This is one of the best barbecue restaurants in New England. This is one of my favorite chef / owners. This is…

“Mill City Barbecue and Brew at Lowell, Massachusetts. I was born in Brooklyn, New York. But I was raised in Lowell, Massachusetts. We and my family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina about 25 years ago. We went to the food truck business me and my three sons. Imagine coming back home. I imagine moving back to Lowell and opening up a barbecue restaurant. Well I saved but 10 years for it. And I came seven and a half years ago. Open Mill City Barbecue and brew and here I am!”

Believe it or not, this used to be a Brighams and this hard work and family totally transformed this place. I mean, it’s got a really cool bar and a fun dining room and floor to ceiling windows facing a busy street and downtown wall is my kind of hangout. 

“I mean we got to Texas barbecue. You got Memphis barbecue, you got southern barbecue. We are more of a southern hospitality family. You don’t walk in the door without getting known, a hug. I can be in that kitchen busy as hell and I see somebody coming to door and I’m ‘how you doing? What can I do for you. Have a seat? Can I get a hug?’”

 She can’t stop hugging, I saw her hug 117 People in nine seconds she’s the hurricane of hugs whoa look out here comes hurricane Renay! Star with a menu here is the St. Louis ribs. It’s a meaty rib, and they smoke it in the smoker for hours and hours and hours. So the essence of the smoke gets inside the meat and yet you can pull it right off the bone. 

“Well we definitely put a lot into our smoker and wood and our technique so what you’re gonna get is all of that in one. We also make our own in house rub. The brown sugar the cumin, the garlic, the onion,the thyme. Good rib is is when you look out in the dining room you see somebody take a bite and look at a friend and say and then I say ‘my job is done okay on to the next customer’. 

I’m a chicken wing freak and here, the chicken wings are really special because they are both smoked and fried so you’re getting the best of both worlds. And that chicken just melts in your mouth with so much flavor. I think the best value for your dining dollar here is the pulled pork sandwich. This is made North Carolina style so the pork is shredded, it’s got some little pieces. It’s got some big chunks served with just a little bit of barbecue sauce. This thing is as big as my head.

“Our pork is a whole technique. It’s a 15 hour process that we start smoking in the evenings before we leave. You just want to get your pork you’re gonna get your brioche and get your pork, a little vinegar sauce that we make are made in house, we do a cole slaw on the side which is a homemade coleslaw very popular here. So that’s what you’re going to expect when you get a pull pork sandwich here.”

Chicken and waffles is a southern dish that migrated north and it’s one of my favorites. I think it’s one of the only foods I can eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert. It has it all soft and crunchy, sweet and savory. Hot and cold. If you’ve never had chicken and waffles, it’s a must try.

“We make a cornbread waffle mix. So we use the same mix that we use for our homemade cornbread, which we make that …. And we make a cornbread waffle and it’s so popular. And people love it now and in the south. It’s on every menu.”

I think the number one comfort food on this planet is mac and cheese and I think the number one side at this restaurant is their mac and cheese. I mean this doesn’t really have to be a side. This could be a meal in and of itself. 

“It’s gonna get creamy, cheesy, just the kind of mac and cheese you used to get at your grandma’s house.”

Renay says that your grandmother used to make it like this. I loved my grandma. She never made it like this. For dessert, you could get a strawberry shortcake or you could get the banana pudding. This is made with a layer of Nilla Wafers than fresh banana than banana pudding. They do that all over again. Put some caramel sauce on it. This is the perfect sweet ending to a barbecue meal.

“We’re good. That’s what it is. That’s what I’m about. I do have an over the top personality. I’m gonna get you with my personality. But at the end of the day, my barbecue speaks for me Dave likes my barbecue. It’s good stuff is good stuff. There’s no faking shaken in that barbecue.  I say it’s really good barbecue. We put our heart and souls in that barbecue every single day. And it shows when you eat all your food.”

I want all fans and gourmet fans to head to Mill City Barbecue and Brew in just say ‘I don’t need a menu. I just want a combo of ribs and a hug’.