There are a bunch of new places that I've been wanting to try, but haven't gotten around to yet.

Barn & Company, Sweet Baby Ray's, Bub City (which I have tried and liked very much - smoked bone-in beef short rib, Crispy skin 1/2 chicken, baby back ribs), Milt's BBQ for the Perplexed (kosher! :)), Lillie Q (rave reviews). You can Google the addresses and reviews but all are within a few miles of N. Michigan Ave., including County BBQ, which I mentioned and created controversy a few posts above. Seems like Sweet Wille needs to arrange something. :)

Chicago Q is nearby, to add to the list above.

thanks for the recs! will definitely have to check them out

anyone have luck getting in on a cancellation to the Girl and the Goat reservations? (off bbq topic i know) had noooooo idea they are booked months out earliest date is in mid october, ree-dee

Show up around 5pm and you should be able to get in. I recently did on a saturday. If the weather is nice you can sit outside. The outside tables didn't fill in until closer to 545 or 6.

At the risk of getting hyperlocal and making it really obvious where I live / who I am, there are like seven separate neighborhoods in the mile between the Addison & Southport intersection and the lake.

1) Southport Corridor
2) Wrigleyville (the post-college residential part)
3) Wrigleyville (stadium and bars inhabited by recent grads of Big 10 schools)
4) Wilton/Fremont/Reta streets
5) Boystown (Halsted)
6) Broadway & Pine Grove
7) Lake Shore Drive

Each of these areas has their own distinct population, character, flavor, and experience. Don't knock the entire area based on neighborhood #3 above. It's a single part of it, it's easily avoidable, and all of us behaved the exact same way when we were 23.

Focus: go back to Wrigley BBQ and get the pulled pork with sweet potato fries. Delicious as always last night.

+1. Aggressive yet usually effective strategy. They open at 4:30 if you want to make this even more bulletproof.

I would guess he's a Sox fan and you're not going to convince him of anything! ;)

Ha! The fact that I'm a Twins fan in Cubs territory probably won't help matters. But the pulled pork at W BBQ is really, really good.

Wrong.

You were born 50? ;)

deal !

It won't be at Milt's BBQ for the Perplexed, expensive & just not good BBQ, there is far better to be had so unless one is constrained by Kosher dining, don't bother with Milt's.

Milt's BBQ for the Perplexed
3411 North Broadway Street
Chicago, IL 60657
www.miltsbbq.com

I've been meaning to ask this far a while ...

I am originally from Texas and am seriously biased/addicted to Texas style BBQ. I have looked all over for a decent Texas style BBQ place around here and cannot find it. There is something about the way the meat is smoked or the mix of woods used in smoking.

Don't want to start an argument/discussion about different styles of Q.

I bet it's not as difficult as finding good deep dish pizza in Texas. ;) I think the brisket at County BBQ on Taylor Street is really good (DMK Burger Bar people), although I don't pretend to be an expert.

BTW, I was at Hecky's in Evanston (they used to have a location in Chicago on Halsted near Division) last week. I had a taste for rib tips. It was pretty bad. The sauce was tasty, but meat was too smokey (is it possible to over smoke meat?) for my taste, or maybe it was just the flavor - reminded me of lighter fluid.

it is the most important discussion of my day, please continue!:)you won't find Texas hill country BBQ outside of Texas hill country.

Chicago is known for ribs, we do rib tips exceptionally well. Most people don't want to be bothered with tips as ribs are easy to eat. (Plus there are places like Gale Street or Twin Anchors, that boil their ribs then slather with sauce & some say they are great ribs, NOT !)

Links can be so-so, but there are some highlights (best links I've ever had for instance are here in Chicago at Barbara Ann's BBQ (mentioned up thread)).

There are some VERY good brisket places, Smoque seems to be back on their game, but if you were compare it side to side with brisket from say Salt Lick, Black's, Cooper's etc, I think you'd find Smoque to have a more pot roast taste/texture. Not that this is bad, but it is different from Hill country.

Perhaps it is the ambience of being in the Carolinas but I've never found any pork BBQ in Chicago as good as when in the SE.

I'm very happy to keep exploring because as ILP states, there is a new wave of BBQ joints that understand, low & slow is the way to go.

It's a shame there is no Texas BBQ here. I know some places back home that would just smoke anything around here (all puns intended).

These are not fancy restaurants. You typically get your food on plates/tubs in something that looks like a milk crate and you eat on butcher paper on a long communal tables.