food and drinks. T-shirts, sauces, seasonings, rubs even bought glassware.

Very good food here. I recommend the brisket nachos

Stopped in for lunch while passing through. The location is a ways from the interstate, and well worth the trek! The placed is filled with bbq memorabilia on the walls, and the wonderful wood decor makes for a comfortable and charming atmosphere. Recommend sitting in the back room at a booth if available rather than the bar area. It's a little quieter back there. There's also outdoor seating. Our server, Kaden, was excellent, friendly, and knowledgeable about the food and its history. The food was absolutely amazing. The ribs were tender, smoky and flavorful. The pulled pork was moist, lightly seasoned, and a little tangy. The brisket was well seasoned and tender. The wings were moist, tender and tasty! The sides were equally outstanding. The collards were chock full of flavor and delicious. Some of the best I've ever had. The vinegar coleslaw was unique and wonderful. I could drink the coleslaw dressing like a cocktail, and I kind of did. The baked beans were sweet and tangy, also delicious. The sauces were a great complement to the meats. Highly recommend. Worth the trip.

I Stopped into 17th Street BBQ because I saw a list that had them with some of the best wings in America. I got here when they opened on a Friday and it was completely dead. I think only 1 other person came in during my 45 mins there which made me a little nervous. The place is what one expects from a BBQ place, kind of shabby-chic. Fun decor, old building and a courtyard with picnic tables. I sat at the bar that was largely stocked and had 5 beers on tap. I got a local Vienna Lager from Scotch Brewing and a blonde ale from another local brewery. Both solid. Bartender was really friendly and told me a lot about the local beer and music scene. Anyway, I ordered the wings, bbq beans and banana pudding. The wings were coated in a sweet bbq sauce that was delicious. The wings weren't as crisp as I would like but still good. The beans were solid but not really memorable. The banana pudding was really good. Too many places now make banana pudding with like 75 percent whipped cream. This was like 90 percent banana and banana pudding. Perfect. Cool people, cool atmosphere, and good food.

Maybe I've been spoiled with good BBQ in the South, but I'm not much of a fan of this beloved barbecue joint. The building was easy to find from the signage. The interior was clean and what you would expect. The staff was warm and accommodating. I had really high hopes that the food would match. It's much drier than you would expect. The brisket was flavorful from the rub but broke in shards. Maybe that is the style here but it wasn't very nice. The pork was far beyond needing to be changed out in whatever is used for storage because of the dryness. Worst of all, I've never known pulled pork to be unseasoned. The sauces were okay. The fries were delicious and piping hot. The coleslaw could have been amazing but had bell peppers thrown in for some reason. Maybe I was wrong for visiting on a Monday, but with this many awards, I would expect to be knocked off my feet any time.

I would leave a zero if I could. The Legend, Mr. Mills, would be so disappointed as was I by the quality of the food I was served. I ordered the championship combo and added a pork steak and half chicken so I'd get a shot at every meat on the menu. I also got collard greens and green beans as my sides. The platter at a glance looked fine but the first thing I noticed was the odd color of the collard greens. I tried those first and I've never spit anything out at a restaurant before but these went right into a napkin. They were sickly sweet and just tasted off. Gross. The ribs and chicken were obviously yesterdays leftovers reheated. The pulled pork had fat and gristle throughout. I had to use a steak knife to cut the pork steak. In St. Louis we use a fork on our tender pork steaks. The brisket had little flavor but was tender and moist. The only thing truly edible on the entire tray was the sausage. It was actually good. I will say the service while slow was friendly. I payed my bill and left knowing I'll never go back and feeling bad because I know Mr. Mills would never let things be this way were he alive.

Place is incredible! Highly recommend. If not in the area, then plan a trip! Great food! Great people! The potato salad was the best I've had. The beans and brisket was very good. I'll be back many more times!

I was took by my folk on a visit from Florida. HadPileRibs. They said AnnArbor? I notKnowDif makeMyGirlUgly. They served alcohol to myFolk.

The service was amazing. The food was delicious! A great historic place to visit if you are in Illinois or driving through.

