Eating My Feelings: Smylie Brother's Brewing

Friends of mine know that I have a soft spot for two things: dogs and barbecue.

And I have very strong feelings about both (Pugs are the worst and North Carolina style > South Carolina, Memphis styles, for the record.).

When I heard about Smylie Brother's Brewing, I was cautiously optimistic. A brewery? With pizza? AND BARBECUE? Three of my favorite feeling stiflers under one roof? It must be too good to be true.

Spoiler: It wasn't.

SPOT: Smylie is located in the northern suburb of Evanston, a diverse area full of college students and young families. The purple line will get you within two blocks of Smylie, but I enjoy the scenic 20-minute drive up along Lake Michigan. On my last trip up, the leaves were in their full autumn glory. Pretty neat.

The building itself is huge with an interesting mix of architectural styles. There's a patio outside and a second floor with fireplaces and couches that was housing a private 40th birthday party for a nice lady named Jill, according to the closing line of "Happy Birthday." There are two bars, one that sits in front of the brewery portion of the building and another with an imposing open-fire oven for their pizzas.

VIBES: For as open as the space is, it feels cozy. Like you're having barbecue in a really fancy barn/warehouse. A barehouse. A warn. There are families, Jill's group of rowdy over-the-hillers, younger folks out with friends; it's almost like all kinds of people enjoy delicious BBQ. The staff are all well educated on the beers and menu and are pretty attentive (Note: Much less attentive at the bar, which is fair, I guess. She's got shit to do.).

GRUB: Full disclosure, I have not had the pizza. And I'll tell you why. The first time I went, I was really craving barbecue. Since I've gone back, I've been so excited to eat those delicious meats again that I've never even thought to order a pizza. That's how good the meats are.

The first time I went, a friend and I split the Barbecue Flight, which featured a quarter rack of ribs, brisket pulled pork, slices of white bread and a side (we chose mac & cheese) all served on an industrial baking tray with parchment.

I do have a picture of the platter we got, but I was trying to take it sneakily and the flash went off and I panicked and it was blurry, so just enjoy this more staged version and laugh and my shame. Photo Credit: Smylie's website

Now, let me preface by saying I'm not a big fan of brisket or ribs due to the potential fattiness and messiness, but I would eat both of these forever from Smylie. The ribs were tender and smokey, and the meat fell right off the bone. The brisket was lean and flavorful without being dry. And obviously, the pulled pork is out of this world. I have absolutely no complaints about any part of it, other than I wish I would've had room for twice as much.

Also, can we just... can we just talk about the mac & cheese? My lord. My heart. The cheese is sharp and smooth, the perfect consistency to stick to the noodles without getting that weird, solid-brick-of-noodles-and-cheese thing going. The shell style noodles are the perfect vessel to hold the creamy sauce. The whole dish is topped with a panko-parmesan crust that adds delicious texture and flavor to this already perfect side.

Look. Look at that delicious art. Photo Credit: My shitty iPhone

And THEN? AND THEN?! Getting to wash down all this deliciousness with a well-balanced, flavorful beer? COME ON. WHAT A GREAT DAY. I've had an IPA, a red ale and a farmhouse at Smylie and they were all delicious.

FUN SHIT: YOU CAN GET BARBECUE. BY THE FLIGHT. AND you can get pizza AND BBQ under the same roof! This place is genius.

FEELINGS INGESTED: I ate all of my feelings and then texted my ex so I'd have even more feelings to ingest.

OVERALL: 10/10 recommend. Who needs feelings when you can have BBQ?

Please note that I am in no way a qualified food critic. I'm picky and boring and really like cheeseburgers. Take my opinions with several grains of sea salt.