In April 2016, Chef Michael Symon opened Mabel’s BBQ on East 4th just a stone’s throw from his flagship restaurant, Lola’s. But it’s a completely different kind of restaurant for a completely different kind of evening out.
Expect good old southern-style food, the kind you might expect to eat out behind the house in the rural Mississippi. And that’s the kind of vibe he’s created with the communal picnic tables and folding chairs. But he’s also forged his own “Cleveland-style” BBQ, with mustard-based sauces and applewood-smoked meats that fuel a menu of barbecued meats, keilbasa with house-made sauerkraut, ribs, pig parts, sides and sandwiches. That’s old-school. What’s new school is that the meats all come from humanely raised animals free from hormones and antibiotics.
Mabel’s BBQ is a place to go to drink too. In keeping with the southern theme, it’s got an exceptionally long list of bourbons, along with plenty of beers, cocktails, whiskey and scotch. It’s got a handful of wines too but this menu doesn’t cry out for a glass of win.
In 2022, Symon opened another Mabel’s location at Eton in Woodmere.
2050 E. 4th Street
216-417-8823
28699 Chagrin Blvd, Woodmere