Date Night. It was our 'Go Out' evening and I gave my bride two choices and Honky Tonk won out.

What a fun time!

We arrived about 7 and the place was hopping. A big birthday party in the side room with the band in full swing. All of the tables were taken except for one and that was good enough for us.

I had a pretty good hunger on and had decided I was going to try one of each of the sandwiches and Lindy, the pulled pork.

With the party in the back room the staff was hopping and there was a bit of a wait for our order but that was not a problem as in strode Kurt (a friend of Willies) with a 12 pack of beer and before he even ordered he asked around the place if anyone would like to share. We took him up on his offer and offered him a seat at our table.

Lively conversation and another beer and our dinner was served.

I made the mistake of first trying the Brisket and it was difficult to stop munching the perfectly prepared meat. Nicely flavored with a generous amount of crunchy bits. A huge sandwich!

After that one was done I eyed the equally large pulled pork sandwich when my bride offered me the second half of her sandwich (leaving the other sandwich for the next day. Mmmm.).

As we were finishing up Willie came by and relaxed for a few while visiting with Kurt. He talked a bit about his history and how some of his staff sometime sharpen their culinary skills and prepare some of the specials of the day.

By the way, the rolls are from Highland Park Bakery and were delivered fresh this morning. They were lightly toasted and held the large amount of meat nicely. You could never get that much food on a regular bun.

The sides went well. The beans were juiced up with the addition of some of the pork drippings and had a nice zing from some peppers that had been added. The cornbread had some whole kernels of corn.

All in all we had a great time there tonight and Willie is enjoying the business from his recent appearance on a lunchtime Hungry Hound episode a week or so ago and a steady stream of LTHers.

The brisket is better every time I visit - I get there early in the day, specify "burnt ends" and pretend I'm down South while munching them.

I ran into J.R., the son of Harold's Chicken founder Harold Pierce, at Honky Tonk last week. He had met Willie previously at an industry event and called out "Hey, Bossman!" into the kitchen after placing his order. He seemed very happy with his pulled pork and was sporting a very large rubber chicken on his keychain. A nice guy. When I asked him if he ever got barbecue chicken while out, he said "that's the LAST thing I want. I had so much of the stuff coming up that I don't like to look at a bird most days." He enjoys his Lem's, and had not heard of Uncle John's, to which he promised to pay a visit.

He mentioned a new place going up on west 75th street called either "Slam" or "Slab," which was supposed to have all sorts of good barbecue; I didn't have time to get clarification and now regret it, since I haven't seen mention of it anyplace else.

A surprisingly thorough crosslinked Wikipedia entry on Harold's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Pierce

Santander wrote:He mentioned a new place going up on west 75th street called either "Slam" or "Slab," which was supposed to have all sorts of good barbecue; I didn't have time to get clarification and now regret it, since I haven't seen mention of it anyplace else.

There's a barbecue house on East 79th Street near Eberhart called The Slab. You can read a bit about it in this old thread. I believe The Slab opened in 2004 or 2005 and as far as I know it's still in business. I haven't yet tried it. Please let us know if it moved or opened a new location on West 75th or if we're talking about two different businesses entirely.

The Slab
537 E 79th St
Chicago
773-723-7522

Santander wrote:A surprisingly thorough crosslinked Wikipedia entry on Harold's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Pierce

Unfortunately, the Wikipedia entry is slightly wrong about the location of the first Chicken Shack. You can read what I believe is the correct story here.

Very helpful, Rene! Many thanks. I'll try to figure this out (with a visit to the location you mention, if it's still there) and post. J.R. clearly said it was new, but whether new to him or new in general, I'm unsure. I might try to get in contact with him for followup to another part of our conversation, and if so, I'll ask if we haven't sussed this out independently.

Stopped by a couple of nights ago for takeout. Nothing much to add to the above, except that the brisket sandwiches this night were quite generous (and the overflow heated up very nicely with a couple of dabs of the bbq sauce the following night).

