No-Fuss Father’s Day Picnic with Todd’s BBQ at Mariano’s

Father’s Day is right around the corner! When I think of Father’s Day and Mother’s Day… I think of days where you should spend time with your family and not fuss in the kitchen making elaborate meals. But of course, what’s a day of celebration without some delicious food? If you’re in the Chicagoland area, Mariano’s in Frankfort & Harwood Heights have the perfect solution: Todd’s BBQ.

I don’t think I’ve ever met a man who didn’t love some good BBQ. Now, I’ve met plenty of men who couldn’t cook good BBQ… but that’s another story. 😉 When it came to making the meal plan for my Father’s Day get together I knew that BBQ would be an excellent fit.

A Little Backstory

I have two dads. No, no… not like that. I mean I have my biological dad, Eliseo, and then I have the man I lived with most of my life, my step-dad Salomon. My mom and dad had six kids together, I’m the youngest. Then they got divorced when I was like 3-4 years old and from as long as I can remember I’ve been living with my mom and Salomon (and all those siblings).

They’ve been together for about 20 years and married for nearly 10. My dad has remarried once, twice, thrice a couple of times. And he’s been back and forth from Mexico for the last 15 years, that’s where his other family lives. My mom, my dad, my step-dad, and even my step-dads ex-wife all get along just fine. It’s kind of weird, right? Haha. But it works for us. So for my father’s day celebration, I had both of my dads to celebrate. 🙂

Preparing the menu

My dad is a diabetic, and has been for the last 20 years. He moved back to the Chicago area about a month ago and my sister started helping him learn about food and getting his health in order. I didn’t want him to have a major backslide on his diet so I had his health in mind while shopping for my meal at Mariano’s. My dad was pretty excited about getting to eat some good ol’ BBQ as it’s pretty hard to come by in Mexico. There are tacos on every corner, literally, but BBQ is a rare find.

As far as my step-dad goes, I know he loves to eat and after living with him for most of my life, I know that he isn’t too picky. I did ask him what kind of BBQ sauce he prefers and I kept that in mind while shopping too. The people at Todd’s BBQ were so so so incredibly friendly.

Johnnisa was happy to describe the differences in all of the BBQ sauces and offered me samples to make sure I picked the perfect jar to take home.

Shopping

I headed to Mariano’s in Frankfort early Saturday morning with my mom and the babies. Frankfort and Harwood Heights are the two Mariano’s that feature Todd’s BBQ. I had a feeling for what kind of food I wanted to buy but I wasn’t entirely sure of how much. The prices at Todd’s BBQ are awesome.

You can get the beef brisket for $13/lb and the smoked pulled pork for $9/lb. There are also a ton of sides to choose from like grilled corn on the cob, baked beans, and horseradish pickles. To see more pictures from my shopping trip check out my Google+ album.

In addition to being incredibly photogenic, James, was a big help in deciding how much meat I would need to buy to feed the whole brood for my celebration.

After debating how much food I needed to feed my family and asking my mom how much she thought I should buy… I was still unsure. So, I decided I’d ask the folks behind the counter and they helped me figure it all out. I ended up buying 2lbs of pork, 2lbs of brisket, and a whole slab of ribs.

Not only did the food look completely ravishing, it smelled AMAZING. Just smelling the smokey meat made we want to live at Todd’s BBQ.

My family could not stop raving about the food. Seriously. They were so impressed with the smokiness of the ribs and the way the meat was all seasoned and cooked to PERFECTION. I ended up selecting a jar of the Kansas City Sweet BBQ sauce to take home to my family. In hindsight, I wish I would’ve grabbed one of each flavor. They were only $6 for 12oz of sauce and I was totally in love with the packaging. Next time, for sure!

My dad said the food tasted like heaven. And it was worth a little spike in his blood sugar to have food that good. He was totally satisfied and I made sure to send him home with leftovers.

I was able to grab some healthy foods to include in our meal. In addition to the BBQ, beans, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and salad, I made guacamole, my mom boiled some corn on the cob (only $.33 an ear at Mariano’s!), and I bought a big bowl of fresh fruit. We also paired our picnic themed meal with bottles of water instead of sugary drinks. I made sure to use my Mariano’s Rewards Card at checkout for extra savings.

The kids couldn’t keep their little hands out of the fruit.

There were lots of fresh fruits and a huge salad bar that made it nice and easy to pick up some healthy options for our meal. I LOVE the salad bar, the soup bar, the hot food bar, the juice bar, the trail mix bar, the sushi bar and pretty much everything that Mariano’s has to offer. If you’re looking to pick up some delicious food for the father in your life and you don’t want to fuss in the kitchen this Father’s Day, I highly suggest you check out Todd’s BBQ and everything else Mariano’s has to offer.

My step-dad sent his compliments to the chef. He inhaled his food and I left plenty at his house so he could enjoy it again the next day. He couldn’t stop eating to take a picture, it had him in a gluttonous trance.

After shopping for an hour or two for our celebration my mom, the babies, and myself decided to sit down and have some soup. It was my mom’s first time to Mariano’s and I wanted her to get the full experience. Because, Mariano’s is just that… an experience. It’s so much more than a grocery store and I get excited every time I know I’ll be making a trip there.

My mom has been there for me my entire life and Father’s Day is a little bit about her too. I like to call her the glue that holds us all together. She would be the reason I have two dads. 😉 Forgive her open mouth, no one could seem to stop eating long enough to take a picture!

My Father’s Day picnic was a smashing success. My two dads both thoroughly enjoyed the food, I had fun hanging out with some of my family and I spent little to no time fussing around in the kitchen. Now that I’m a full-fledged adult, I can seriously appreciate the little things. Like spending a few hours just eating great food, hanging out with my family, and talking the day away. Todd’s BBQ was a shining star at my Father’s Day Picnic.

I know this post was picture heavy, but I just couldn’t resist. Mariano’s makes it too easy to take amazing photos of their food. Which is just another reason I love #MyMarianos!

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