806 Riverview DriveSeveral years ago, I stopped at a little BBQ place on North Westnedge for dinner. Since then, that place has been Pharaoh’s Valley and is now Chicago Munchies. Places come and go in strip malls so I really didn’t even notice when the BBQ place moved out.
Last month, I saw an article in the Loy Norrix Knight Life with a name that sounded familiar. It was the BBQ place that used to be on the Northside. They opened up a shop in the South Westnedge Neighborhood.
TNT – Lil’ Brother’s BBQ had opened at the Burdick Hair and Beauty Supply on the corner of Cork and Sprinkle Streets. The last time I had eaten from that little counter in the back of the store, it was known as Kalamazoo BBQ Grill.
When I pulled up to the shop, I noticed it seemed really empty. There was a sign on the door from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission about destroying all the alcohol in the building and the windows were fogged up. The place was clearly closed so I got online to see what happened.
There was a fire there back in November. The BBQ restaurant worked out of the parking lot for a while, but eventually they found space in the Eastside Neighborhood.
Lil’ Brother’s BBQ now calls the corner of Riverview and Bridge Street home. They’re in a space in a small strip to next to 13 & A Half Party Store.
The restaurant right now is carry-out only. There is a large space inside but there are no tables yet. The order counter is right next to the door and that’s the only thing in the space that isn’t part of the kitchen.
There was no menu hanging anywhere and the only one I could see was one that was taped down next to the cash register. It was upside down from my perspective as it looks to be intended for the cashier. I had already looked at the menu on their Facebook page so I know what I wanted.
I put in my order for a small order of rib tips. The lady taking my order asked if I wanted fries and of course, I did. The cost was a little over nine bucks. I had a ten so I used that, but it appears they had a credit card machine sitting next to the cash register.
It took a little over five minutes to be handed a box with my food. I grabbed it and headed back to the office after making sure there were plenty of napkins.
The box was busting at the seams by the time I got back. Luckily, it was put in to a plastic bag as some of the sauce had spilled out. The fries were on top of part of the tips which just means they picked up some of that delicious sweet sauce.
I started with the fries because they were on top. The fries are simple. They’re out of the bag food service fries with just a little salt. I used a lot of the extra BBQ sauce in the container with the fries. The sauce was thin and sweet vinegar sauce and perfect for dipping. You didn’t get a lot on each fry but you got a lot more flavor than eating the fries by themselves (and it’s better than Ketchup).
There was about a pound of rib tips in the box swimming in that sweet BBQ sauce. Each of the tips was small but they were tender and fell off the bones that were holding them together. There was more than enough sauce in the bottom of the container and when I finished, I went looking for a fork to fish out the last little bits of meat that had fallen off and were left floating in the sauce. I wasn’t going to leave anything behind.
There are a lot of BBQ places in Kalamazoo now but there aren’t a lot of places that do rib tips. TNT – Lil’ Brother’s BBQ is one of those soul food restaurants that bring something unique to a market. It’s not the fancy BBQ we’ve been getting a lot lately, but it is good down home cooking.