Honey 1 Barbecue Is Moving To Bronzeville And Taking Chicago S Barbecue Heritage With It

• Michael Gebert
• Robert Adams Sr. at Honey 1 BBQ

Chicago has its own distinct barbecue heritage, shaped by the great migration from the Mississippi Delta to the north and by the proliferation of slaughterhouses in the mid-20th century. That heritage’s days are numbered anywhere north of Cermak and (roughly) east of Austin.

The glass pits are fairly unique to Chicago, made by two plants here (Avenue Metal and Belvin J&F Sheet Metal), but the principles are the same as in any great barbecue region: you cook the meat over wood fire for many hours, slowly breaking down the collagen in cuts like pork ribs, pork shoulder, or beef brisket. And that requires a careful hand with the fire, building it up with more wood and suppressing it with a water hose. For Adams, who was raised in Marianna, Arkansas, by a grandmother who cooked with a wooden stove, that kind of cooking is the only kind worthy of the name. “My grandmother never had a gas stove,” he says. “She only cooked with wood. And those are the people who could cook! With 15 kids, you better be a great cook.”