I had seen for many years on Thrillist that this was one of the BBQ joints in America that you had to try. Expectations were high and they nailed it! When I walked in, the hostess immediately took me to a board that asked, "Where I was from?" Of course, I had to say Roll Tide and tell them I came all the way from Alabama to try their BBQ. Then proceeded to tell them I just drove two hours from Kentucky. There is also a book that you can write in about your experience and the hostess said the staff reads it in the afternoon when they are slow to build morale. First things first....I was afraid with this being Illinois my sweet tea would be the Yankee variety, but it was actually really good sweet tea. I asked my server if this was the only time I ever ate here, what should I eat? He really recommended the wings. It's not my usual go to at a BBQ joint, but he persuaded me when he told me the ribs were from yesterday and ribs are better later in the afternoon. The magazine, Food and Wine, ranked the wings among their top ten in America. They might be right. The wings were smoked then grilled, but what was the most impressive aspect of them was the consistency. There wasn't one side that was chewy and the other side rock hard. It was the same consistent taste throughout and the spicy buffalo sauce didn't overpower the wings. And if you truly want to make them magical, add that magic dust they have on the table. It really elevated the wings to another level. Everything is a la carte here so I ordered a 1/4 pound of pork and brisket with a side of potato salad and beans. The brisket was better than the pork as it was moist and flavorful. The pork was chipped but it was a little dry, but still good. The potato salad was the baked potato type with the magic dust on top. The beans were amazing! They were really sweet and I would rate them among the best I've ever had. There are four sauces - original, a little kick, red, and hog wash. The original was a very mild sauce that I think might have been more of a mustard base and the Little Kick was the spicy version. The Hog Wash was a flavorful North Carolina style vinegar that went well with the pork. My favorite sauce out of them was the Red. It seemed to be a mix of ketchup and vinegar but it had apples as an ingredient. Definitely the more unique sauce out of the group. 17th Street was definitely about the experience. The BBQ was fantastic, especially the wings, beans and brisket. It was worth the two hour drive I made.

Food. Stop. Serving overcooked cold food. Eliminate the charge for water. It's tap water for Christ sake.

We all know about their BBQ. It's delicious. Famously delicious. We so t need to say much about that other than its famous, it's been delicious for 40 years and it's still delicious. But....have y'all heard of their wings? Probably not. OMG! These are some the best wings I've ever had. Easily the best wings in Southern Illinois and easily the best wings in a 100 mile radius. Tender and crispy at the same time. Spicy with a tad bit of smoky flavor. But not too spicy. And definitely not too smoky. Thats rare. Most places with smoky windgs overdue it and all you taste is the smoke. Not here. Just a flavor explosion in your mouth that hits all the right notes and leaves you wanting to sing that chorus over and over! What the chorus? It's their ranch! Absolutely delicious home made ranch. That's the key. These wings are outstanding on their own but paired with this home made ranch, these are an item worth driving 60 minutes for. Each way.

It was a world-class barbecue, as always, and the service was more than fantastic. They were so friendly and welcoming and really went above and beyond, in our opinion. We had a large group with small children, and they really worked hard to make it a great experience for us. The staff was extremely friendly and welcoming. I absolutely love the history of this place.

I'm a southern Illinois native, and I just don't understand why this place gets such rave reviews. The first time I ate there I thought it was okay, but way overrated. But we gave it a second chance, and just ate there again last week. My opinion is the same- I think this BBQ is overrated. And it's not just the BBQ, but the sides are also just not very good. We even ordered extra sides to try a variety, but nothing we got was good. The manager was friendly and attentive. BBQ varies greatly by region, and BBQ in Texas is very different from BBQ in North Carolina, and so forth. Often people will reject BBQ because it is different from the BBQ they are accustomed to. This is not the situation here. I have had excellent BBQ in many different regions of the U.S. The problem with 17th street isn't that it is different from what I expected, it just wasn't very good. Being from this area I REALLY wanted to like this BBQ, but it just isn't anything special. At all. Sorry.

It wasn't great. Maybe we all ordered the wrong stuff. We won't go back. But is t wasn't gross or anything. DO NOT get the greens, I have no idea what was in them but it was not something that should be in greens.

