Best BBQ sauce from the BBQ Restaurants.

In my opinion good BBQ goes with good BBQ sauce... it ruins it for me if a restaurant has excellent smoked meat and weak sauce. I recently visited Lem’s last Saturday for the first time and the ribs were excellent but the sauce was watery and a hint of too much black pepper which didnt go well with the ribs at all.

From the BBQ places I visited in the past year, here are my favorite sauces: (listed from best to worst tasting)

1. Honey 1 BBQ, Chicago - (base is Open Pit mixed with other spices)
2. Hecky's, Evanston
3. Salt Creek BBQ, Elk Grove Village – (Hot BBQ sauce is sweet and spicy, original sauce not as tasty)
4. Barbara Ann's BBQ, Chicago
5. Smoque BBQ, Chicago – (Very Vinegary sauce)
6. Lem's Bar-B-Que-House, Chicago – (Thin watery peppery sauce)
7. Russell's Barbecue, Rolling Meadows – (vinegary taste)

What is everyone else’s opinion on which BBQ place produces the best tasting sauce?

I know I've written about this before, but I absolutely loved the BBQ sauce at a place called Mary's Cupboard that was on Green Bay Road, just south of, I think, Winnetka Rd. They served it with a broiled chicken. It's been gone since the early '70's. Have tried to duplicate it, but never come close. Tomato based with chili powder and vinegar maybe. . . . Anyone else recall this stuff. The real Black Angus formerly at Estes and Western also had very good BBQ sauce. I'm living in the past on this one. I Like Smoques, too.

My all-time favorite was from a place that no longer exists, N.N. Smokehouse (Brudder's). My current fav is from a place down the street from me called Booby's in Niles.

Chuck makes some good sauce at Chuck's-79th & Central.

I'll second Hecky's as a great sauce.

If you will consider mail-order for your own use, give some conisderation to Head Country from Ponca City, OK.

My favorite, I get at least a case each year.

I also like Hecky's sauce a lot - though we usually get plain fried chicken .

It used to be that you could get bottles of it at local grocery stores - anybody seen it out there?

Well, I'm not big on BBQ sauces, but if I had to pick my two favorites, it'd be Honey 1 and Lem's.

This is not a restaurant but I love the sauce:

Rasta Joe's BBQ, Inc.
13530 6A Road
Plymouth, IN 46563
(574) 935-5851

Website:
www.rastajoe.com

Anyone ever tried it?

I second the long-gone N. & N. Smokhouse aka Nida's. They had the best tips ever and really great tangy sauce! and Not only was there sauce good, but they kept bottles of sweetened chili sauce and other hot sauces in hand so you could mix it up and add some heat.

Many food coma was induced by their all-you-can-eat tips nights, with mounds of potato wedges and bottomless ice teas!

Larry where are you??????

dan1234 wrote:I know I've written about this before, but I absolutely loved the BBQ sauce at a place called Mary's Cupboard that was on Green Bay Road, just south of, I think, Winnetka Rd. They served it with a broiled chicken. It's been gone since the early '70's.

I remember Mary's Cupboard. We almost always ate there after church, when I was growing up. A highlight for me was seeing rows and rows of chickens turning slowly on spits in their large, glass-walled broiler room. As a youngester, I counted it as one of the most wonderful things I'd ever seen.

Hi,

I am not a big sauce person, though I do like the Carolina Mustard Sauce I received via Gary.

While I don't have any favorites, beyond the above, I do like to collect BBQ sauces. I've ordered sauce on the side for years at BBQ joints, largely because the sauce comes in a little take home cup. I might use some for my fries and a bit on my meat, then take it home to dress up a coleslaw or broiled chicken.

If you buy the sauce a la carte, then you pay a dear price. I go with my family and come home with enough take out containers to fill a pint container. I feel like a beat the system.

My Mom, by contrast, drowns her BBQ with sauce. She is so fond of the sauce she probably wouldn't miss the meat. Maybe I should see her reaction if I substitute tofu!

Regards,

MHays asked re Hecky's sauce:

It used to be that you could get bottles of it at local grocery stores - anybody seen it out there?

Today the Central Street Foodstuffs had among its samplings rib tips made with Hecky's BBQ sauce. They sell 18-ounce jars of the sauce for $5.99.