AND there was a BEEF-rib special on the chalkboard ($12). It looked terrific but we could only follow it with our noses as the waiter carried an order passed us since we had already placed our order, but I'll be looking for it next time around.

Beef ribs are good, though unconventional (in my experience) - simmered in wine for more of a fall-off-the-bone / braised short rib type production in contrast to his chewy pork ribs (he's doing both St. Louis style and Baby Back regularly now).

Willie is seriously considering links, perhaps starting with a Moo and Oink product. He's also bringing his pork shoulder back to Memphis in May; he says brisket is just not taken seriously down there, even though it's what I've particularly come to love at Honky Tonk.

David Hammond wrote:Here are two types of ribs: one baby back, t’other St. Louis ribs. Can you tell the difference?

Hammond,

BB - Right, SL - Left.

Recently had a half slab of baby back ribs at Honky Tonk and thought they were fine, if mostly unremarkable. "Fine? Yes, I realize fine is not exactly descriptive but these were the brown shoes of the BBQ world, not much to either criticize or praise. I could detail my impression of the ribs point by point, but am afraid it would come off harsher than intended.

Liked the space, thought the owner sincere and pleasantly interactive and will be back to try the other BBQ offerings.

Enjoy,
Gary

fine, if mostly unremarkable

Hooray! Another joint Wiviotted. With your impeccable standards, I think Willie can count this as high praise going into the May competition. Let me know when you try the brisket.

I went for the first time last week. I hate to say it, but I was really dissapointed. The atmosphere and staff are really pleasent, but the ribs left a horrible after taste and I did not appreciate the membrane left on. The slaw was yummy and the mac and cheese was decent. Overall, if you have a rib place that should be the shining point, they were not.

We are smoking only ribs with the membrane removed at Honky Tonk. If you dont like the rub, let me know. Let's taste it with and without the meat. I do appreciate all feedback, positive and negative. Thank you for coming to Honky Tonk.

Santander wrote:Beef ribs are good, though unconventional (in my experience) - simmered in wine for more of a fall-off-the-bone / braised short rib type production in contrast to his chewy pork ribs (he's doing both St. Louis style and Baby Back regularly now).

Willie is seriously considering links, perhaps starting with a Moo and Oink product. He's also bringing his pork shoulder back to Memphis in May; he says brisket is just not taken seriously down there, even though it's what I've particularly come to love at Honky Tonk.

The brisket here is really outstanding even with the unconventional bun. It really works well with the strips of meat.

The rib tips are also awesome!

I cannot wait to visit again.

Husband and I tried Honkey Tonk last night for dinner. We got there early so there was no crowd. Blue Grass Music was starting at 6:30...and it promised to bring many more people into the restaurant.

We started with the Guac & chips...just coz we were on 18t St. It was very good...right amount of spice and smooth texture. The chips were standard grocery store variety...which was unusual since it's just down the street from Del Rey - The King of Tortillas and Chips (we stopped there for fresh tortillas before going home).

I had the Rib Tips and Macaroni & Cheese. Husband has the Baby Back Ribs. His ribs were awesome...great rub enhanced the flavor of well cooked ribs. My Rib Tips were okay...not bad just not great. Sides were fine.

Willie stopped by to chat. Very nice fellow. In fact, the entire staff was very friendly. We will definitely go back.

Maybe it's just because Willie is really concentrating right now, every batch being a test for Memphis, every hunk 'o pork given special attention on the heat and an examination before being placed in the serving basket, but the pulled pork was off the charts tonight. Moist at the center, crisp at the edges (golden brown to caramelized black), a light dusting with extra rub before serving, perfect wood bouquet, ideal salt, savory, and sweet balance, it was America's version of the suckling pig served at Casa Botin continuously since 1725, and in taverns and refectories around Europe for centuries before, worthy of a king's - or B.B. King's - table.

I will be very surprised if he doesn't improve on his already-impressive showing from last year; at least right now, I think it's the best pulled pork in Chicago.

There were 261 Teams cooking this year at Memphis in May!
and the results are in!! The Ques Brothers!! led by Willie Wagner!!!