My son goes to school in Carbondale and on a recent visit, he suggested we head over to Murphysboro to this restaurant since he had heard good things about it. WOW! Whatever he heard, it did not do justice to how good the 17th Street BBQ is! We started with an order of chicken wings that were initially smoked, then grilled and finished with a hot sauce. No wonder they received an award from Food and Wine Magazine. I love my wings and these were among the best I've ever had. My son had a pulled pork sandwich for dinner that he said was nice and smoky. I had a half rack of baby back ribs that had a great dry rub (I bought a bottle after dinner to take home) that had a nice outer chew and delicious, moist smoky meat. Sides were great mac and cheese and yummy pit beans. As if the great good wasn't enough, the background music track was about as good as I can remember at any restaurant I have ever been in. But then I'm a baby boomer who lived on the Allman Brothers, Clapton, the Dead, etc. So if you like that sort of thing, you, like me, will be in music heaven. Honestly this is among the best BBQ places I've been to and I can't wait to go back to Carbondale to visit my son just to head back to 17th Street - oh yeah, I guess I'll be happy to see my son, too :-)

Delicious! Can't wait to visit again! I ordered the Signature 17ST Potato and it was amazing! Perfectly baked and stuffed with smoked pork, cheese, sour cream, and green onions. My son ordered the 2 meat sampler with brisket and smoked turkey and my husband ordered the wings and they were both really happy with their meals. The staff was friendly Ave attentive. 100% recommend!

This is a solid bbq place! Staff was friendly. The place was packed after the Xmas tree lighting ceremony. They have a for pit by the outside seating going that smells like the smoke they flavor their food with. My daughter ordered wings which were AMAZING! Plenty of meat on them. Rich, smoky flavor. Just delicious! I ordered the nachos with pulled chicken. They weren't terrible. Chicken was cut and not pulled, but as far as bbq nachos go, I've had better. They were out of flatware so i was offered the smallest plasticware which was just hard to with. I had the 17th St beer on tap. I enjoyed it. Could have been a little more carbonated, but it still went down smooth. I had to wipe the sauces down myself as they were really sticky. I'm still a bit over cautious with the whole Covid19 thing and feel little things like wiping down the things people touch in between guests is important. But hey.. that's just me :/ I love the atmosphere. The smell is delightful. I hope to come back and try the brisket next time (they were out this night). Although someone who told me about the place thought the process were high, i felt they were pretty on par with all the bbq places I've been to. So go enjoy! This place is yum.

I had the absolute worst dining experience at 17th Street bbq Murphysboro location. Food was just meh, and service was rude, condescending with an undertone of racism. Would not recommend.. 0 out of 10. The manager couldn't have cared less regarding our bad dining experience and actually said as such out loud. Too bad they left such a bad impression as my college student and his friends will definitely spread the word to the entire SIU community to avoid this place. Especially if you're a person of color, steer clear

Seated quickly. Originally wanted to go to Italian place, but packed with 45-min wait, so I came to the FN featured BBQ place to be. Waitress was MIA for while, then showed up and attended a group that arrived later. The three bartenders/greeters did not give her the correct tip to go to the correct table first, even though I sat square across from them 25 feet stay. Should have sat at the bar to avoid the lack of training. Hard wood abounds in this cozy eatery. Summer time patio seating flanks the main room. Love the huge antique ventilation duct along the bar area. Having already had pulled pork earlier in the day, the need for more squeal was not high, but their pork steak sounded like a good alternative. I did t trust the salad to be fully crafted so pig it is! Surprise surprise, the salad was not machine chopped iceberg, rather fresh young spring mix. Pre-shredded mixed cheese topping and seasoned croutons, and redundant packages of saltines. The pork steak came with their very nice original sauce, BTW all of their sauces were great with varying levels of vinegar. The "little kick"is just that. Doneness was on the high end of medium, temp was on the low end of warm. Bread pudding was very nice and warm, then add the equally warm praline glaze on it. The serving could easily satisfy the tasting of several sweet teeth. Both the steak and pudding were dense, and flavor all the way through to the center. Would I return? I'd still try the Italian place in the super cozy corner location about five blocks away.

