BBQ Nachos in Illinois

My dad introduced me to home made potato chips many years ago. And while Frito Lay and numerous regional and craft brands have tried them on a mass market basis, none can compare to dad's. I thought of them this past summer in Cahokia, IL ... just across the river from St Louis

The Sawmill BBQ has what that called "BBQ Nachos"

Now, being from Texas, I'm thinking the base has corn chips (or tortillas) ... but, no, a layer of crispy home-made potato chips. Not too thick, not too thin, and not greasy! These were spread on a 9-inch pie plate.

Next was a layer of two types of cheese, cheddar and mozzarella ... I guess that's why they called them "nachos."

but where was the BBQ?

Well, on top of that was a layer of their BBQ beans, THEN a layer of their chopped BBQ Brisket. Now, I'd told the good folks at Sawmill that I was from Texas and the gave me some samples of their brisket and sausage (my favorite) to taste. I must say they compared to any BBQ place in Texas ... good smoke flavor (hickory), moist, and tender. The pit master said he liked hickory because it didn't burn as hot as mesquite and didn't tend to dry out the meat while still giving a great flavor.

wait ... the plate wasn't finished.

on top of the BBQ was a dollop of cole slaw. Now I don't know what a dollop is in your kitchen, but this was a good sized serving. I'd asked if the cole slaw was home made or out of the SYSCO bucket. The Sawmill said they buy the cabbage already cut up, but they mix salad dressing and other ingredients in their kitchen according to an old family recipe every day. It was wet and creamy.

The plate was $6.99.

The Sawmill has three types of BBQ sauce ... sweet, mustard, and hot. You have all you need to put on your plate as you eat through the layers. I liked the mustard and the sweet because it's different. Hot was just spicy enough to be tangy on the tongue but not hot enough to hurt your taste buds ... it was quenched by a bite of the cole slaw.

Below is where I stopped eating. The folks gave me some more chopped beef and sauce to go for seconds and the rest of my trip.

I would have liked to have come back for different meats, but my schedule didn't allow. And with all the places to eat in St Louis, I'm not sure when I can go there again ... because the next time I cross the Mississippi, I'm going to to that old timey hamburger place.