And melded Team of Memphians and Chicagoians placed 3rd in the Pork shoulder
Division!

RESULTS
Pork Shoulder 3rd out of 66
Hot Wings 13th out of 106
Exotic (we did TurDuken) 5th out of 66
Beans 45/ 81
Poultry (another Turducken) 78/84 Looks like they wanted more chicken here!
Mustard Sauce 45/57
Seafood 60/101 - spiced shrimp skewer
Beef Brisket 43/94 we pulled this 2 hours early (top ten 2009)
Vinegar sauce - 18th / 63 Willies Honky Tonk BBQ Sauce!!!

The Head Chef is non other than Pilsen's own Willie Wagner. the propieter of
Honky Tonk BBQ at 18th and Racine!!

The Chicago based cooking team consisted of:
Willie Wagner
Efrain Cuevas
Chris Chaudruc
Chuck Blum
David Garr

It was unexpected and an amazing experience!!

Here my report on Willie and his teams award winning performance @ The Memphis in May BBQ World Championships.

I had never met Willie before last Friday except a brief conversation via email when I posted about going down to Memphis where he generously invited us to his booth.
From the moment we arrived we could not have felt more welcome, Willie and his team including Chef Efrain, Dave Garr and Chris Chaudruc and many others treated us like old friends. When we arrived Willie had just pulled out a brisket and the feast began. In the pictures you will see pictures of the smoker and some of the this that were cooked over the weekend such as Shoulders, Ribs (st. Louis and Baby Backs), a Turducken (Chef Efrain), a duck and some really excellent sausage. Shoulder was due into judging early Saturday morning by the time we arrived in the afternoon the team was already notified that they were in the top 3 and the second round of judging would begin any minute. The team was all in a state of disbelief, they had only participated for 2 years and last year they had a very strong 12th place showing. A small team from Chicago in the top 3 after only 2 years created quite a buzz around the booth as may well wishers including former judges and other teams streamed in to congratulate them. We all went to the main stage area Saturday night for the awards ceremony where Willie took 3rd Place.

Congratulations to Willie, his team and everyone @ Honky Tonk

I hope everyone goes by the restaurant and gives them a well deserved round of applause.

here is a small group of pictures with some of the highlites...enjoy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26734219@N ... 157125724/

I will be very surprised if he doesn't improve on his already-impressive showing from last year; at least right now, I think it's the best pulled pork in Chicago.

I love it when a plan comes together. [cigar chomp]

Some impressive new "hardware" at Honky Tonk tonight - a three-foot shiny trophy for Willie's 3rd place finish in the pork shoulder category in Memphis. They had the crowd and smiles to match. Also noteworthy:

- tips now on permanent menu
- links now offered, very good (Texas/Polish style), $2 add-on to any meal
- their high-placing vinegared BBQ sauce has been rotated on to the tables
- default order is now dry rub only (sauce only on request / at table)

Brisket and pulled pork were characteristically moist and delicious with some crispy burnt ends thrown in as requested. Ciabatta bread still puzzling and superfluous. Mac and cheese and garlic mashed potatoes excellent.

Unfortunately, we didn't try the brisket. Our half slab of St. Louis ribs were very dried out with meat slipping off the bone completely, almost jerky like in texture. I'd bet money on reheated ribs here or very overcooked at the least. Slaw - absolutely no flavor. Pulled pork was tasty, but too lean IMO. Don't understand the ciabatta either.
Canned beans doctored up with ketchup. Our mac and cheese was like what you'd reheat at home in the microwave. The tips were cut different than any I've seen before. Very meaty and lean. No char at all and a little tough and dry. I liked the vinegar based sauce.

They might have impressed the judges in Memphis, but can't see myself going back.

Evil, I just ate there the once, and as my original post suggests, I was a little ambivalent, feeling the place had promise but that it needed some work and fine-tuning. What the subsequent posts reveal is an operation that is clearly inconsistent, turning out good stuff and mediocre stuff by turns. I admit: I'm rooting for Willie...but, the place ain't soup, yet.