Very disappointed with my experience here. For years, I heard people say how great this place was, but I can confidently say that after trying it for my first time, I will not be coming back. To start, the service was awful. The waiter was somewhat rude in the way he spoke to us, and forgot to give us straws. He also forgot to bring us silverware and very rarely visited our table, which was odd seeing as how he didn't seem to have any other tables. We sat for close to 10 minutes while our food got cold before we got silverware. The food was a huge letdown as well. It was mediocre and bland bbq with sauces that are just vinegar basically. The sides I ordered were better than the entree. The floors were slick and unclean and the bathroom was unclean with trash spilling onto the floor and flies everywhere. I reckon this place saw it's heyday back in the 90's and has survived solely on name recognition since then. Don't waste your money here.

Mike would be rolling over in his grave!! The brisket was dry and cold as if it was left out over night then plated. Pulled pork was cold and dry, the only flavor was from their signature seasoning dusted over the top. Ribs were fair and luke warm. The beans were the star of the show. I was there at 11:00am when they opened. I wonder if I got yesterday's leftovers.

Joe hooked us up with great fried pickles! Had delicious brisket and ribs! Green beans(soo good), coleslaw, potato salad and baked beans all amazing! But the brownie and bread pudding sealed the deal!!

Certainly lived up to the hype and exceeded expectations. Worth the trip to Murphysboro Il to check it out!

Went for lunch and sat with Gage who was friendly and made great recommendations. Highly recommend Amy's margarita

Awesome wings! Service was quick, nice outdoor seating. Will definitely be back, especially with such great prices.

Recently had the opportunity to eat dinner at 17th Street. First I was warmly greeted by three employees upon entering, I was seated immediately and service was spot on. Never once did any employee walk past without asking how my meal was or if I needed anything else. Amazing service that paired perfectly with the pulled pork sandwich. The potato salad and slaw were also terrific. The portions were generous and the price very reasonable. Then the service knocked me over again by everyone thanking me on my way out the door. Murphysboro is a LONG way from Virginia but this place is so worth a special trip! I will definitely be back when in the area. Thank you all so much for a fantastic experience.

The service was very slow and to note this was six months ago. The food is good, but everything is purchased à la carte. So you need to consider that.

Great service great food Yummmy . This place lives up to the hype. I've never had a Reuben at a bbq joint and this was really delicious.

Made a pilgrimage to 17th street on my quest to 500 bbq shacks. Only regret is never made it before Mr Mills passed away. If you are a bbq guy just one of those places you should have on your bucket list. Loved the town and the atmosphere of 17 th street. Service was friendly and great. Got the ribs , 1/2 Chicken,Brisket, and chopped pork.& beans. Food looked great and pricing was good. I am personally partial to St Louis Spare Ribs but you should not expect those at 17 th St Mike Mills apple city bbq team pioneered baby backs on the competitive bbq circuit. And that is what 17th serves. They are very good ribs but as a personal bias would have loved to have St Louis cut, chicken was excellent , pulled pork was tops of 4 tried that week.brisket while not Texas style was also very good. Would go back if in the area but if you have never been a must stop. Tell ''em Big E bb sent you. Here's to the pursuit of great bbq!

My last 2 experiences with 17th Street - 1) Murphysboro - drove 2 hours specifically to get the ribs which I think are the best. Arrived at open and told they were out - something about the folks who worked the night before did not do what they were supposed to do (I'm assuming prepping and putting on the smoker). Fast forward to today at the Illinois State Fair - go to the 17th Street food shack when they open and guess what? Out of ribs ( due to crew coming in brings ribs, they sell out quickly). Still trying to figure out why they're out at opening, and also trying to figure out why no cooking is going on at the site. Well, I settled on a brisket sandwich- I'm used to the brisket being slices on bread, but no, imagine what corned beef hash looks like, and that was my sandwich. I'm sure if Mike were still here, this wouldn't be happening.

Omg. THEE best bbq I've ever had. I had the chopped brisket sandwich. Step one, sample a piece of the brisket with no sauce, etc. Super tender and delicious smoky perfection. Step two, take a bite with red sauce. Spiced with just amount of heat. Step three (and this is the best part!) sprinkle the "Magic Dust" on top of the sauce...WOW! Super complex explosion of flavor. Hopefully this review doesn't set your expectations too high but I thoroughly enjoyed this! I hope you have the same experience I did.

This is a Southern Illinois classic spot for BBQ. This is the pride and joy in this part of the country. Mike Mill's is a legend!! The ribs is my go to protein. We stopped by during COVID and the place was deserted. What a shame. We ate out side at a picnic table. This place is usually packed. I guess call in orders to go.

