Mid Rivers Newsmagazine Lil' Mickey's Memphis Barbecue Review

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Mid Rivers Newsmagazine Restaurant Spotlight Archive

Lil' Mickey's: Great BBQ At A Great Price

By Mary Ann O'Toole Holley

There's a sign scribbled on a slate board in Charles Butler's office that says "Exceptional Service, Exceptional Product, Acceptable Price - Smile!"

"It's my mission statement," said Butler, one of St. Peters' newest barbecue chieftains - owner of Lil' Mickey's Memphis Barbecue at 6716 Mexico Road at Kimberly Drive. "I wanted that sign up there to remind me - even that part about smiling. There's something about good service these days. Sometimes it's hard to find."

Good service, good eats and great flavor are paramount to Lil' Mickey's Memphis Barbecue, an old-fashioned mom and pop take-out that hosts about three tables, a window seat and plenty of Blues playing on the stereo.

"I love it. I love barbecue and always have," said Butler. "I like to see the look on people's faces when they take that first bite. I'm not out to get rich or famous. If I do, good, but I just love barbecue."

A customer walks in, orders a pulled pork sandwich and tells Butler what he hoped to hear.

"Oooh. that was good," said Louis Campbell of Weldon Springs. "I knew I was hungry, but I didn't know I was that hungry. I destroyed it, and I think it destroyed my shirt."

Campbell said he was getting a haircut just a few doors away when the Country Hill barber told him, "Do yourself a favor and go eat at Mickey's."

"I'm glad I took his advice," Campbell said. "This is some of the best barbecue I've ever had. I love a sweet tasting sauce."

Butler comes from a long line of barbecue aficionados. His paternal grandmother, Edna Oliver, ran her own barbecue business in North St. Louis County during the early 1960s. His father, Herbert Butler, owned and operated "Q" King in Las Vegas in the early 1980s - a place where Charles Butler spent his summer vacations honing his talents.

Butler's wife, Bobbie, a native of Memphis, hails from a family of barbecue masters. She and her cousins spent their teen years under the tutelage of their Uncle Jim Neely, owner of the world-renowned Jim Neely's Interstate Barbecue in Memphis and Mississippi.

Charles whipped up his first batch of fine-tuned barbecue sauce in 1988 after living in New Orleans and being influenced by an even more southern lifestyle. Over the years, when a party or charity event took place, friends and family knew where to turn: They called on Charles for his special blend of barbecue sauce.

After years of planning, Lil' Mickey's Memphis Barbecue opened in October, becoming the ninth barbecue business in the Butler family.

"I've got one customer who comes in and says, 'ya know, all I really need is a big loaf of bread and a bowl of barbecue sauce,'" Butler said. "People just love my sauce. In summer, I'll bet I sell more sauce than meat."

In the kitchen, Butler operates a large smoker grill that cooks up about 500 pounds of meat at a time. Moreover, time, Butler says, is the true secret to his tasty temptations.

Barbecue ribs are seasoned up with Lil' Mickey's Barbecue Rub and smoked for eight hours. The "rub" is a special blend of 12 spices and secret ingredients that Butler developed himself. Brisket smokes for 14 hours along with pork shoulders and other meats.

"I fire it up when I go home at night," Butler said. "It's all indirect heat-smoked. You get your spices and sauces and heat. It's so tender it melts in your mouth."

Butler is a one-man show at Lil' Mickey's. He lends his own expertise, his own homemade sauce in a business that is booming. His grandma Beneva Lee helps out, providing homemade sweet potato pies and a variety of cakes.

Sandwiches fill the menu, with chopped barbecue beef ($6.29) served hot and a lot. A quarter barbecue chicken ($5.99) and delicious barbecue turkey ($6.29) are great for lunch, but if you're going for a dinner spread, order the Slab O' Bar-B-Q Ribs ($18.95) including two side items and bread.

Family specials feature a larger portion Slab O' Pork Ribs with two large side items and bread ($21). If you can't decide, choose the sampler platter featuring pork ribs, chicken quarter, beef link, beef brisket and pork shoulder ($17).

Baked beans, Cole slaw and potato salad are all handmade by Butler. You'll find nothing from a can at Lil' Mickey's.

"Barbecuing is definitely an art," Butler said. "You can go to all these points in the country and find different types of barbecue, but it's like that thing that separates the good athlete form the great athlete. It's just something I love."

Lil' Mickey's Memphis Barbecue - Home of "The Sauce" is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

To order ahead, call 636-278-4BBQ, but at Lil' Mickey's Memphis Barbecue in Country Hill Plaza, the smoker is always on. Visit Lil' Mickey's on the Web at www.lilmickeysbbq.com.