17th Street was well known throughout the barbecue community, primarily due to its owner and pit master, Mike Mills, a mainstay of the Illinois barbecue scene. Following his death in 2020, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker posted his condolences and his obituary said Mills was the “only griller with maximum security clearance to board Air Force One, where he delivered barbecue to President Bill Clinton, and the only pit master in America to have been featured in Vogue magazine four times.”

17th Street is still going strong and daughter Amy is taking over. The baby back ribs are a must, as they are sprinkled with a secret seasoning called “Magic Dust.”