Search the world over and you'll find no barbecue
that compares with 17th Street Bar & Grill. Located
in Murphysboro, Illinois and owned and operated by
Mike Mills since 1985, 17th Street is a bustling
restaurant, attracting both local and out-of-town
diners searching for a taste of world-champion
barbecue.
Owner Mike Mills, affectionately known as"The Legend" in the world of barbecue, turned his family's dream into reality when he purchased 17th Street in 1985. Known as a small tavern famous for its hamburgers, Mills renovated, focusing on the food and revamping the menu. In 1988, in an effort to bring commerce to the town of Murphysboro, Mike and several friends decided to host a barbecue cook-off. Armed with Mike's treasured family barbecue sauce, they formed the Apple City BBQ team, entered a competition and ended up winning third place in the ribs category. Competing in local, state, regional and international barbecue competitions, they quickly turned third place into first place and the rest is history. Between 1989 and 1994 he and the team won hundreds of awards and accolades, including the honor of World Champions four times and Grand World Champions three times - a record held for 13 years and tied in 2007.
Mike has been featured in dozens of local and national newspapers, magazines, and on television shows, including Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Food and Wine, Food Arts, Fortune, National Restaurant News, Midwest Living, National Barbecue News, Barbecue America, Saveur, Vogue, Men's Journal, The New York Times, NPR, Regis & Kelly, CBS This Morning, Food Network and the Travel Channel. Author Jeffrey Steingarten, food critic of Vogue magazine, included an entire chapter about Mike in his book The Man Who Ate Everything. In addition to legions of local and national fans, he has served his barbecue to a variety of discriminating celebrities including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Don King, Jim Edgar, and the band Alabama. In fact, Mike has the distinction of being the only barbecuer with Top Secret Security Clearance to board Air Force One. When Bill Clinton wanted barbecue, he called Mike.
Barbecue has always played a role in Mike's life. His father, Leon Mills, began barbecuing in the '30s, long before barbecue was in fashion. Mr. Mills would dig a hole in the ground and place a metal grate over it, as grills hadn't yet been invented. When his parents cooked for PTA meetings in Cape Girardeau, MO they served barbecue and won rave reviews. His dad cooked for city holidays in Cape Girardeau and his brothers operated a refreshment stand at the town pool where they served barbecue. As a family they loved camping and fishing trips and the aromas from his daddy's nightly barbecues drew other campers to their location. Time and again he would soon be barbecuing for the entire campground. Back in Cape Girardeau, the neighbors often brought their meats to the Mills' home for Mr. Mills to barbecue. From his father, Mike learned the most important secrets to good barbecue - low and slow cooking for the best flavor.
His father had dreamed of opening a restaurant and bottling the sauce from his cherished family recipe, but sadly he died at the age of 42, before his plan could come to fruition. The family's sauce was a staple in the Mills' household and his mother, Faye, used to make it to sell to friends and neighbors. She also used to make the sauce for his restaurant until the quantities became overwhelming. Today his restaurants use hundreds of gallons of sauce each week. The sauce and Mike's Magic Dust - a combination of 18 different spices he originally developed for use in preparing the meats for competition - can be purchased at the restaurant and online.
In 1999 Mike opened "The Warehouse," a venue for special events. Casual and comfortable, the exposed beams and brick and restored turn-of-the-century bar create an ambiance of rustic elegance. In addition to 17th Street and The Warehouse, Mike is also owns three barbecue restaurants in Las Vegas.
In addition to his restaurant activities, Mikes first book, Peace, Love, and Barbecue: Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue, was published by Rodale in May 2005. The book is about the people, legends, and lore behind the beloved barbecue shacks that dot the landscape of America and was awarded a 2006 NBBQA Award of Excellence and nominated for a 2006 James Beard Foundation award. He also continues to serve as the chairman and chief organizer of the Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off held annually during the third weekend of September.
Mike has perfected the art of barbecue and through his restaurants has created the ultimate environment where family and friends can relax and enjoy a variety of world-famous barbecue foods. To achieve the best barbecue, Mike maintains that it takes the perfect combination of time, smoke, seasonings and sauce. The most important lesson he learned from his childhood is that barbecue is not only a method of cooking, it is a sacred time when family history is created and preserved through the telling of tales and the passing down of secret family receipts from one generation to the next. For Mike, barbecue = food + family + love.
