Went to dinner last Friday at Carson's. I had won a few bottles of their BBQ sauce online in a trivia contest and thought the sauce was quite tasty. It had better be tasty considering they charge $9 a pint for the stuff. So, I decided to give the restaurant a try while I was in the Chicago area. There are several locations in Chicagoland. The website can give you specifics. www.ribs.com I ate at the Deerfield location.

I ordered the baby back ribs. These are the only type of BBQ ribs they offer -- no St. Louis ribs, no Texas beef ribs, just baby back. The ribs are served dry, without sauce, but they provide a container of warm sauce on the table. Not only do they have just one type of BBQ ribs, they only have one type of sauce. The sauce is sweet and slightly hot (spicy) at the same time. It is most similar to a Memphis style sauce, and not at all like the vinegary texas/oklahoma style sauces. The ribs were not very impressive. The quality was about on a par with what you'd get at a Tony Roma's or Chili's. I've had much better BBQ at pure BBQ joints. However, the ribs were not awful either, just not noteworthy. The rib dinner came with a choice of potatoes and creamy cole slaw. I chose the fries, which turned out to be a poor choice since they arrived overcooked and very dry. I thought about sending them back, but we all know what can happen when you send food back. Others in our party chose the baked potato, and it looked good and was very large. One thing that's a bit misleading if you do not read the menu carefully is that the waiter, when he takes your order, asks if you'd like a salad instead of cole slaw. What he doesn't say, although it is written on the menu, but can be easily overlooked, is that there is a $2 upcharge for the salad. Not a big deal, but nevertheless an annoyance. The salads are enormous, really big. However, the blue cheese dressing was less than impressive. Overall, I can't say I recommend this restaurant if you are a true lover of quality BBQ. However, if you go in expecting the quality you'd get at a Tony Roma's or a Chili's, you'll get what you'd expect. Carson's is not bad, just not noteworthy. To date, nothing beats the ribs I had at Uncle Willie's in Waterbury, CT; for a review please see the New England section of Flyertalk Dining.



[This message has been edited by hhonorman (edited 06-25-2003).]

A shame to read your review of Carson's. I was in Chicago the week after Memorial Day and had a couple of really good meals. We ate at Gibson's on Rush Street one night. Excellent filet mignon, and although not prepared as rare as I had asked (blue), still very tasty. Of course, a bit pricy, but filet doesn't come cheap anywhere.

Highlight of the trip, though, was a trip to Lem's BBQ, a true hole in the wall I would think twice about going to if I weren't with a local (I was). Located at about 79th and Indiana, Lem's has just about the best BBQ I've ever tasted. It's only to go, so not a fine dining experience, but if BBQ is your thing, Lem's is great. Rib tips were amazing. I heard the chicken was also outstanding.

We also ate at Red Light, on Randolph?, which featured excellent pan-Asian food in a really well decorated room.

And, of course, my hotdog dog and Old Style beer at Wrigley Field were clinchers. I'd go back to Chicago in a heartbeat.

Don in LA, thanks for the tip about Lem's. I'll be sure to check it out next time I'm in Chicago.

For Lem's and other great (and crap) BBQ in Chicago, see: http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...ML/000012.html

additional Redlight info: http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...ML/000112.html

[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 07-08-2003).]

Thanks SW.