Smoque & Chicago BBQ

[Chico]

Finally made it there for some takeout this weekend. I am a rib man so that's what I focus on. I had a rack of spare ribs and some sides not worth mentioning. (Ok, coleslaw, fries, and mac'n'cheese.)

These are the type of Ribs I like- smoked and dry rubbed. I feel sauce is for sissies or bad BBQ. However, these ribs while properly conceived, were just not up to snuff. The experienced execution was lacking. The ribs were actually quite bland- I sprinkled some of my own rub on them at home. They were also a bit stringy which indicated to me that they were not cooked as well as the could be.

Having concluded my tour of local BBQ spots (well, still need to pop-in the WF up on Peterson) I think that Honey1 could be my favorite. Heckys used to be my champ but it simply doesn't hold up w/o the awesome sauce. Honey1- while it falls into my "ghetto" bbq category- is still tasty w/ the sauce on the side and feels more authentic than Smoque.

Hot links are tasty too. I'll be back there soon.

Thanks for all the great recommendations.

chico

[rubinow]

Just curious: did you get the St. Louis or Baby Back.

IMO: St. Louis are under appreciated.

[Chico]

I went with the St. Louis Spare-Ribs, which I feel is the best benchmark. (Usually I will ask the pitmaster which ribs he prefers that day, since as you know, meat supplies vary) but this question at Smoque yielded a definition of the ribs, not an recommendation!

[gleam]

I tend to agree with your assessment of smoque. It all feels a bit too ready-to-franchise, and like not enough care is being put into the meat.

Honey 1 holds my title for the north side, but I really do think Uncle John's on the south side wins in almost all categories vs honey 1, except distance from my office.