Owner Mike Mills, affectionately known as"The Legend" in the world of barbecue, turned his family's dream into reality when he purchased 17th Street in 1985. Known as a small tavern famous for its hamburgers, Mills renovated, focusing on the food and revamping the menu. In 1988, in an effort to bring commerce to the town of Murphysboro, Mike and several friends decided to host a barbecue cook-off. Armed with Mike's treasured family barbecue sauce, they formed the Apple City BBQ team, entered a competition and ended up winning third place in the ribs category. Competing in local, state, regional and international barbecue competitions, they quickly turned third place into first place and the rest is history. Between 1989 and 1994 he and the team won hundreds of awards and accolades, including the honor of World Champions four times and Grand World Champions three times - a record held for 13 years and tied in 2007.
Mike has been featured in dozens of local and national newspapers, magazines, and on television shows, including Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Food and Wine, Food Arts, Fortune, National Restaurant News, Midwest Living, National Barbecue News, Barbecue America, Saveur, Vogue, Men's Journal, The New York Times, NPR, Regis & Kelly, CBS This Morning, Food Network and the Travel Channel. Author Jeffrey Steingarten, food critic of Vogue magazine, included an entire chapter about Mike in his book The Man Who Ate Everything. In addition to legions of local and national fans, he has served his barbecue to a variety of discriminating celebrities including Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Don King, Jim Edgar, and the band Alabama. In fact, Mike has the distinction of being the only barbecuer with Top Secret Security Clearance to board Air Force One. When Bill Clinton wanted barbecue, he called Mike.
Barbecue has always played a role in Mike's life. His father, Leon Mills, began barbecuing in the '30s, long before barbecue was in fashion. Mr. Mills would dig a hole in the ground and place a metal grate over it, as grills hadn't yet been invented. When his parents cooked for PTA meetings in Cape Girardeau, MO they served barbecue and won rave reviews. His dad cooked for city holidays in Cape Girardeau and his brothers operated a refreshment stand at the town pool where they served barbecue. As a family they loved camping and fishing trips and the aromas from his daddy's nightly barbecues drew other campers to their location. Time and again he would soon be barbecuing for the entire campground. Back in Cape Girardeau, the neighbors often brought their meats to the Mills' home for Mr. Mills to barbecue. From his father, Mike learned the most important secrets to good barbecue - low and slow cooking for the best flavor.
His father had dreamed of opening a restaurant and bottling the sauce from his cherished family recipe, but sadly he died at the age of 42, before his plan could come to fruition. The family's sauce was a staple in the Mills' household and his mother, Faye, used to make it to sell to friends and neighbors. She also used to make the sauce for his restaurant until the quantities became overwhelming. Today his restaurants use hundreds of gallons of sauce each week. The sauce and Mike's Magic Dust - a combination of 18 different spices he originally developed for use in preparing the meats for competition - can be purchased at the restaurant and online.
In 1999 Mike opened "The Warehouse," a venue for special events. Casual and comfortable, the exposed beams and brick and restored turn-of-the-century bar create an ambiance of rustic elegance. In addition to 17th Street and The Warehouse, Mike is also owns three barbecue restaurants in Las Vegas.
In addition to his restaurant activities, Mikes first book, Peace, Love, and Barbecue: Recipes, Secrets, Tall Tales, and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue, was published by Rodale in May 2005. The book is about the people, legends, and lore behind the beloved barbecue shacks that dot the landscape of America and was awarded a 2006 NBBQA Award of Excellence and nominated for a 2006 James Beard Foundation award. He also continues to serve as the chairman and chief organizer of the Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off held annually during the third weekend of September.
Mike has perfected the art of barbecue and through his restaurants has created the ultimate environment where family and friends can relax and enjoy a variety of world-famous barbecue foods. To achieve the best barbecue, Mike maintains that it takes the perfect combination of time, smoke, seasonings and sauce. The most important lesson he learned from his childhood is that barbecue is not only a method of cooking, it is a sacred time when family history is created and preserved through the telling of tales and the passing down of secret family receipts from one generation to the next. For Mike, barbecue = food + family + love.