If you don't have two hours to devote to eating, find somewhere else to eat. Waited over an hour and still never got our food. Had to ask for the food to go and our server never could tell us how long the wait would be to receive our order. Food was not worth the extended wait.

They have gone done hill since Mike Mills died. The bbq is dry and tastes like crap. The new ownership is no where near Mike's pit master skills.

Fantastic dining experience from the look of the building on the outside, to the service we received, to the taste of the food and presentation. We drove over an hour just to try it and it did not disappoint. They had the best fried pickles we have ever had. The baked potato and pulled pork were outstanding, as was the pimento cheese and sausage appetizer. Very relaxing atmosphere. We will definitely be back.

We did a carry out order consisting of barbecue sandwiches and a full slab of ribs. Food was excellent.

Friends, neighbors & countrymen...this is the big daddy of them all. A place that was making phenomenal bbq long before everyone was doing it and winning competitions only previously won by southern places. Yep, they were the first team from north of the Mason-Dixon line to win Memphis in May and they won it thrice. Mike Mills is probably considered the godfather of the entire bbq movement across most of these United States. Here's my favorite story about eating here: I was in the area on a multi-day business trip in the late 90s when a friend described this place to me and I went out to find it. I had a great meal but I ordered too much food so I left with a to-go container. On the way to the car, I realized that I didn't have a fridge in my hotel room around the same time I spotted a homeless guy hanging out on the curb by the gas station down the street. I don't remember exactly what I said when I offered him about a half-slab of ribs but I doubt I'll ever forget the response: "you didn't put sauce on 'em, did you?" To this day I still wonder if he would have declined my offer had my answer been "yes." The ribs really are fantastic! I've been to this, the original location, more than a handful of times but I've yet to try anything else. Why would I? The bark is smoky and loaded with flavor from their rub (known as magic dust) while the meat that surrounds each bone has a light pink hue that signals a great amount of smoke had washed over the meat while it was being cooked for some huge number of hours. Tender and perfect!

Would give 3 1/2 stars if could. Ate at Marion , I'll location. Being a Memphian it's hard not to smirk about BBQ from from Illinois. But these folks won several Memphis in May BBQ Competitions & famous Chef Michael Simon said their ribs were one of the best things he ever ate. We didn't agree. Ribs were very dry-maybe been sitting around a bit. Brisket was overcooked. Pulled pork was ok but nothing memorable. What was great is the beans. They used a mixed variety of beans. The sauce is delicious & the texture perfect. Service was a bit slow even though wasn't very busy.

It pains me to write this review. I have been looking forward to eating at 17th for years. I have a competition bbq team and there is no doubt that the Mills family has had an incredible impact on xompetitive bbq. as such, I made a special trip to murphysboro to eat at 17th street. I even made my kids hang out in Carbondale an extra day just so I could eat there. At 11 am sharp, I was one of the first two groups to walk into the restaurant. I wanted to get there when they opened so I would get everything fresh off the smoker. I ordered a half slab of ribs, 1/4 of pulled pork, 1/4 of brisket and a sausage link. For myself. This wasn't my first bbq rodeo. Everything except the sausage was dry. like, really dry. the brisket was leathery, the pork had no moisture and the ribs were better, but still dry. the sausage was okay and the sauces were decent. that's why I gave two stars. Im from Chicago and am heavily immersed in bbq up there. Thats why I was so excited to finally taste the legend of 17th street. sad to say that I won't be going back. I still hope to cook their competition one day, but I'll steer clear of the restaurant.

The hostess took nearly 10 min to seat us in a nearly empty resturant. The server couldn't be bothered to come take our drink order for another 15 min. We then had to ask THREE times for lemon for the water. My meal (nachos) came out after everyone else had actually finished eating already. And it had clearly been sitting in the window long enough for the melted cheese to congeal and the chips to be soggy. Then the server forgot the sour cream for my nachos THREE times. We had to ask for to go boxes FOUR times. I try to have patience with servers because they have an overall thankless job but this was downright horrible.

Really good barbecue. The green beans are the best ever. Brisket melts in your mouth. Fries are delicious! Great place

This place has the best BBQ dishes ever, and every year they compete in the best BBQ contest in Murphysboro Illinois.

