The Black Dog Smoke and Ale House - Urbana, IL

I went to the U of I football game this past weekend. We went to the Black Dog Ale house for dinner. We had smoked catfish, ribs, pulled pork, and brisket. I had the ribs, which I thought were excellent. They were meaty with a decent, but not great, smoked flavor. It came with pit beans and a spicy potato salad. I thought the potato salad was very good, but the beans were petty ordinary for a BBQ place. They offer several sauces. I had the Texas pit one, which I liked. I think the full slab was like $18 or so.

The other 3 guys in my group raved about their food.

Oh, and if you are into beer. They have a terrific beer selection. I had a 12 ounce pour of Avery the Kaiser Imperial Oktoberfest for $4.50. This is a very nice brew.

I would recommend this place for anyone who enjoys BBQ. While it is not on the same level as Big Ed’s or Smoque, I thought it was very good and worth it if you are in the area.

The Black Dog Smoke and Ale House
201 North Broadway Avenue
Urbana, IL

D.

sliver creek is urbana also , great stop

I should have posted about this place earlier, but I’ve enjoyed my 4 or 5 trips. The brisket and burnt ends are the standouts, but the shoulder and ribs also had nice smoke flavor. As mentioned above the beer selection is high quality and they offer tasting flights. The only issue I’ve encountered is that they can get slammed and run out of items.

Alex, you are right. When I was there we wanted to split an order of burnt ends, but they were out. Admittedly, it was a game day Saturday, but it was only about 4 or 4:30. We had to wait a full half hour for a table as it is not that big of a place. But as I said it was a game day Saturday.

There were two beer geek guys in my group and they were both impressed with the selctions.

D.

Good, but not good enough to wait in line for as you almost inevitably have to these days. Plus the one time I did eat there the service was surly as hell. Not in any hurry to go back.

I ordered carry out about two weeks ago. There was no line at about 6pm when I went to pick up my food.

Adjusting for the fact that it was carry out, I was impressed. I had a ribs and brisket combo. Both were done really nicely - good smoke flavor. I will definitely go back.

Was there this past Thursday evening visiting with the college son. Was my third meal there over the past year. I find this is great BBQ - better than I can find locally anywhere in the southern and western suburbs.

Thursday special was BBQ Beef Ribs - probably the best I've had outside of Houston where I used to travel a lot on business. I was lucky - they ran out about 20 minutes after I placed my order.

Yes there is a wait - was 30 minutes at 7 PM on a Thursday night - I can't imagine how crowded it would be on a weekend night with school in session.

My only complaint would be the slow service - but I didn't consider it surly.

I'm probably too accommodating but I kept in mind this is a small establishment in a college town and they were trying to keep up as best possible.

Highly recommended -

Also try the cornbread as an extra and their Mac and Cheese side was fantastic

This place continues to impress. The burnt ends brisket was amazing. Ribs were good, but could have used a little more time in the smoker for my taste.