Green Street Smoked Meats

When you are walking down Green Street in the West Loop neighborhood in Chicago, you might not notice Green Street Smoked Meats at first. The entrance is located across from The Allis in the same alley with the entrance to High Five Ramen. If you walk down to the far end of the alley, a sign on your left with the words ENTER mark the entrance to a truly one-of-a-kind experience. As you walk in, get ready for some tender, delicious meat, sides that you will want to come back for, and killer BBQ sauce.

The Vibe

The entrance to Green Street Smoked Meats is marked by a steel door that shares with customers the hours, the age after 8:00 PM (which is 21+), and the fact that food is available until they are sold out. In order to avoid a sad night out with no food, make sure to get there closer to opening than closing.

Inside, you enter a dimly lit room with a warehouse feel and twinkling lights over head. There are no waiters here to take our order; instead, get in line to order your food before sitting down. They serve some meat in quarter and half pound increments, while others are available by the piece – or as they put it by the each. After picking your meat, the line moves along to the sides and finally the register. Once you have your order and your tray filled with delicious smelling smoked meat, grab a seat at one of the long communal tables. Customers are also invited to grab drinks and cocktails from the bar located in the center of the large room with steel pillars that descend from the ceiling on either side.

The vibe in Green Street Smoked Meats is comfortable and inviting. People share tables together along the long low benches and the chatter of their conversations fill the room. The staff is friendly and helpful – my friend and I must have looked confused when picking our meal because the man behind the counter was happy to explain our options and even provided suggestions.

The Food

My friend and I decided to get a variety of things and share so that we had the opportunity to try as many options as possible. The meats offered by the quarter or half pound are sliced brisket, chopped brisket, pulled pork, pork belly, and poor ribs. On the day of our visit, they also had beef ribs available, though this is not an everyday occurrence. The choices for ‘By the Each' include a chopped brisket sandwich, pulled pork sandwich, smoked chicken leg, hot link, bone in salmon, and a frito pie. We decided to try the pulled pork, sliced brisket, and the beef rib since it was only available for a limited time.

Green Street Smoked Meats has many classic BBQ sides to complement your order. They offer sweet or spicy pickles, spicy pickled vegetables, baked beans, chili, cole slaw, potato salad, broccoli salad, and macaroni salad. My friend and I opted for cole slaw and broccoli salad.

Once we were seated at our table, we dug in! The meat was incredibly tender having been smoked for so long. The brisket melted in my mouth and the pulled pork, once dipped in some of their homemade BBQ sauce was divine! Sharing different kinds of meats was definitely the best way to enjoy a taste of more than one meat.

Our sides, however, might have stolen the show! The broccoli salad was absolutely amazing! I had bite after bite of the heaping mound they placed on our tray, and was sad when I realized there was only one bite left. The cole slaw was also delicious and complimented our food perfectly.

I would highly recommend checking out this hidden gem on Green Street. Make sure to bring friends and share!