When you aren't from the area, yelp reviews and friends/family recommendations are key to finding good spots. Once again, we weren't let down by either. It was our last day in the area and we wanted to see the town, so bbq sounded perfect. This place definitely was satisfying. Not only is it cute, authentic, yet traditional, but you can tell they take their bbq seriously here. A few days prior there was a bbq festival in town. As for the food here, it was tasty and I loved my tri-tip! A nicely flavored bbq sauce lightly glazed my meat. It is hard to find tri-tip that is lean and juicy, but here they got it right. My sweet potato was also cooked to perfection.

This is a justly famous local BBQ place, but I'm not sure the best thing about it is the BBQ. We ended up here multiple times while on vacation in the area and I think my very favorite thing might have been the fried pickles, which managed the balance of crunchy-salty-tangy unusually well. Second favorite might be the ribs, which had great texture and perfectly fine flavor. The rest of the meat was very tasty, but I wouldn't necessarily send away from it in the mail.

The staff was real nice. I loved the potato skins and the strawberry shortcake was amazing. My husband thought there was not enough meat on the ribs. I got the buffalo chicken salad. It was good too. We liked the red sauce the best. The inside looked a little small but there was some outside dinning. Over all it was a good dinning experience

If you are driving far for a bbq experience I would not waste the time or the money going to this "bbq" spot. At best this is what you can do in your back yard. We got the grand champion with two sides. Chose the greens and the beans. The collards were not good unless you like slime and bbq sauce. The beans too sweet. Pork was dry brisket absolutely no taste. Ribs were ok...the servers only gave attention to the local people. We weren't even asked if we were ever here or where we were from. Drinks good if you like bottled beer. Spent over $100 and it feels like we were just snacking. To better the experience pay attention to all customers. All in all not worth hours of driving. Please do not drive here. Drive to Rodney Scott's which is further but sooo worth the drive and you pay for way more food that tastes like you needed to try it. This was not worth the hype on food network or the reviews

Years about it...had to stop and try murphysboro bbq........ awesome.....food was tender...wings were what they said...definitely yes.....brisket was awesome...sauce was yes....ummmm dont sleep on the red beans and rice ..tho......will be back

The BEST ribs! I'm so bummed I don't live here; I can't find BBQ this good in Minneapolis! I got a half-rack of ribs, with Mac and cheese and beans as sides. My friends got pulled pork sandwich, a brisket platter, and fries. Everything we had was exactly how it should be! The ribs tore from the bone with ease! The last BBQ place I went to in MN I was gnawing on the ribs to try to get the meat off - no one wants that... These are by far the best BBQ ribs I have ever had! The beans have a great variety and flavor. The Mac and cheese is mild and creamy; a nice break for your tastebuds from the tang of the ribs and beans. Their signature sauces are fantastic and are fun to mix and match. I was using mostly the RED and Original sauces but added a little dash of heat too. I can't wait to come back!

My favorite place near Carbondale! The wings are my fave but as of recently, they have not been as crispy as they were the first time I had them. So maybe request for them to be crispy? But I always request for my brisket sandwich to be more fatty and CHILEEEE THAT IS A SANDWICH. Even the bread is so soft and everything just melts in your mouth. I'm not a fan of the sauce that comes with it so I usually wait to use my barbecue sauce at home. But, still bomb, nonetheless.

Before BBQ was hot--pun intended--17th Street has been delighting fans for decades from far and wide in southern Illinois. Their contest awards are exhaustive. Their BBQ knowledge is encyclopedic. So I made the pilgrimage today when I was nearby in Carbondale. I loved the brisket sandwich. The bark and outside rub were so good I wished for more thickness. I was surprised when the brisket arrived with sauce on top: none was necessary. However, only the top was sauced, allowing pure smoky meat taste in the underlying pieces. My side of collard greens was...interesting. If you're expecting a traditional taste--as I was--you'll be surprised by the sweetness. I thought I tasted molasses in the chopped greens and brisket pieces; my server confirmed I tasted correctly. Honestly, I don't know if the sweetness was an enhancement or a distraction. Service was excellent and friendly. Worth a side trip or a return visit.