I gave them another chance after about a 6 month growing period. Tried the brisket and pulled pork. I've now had (once) both types of ribs, the short ribs, brisket, and pulled pork. Of these, the only ones that are worth eating again are the short ribs and pulled pork, and neither are great. The pulled pork is definitely the best, though.

I actually like the ciabatta, as non-wonder-bread goes.

Evil Ronnie wrote:They might have impressed the judges in Memphis, but can't see myself going back.

Something tells me he doesn't use a southern pride in Memphis. I'm curious what his meat tastes like out of a proper smoker.

This place falls into the same category as Smoque for me. Moderately well prepared soulless barbecue. But Smoque does it better.

I reported on Honky Tonk years back when Willie only cooked from his big rig at block parties and fests. Not sure if he has plans to do so this year, but I found the brisket and shoulder to be very good.

gleam wrote:Something tells me he doesn't use a southern pride in Memphis. I'm curious what his meat tastes like out of a proper smoker.

Ed,

I had a brief conversation with Willie Wanger the night I was there and while he uses a Southern Pride at Honky Tonk he said he also has, and uses, a Southern Yankee, which is a wood/charcoal burner. I imagine that is what he used at Memphis in May. As an aside, Southern Yankee is what Grace of Galewood Cookshack uses to really good effect.

Enjoy,
Gary

As I've made no secret of here, I'm become an unabashed fan (my opinion of the pork growing from "only average" last October to "worthy of a king's table," and that was before the award). Perhaps it's because I've visited about three times per month and have learned to catch Willie just as things are hot from the smoker and stove (my favorite time is about 5:30), but he has my orders down to a science. But even with that science, and the oft-disrespected "automatic" smoker, soul-less is the last term I'd use to describe the food. As should be demonstrated by the salad and unusual sides, there is both creativity and humor in the menu, and as reflected by the growing business and awards, some measure of excellence in the process, a rewarding meal being the bottom line.

Not everything is perfect every night (we have Mack for that, but you can't eat in at Uncle John's). For those of you who haven't tried it yet, and can't triangulate from above what might be consistent, here is my suggested "safe" order:

- pulled pork sandwich ($6.50), bread on the side, discard bread
- ask for a side of "just a couple" of the burnt ends of the brisket (charge varies)
- garlic mashed potatoes (around $2)

Get there early on weeknights to guarantee freshest and moistest product. Fridays and Saturdays, they generally time it so there's a second great batch coming out at about 8 PM as well. And they're always cooking sides and non-smoked meats on the stove fresh. Friends of mine that have been doing barbecue out on Fridays for years (first at Ribs 'N Bibs and Lem's in college, then Smoke Daddy and Famous Dave's in our metro phase, most recently at Honey-1 and Smoque) have been similarly swayed by the quality at vibe at Honky Tonk. One visit or try - especially when it's a ribs-only order, or something carried out for you - is never enough in the art of barbecue. I look forward to continued reports.

Moistest pulled-pork I've ever had (altho, as above, I got there on the early shift). No complaints about the beef brisket sandwich either. Can you also get a big slab of beef ribs anywhere else in Chicago? By the way, I think you'd have to work pretty hard to make a Pilsen storefront joint like this "soulless" (altho some developers nearby seem to be giving it a shot).

Santander wrote:and as reflected by the growing business and awards, some measure of excellence in the process, a rewarding meal being the bottom line.

I all fairness, the awards he won were not for the food he serves at the restaurant.

I all fairness, the awards he won were not for the food he serves at the restaurant.

"In all fairness," that's not entirely true. Have you eaten there yet?

If you had phrased this "the most recent award he won at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Booking Contest for 3rd place in the Pork Shoulder Competition was cooked using a different method than the pork he offers at Honky Tonk BBQ restaurant in Pilsen," the statement would still not be totally accurate. While the smoker itself is different (as was cooking outside, instead of in an enclosed kitchen), the pork source, cut, rub, and wood mixture is identical, guaranteeing his customers at the restaurant as similar an experience as possible to his competition entries, not that he's required to do that, nor that it's the most important aspect of the restaurant.

