RIB TIPS AND FRENCH FRIES AT LEM’S BAR-B-Q (CHICAGO MAGAZINE ICONIC EATS SPECIAL EDITION, JULY 2021)
Sisters Carmen Lemons and Lynn Walker Harvey keep the flames of Chicago-style ’cue alive at the city’s oldest Black-owned barbecue joint. Everything in the aquarium-style cooker gets a gentle bath in hickory smoke, but it’s the pork rib tips that exemplify Chicago’s contribution to the barbecue canon. A study in textures, the rib tip is essentially a chunk of cartilage holding just a bit of meat and a goodly amount of fat. The ones from Lem’s come served on a bed of skin-on, hand-cut fries. Everything is slathered in a tangy red barbecue sauce, so unless you’re digging in right away at the stainless steel counter outside, get that sauce on the side so the fries don’t get soggy. $14.75/large; 311 E. 75th St., Chatham.