Jim's Rib Haven - Rock Island, IL

Even though I've always thought of the Quad Cities as a "rib friendly" area, there aren't a lot of rib joints that do barbecue right in this town.  The one that definitely does it right - and is probably the most famous and the favorite of many - is Jim's Rib Haven in Rock Island.

Jim Overton is the Jim of Jim's Rib Haven.  Jim was a factory worker who used to make ribs in his backyard.  He opened his first rib place in 1967 in a small building that was take out only.  Jim worked during the day in the factory, then went to the rib shack and cooked ribs at night.  18 hour days for Jim weren't uncommon. 

His ribs became so popular, he ended up quitting his day job in 1972 to run the restaurant full time.  He moved into his present location in Rock Island (see map) in 1979. 

Located just east of the downtown area of Rock Island, the aroma of hickory smoke and cooking meat from Jim's smoke house just north of the restaurant across 5th Avenue is tantalizing on most days.   

About 20 years ago, a number of rib-hating neighbors complained that the smell of the hickory smoke was too much for them and the city of Rock Island made Jim put an extension on his chimney. 

It turned out to be the best thing for Jim's as it distributed the smoke over a wider area making more area residents drool over the aroma of his ribs smoking in the house. Plus the story of Jim going up against his neighbors made newspapers all over the United States.  You just can't buy advertising like that. 

The decor of Jim's is nothing fancy.  There are tables and booths and it's decidedly "60's-ish" in the place.  Jim's serves the usual barbecue fare of ribs, pulled pork, beef and chicken.  They have a couple of homemade sauces - both of which are deeply guarded family secrets - that they provide with the ribs. 

Jim's does not serve alcohol, but you can take beer into the place.  There's a convenience store next door and you can go and grab a 12 pack of beer to take into Jim's.  One night, Cindy and I were in there and someone actually brought a bottle of red wine in for dinner.  I'm not kidding!   Wine with ribs! 

The only problem I have with Jim's is that they tend to be inconsistent from visit to visit.  One Saturday night, Cindy and I went over and had dinner there and it was outstanding.  The meat was tender and moist.  The ribs were cooked perfectly.

The next evening, we were out and about and trying to figure out what to do for dinner.  Cindy said, "You know, Jim's was pretty good last night."

I said, "You wanna go there again?"  She said she did. 

And it was nowhere close to being as good as it was the night before.  The meat was tough and flavorless.  We couldn't believe it was the same place we'd eaten in the night before.

But more often than not, it's very good.

Jim Overton has sort of semi-retired and his son, Jim, Jr., is running much of the day to day operations.  Jim's nephew, Damion, runs the Jim's location in East Moline (see map).  You see Damion running the Jim's portable concession stand at a lot of the summertime events around the area. 

Jim's Rib Haven consistently wins the "People's Choice Award - Local Rib Vendors" at the annual Rib Fest in Davenport.  Damion's a great guy and it's always a pleasure to see him. 

There's also a Jim's Rib Haven in Omaha (see map).  I've never eaten there (it's in a not-so-nice section of Omaha), but I've talked to a couple people who have eaten in both Rock Island and Omaha and they said the ribs and the sauce were almost identical.  It turn out that it's Jim's daughter, Lois, who runs that one. 

Two things to remember - Jim's is closed on Monday's and they don't take credit cards.  Be sure to take a lot of money because the ribs aren't cheap, but most of the time they're very damn good. 

Comments

[Tony Jobe]

I agree that Jim's is often very good though sometimes inconsistent. FWIW it seems like the best meals I've had there were during lunch hours. Perhaps the daytime staff is a little more experienced than some of the younger kids who work at night.

If I could change one thing about Jim's it would be the bread. That lifeless white bread that comes with the meal makes Wonder bread look gourmet. I would love to have some good homemade cornbread to go with their barbecue.

I once visited the Omaha location and decided to bring a couple quarts of sauce back home to Cincinnati. The only problem is that the sauce has to remain refrigerated. How do you keep the sauce cold? Styrofoam cooler. How do you keep the styrofoam cooler from spilling open on the flight? Duct tape. I looked like an idiot struglling with a styrofoam cooler of barbecue sauce while boarding and deplaning (but then I once carried two dozen ears of farm fresh sweet corn on a flight from Sioux City to Cincinnati, so I'm no stranger to looking like an idiot on a plane).

One guy asked me what was in the cooler. I told him and he asked me if Jim's is good. I said, "absolutely". He gave me a skeptical grin and said, "Better than Montgomery Inn?"

"Better than Montgomery Inn," I replied.

[Will Veber]

That's right - you were one of the people who told me they ate at the Jim's in Omaha and it was pretty much the same as the one in Rock Island.

One thing I forgot to add to the Jim's Rib Haven post - I saw Brooke Shields, the actress, in Jim's, circa 1993 or thereabouts. She and her mother, Terri, were having lunch there.

Brooke Shields was in the Quad Cities for a couple months that spring/summer filming an Italian made for television movie called "Un Amore Americano" ("An American Love"). I still don't know why an Italian TV movie was filmed in Davenport, but it was.

I knew she was around town that summer, but had never seen her up until that time. I think her picture is up on the wall at Jim's in Rock Island.

[Will Veber]

Oh, and you're right on two counts, Tony.

1) Jim's needs to "deep six" those pieces of white bread that wouldn't be acceptable at most homeless shelters. A big chunk of Texas Toast would be good, in my book.

And 2) Jim's is better than the Montgomery Inn in Cincinnati. People in Cincinnati who like Montgomery's don't know what real barbecue is all about.

[Tim Lake]

I moved out to Dayton about four years ago and I've been to the Montgomery Inn two times. I don't get it either. It's not that great.

Will - have you been to Super Smokers in St. Louis? I would be interested in what you thoughts are with them.

[Will Veber]

Tim - I've had Super Smokers and they're very good. See my reviews of "St. Louis Style Ribs" in the "Barbecue" category.

[bigMan]

The nephew,Damion now has his own sauce available at the local hyvee stores and for orders out of state you can call 309-7167671. The name is Damion's Rib Haven!!

[Road Tips]

Picked up some of Damion's rib sauce at Hy-Vee a couple weeks ago. Too bad he's not open in E. Moline any longer.