Monday nights do not usually smell like post oak and black pepper on Grand Avenue. On Nov. 16, 2026, they will. From 6 to 9 p.m., pitmaster Nick Kleutsch brings Lucy’s BBQ to Friends of Friends, the West Town cocktail bar at 2001 W. Grand Ave., for one night of brisket by the half pound, truffle wings and pork steak, poured alongside the bar’s $14 house cocktails.
It is an early taste of Lucy’s before the restaurant reopens in Highland, Indiana, and a rare chance to eat Kleutsch’s barbecue in the city since he left his post as pitmaster and head chef at Sanders BBQ Supply Co. in Beverly this summer. The night is walk-in until gone, with everything priced by the item, so arrive close to 6 if brisket is the goal.
What you will eat: brisket, truffle wings and honey butter cornbread
The menu for the night is short and built for a bar crowd. MATO and La Vie Zine list brisket at $18 per half pound. Truffle wings come eight to an order for $16. A pork steak, a cut with deep roots in St. Louis barbecue, is $17. The sides are $7 each: mac and cheese, lemon Parmesan broccolini and honey butter cornbread.
Kleutsch cooks in the Central Texas tradition, where the meat gets little more than salt and pepper before it goes into the smoke and the bark does the talking. He learned it the direct way, driving a beverage sales route through Central Texas during the pandemic and spending his spare hours in barbecue joints, from the old-school pits of Lockhart to JNL Barbecue in Austin, where owner Ben Lambert let him study the pits on weekends. The result, when Lucy’s was running in Northwest Indiana, was black pepper-crusted brisket tender enough to pull apart with your fingers.
Order the brisket and wings for the table, add a pork steak if you are three or more, and get the cornbread no matter what. Sides go fast at pop-ups like this one, and a half pound of brisket with two sides makes a full dinner for one at about $32 before drinks.
The pitmaster: from Lucy’s to Sanders and back again
Lucy’s BBQ first built its name in Northwest Indiana, including a run inside Brewfest, a pour-your-own beer bar in Highland, and a Lowell restaurant that closed in 2024. Kleutsch then crossed the state line to run the pits at Sanders BBQ Supply Co., James Sanders’s counter-service barbecue shop at 1742 W. 99th St., which opened in June 2024.
Those were big years. Sanders BBQ Supply Co. was named to The New York Times Restaurant List of the 50 best restaurants in America in 2025, one of two Chicago places on it that year, and Kleutsch and James Sanders were named 2026 James Beard Award semifinalists for Best Chef: Great Lakes, listed together at Sanders BBQ Supply Co. The shop’s success also set up Sanders BBQ Prime, the plated, full-bar spinoff in Hyde Park.
In August 2026 Kleutsch announced that after more than two years his time at Sanders was ending. A month later he posted the plan: Lucy’s is coming home to Highland, Indiana. He was named to The Times of Northwest Indiana’s 20 Under 40 class of 2026, and in November 2026 he joined World Central Kitchen’s Chef Corps, the network of chefs the nonprofit calls on to cook in times of crisis, after cooking 4,905 hot meals with the group in Gary this summer. Lucy’s in Highland is expected to open this winter.
Where you will sit: a corner bar with a heated patio
Friends of Friends opened on May 29, 2025, from Heisler Hospitality, the group behind Pizza Lobo, Estereo, Sportman’s Club and Revel Room. It occupies a former Schlitz tied house at the corner of Grand Avenue and Damen, and the neon Schlitz sign that once hung over Danny’s Tavern in Bucktown now glows out front.
Inside, it is a neighborhood cocktail bar with brick walls, warm light and a deep back bar of whiskey and amaro. Out back, the enclosed patio has a wood-beam roof, paper lanterns and radiant heat, which makes it the coziest seat in the house in November. Patio tables are first come, first served. The bar is open until midnight on Monday, so the night can roll on well past the last brisket order.
Friends of Friends serves only a couple of snacks of its own, French onion dip with salt and vinegar chips for $8 and a Bavarian pretzel with Pizza Lobo’s pimento cheese for $14, so guest cooks are part of its rhythm. It is the same West Town spirit that brings chefs into neighborhood rooms nearby, like Dear Margaret’s tourtière nights at Frontier.
What to drink with barbecue at Friends of Friends
The house cocktails are $14, and each one is named for two flavors that became friends. Crisp & Light No. 5 mixes Fords gin with quince, Lo-Fi vermouth, fino sherry, Seedling Farms apples and osmanthus tea. Bold & Luscious is Buffalo Trace bourbon with amontillado sherry, washed with scorched banana and demerara coconut oil, a natural partner for smoked brisket. Big & Spicy brings jalapeño-infused Smith & Cross rum, Sazerac rye, Select Aperitivo, passion fruit, pineapple, mango and gochujang, which is exactly what truffle wings want.
