RJ Grunt's: Pulled Pork Done Right.

As a man who has spent the last part of his life living in Louisiana, I was nervous about ordering a pulled pork sandwich in Chicago. I mean, no offense, but this is the North. I’m from the North originally myself, but having tasted the difference I know that sometimes Northerners mistake “pulled pork” for “pork with some BBQ sauce on it”.

Thus, when I ordered a pulled pork sandwich from R.J. Grunts the other day, I was pleasantly surprised! The meat was tender and the sauce was the right balance of sweet and savory. The butter toasted bun that it came on was perfect, as well, and the cole slaw (an essential part for any pulled pork meal) was most satisfactory. There were no baked beans or anything, but it came with a whooping supply of their house made potato chips.

Needless to say, my snobbish expectations were more than exceeded. I left R.J. Grunts stuffed and happy.

As a side note, I hit up this restaurant right after a trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo, as its practically right across the street. After a long day of looking at the animals, my date and I were plenty hungry and the location of R.J. Grunts was perfect. Just don’t spend too much time at the zoo thinking about how cute the animals are, depending on what you’re hungry for.

2056 Lincoln Park West.

Comments

[josh]

RJ's is the original Lettuce Entertain you restaurant... they do a very good job.

I haven't had the pulled pork there but the sandwich at Smoque is awesome. Fricken-A.

[Kelly Mahoney]

I used to live in Texas and I love a quality pulled pork sandwich every now and then. My parents live near Mundelein and they have some wonderful Southern-style barbecue joints. Thanks for the new location to try!

[Michele]

RJ Grunts is a glorified Applebees. No thanks... next!

[A.C.]

I love RJ Grunts - everything is so good. The salad bar and the temperature soup (a cup of soup costs only what the lake front temperature is that day) are wonderful additions to any meal. My personal favorties are the milkshakes. They are old fashion style - served in a huge silver fountain mixing cup. They have tons of flavors - i reccomend PeanutButter Shake!