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The Best BBQ Joints in Chicago
When your husband and friends decide to nail down the top 5 best bbq restaurants in Chicago and do a day-long tasting tour, you drop everything and hustle into the city despite the rain and gloom! Actually, it took us about 2 months to finally nail down a date and after several cancelations, we finally hit up some of the best barbecue restaurants in Chicago. The “best” was determined by ratings from other sources and a search of the google, and making sure we hit a broad scope of different neighborhoods in the city. At each joint, we sampled the most popular items on the menu or the selection for which the restaurant was best known.
Best BBQ Restaurants in Chicago
Chicago Q
A sweet little southern style storefront plopped in between the more typical brick and stone buildings of Chicago contains the best burnt ends any of us have ever had. And that’s saying something, because our friend Kristen is from Kansas City (which automatically qualifies her) and Dave and I have eaten no small amount of BBQ in our collective years on this earth. The brisket meatballs over grits were tasty and unusual, but nothing to write home about. But the pickles and biscuits sure were.
This was our first stop, so despite my better judgement, we didn’t order dessert (the carrot cake and banana cream pie were both calling my name) but we should have. To go. For later that evening when I was definitely regretting my ignoring of the dessert menu sirens. But I definitely want to go back to this more sit-down and dine for a while feeling spot and get me some more burnt ends and cream pie. And cake. Ok, maybe the whole dessert menu.
the best burnt ends maybe ever
brisket meatballs over grits and fried onions
cheddar chive biscuits
Green Street Smoked Meats
Green Street Meats is like the hipster bbq enclave. The entrance is sorta hidden off a magical alley, there are twenty-somethings with their laptops working while noshing on bbq, and it connects to a coffee shop at the back. Also, there is sink beer.
The pulled pork here was spot on. We also sampled the bbq chicken and had a side of beans. We all agreed the ambiance here was the winner, with pretty darn decent bbq to boot.
Honey 1
This little hidden gem was not on our original list of spots, but we had to kill time until Honky Tonk opened for dinner and it was on the way. Just a stop in and order out joint, their fried okra was fab and when you have a sign that reminds patrons that finger tips aren’t actually on the menu, you’re a winner in our book.
Honky Tonk
This place is just fun. So much to look at on the walls, live music, and moonshine on the menu. All the food was solid and the addition of fried green tomatoes made me happy.
Smoque
Smoque a well known bbq joint in Chicago. They have two locations on the north side and closer to the loop. This was our last stop and by this point, we were a little on the full side. So we got a small platter with some pulled pork and Brisket Chili. The chili is one of those flavors that grows on you. The first bite was questionable, the second bite was intriguing, and by the third bite you were hooked.
If you live in Chicago or are traveling here any time soon, check out one (or all?) of these joints! We had a blast spending the better part of a day in BBQ heaven. I’ll give you a hint…split the day in half. We hit a few joints around lunch time, then took a break and hit the rest at dinner time. Stop at a random spot somewhere mid-afternoon for a cocktail and let your belly settle. You’ll probably find a fun new place AND you’ll be ready to rock and roll for the rest of the day!
