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New Menu Barbecue Bucktown

Pork & Mindy’s has beefed up its offerings for the entire family at its flagship Bucktown location, adding a kids’ menu; Meat Flights that showcase its sustainably sourced smoked meats; a trio of new “Sangwiches” that pay homage to traditional Southern barbecue; and a new catering menu.

In addition, the restaurant is making its signature snackable Pig Candy—bacon strips dusted in brown sugar and slow-smoked—fresh in the Bucktown store.

For pint-sized sandwich eaters, the kids’ menu offers Pork & Mindy’s Pulled Pork and Pulled Chicken on brioche slider buns as well as a Grilled Cheese on brioche. Crispy Pork Nuggets are a twist on a childhood favorite—tender cubes of brined pork loin, lightly breaded, fried and served with housemade ranch dressing. All kids’ items are $6 and come with apple slices or tots.

Meat Flights came about from fan requests for Pork & Mindy’s smoked and hand-pulled pork, beef and chicken minus the bun, much like you’d get in a traditional barbecue joint. Guests choose two, three or four meats, plus two sides. New sides include Texas Caviar, a three-bean salad with fresh poblanos and celery in a tangy vinaigrette; Fried Giardiniera, an Italian take on fried pickles, served with ranch dressing; and a vinegar-based Carolina Slaw.

The restaurant features humanely raised meats that are free of antibiotics and growth hormones and sourced largely from farms as close to Chicago as possible in an effort to limit its carbon footprint.

Carolina Pork ($9) leads the new Sangwich lineup for kids of all ages. Pork shoulder, hickory-smoked for 14 hours, is piled onto a brioche bun with vinegary slaw, mustard sauce and pickles. The Cheezy-BBQ Beef ($10) combines beef and Cheddar with Pork & Mindy’s flair: smoke-braised beef, smoked cheese sauce, pickled red onions and house BBQ sauce on a griddled onion roll. Frick’N Chick’N Salad Roll ($9), a chicken salad sandwich reimagined, features mulberry-smoked chicken tossed with candied pecans, celery, scallions and mayo dressing. It’s served on a griddled New England roll and topped with giardiniera and a balsamic drizzle. 

“We’re always amping up our offerings for adults and kids alike,” says Mauro, a.k.a. Food Network’s “Sandwich King.” “Our Bucktown location is the perfect place to roll out our new menu to feed all the senses and all ages.”

Mauro and business partner Kevin Corsello opened Pork & Mindy’s in 2016 at 1623 N. Milwaukee Ave., merging their shared passions of food, music and art. There are now seven Pork & Mindy’s outposts in Chicago, Minneapolis and Denver. An eighth store is planned for Chicago’s Old Irving Park neighborhood.

Pork & Mindy’s in Bucktown is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday.

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