Kevin’s Smokehouse & Grill
1701 E. Michigan BoulevardTime to myself. That’s something that I don’t get much anymore. J wanted to go to Chicago for her grandma’s birthday and take the kids. I had to work on Sunday so I couldn’t stay with this. What we ended up doing was I took them to Chicago then J’s mom brought them all back on Monday.
I had a couple of ideas on what to do with my free time on Saturday night then I saw a tweet from Bob Saget that changed everything. He was performing at the Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City. That cemented what I was going to do Saturday night. I would take J and the kids to Chicago then go back to Michigan City to see Bob Saget.
I left Chicago a little early because we passed some pretty intense traffic on our way to the city. I was afraid I was going to be in a long traffic back up, but by 4:00 when I left, the traffic had cleared up and I ran into nothing. I got to Michigan City really early, so I decided to look for a place to eat.
Several years ago, I had passed a BBQ place on the way back to the highway from Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets. I wondered if that was still there, so I headed out to Michigan Boulevard to see if it was.
The place I was looking for is Kevin’s Smokehouse & Grill. The small restaurant sits on the corner of Michigan Boulevard and Butler Street on the north east side of Michigan City.
I never know what I’m getting in to when I walk in to a BBQ place. Is it going to be Memphis style with lots of pork products (pulled pork, ribs, etc) or is it going to be a place that does mostly tips and wings. Kevin’s is the latter. It’s a “You Buy We Fry” kind of place that take EBT. The prices listed for the chicken products (wings and gizzards) are for uncooked portions. There is an upcharge if you want it cooked. They also have a small, kind of laughable “grocery” store to meet that requirement with packets of Ramen noodles and some jars of spices.
The parking lot was empty when I pulled in, but the “open” sign was lit. As I pulled the door open, a woman who was outside smoking followed me in. I started looking at the menu board written in chalk above the register as she went behind the counter to take my order.
I was considering the wings, but I have a hard time passing up rib tips. I went with the large rib tip dinner which includes french fries, slaw, and white bread plus I added a can of Coke because I had planned on eating there. The cost was a little over $12 which I paid for in cash out of my gambling money.
It took less than ten minutes for my food to come out. The lady who seemed to be both the cook and the order taker started to bag it up but I told her I was going to just eat there. She handed me some napkins and a fork then brought out the can of Coke, which we both forgot about, a few minutes later.
The large order of tips was more than enough for one person…heck it was probably too much. There was a big pile of meat that was swimming in a thick, sweet and spicy sauce. Most of the tips still had bones in them. Some were tender and fell off that bone. Others hung on a little harder. They were all tender enough that they ripped off the bones easily though…nothing too tough.
The sauce seemed very commercial to me. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it because of the spiciness of it. At first I was guessing it was just a big tub from GFS, but they may have added some of their own seasonings to it. It was good and had quite a kick to it. Heck, I ended up eating the bread that was underneath all of the ribs just because it was soaked with the sauce.
The fries were pretty standard. Nothing too special. Just a handful of out of the bag restaurant fries that were seasoned with salt and pepper. They were good vehicles to get more sauce in my mouth.
Kevin’s Smokehouse & Grill turned out to be exactly what I expected it to be. It’s a small, neighborhood restaurant with a limited menu that includes some BBQ staples. It’s not really a place that stands out as far as amazing BBQ, but it is a solid neighborhood joint that seems to have been around a while in a neighborhood where there’s not many choices for dining out.
SW Michigan Dining 
