In BBQ We Trust

Passion is what motivates us. Without it we would all be walking around like zombies. Motivation is what got my ass out of auto pilot eight months ago and got me moving on a company Spencer and I started in the summer of 2011. The idea of working for myself is what motivated me the most. I have always loved working with food, been doing it since I got my 1st work permit at age 15. I love cooks and being a cook. The only place I truly ever felt safe, normal and brilliant was in a kitchen.

Us "kitchen people" are scared of the "office people" like the survivors on the show Lost are scared of "the others". The only difference is we don't think "the others" are going to kill us it's just that they represent a life that is so foreign to us. One of the last restaurants I worked in had a women that worked in the office (she is now one of my best friends) that took away my fear of offices and "the others". She showed me the ins and outs of Trixie (our constantly jammed fax machine/printer), our POS system and how to edit our menu using simple word processing (look at me with all my fancy words). She helped me with my writing, figured out my math problems and amazed me with the miny Wallgreens she had going in the top drawer of her desk. She was my go to in the foreign office land and I called her "crazy office lady". Because of her I now had no fear. I know that most of the answers to my questions can be found on google search and that my Macbook is now my best tool besides my Japanese Chef knife. So with all of this new found knowledge and braveness I dived strait into the world of "the others".

After eight months of dealing with Legal Zoom, Taxes, Trademarking attorneys, Gmail, blogger, BOE, The county clerk, US dept. of treasury, every social media company under the sun, the local and state health department, USPS, Cash and carry, Restaurant depot, Sysco, Chef's Warehouse, numerous glass bottle and tin container manufacturers, Shopify, Vertical response, the Secretary of state, SF weekly, Mac pages and Precision Graphics, not to mention the countless hours spent on branding and marketing materials, we are FINALLY open for business!

We are very excited to share with you all of our hard work. I have put 100% into it and am confident you are going to love all of our products. Our line includes 3 types of regional BBQ sauces, 6 types of spice rubs and an all purpose brine mix. All S&S brand products can be purchased online at:

www.sandsbrand.com

Sincere thanks from the bottom of our hearts to the family and friends that helped make S&S brand a reality: Jayne Sams, David Sams, Spencer O'Meara Sr., Natalie O'Meara, Janine Popick, John Hingley, Jon Wollenhaupt, Dan and Ginger Schaible, Cheryl Clements, Matt Fleming, Ken Edwards, Eric Rubin, Web and Jenny Otis, Maria and Michael Moustakis, Dave the butcher, Mike the line cook and everyone else who showed support and excitement for S&S brand. Thank you so much!

BBQ To Die For

Just past the boarded up row homes and whizzing bullets on the south side of Chicago there is a BBQ shack called Uncle John's. If you are a tourist like we were there is only one way to get this special BBQ. We hopped in a cab and told the driver if he drove us down to the hood we would buy him lunch. Luckily he was game. See, there is no seating at this shack, just a walk up bullet proof window with a turn-style where they pass you your food. Once you get down there, forget about finding a cab to get you back downtown, you gotta make your cabbie wait. Hence, offering him lunch. It cost us $50 plus the drivers meal to have a $10 clamshell of BBQ, and it was worth every penny.

Uncle John's has an aquarium smoker which means there is a glass case that sits above a wood burning grill. Oak in this case. The smoker was piled up with meat when we got there. Brisket, hot links, chicken, turkey, pork ribs and rib tips (a Chicago specialty). There are no sides at Uncle John's, well not really. Whatever meat you order comes piled on top of french fries, doused with BBQ sauce and topped with two slices of white bread. On the side comes a tiny ramekin of very soupy coleslaw. They sell 2 liters of orange soda and mountain dew for beverages.

The meat was very good. We had Hot links that were more of a chunky, spicy italian style sausage. Very moist, very flavorful, studded with chile flakes and herbs. The chicken legs were also very moist. I can't figure out if it was smoked or fried and then dunked in BBQ sauce but it was good. I also had my first rib tip here. I think Chicago is one of the only places that does them. They are basically the part of the rack of rib that you cut off when trimming one up. They are full of cartilage and gristle but had a good amount of meat on them too. They were my favorite.

It may not be much to look at but this is as authentic as BBQ gets. Cheap and tasty. Just make sure you watch your back :)