The Sweet Stuff: Twin Anchors

Happy Friday!

New on the Sweet Stuff – My favorite rib joint in Chicago! I have promised to write this post for some time now and well, today’s the day!

Twin Anchors  was established in 1932 and is one of the oldest taverns in Chicago. Still in business after 80 years? You know it’s good! It has so much history. Celebrities from Frank Sinatra to Chef Emeril Lagasse (BAM!) have visited this finger lickin’ rib joint. It has appeared in several publications such as The New York Times and has been featured in many national travel guides as a “must visit restaurant.” Not only has it been written about over and over again, but it has been featured in movies/shows. One of my favorite movies to be exact, The Dark Knight!! You can tell that I am !!!!! about this. The Dark Knight is my favorite Batman movie of all time and there is a scene where Harvey Dent (Two Face), slams a shot of whiskey (I believe) on a bar after a conversation ends badly. Guess what bar he was it? You got it. Twin Anchors baby!!

How did we find out about this place? One of my co-workers awhile back mentioned it to me. Vin and I tried it out and died. Every St. Patrick’s Day we stop at Twin Anchors before heading home back to the burbs. I was going to share St. Patrick’s Day pictures with you but then I consumed too many green beers…

One tip before we get started: Don’t arrive any later than 5pm or you will wait, but they are fast so you could just drink their very strong home-brewed beers. Alrighty then. Here we go!

Here is a picture of the outside. Coooooooool.

And the inside. I wonder who that guy is wearing the black and grey striped shirt? What a hottie!

Go Blackhawks!! Click here to learn about their slogan “Positively No Dancing.” Veeeeery interesting!

These are the actual marks from The Dark Knight scene. Ugh so cool!! Looks like there were quite a few takes, but they nailed it!

Twin Anchors also brews its own beer. No big deal. My favorite is the Allagash. Reminds me of a Blue Mooooon.

Citrusy, smooooooth, and very drinkable. woot woot!

Alright let’s talk food. Each table gets a bread basket of black-rye and crunchy bread sticks. It’s the best bread ever and addicting so be careful – you need to save room! It’s not traditional and it’s different. Truthfully, I can’t remember a time where I had black-rye and crunchy bread sticks outside of Twin Anchors. Vin likes the crunchy bread sticks and those packets of butter. Yeeeeah…we let loose here.

You HAVE to get the onion rings. I usually get them with my ribs, but I was with my family so we ordered them as an appetizer. Yes, these are my all time favorite onion rings. They’re big, fat, crunchy, and the onion isn’t slimy and gooey, still has a crunch but it’s also sweet and, and, and….I could talk about these forever.

Ribs!!! I ordered my ribs with the baked beans. Talk about the real deal. These beans are soooo good. They’re made with pulled-pork, onions, and simmer in their famous zesty sauce. We’ll get to the zesty sauce in a bit.

My mom ordered her ribs with creamed spinach. I mean yeah, it’s good. Like really good. It’s creamy and light. Not sure how they make that happen?

And the ribs…oh the ribs. Baby back ribs that are slow-cooked and basted in whatever sauce you would like. Zesty, mild, or prohibition. I’ve had them all and love them all, but zesty is where it’s at. I also dunk each and every part of the onion ring in the zesty bbq sauce. It’s addicting – you will want to order an extra bowl. Just letting you know.

The meat itself is tender and cooked just right. The top has a nice crust, but the meat is juicy. It’s not over-seasoned, allowing the actual flavor of the meat to come out. Again, pair it with the zesty bbq sauce and you’ll fall off your chair.

Bring this little one…

and that little one…and you will have the best meal of your life.