Merle's Story
Back in 1992 there was no barbecue in Chicago. There were people who claimed to make barbecue but what they mostly were doing is boiling meat and throwing a version of ketchup on top of it and calling it something that it wasn’t: barbecue. What they were missing were three essential ingredients: smoke, sauce and time. Merle’s #1 Barbecue opened its doors in 1992 and was the first restaurant to bring true southern style barbecue to the Chicago area.
Nowadays, with your TV food shows and your internets and all, people are starting to understand that true barbecue, authentic barbecue comes from the perfect harmony of the natural flavors of the meat, the essence of fresh cut wood (in our case hickory), just enough dry rub and sauce to get your fingers messy and the patience to let that meat smoke for hours on end until it’s done just so. You put all this together and you have America’s greatest gift to the culinary universe: True Barbecue!
Every day our meat is slow smoked to perfection with Tender Loving care by our Pitmaster and finished with just enough sauce to compliment the flavor of the meat. So sit back, grab a cool one and enjoy the best barbecue on the planet!
Scot McKay, Larry Huber, Mathew David