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20 | July 11, 2019 | the lockport legend lockport lockportlegend.com LockortLegend.com brings the heat Unbeatable daily coverage of Lockport with more and faster delivery than the weekly newspaper PLUS, breaking news alerts as it happens, exclusive weekly emails and access to 6 other local-news sites! All that for about $3 a month! Subscribe today at LockportLegend.com/Plus or scan the QR for a direct link
lockportlegend.com dining out the lockport legend | July 11, 2019 | 21 The Dish Irish Pig BBQ’s new owner blends tradition with variety T.J. Kremer III Contributing Editor Irish Pig BBQ 280 E. Lincoln Highway in New Lenox Hours • 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday • 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday • Noon-6 p.m. Sunday • Closed Mondays For more information… Phone: (815) 485- 1744 Web: irishpigbbq.com When Scott Tabor took over ownership in February of New Lenox’s Irish Pig BBQ, he brought a lot of experience with him, albeit from a different profession. Tabor spent the last 30 years as a mechanic and had his own shop in Lockport. But his love for all things barbecue has been a big part of his life, and Tabor has been “experimenting” with barbecue, He even did some catering when he was in California, where he lived for roughly 25 years. After having neck surgery, he decided he would rather work full-time on ribs, chicken and pork than go back to working on cars, trucks and vans. Everything came together when Tabor was getting ready to celebrate a birthday and told his girlfriend at the time that he “wanted something different” for his meal. “She saw this place with the barbecue, and she knew I loved barbecue, and she saw the sign ‘For Sale,’ and she let me know,” Tabor said. “Me and [former owner Kathy Connolly] strike up a deal, and here I am.” Tabor has kept many of the same menu items — such as BBQ ribs ($13.95 for a half slab, $22.50 for a full slab, each with two sides), pulled pork ($8 for a small sandwich, $9 for the large, each with a small side or fries) and brisket ($11 for the small sandwich, $12 for the large, also with a small side or fries) — and has started to add his own touch of flavor to the restaurant’s offerings. “I added a whole Carribean menu, actually,” Tabor said. “I have a Jamaican gourmet chef [Newton Hood], kind of a silent partner. He prepares all the food and shows me what to do.” That Caribbean menu includes jerk chicken ($10), curried goat ($11.95), oxtail ($9.99) and brown stew catfish ($11.95). Of course, Irish Pig BBQ would not be the same without its popular corned beef. “The platinum dish when I bought the place was the corned beef,” Tabor said. “[Irish Pig BBQ] is known to have the best corned beef around. So, I didn’t touch that, didn’t change it. You can’t change perfection.” Connolly left the secret recipe with Tabor when she sold the restaurant to him, and Tabor said he intends to keep the dish on the menu. “We’re keeping a little bit of the old, because a lot of regulars they love that corned beef, and it is good corned beef,” Tabor said. But Tabor has started his own tradition at Irish Pig BBQ, too, in Southern Irish Pig BBQ’s half slab of ribs with two sides ($13.95) is one of the staple dishes new owner Scott Tabor has kept on the menu and put his stamp on after taking over the New Lenox spot. Photos by T.J. Kremer III/22nd Century Media Sundays. “That’s where my Mississippi comes in,” Tabor said. While he was born in Joliet and lives there now, his family is from Mississippi. “It’s some comfort food, some down-home country food,” he said of the special Sunday menu, which he plans on rotating throughout the summer. It recently featured smothered chicken, smothered pork chops, fried catfish and rib tips (an entree costs $11.95 and comes with two sides). So what else does Tabor have planned for Irish Pig BBQ? “Still experimenting with the menu,” he said. “I love experimenting with food, in general — trying to change things up to generate interest.” Scott Tabor, the new owner of Irish Pig BBQ, keeps many of the restaurant’s wellknown attributes in tact — such as the decor and popular menu items — and has started to add his own touch with a Carribean menu and Southern Sundays.
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