Don't know if the other Foodstuffs (Glenview, Glencoe, Lake Forest) also carry it.

Foodstuffs
2106 Central St
Evanston
847-328-7704

I do not think this helps the OP, who is looking for local places with great sauce, but I went to a Dreamland once in Birmingham (from looking at their web site, it seems some locations are franchised, so I would expect there to be more than a little variation), had some excellent ribs, and brought back some of their sauce which I enjoyed quite a bit. http://www.dreamlandbbq.com/

Though I tend to prefer the sauces I make at home to almost any commercial version these days.

I still remember the whole experience fondly, almost as much as the meal I had in Jackson, Ms, when I asked the young lady at the Holiday Inn where I should go to get BBQ. She started to send me to some upscale steakhouse when I stopped her (full disclosure here, which may explain some of this - I am white, and she is black, so we were probably both making some assumptions based on the other's race), and said, "no, just tell me where you would go for BBQ, not where you think I would want to go."

She sent me across the highway to a stand that consisted of a honking big smoker with a 20 foot tall chimney, a really tiny shack with a counter seating 3 or 4, and a couple of picnic tables. Damned good and a wonderful atmosphere for my dinner. But I have no idea of the name or location. Will look for it next time I am in Jackson - first find the Holiday Inn, then cross the highway. Can't be too hard.

New rule for eating well - if the cooking equipment is bigger and more expensive than the eating facility, you know they have their priorities straight.

replying to Dan 1234 and Cynthia -

I grew up in Winnetka and loved Mary's Cupboard - especially the Barbeque sauce.
I have also tried to recreate it to no avail. If anyone has anything close to it,please post it here!

Thanks,
Mary Schnell
NT '67

Your list is great and I second it. But Leons is my favorite in the city. The one on Ashland closed but there is one in a safe area near midway. I think there wings are the best Chicago has to offer because that sauce is so good.

Marys cupboard was great. I only ate there once and their ribs were memorable. Id kill for those ribs. regarding sauce I usually buy sweet baby rays. i dont like russels sauce but like their sandwiches for old times sake.

Kitchen Monkey wrote:I second the long-gone N. & N. Smokhouse aka Nida's. They had the best tips ever and really great tangy sauce! and Not only was there sauce good, but they kept bottles of sweetened chili sauce and other hot sauces in hand so you could mix it up and add some heat.

Many food coma was induced by their all-you-can-eat tips nights, with mounds of potato wedges and bottomless ice teas!

Larry where are you??????

N.N. Smokehouse was awesome. Larry was a good friend of my dad's (buddyroadhouse) and I don't know what ever happened to the guy. They had great cole slaw too, and I'm not normally a cole slaw fan. Great BBQ and great pancit- can't go wrong with that!

ETA: I take that back- we have an answer on the whereabouts of Larry: http://www.bpyc.com/OTW/June2011OTW.pdf

To the yacht club!

To the yacht club!

Hot damn! Great info. Thanks for the tip - now if only we could figure out how to get in, being yachtless and all. . .

sundevilpeg wrote:

To the yacht club!

Hot damn! Great info. Thanks for the tip - now if only we could figure out how to get in, being yachtless and all. . .

Well, we could all pool our money...it says you don't have to own a yacht to join the club....I'd imagine it's still not cheap. Not as reasonable as prices were at N.N., anyway

We could all just go wait for him in the parking lot! That won't look weird or anything!

I'm sure many will disagree... 'Localy" ---
my favorite is ..... Sweet Baby Rays...

and Chuck's- on 79th near Central

==================

I discovered this place during a visit to Dallas
and they are slowly expanding nationally ..
DICKEYS ... the closest locally is
713B Indianapolis Blvd.
Schererville, IN 46375

and opening very soon in Wheaton ! ! ! ! ! !!

===================

And if you should ever visit Dallas...
a hidden favorite I ALWAYS visit is..
Macs Barbecue(214) 823-0731
3933 Main St, Dallas, TX 75226

It's hidden away in a discreet location on Main street near Baylor Medical center,
Billy Mac's is one of the finest locals in Dallas.

R.I.P. the Rib Joint on 87th. I could drink their sauce by the cup!

the pit
in hickory hills on roberts road,94st
lite vinegar,not to sweet.