Reviews

Green Street Smoked Meats is Thriving in Chicago’s West Loop Neighborhood

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Name: Green Street Smoked Meats
Date: 4/5/26
Address: 112 N Green St, Chicago, IL 60607
Order: Pulled pork, sliced brisket, hot link, broccoli salad (link)
Pricing: $$$

Monk: On a Sunday night in Chicago during our spring break trip to the Windy City, after a weekend of Hamilton, museums, and riverboat tours I convinced the family to take an Uber to the West Loop neighborhood to Green Street Smoked Meats. GSSM is a joint I actually went with Mrs. Monk way back in 2016 where we had a decent meal on a cold, rainy day in late April.

This time around with the Monkettes in tow, we ordered just a little more food than we did back in 2016 but stuck to brisket, sausage, and pulled pork. Similar to last time, the brisket and hot link outshone the pulled pork, however just slightly this time around. If I ever make it back I’m going to try and remember to order the pastrami.

The broccoli salad was once again ordered and a hit with the missus and I loved the slightly sweet cornbread.

In 2024, Green Street Smoked Meats was included on Texas Monthly BBQ Editor Daniel Vaughn’s list of best Texas barbecue outside of Texas. It may have been doing well before but on this Sunday night the place was hopping (particularly the bar), perhaps in small part due to that recognition. It remains a solid destination in the Windy City for those looking for Texas barbecue.

Ratings:
Atmosphere – 4 hogs
Pork – 3 hogs
Brisket – 4 hogs
Sausage – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs

Can a barbecue joint in the middle of New York serve good barbecue?

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Name: Hill Country Barbecue Market
Date: 2/8/26
Address: 30 W 26th St, New York, NY 10010
Order: “Two Meater” platter with brisket (moist), jalapeno cheddar sausage, pork collard greens, and cowboy beans (link to menu)
Pricing: $$$

Monk: Readers, I was caught a little off guard with my most recent trip to New York for a quick work trip. I didn’t do much research going into the short trip and found myself with an open night for dinner. Hill Country Barbecue Market was a somewhat known quantity by me in name only, having opened in 2007 on the leading edge of the New York barbecue boom, and I had not yet visited yet, instead opting for places like Hometown Bar-B-Que, John Brown’s Smokehouse, and the original Mighty Quinn’s when I had previously visited NYC. In a slight mist, I started my walk from my Midtown hotel down towards 26th.

Entering Hill Country, I was immediately struck by the Texas of it all. To say that it pays homage to the Republic of Texas would be understating it; it really slaps you in the face (positive). Finding a spot at the bar, I couldn’t help but notice the music, the signage, and the general vibe. They really nailed it. I ordered a Shiner and my food and we were off.

Being just me, I opted for the “Two Meater” platter with moist brisket and a jalapeno cheddar sausage. Thankfully, you get a choice of moist or lean, which is usually a good sign. Unfortunately, I may have gotten the less desirable end pieces of the moist part of the brisket with large veins of slightly congealed fat throughout the slices.

The jalapeno cheddar sausages (as well as the other sausages on the menu) are apparently shipped in from the legendary Kreuz Market in Lockhart, Texas. It had a nice kick and on its own was a solid link that more than made up for the “less than” brisket.

The “Two Meater” comes with two sides as well as cornbread and some pickled veggies. Both the collards and “cowboy beans” were just fine. The cornbread was brushed with honey and was very close to being the best part of the meal.

In response to the original question of this entry, the answer based on Hill Country Barbecue Market is “not really.” I can’t fault them too much for cooking with a gas-assisted smoker in the middle of Manhattan, but the end product especially in terms of the brisket was just subpar on this night. Go to Hill Country for the Texas vibes and maybe a happy hour (the bottom bar was slammed with young professionals), but not necessarily the barbecue.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Brisket – 2.5 hogs
Sausage – 3.5 hogs
Sides – 3 hogs
Overall – 3 hogs

Barbecue meets Chinatown at King BBQ in North Charleston

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Name: King BBQ
Date: 1/25/26
Address:  2029 Carver Ave, North Charleston, SC 29405
Order: Pork combo with BBQ red rice with yum yum sauce and slaw (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: King BBQ is the collaboration of husband and wife team Shuai and Corrie Wang and pitmaster Brandon Olson, who worked for them at their other restaurant Jackrabbit Filly not far from the location of King in North Charleston. Even if you haven’t been there, you may still recognize Shuai from his finale run on the most recent season of Top Chef Destination Canada.

