Custom Smokers and Regional Traditions Drive the Flagship Opening
When pitmasters Tim Carter and Torrence Bublick fire up their new custom smokers, they aren’t just making dinner. They are defining what Chicago-style barbecue tastes like. According to the Resy Blog, the duo’s new flagship location features a chef’s counter where diners can watch all-day classics like brisket and pulled pork come to life alongside ambitious menu additions including a forty-five-dollar beef rib and pastrami beef cheeks.
Carter and Bublick view their craft through the lens of the city's diverse culinary scene. “It reflects the city’s melting pot culture by drawing from multiple regional traditions and adding a unique spin with heavier seasoning, diverse rub ingredients, and two types of firewood,” Bublick explained to the Resy Blog.
Smoked Rib Tips Honor Chicago South Side History
Among the standout offerings are smoked Duroc rib tips. This dish serves as a direct nod to Chicago’s South Side history, where Black pitmasters in the 1940s and 1950s began selling the tough, inexpensive ends of spare ribs instead of throwing them away.
To achieve their signature flavor profile, Carter smokes meats over hickory and cherry wood while experimenting with mesquite. The operation pairs these smoked cuts with four distinct house sauces: a tangy Carolina vinegar-based option, a mustard-forward gold sauce, a classic jerk, and an original barbecue sauce that Bublick likens to Kansas City style meeting what locals grew up eating.
Quality remains central to the kitchen’s ethos. Carter sources high-grade ingredients from sustainable purveyors like Niman Ranch and Nichols Farm.
Soul Food Additions and Expanding the Menu
Beyond the smokehouse classics, the menu bridges traditional barbecue with soul food staples. Diners will find a smoked chicken gumbo prepared with Carolina Gold rice, alongside comforting sides like mac and cheese, shrimp and grits, and freshly prepared french fries made possible by a newly installed deep-fryer.
Dessert options feature cakes sourced from the local Brown Sugar Bakery. Carter also collaborated with consulting pastry chef Casey Doody—known for work with Boka and Gibson’s Restaurant Group—to develop a towering sweet potato pie. Dinners can also look forward to upcoming menu additions including Swiss rolls, banana pudding, and peach cobbler, available by the individual slice or as whole pies.
