“Soul and Smoke”

Highly Recommended **** D’Andre Carter has a national reputation as a fine dining chef and has created some marvelous meals. His true passion, however, is barbecue! It all began at his grandma’s house on the South side of Chicago, making him truly a part of “around the town”. His family was one where every Sunday they would gather together and enjoy each other. For the most part, this is not so typical as it was years ago ( if you watch “Blue Bloods” on Fridays nights, you know that every episode has this feature). Carter worked with her  learning that the flavors you create make a meal memorable, and of course , who you share it with makes it even better.

After graduating from his grandma’s kitchen, he went on to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and worked his way up through the ranks in many fine dining spots. Today, he has become legendary for his gourmet approach to barbecue. and is constantly creating new flavors and smoking techniques.. His motto at Soul and Smoke is to “treat barbecue with the reverence it deserves” They pour their souls into the food as it is the food they love to cook and want to eat. It is truly comfort food from the soul!

Hearing this, and being a lover of barbecue, I was anxious to see just how great the “Altar of Barbecue” could be!

Soul and Smoke is in many ways considered a Food Truck dining experience. We picked up our dinner at their Evanston location which is a brick and mortar kitchen at 1601 Payne Street. They have a window for pick-up but also an indoor patio with some picnic tables so one could dine in the building. They have two other locations, one in Avondale at 3517 N. Spaulding and the other at the Time Out Market at 916 Fulton Market. They also have food trucks for catering and events-

Now onto the meal! Jane is from St. Louis and so we had the ribs : Smoked St. Louis style baby back ribs with Chef Carter’s signature BBQ sauce. I grew up with par-boiled ribs where they fall off the bone. St. Louis style is wonderful but one has to work a bit harder to get the meat off the bone. Jane was in heaven as was Frank. I enjoyed the flavor and am willing to take the extra time for food this good. We enjoyed the true flavors of “soul” with the smoked brisket dinner- some choice pieces of brisket ( I am used to thinly sliced “Jewish style” brisket, so this was unique) that were quite flavorful, mac and cheese, braised collard greens, a cornbread muffin and we also had some creamy apple slaw ( cabbage, carrots and cranberries-to die for) and of course grits and homemade pickles ( bread and butter pickled cucumber & sweet onion that we all fell in love with).

I picked the dinner up in Evanston and brought it home. I made it home in 23 minutes and the food was still hot, but we warmed and plated for our dinner and had a true “family experience” enjoying all the flavors and tastes that Chef Carter has created. The menu has even more things for us to try and I know that we will be going back again. Chicken gumbo, smoked ‘Nduja sausage ( their version of the Chicago hot link), rib tips, and of course pulled pork ( a sandwich that looks terrific). You can also by meats by the pound-Brisket and pork shoulder and they do catering for big and small gatherings- even “the Big Game”.

You can check them out and even order at their website https://soulandsmoke.com or by calling 847-859-2732

Locations:

Evanston  1601 Payne #C

Sunday-Thursday 11 am- 8:30 p.m.

Friday and Saturday 11 am- 9:30 p.m.

Avondale: 3517 N. Spaulding

Sunday-Thursday  11 am- 9 p.m.

Friday and Saturday  11 am- 10 p.m.

Time Out Market 916 West Fulton Market

11 am- 10 p.m. except Sunday til 9 p.m.

Questions about food or products ( you can also purchase rubs and sauces online) team@soulandsmoke.com

If you have not tried smokes meats, now is the time and with three locations around the Chicago area, Soul and Smoke is THE PLACE!