For a lighter pour, Soft & Bubbly is the zero-proof house drink, with Roots Divino blanco vermouth, sparkling orange tonic and clarified lychee. The Luxury Classics run $18, from an Old Fashioned and a Sazerac to a Last Word and a Penicillin. Wines are $13 a glass, a Pabst Light is $6, and Guinness is $9 on draft. Brisket and a cold Kölsch is an honest pairing, too.
More nights at Friends of Friends this month
The bar keeps a busy calendar with guest cooks and DJs. On Sunday, Nov. 15, the night before Lucy’s, David of Marc’s pops up on the patio from 4 p.m. until the sausages run out, with $12 sausages and $10 glasses of wine from Cream. The bar describes Marc’s as returning every third Sunday.
On Friday, Nov. 20, Princegiving fills the room with Prince records from 8 p.m. And on Wednesday, Nov. 25, the night before Thanksgiving, DJ Joe Bryl spins soul, funk, R&B and disco from 8 to 11 p.m. at The Get Down, with no cover and no RSVP. For a full dinner nearby before or after, Brasero is a short ride away on Chicago Avenue.
Lucy’s BBQ at Friends of Friends Chicago at a glance
- When: Monday, Nov. 16, 2026, 6 to 9 p.m.
- Where: Friends of Friends, 2001 W. Grand Ave., Chicago, IL 60612 (West Town)
- Menu (per MATO and La Vie Zine): brisket $18 per half pound; truffle wings, eight for $16; pork steak $17; mac and cheese, lemon Parmesan broccolini and honey butter cornbread, $7 each
- Entry: walk-in until gone, priced by the item
- Drinks: house cocktails $14; Luxury Classics $18; wine $13 a glass
- Bar hours: Sunday to Thursday 4 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Friends of Friends Chicago FAQ
When is the Lucy’s BBQ pop-up at Friends of Friends Chicago?
Lucy’s BBQ pops up at Friends of Friends on Monday, Nov. 16, 2026, from 6 to 9 p.m. The West Town cocktail bar is at 2001 W. Grand Ave. Pitmaster Nick Kleutsch is serving an early taste of the Lucy’s menu before the restaurant reopens in Highland, Indiana.
What is on the Lucy’s BBQ menu at Friends of Friends Chicago?
MATO and La Vie Zine list the Nov. 16, 2026, menu as brisket at $18 per half pound, eight truffle wings for $16 and a pork steak for $17. Sides are $7 each: mac and cheese, lemon Parmesan broccolini and honey butter cornbread. Drinks come from the bar, with house cocktails at $14.
Do I need a ticket for Lucy’s BBQ at Friends of Friends Chicago?
No. The Lucy’s BBQ night at Friends of Friends on Nov. 16, 2026, is walk-in until gone, and everything is priced by the item. Arrive near the 6 p.m. start for the best shot at brisket. The heated patio at the West Town bar is first come, first served.
Who is Nick Kleutsch of Lucy’s BBQ?
Nick Kleutsch is the Northwest Indiana pitmaster behind Lucy’s BBQ and the former pitmaster and head chef of Sanders BBQ Supply Co. in Beverly, named to The New York Times Restaurant List in 2025. He and James Sanders were 2026 James Beard Award semifinalists for Best Chef: Great Lakes, listed together at Sanders BBQ Supply Co.
Where is Lucy’s BBQ opening?
Lucy’s BBQ is reopening in Highland, Indiana, expected this winter. Nick Kleutsch’s original Lucy’s ran in Northwest Indiana, including a Lowell restaurant that closed in 2024. The Nov. 16, 2026, night at Friends of Friends in West Town is a preview of the new menu.
What are Friends of Friends Chicago’s hours?
Friends of Friends, the West Town cocktail bar at 2001 W. Grand Ave., is open Sunday through Thursday from 4 p.m. to midnight and Friday and Saturday from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. House cocktails are $14, and the heated patio is first come, first served.
Further reading
- Friends of Friends, official site
- Friends of Friends: menu
- Lucy’s BBQ at Friends of Friends, Nov. 16 menu (@notlucysbarbecue on Instagram)
- Friends of Friends on Instagram
- Lucy’s BBQ on Instagram
- Chicago Tribune: 10 pop-up food and drink events in Chicago this November, Nov. 2, 2026
- Block Club Chicago: Friends of Friends bar opens in West Town, May 29, 2025
- Chicago Tribune: Owner of Lucy’s BBQ studied under Texas pitmaster greats, March 15, 2023
- Block Club Chicago: Sanders BBQ Supply makes NYT’s top restaurant list, Sept. 12, 2025
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