17th Street was well-known throughout the barbecue community, mostly due to its owner and pitmaster, Mike Mills, a pillar of the Illinois barbecue scene. Upon his death in 2020, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker posted his condolences, and his obituary said that Mills was the “only barbecuer with top-security clearance to board Air Force One, where he delivered barbecue to President Bill Clinton, and the only pitmaster in America who’s been featured in Vogue magazine four times.”
17th Street is still going strong, with his daughter Amy taking over. The baby back ribs are a must, as they’re sprinkled with a secret seasoning called “Magic Dust.”
