Lucille's is a Southern restaurant with a smokehouse attached, and the calorie spread reflects that range. A Grilled Portobello Sandwich lands near 520 calories; a full order of St. Louis Spare Ribs runs about 1,150 before you touch a side. That is a 600-calorie gap inside one menu, which means what you order here matters far more than whether you come at all.
The whole menu by weight
| Order | Approx. calories |
|---|---|
| Grilled Portobello Sandwich | ~520 |
| Texas Style Beef Brisket, 7 oz | ~620 |
| BBQ Chicken Salad | ~640 |
| Lucille's Original Pulled Pork Sandwich | ~680 |
| Baby Back Ribs | ~1,050 |
| Smoked Brisket Burger | ~1,100 |
| St. Louis Spare Ribs | ~1,150 |
| Chris' Famous Bread Pudding | ~800 |
| Cheese biscuit, each | ~180 |
The biscuits nobody counts
Every table-service meal at Lucille's opens with complimentary made-from-scratch biscuits and apple butter, and at roughly 180 calories apiece they are the largest uncounted number at this chain. A table that works through three or four before the food arrives has eaten more than a portobello sandwich's worth of bread while reading the menu. They are genuinely one of the best things in the building, so the useful discipline is not to refuse them — it is to take one, eat it slowly, and let the basket move on.
Where the meat lands
The smoked side is dry-rubbed and cooked overnight, with sauce arriving on the side in squeeze bottles rather than being cooked onto the meat. That works in your favor: the sugar is optional here in a way it is not at chains that sauce during the cook.
- Texas Style Beef Brisket, 7 oz ($18.99) — about 620 calories and the leanest real plate of barbecue on the menu.
- Smoked BBQ Half Chicken ($18.99) — the cheapest plate in the smoked section and lighter than any rib order, especially if you leave the skin.
- Baby Back Ribs ($24.99) — around 1,050. The leaner rib of the two.
- St. Louis Spare Ribs ($23.99) — around 1,150. Cut from the belly side, so fattier by definition; it is also the better rib.
There is no light version of a rack of ribs. If ribs are why you came, take them and adjust everywhere else on the table.
Sandwiches, burgers and the salad trap
Sandwiches are the sane middle of this menu. The Grilled Portobello ($11.99) at roughly 520 calories is the lightest full meal Lucille's serves, and the Original Pulled Pork ($11.99) at about 680 is the honest default. Burgers are a different category: the Smoked Brisket Burger ($15.99) is near 1,100 calories, which puts it in rib territory for a fraction of the eating.
Salads deserve a warning. The BBQ Chicken Salad ($13.99) is around 640 calories — more than the pulled pork sandwich — because the dressing, cheese and fried elements do the work the lettuce gets credit for. The Brisket Burnt Ends Salad ($13.99) is built on the fatty point end of the brisket. Neither is a diet order; both are good food.
Four swaps that actually work
- One biscuit, not four. Saves roughly 540 calories and costs nothing, because they are free either way.
- Rib tips instead of a rib plate. The BBQ Rib Tip Appetizer ($13.99) is the same meat and the same smoke in a smaller portion, and it saves ten dollars against the $23.99 spare ribs.
- Vinegar sauce instead of the sweet original. Lucille's puts several sauces on the table, and the Carolina-style vinegar one carries a fraction of the sugar. The Lucille's sauce lineup is worth reading before you pour.
- Share the dessert. Bread pudding is around 800 calories on its own.
How accurate these numbers are
Treat everything above as a planning estimate, not a lab measurement. Lucille's smokes in house at every restaurant and portions by hand, so ten to fifteen percent variance between two orders of the same plate is normal, and the Southern Specialties section — jambalaya, blackened catfish, Louisiana pasta — varies more than the smoked meats do. If you are managing a medical diet, check with the restaurant directly. For the full item list with current prices, see the Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ menu, and if you are avoiding a specific ingredient rather than counting calories, the allergen guide is the more useful page.