Big Mike’s in Marikina Serves Standout Chicago BBQ, American Diner Classics

Big Mike’s Chicago-Style Food
Teodore Events Place, 61 Katipunan Street, Sto. Niño, Marikina City
Contact: 0961-579-8678
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BigMikesChicagoStyle
Open from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Sunday

(SPOT.ph) Marikina is a city that rewards hardworking culinary prospectors, teeming as it is with golden holes-in-the-wall and mom-and-pop restaurants. Among these, it’s notable how those like Krung Thai and Ca Phe Saigon are run by migrants who’ve married Filipinos, arguably marking the city east of Manila as a hub for authentic cuisine.

Joining this roster is recent years is Big Mike’s Chicago-Style, serving barbecue ribs, pulled pork, grilled steak, grilled or fried fish, breakfast or dessert waffles or pancakes, and potato products and salads on the side, a whole range of American diner classics side-by-side with Filipino staples like longganisa and tocino silogs.

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Big Mike's Chicago-Style Food in Marikina

African-American owner Mike Jacobs first opened the restaurant in 2022 along Cirma Street near the city center before moving to a bigger location mid-2023 along Katipunan Street closer to the Rizal Province border. Jacobs, who also runs a stateside trucking company, divides his time between Marikina and Texas. His partner Hilda Ajero runs day-to-day operations.

“The recipes are heirlooms Mike inherited from his parents and grandparents,” Ajero shares. Jacobs was in the US during SPOT.ph’s visit. He spent Christmas in the Philippines and plans to spend part of summer here. The restaurant’s social media often grids photos of Jacobs with patrons.

The menu is printed in fonts and color schemes hearkening to the innocence of 90s and early 2000s graphic design. Framed reproductions of Chicago’s basketball, baseball, and American football teams deck the faux-red brick walls all as two televisions play reruns of Just for Laughs or ESPN. In 2022, a portrait of Jacobs with who I guess was his grandma greeted guests. Going back in 2025, I tried to looking for it but it seems it was in storage.

Vibe-wise, it’s a arguably dated, earnest, and ultimately wholesome masculinity bordering on the campy, but it’s exactly this that makes Big Mike’s so charming. It’s like an interstate roadside grill from when our parents were our age now, from our early childhood, when your dad and uncles teased your mom and aunts by introducing you to (just a swig) of beer. Don’t forget to order a Bud or two (or three, or four)!

All this just highlights (if via contrast) how good the barbecue is.

Compared to other American styles of barbecue (like the popular Texas version), Chicago-style barbecue draws heavily from its migrant African-American population, largely composed of migrants from the Southwestern Unisted States during the 1910s to 1970s given the prevalence of discrimination. This period, known as The Great Migration, birthed a distinct cuisine in “the windy city.”

Chicago-style barbecue has many subgenres thanks to various immigrant communities from Slavs to Mediterranean Europeans. African-Americans from Chicago defined their barbecue via a tomato-based sauce heavily inspired by “soul food,” a term describing the larger body of African-American cuisine.

During our visit, we were able to try a solo order of Chicago-Style Baby Back Ribs (P449), a Maxwell Cheeseburger (P190), Big Mike’s Mojos (P110, good for sharing), and a Big Mike’s Salad (P165, good for sharing).

The Filipino menu might be a hit or miss given the standard fare. While the unli breakfast (prices vary) on offer has gotten the most media attention so far, scarce has been given to the American menu, specifically, the grilled items which I strongly believe stand out as the best-flavored, anchoring the authenticity of Big Mike’s.

When I first walked in with zero expectations back in 2022 as a curious flaneur exploring the city on a weekend evening, Jacobs and Ajero were busy running about as the restaurant was on soft opening. While chatting them up, Jacobs kept referencing the smoked ribs, though I was in the mood for fried chicken (prices vary) back then. After getting my last side dish, Ajero passed a saucer containing some smoked ribs, “it’s on the house,” Jacobs smiled, adding, “wanna try the salmon next time?”

You can bet I did, and I made sure my friends and family did too. I was sad when the Cirma branch closed in 2023, but driving by Marikina’s easternmost side a few months back, I saw familiar logo, with a familiar red brick facade.

Fast forward to 2025 and the flavor profile remains largely the same as it was in 2022.

Admittedly, the Maxwell Cheeseburger is less an All-American mammoth and more a Filipino-style burger (similar to that served by reception event caterers) with a savory, tallow-grilled patty. The mojos, though a tad salty, pair well with the burger. Breaded as they are and sprinkled with dried herbs, they’re balanced by garlic-and-herb sauce which I also added to the salad, foregoing the default mayonnaise.

All Big Mike condiments from mustard to mojo dip are homemade, and available upon request. Built from scratch by Jacobs and Ajero, these tart and tangy sauces round out the rich, savory mains and salty sides and shouldn’t be missed. While rice is served as a default for mains, the grains can be swapped for mashed potatoes, mojos, or fries at no cost for those looking for an All-American experience.

Throwing back to 2022, I’m pleased to report, dear reader, that the smoked ribs’ recipe and quality stays strong. Historical grills in Chicago were designed to keep out the cold winds that regularly battered the city, making it easier to grill at home, indoors. With Marikina’s milder weather, Jacobs and Ajero can use a standard, open-air grill.

The whole process takes hours, almost half a day, overnight. The ribs are first marinated in Big Mike’s secret special sauce, which tastes like it has whiskey but which Ajero clarifies is cooked without alcohol. (I ask if it’s mumbo sauce; she replies it isn’t, but is a Jacobs family heirloom.) The ribs are then grilled quickly. After that they’re oven-baked and all this results in a dish that’s glazed and sweet on the outside, while tender, slide-off-the-bone on the inside. 

It’s notable how the glaze only stays on top, not interfering with the taste of USDA-standard pork and yet, when making simot the tendons and cartilage of the bone, the glaze greets diners once again for a full-circle chef’s kiss. By this point, I’ve forgotten all table manners and attempts at propriety and you’ll be forgiven too if you end up dirtying your hands.

At P449 for a solo plate, Big Mike’s baby back ribs, served with buttered veggies and rice that can be replaced by mash, fries, or mojos, has a price point that’s also notably affordable compared to other restaurants around Metro Manila also touting real-deal American cooking.

It’s a good thing we also ordered salad in order to balance the meal out nutritionally and flavor-wise. On its own, the salad is pretty simple, the ingredients market-fresh (Ajero and her team go to the Marikina palengke almost daily), composed of romaine lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, croutons, and sliced cheese product with mayo on the side. For an additional charge, diners can also add grilled chicken. Either way, the plain or protein version doesn’t exceed P190 as of press time.

I was also able to try their soul-inspired breaded catfish in the first venue and if they were able to keep the same quality for their ribs, I’m sure the same applies to their other African-American dishes. 

Every restaurant that cares about food quality and customer satisfaction starts with ingredient selection and Ajero confirms that she and Jacobs abide by this, importing their beef and pork while sourcing the bread, herbs, and vegetables locally.

In contrast to the Cirma shop, the new Big Mike’s also has a dedicated cocktail menu but we didn’t get to try this because the day we went (hello, El Nino heat index!) was not a good day for day-drinking.

But for those looking for an authentic All-American, African-American soul food-inspired, Chicago-specific experience, any day at Big Mike’s is a big, good day.