This one really hurts. As you may (or may not know) I usually write up posts for Road Tips weeks in advance of publication. Sometimes it happens that a restaurant I was in just weeks before ends up closing after I wrote up the critique of the place. And that's what happened with this particular place - a neighborhood rib joint that I was looking forward to going back to not long after I originally visited the place.
In early December of 2023 the owner announced that he was closing for good. But he was holding out hope that someone would sweep in and buy his lease, as well as all the smokers and furniture in the restaurant. What really hurts - and this is the spoiler alert - it was excellent barbecue and would have been on my regular rotation of restaurants to go to when I stay in the O'Hare area near Rosemont and Des Planes. This is the edited story of my one - and only - trip to Mel's Craft BBQ in Park Ridge, IL.
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The "Mel" behind Mel's BBQ is Mel Thillens whose grandfather owned a check-cashing business, but was more famous for building Thillens Stadium, a combination baseball/softball field that held championship games for Little League baseball and was known as the premier venue for Chicago's famous 16" softball championships. Thillens Field may have been the site where the first centerfield camera was used during telecasts of the citywide Little League tournament in the 1950's.
Mel Thillen's grandfather also started a lucrative armored car company in the 1950's and the family ran the stadium, the check cashing business, and the armored car company for a number of years. When Mel Thillens, Sr. died in 1993, the family started a foundation that would oversee the stadium. However, the foundation quickly ran out of money for the upkeep of the stadium and it closed in March of 2005. The City of Chicago's Park District took over the stadium in 2006 and with financial help from the Chicago Cubs, Thillens Stadium reopened soon thereafter.
Mel Thillens worked for the family's armored car business, but he was also a community leader in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge. He served on a number of community boards and committees, and helped advance the Taste of Park Ridge celebration, an annual event that started in 2000. Thillens also dabbled in politics running for the Illinois state senate in 2016 only to lose to the incumbent state senator.
Pictured right - Mel Thillens. Photo courtesy Patch.com He sort of looks like a "Mel", doesn't he?
But Thillens passion was barbecue. A number of years ago, Thillens was tasked with doing the food for a large family gathering. He borrowed a friend's smoker and threw in a few pork butts and stayed up all night watching the fire. Even though he admitted it wasn't the best pulled pork in the world, he was immediately hooked and continued to smoke meats for friends and family members, eventually branching out into a catering business for parties and events. Like most people who get into a brick-and-mortar business for barbecue, Thillens was urged by friends, family and catering clients that he really needed to open his own barbecue joint.
Thillens went on barbecue pilgrimages where he would go to some of the most well-known barbecue joints in Texas to learn how they prepared their smoked meats and learned smoking techniques. Thillens was able to incorporate many of the techniques he learned from pit masters in Texas into what he was doing back home in Illinois.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Thillens - like many people - sat back and re-evaluated his life. He realized that it was going to be now or never on opening his own barbecue place. He set about looking for a place in or near Park Ridge to put his barbecue restaurant. A former beauty salon had closed up on Main Street in Park Ridge just across from the Metra train tracks. Thillens leased the building in late 2021 and turned it into an expansive restaurant space with a bar and full kitchen.
He was able to procure a rotisserie smoker from the M&M BBQ Company, one of the best commercial smokers available. Using post oak wood for the smoking process, Thillens found the smoker to evenly cook the pork butts, ribs and briskets he would place on the racks. In May of 2022, Mel's Craft BBQ opened to the public. Initially, Mel's was open just five days a week, but he soon expanded to seven days a week opening at 11 a.m. daily.
Almost immediately, barbecue aficionados flocked to Mel's Craft BBQ. A couple three months after Mel's opened, the Chicago Tribune boldly stated that Mel's was the best barbecue in not only the Chicagoland area, but in the whole state of Illinois.