King BBQ takes inspiration from Shuai’s upbringing in Queens, NY, Corrie’s upbringing in Buffalo, and Olson’s NC Piedmont roots (he grew up outside of Charlotte). There’s not a lot of beef to be found in those places, and thus there is not at King BBQ. However, in addition to the pork, there is duck, chicken wings, and occasionally fried fish taking cues from Queens and Buffalo.

On this day, I stuck with pork – chopped pork topped with fried pork skins and pork spare ribs. The barbecue items are smoked in Lang offset smokers but while I did not detect a ton of smoke from the chopped pork, the texture and taste were nice, particular when paired with some crunch from the pork skin or the creamy chopped slaw I selected as one of my sides.

The spare ribs were slathered with a char siu barbecue sauce, which added a slight sweetness to the rib that wasn’t overpowering. The flavor was great but to a certain extent the sauce masked any smoke on the ribs. They were cooked nicely with each of my bites coming clean.

The BBQ red rice was a highlight as well, and came recommended by the server as I was ordering at the register. Paired with a homemade yum yum sauce, I would consider even going a double side of them next time.

There’s so much more to King BBQ than what I tried on that day: duck, sausage, noodle bowls, shrimp toast, a play on crab rangoon, and more. I hope to find myself back in Charleston again soon to check them out with a bigger crowd.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 4 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Ribs– 4 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs

The Smoke Pit brings true ‘cue to South Charlotte

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Name: The Smoke Pit
Date: 1/3/26
Address: 8136 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277
Order: Tres Amigos platter with pork, ribs, and brisket plus hush puppies, jalapeno creamed corn, and collards (link to menu)
Pricing: $$

Monk: I have been a fan of The Smoke Pit since first visiting their original Concord location in 2015. We’ve since visited and reviewed their Salisbury and Gastonia locations as well, most recently in 2021. However, The Smoke Pit empire keeps expanding, with an established location in Monroe, a newly opened location at the Arboretum shopping center in South Charlotte, and a forthcoming store in Mooresville that will bring the total count to 6 in the Charlotte area.

The Arboretum location opened in September 2025, taking over a former longtime Chili’s location. Extensive renovations were made to both the interior and exterior of the building, including the build out of a pit room where the outdoor patio used to be. Inside it, a mini army of M&M BBQ Company wood smokers made in Tool, TX pump out their smoked items.

The menu at The Smoke Pit takes an “international house of barbecue” approach with pork, brisket, ribs, turkey, chicken, burnt ends, sausage, and smoked wings on the menu. Mrs. Monk and I split the “Tres Amigos” platter that comes with pork, brisket, and ribs along with two sides and hush puppies, corn bread, or Texas Toast. There is also a “7 Meat Fest” that comes a large sampling of their meats and sides for a hungrier group than the Monk family was on that day. Something to think about in the future, though.

All of the meats I tried that day were of above average quality. The chopped pork and brisket both had a nice bark while the ribs had a good tug to them. Of the three, I’d probably give a slight nod to the brisket but I would recommend each of them.

I found my sides to be really good as well. The jalapeno creamed corn had a nice kick to counteract the creaminess while the collards met Mrs. Monk’s high standards. I should note that I had previously ordered bulk sides of their mac and cheese, baked beans, and coleslaw for last fall’s pig roast and received a ton of compliments on them. So based on my experience you can’t really go wrong with the sides at The Smoke Pit.

A nice touch was the offer of free dessert for each person in the party. We tried both the peach and strawberry cobblers, with peach being the winner for me. I don’t know how long the offer of free dessert will continue but it was a welcome end to our meal.

In terms of wood-smoked barbecue in South Charlotte, its just The Smoke Pit and Midwood Smokehouse. The Smoke Pit’s 5th location is a welcome addition to both the Arboretum shopping center and South Charlotte, and the bar looks to be worth exploring in the future. Check them out if you haven’t tried their other locations before.

Ratings:
Atmosphere/Ambiance – 3.5 hogs
Pork – 4 hogs
Brisket – 4 hogs
Ribs – 4 hogs
Sides – 4 hogs
Overall – 4 hogs