Other items he entered in this and last-year's competitions, and won awards for, including the vinegar-based barbecue sauce which Evil Ronnie enjoyed upthread, are exactly what is being served in his restaurant.

But my casual mention of "growing business and awards" wasn't even specifically tied to Memphis in May. Willie has the recognition of many in the local community and media, and if you visit the restaurant, you can see some of the positive notices and accolades they have been gathering. This is not so different from many restaurants around the city, but since your contention was largely a semantic one, I feel a need to clarify the intent of my original comment.

Barbecue is a fickle business and art. Even in controlled equipment conditions, natural variations in everything from the meat to wood to humidity to local barometric pressure can affect the final product, even before pitmaster skill is taken into consideration. I've had some truly terrible pieces of meat over the years at two sacrosanct BBQ GNRs, but have always tried them again, and have been rewarded with good eats. Repeat visits to Honky Tonk have yielded similar results. While Willie's not running the business solely as a platform for nationwide competition, he tries hard to offer both a consistent and similarly enthusiastic experience for all of his eaters, and I don't think it's unreasonable to make a trip down there on the basis of a group of dedicated BBQ reviewers liking his product in another state. That said, I'm also not making my recommendation exclusively on that fact, but on myriad personal experiences, and on other accolades. Take this with as much salt as you need; I'll use the rest for my next dry rub.

Meh, maybe soul-less was harsh. How about: I believe Willie has sacrificed quality for consistency and ease of cooking. He can apparently produce great pulled pork using a Southern Yankee. Why not use a cooker more like a Southern Yankee and less like an oven with wood chips in it?

I, and I think most barbecue lovers, would prefer to gamble. I'm happy to take the risk of getting a bad rack (and the spare ribs at Honky Tonk were very, very bad) if I have a better chance of getting a sublime rack. At Honky Tonk, I'm only offered mediocrity.

Every pulled pork sandwich I have served at Honky Tonk since I got home from Memphis has been prepared in the same manner as the winning platter.
Also, where can you get the smoked full beef short ribs in this town?
Yes, the Southern Pride is not the best tool for the job. We have some other ideas in the works at Honky Tonk.

In addition to pork, we try to also have some special, off menu items every day at Honky Tonk.
We will arrange special menus with a 24 hour notice, including fresh fish or full vegan.
I am considering a whole suckling pig option with a 48 hour notice.
I could arrange a championship full pork shoulder dinner for 8 on a Friday evening if you want to get the judges treatment.
Regards,
Willie
#3 in the world.
Memphis in May 2008

Great to hear about the new plans in the works.

You say that the pulled pork is being prepared in the same way it was in memphis, but you're surely using a different smoker. Would the dinner for 8 be on the same equipment you used in memphis, too? I might be game. My main complaint with the pork you're serving now is that there just seems to be very little bark in the mix. That actually is the complaint I have about most of the meats I've tried. I don't know if it's the southern pride, or the rub, or the temperature, or something else, but having a decent amount of bark in the pulled pork is essential for me, and I think for many others. I think that would also boost the smoke flavor of the sandwich.

I think your short ribs are pretty good, and obviously without match in the city for smoked short ribs, since you're the only game in town.

Had the sampler last night and was very happy all around. That said I would be even more happy if the meats had 'more bark' as gleam has mentioned and I would also prefer a little more fat in the pulled pork, though the lean pork has always been perfectly moist in my experience.
The ciabatta is much better than wonder bread and the corn bread ranges from ok to good. I would not call the beans canned and the slaw is the sans mayo kind which I prefer even if a little under seasoned.


On the go I would consider a few other spots for pick up but to sit down and eat nothing in this city comes together like a meal at Honky Tonk. For the price, the ambiance and the BYOB it seems like a no-brainer.

Pulled pork - Whole foods on Petersen
Tips - Lems
Brisket - Smoque
Links - Joes