I don't get to Chicago as often as I used to, so it was later in the 2023 when I finally made it to Mel's Craft BBQ. The turn-off onto Main Street in downtown Park Ridge always throws me a bit as it's just before the underpass on Touhy Ave. In fact, I missed it again on my way to Mel's and had to drive around downtown Park Ridge for a bit before I finally pulled up to the place. (see map)
Mel's Craft BBQ is located in a long narrow space with brick walls and a bar in the middle of the restaurant. There were a number of flat screen televisions on the walls along with neon beer signs. A woman was setting up for trivia the night I was there. It looked like there were - maybe - 3 teams playing trivia when she finally started up.
There is a back dining room at Mel's with the ordering counter. It was a pretty dead night with just a few folks sitting up front and at the bar and no one in the back dining area. But Mel's was doing a pretty brisk take-out business while I was there.
The menu at Mel's wasn't all that extensive featuring USDA prime brisket, pulled pork, baby back ribs and smoked turkey. Each day of the week they had a special menu item - on Tuesdays they offer a Greek smoked turkey pita, on Fridays they had a smoked lamb gyro, and on Saturdays they have pastrami beef ribs. (I made a note to myself to get to Mel's on a Saturday to try those.) Also on Saturdays and on Sundays, Mel's offered a smoked Italian beef sandwich as their take on a Chicago classic sandwich.
The great thing about Mel's is that they offer 1, 2 or 3 meat platters. I always like to try a couple things on my first visit to a barbecue joint and this allowed me to try a variety of items. The only problem was that they were out of ribs by the time I got there that evening. I wasn't really too fired up with smoked turkey, so I ended up getting the prime brisket and the pulled pork. Pickles and pickled onions came on the side. I also got my choice of sides and they had things like mustard slaw, waffle fries, corn bread, and macaroni and queso cheese. I got the spicy pit beans and the sweet chipotle potato salad.
They had a condiment station near the fountain pop stand and they had some barbecue sauces there. They had a sweet molasses sauce and a Texas spicy sauce that had a vinegar base and a nice little peppery kick.
The one thing I didn't like about Mel's Craft BBQ was that you have to order your food and any beer or alcoholic drink separately. Well, that's what I thought, any how as I really didn't know the drill since it was my first visit. I sat down at the bar with my tray of food and the bartender was taking food orders from 3 people seated down the other end of the bar from me.
When she finally came over to take my drink order, I told her that I didn't know the procedures and I guess I could have ordered at the bar. The bartender, Michelle, said that she was going to tell me when I walked in and went to the back that I could sit up front and she would take care of me, but she was busy waiting on someone at the bar. "I'll remember that for the next time," I said to her. They had a number of good craft beers on tap and I ended up getting the Insufficient Clearance hazy IPA from the Sketchbook Brewing Company out of nearby Evanston, IL.
And the beer went superbly with the barbecue. The brisket was off the chain with great flavor and was very tender. It could easily be cut with a fork. The bark on the brisket had a wonderful smoky flavor and there was a noticeable smoke ring around the edges. The pulled pork was also tender and juicy and was just scrumptious. The Texas spicy vinegar sauce went well with the pulled pork. And the meat portions were what I would deem as generous.
And the sides were outstanding, too. The baked beans were billed as being spicy, but I didn't think they were all that strong, heat wise. But they had big chunks of pork in them and they were thick and sweet. The potato salad was also very good. The chipotle seasoning gave them a bit of a smoky flavor, but the spiciness of the chipotle was off-set by the slight sweet taste mixed in. I usually don't get potato salad, but the potato salad at Mel's was very good.
(Note - I wrote this paragraph after I found out that Mel's Craft BBQ had closed last month.) As you can tell, I'm pretty bummed to learn that Mel's Craft BBQ had closed less than two years after they had opened. The barbecue was simply outstanding, the sides they offered at Mel's were very good, and they had a good craft beer selection. Add to that, Michelle was a wonderful bartender and the ambiance of the place made it feel like a really barbecue joint. If someone were to come in and take over the space for new barbecue place, I'm not certain that it will be as good as the barbecue Mel Thillens made at Mel's Craft BBQ.
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