For those of you who have ties to SIU, BBQ, or Southern Illinois, legendary BBQ Pitmaster Mike Mills has passed. Mike opene 17th Street BBQ in Murphysboro in 1985. He was a 3 time winner of the Memphis in May cook off. I remember the first time I ate there in 1989 as a freshman at SIU, Mike greeted you at the door and the food made you realize just how good food could be. I still make a pilgrimage there every time I am in the Carbondale area. The restaurant is consistently ranked as one of the top ten BBQ places in the nation. If you never had the opportunity to eat there you've been missing out.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/ct-mike-mills-17th-street-murphysboro-20201230-xzi7yi5szjdqbgpthusgrhfr3e-story.html

Never heard of him.

I don't consider myself a BBQ aficionado but that place is/was pretty damn good. Last time I was there I remember sitting at the bar and watching the Illini women's volleyball team get their asses kicked in the championship game against UCLA. That had to be in winter but I can't think of why I would have been in Murphysboro/Carbondale at that time of the year. I'm guessing I must have gone down there to watch hoops.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Never made it to his original location, but he was involved with an outpost out in Henderson NV which I went to a few times, and which was very good.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Everybody Hurts, sometimes.

Everyone I know who went to SIU would rave about 17th Street BBQ.

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Shiny happy brisket.

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

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