Photo via RestaurantGuru
Silver City B.B.Q. and Fish (3521 W. North Ave.; 444-9801) must be doing something right. Since 1978, the cash-only takeout establishment opened and still operated by a native Chicagoan has been offering a wide array of grilled and fried meals. A customer with a large appetite might not be going whole hog by splurging on a Silver City dinner of pork ribs, rib tips and shoulder, but it's pretty close; it could easily sate a party of three with lesser hunger pangs. Pounds of tender, braised pork are practically drowned in a flavorful sauce. The sauce selection may be more limited than those offered at more fancifully-appointed barbecue haunts but mixing the hot and mild varieties highlight the main course with sweetness and spiciness to spare.
Among that feast’s sides of white bread, thick cut French fries and coleslaw, an especially creamy, slightly colorful iteration of the latter best accentuates the beaucoup BBQ. Perch, whiting, and catfish make good on the last word in Silver City’s name, but burgers, Polish sausage, shrimp, pork chops, chicken wings and frog legs(!) round out the variety. And it’s all served with the sort of friendliness that practically beams through the masks.
