TNT – Lil’ Brother’s BBQ
1622 Bloomfield AvenueI’ve picking up some overtime shifts recently. We don’t always get the opportunity and I could really use the extra work right now so I’ve been volunteering when the opportunity comes up.
The shifts usually work where I work my regular 9-5 with my co-worker then I take on an extra 3-4 hours doing something by myself. I wrap things up with my co-worker then try to grab a quick dinner and start the extra hours.
I was heading to the southside of Kalamazoo one day last week and had a little over an hour before I needed to be where I was going. There’s a familiar BBQ that opened up not too far from my job site so I headed straight to get some tips.
TNT – Lil’ Brother’s BBQ should be a familiar name if you’ve been around Kalamazoo. They’ve had several locations over the years. The first time I visited them, they were on North Westnedge. Then they were at Burdick Hair and Beauty Supply before that building was shut down. They moved over to the Eastside at the corner of Riverview and Bridge Street. Now, they’re in a small shop in the Milwood Neighborhood on Bloomfield Avenue near Portage Street. It’s in the same building as the Milwood Quick Stop and Rocket Comics but it’s around the corner on the Bloomfield Avenue side. This part of the building used to be Lyman’s Lighting & Accessories.
There’s not much at all to this restuarant. They’re not going to win any ambiance awards but when you walk in, you can smell the smokiness. They have a smoker chained to the sign near the Portage Street intersection so they’re bringing meat in all day. The smell from those hotel pans lingers in the minimalist dining room where a couple of picnic tables and a small order counter fill what is a pretty large space.
I walked in just before 6:30 and put in an order for a small rib tip combo which included fries. The cost was just over $10. It took maybe ten minutes for a woman to come out of a door behind the order counter and hand me my food.
Places that have the smoker chained to a pole outside always have the best rib tips. Lil Brother’s is no exception.
I got the small order but there was well over a pound of tips in the box. They were soaked and swimming in a sweet, thick BBQ sauce. I didn’t keep the to-go container flat as I was driving to my job site and it spilled some of that delicious sauce in to the plastic bag is was wrapped in. There was that much sauce. The tips were super tender and had a smokiness that blasted through the sweetness of the sauce. I sat in my car, making a huge mess of my face and fingers, hoping this parade of meat would never end.
I’ve picking up some overtime shifts recently. We don’t always get the opportunity and I could really use the extra work right now so I’ve been volunteering when the opportunity comes up.
The shifts usually work where I work my regular 9-5 with my co-worker then I take on an extra 3-4 hours doing something by myself. I wrap things up with my co-worker then try to grab a quick dinner and start the extra hours.
I was heading to the southside of Kalamazoo one day last week and had a little over an hour before I needed to be where I was going. There’s a familiar BBQ that opened up not too far from my job site so I headed straight to get some tips.
TNT – Lil’ Brother’s BBQ should be a familiar name if you’ve been around Kalamazoo. They’ve had several locations over the years. The first time I visited them, they were on North Westnedge. Then they were at Burdick Hair and Beauty Supply before that building was shut down. They moved over to the Eastside at the corner of Riverview and Bridge Street. Now, they’re in a small shop in the Milwood Neighborhood on Bloomfield Avenue near Portage Street. It’s in the same building as the Milwood Quick Stop and Rocket Comics but it’s around the corner on the Bloomfield Avenue side. This part of the building used to be Lyman’s Lighting & Accessories.
There’s not much at all to this restuarant. They’re not going to win any ambiance awards but when you walk in, you can smell the smokiness. They have a smoker chained to the sign near the Portage Street intersection so they’re bringing meat in all day. The smell from those hotel pans lingers in the minimalist dining room where a couple of picnic tables and a small order counter fill what is a pretty large space.
I walked in just before 6:30 and put in an order for a small rib tip combo which included fries. The cost was just over $10. It took maybe ten minutes for a woman to come out of a door behind the order counter and hand me my food.
Places that have the smoker chained to a pole outside always have the best rib tips. Lil Brother’s is no exception.
I got the small order but there was well over a pound of tips in the box. They were soaked and swimming in a sweet, thick BBQ sauce. I didn’t keep the to-go container flat as I was driving to my job site and it spilled some of that delicious sauce in to the plastic bag is was wrapped in. There was that much sauce. The tips were super tender and had a smokiness that blasted through the sweetness of the sauce. I sat in my car popping these things in to my mouth hoping the parade of meat would never end.
There was also a mountain of fries in the box but I really didn’t need them. They were simple, froze French fries but they were perfect for soaking up the pools of remaining sauce in the box. I ate them mostly because they were there but the tips were more than enough of a meal on their own.
I think I’ve written every time I’ve blogged about TNT that they’re not like the other BBQ places in town. They’re not the place that specializes on brisket and pulled pork. They’re the kind of place you get tips, chicken, and spare ribs from…and they do it really darn well.
SW Michigan Dining 