Ooga Booga -- Real smoked BBQ in Lockport

Just wanted to tell everyone here about the best kept BBQ secret in the far far SW suburbs. This is sort of a thank-you to the dozens of you who've turned me on to so many good restaurants over the last few years. I've been meaning to do this for a bit, but I am not in the same league as a lot of you and don't do the digital picture thing. But I just couldn't keep this place to myself anymore because I really think it needs a wider audience and some love from you all.

Ooga Booga Bar Ba Q is the real deal. Members of my family and some of my friends are big fans of this place. Their BBQ is in the tradition of the South Side places I've discovered from reading this forum -- Uncle John's, Lem's, etc. We are big BBQ fans and favor the joints of the South, from Melvin's in Charleston SC (my all-time favorite!) to Dreamland in Tuscaloosa and Huntsville AL to Interstate and RendezVous in Memphis to Hog Heaven and Jack's in Nashville, just to drop a few names. In my opinion, Ooga Booga holds it own with any of these places. The only thing bad about this place is the location; it really is hard to find. More on that later.

I'm a rib guy and I like both the spare ribs and the baby backs, though I guess my desert-island choice would be the spare ribs. The Ooga Booga ribs are meaty and tender and smoked just right (16 hours, the kitchen man told me once). I like my ribs to hold together and hate rib meat steamed off the bone that lands with a soggy plop on the plate when you pick it up (anyone here remember the Rib Cage some years back? Eeeww). Ooga Booga ribs are definitely the hold-together kind, chewy and tasty without being tough or stringy. I also prefer my ribs drenched in sauce, and their sauce is perfect. It's very flavorful and tangy with just a hint of heat. It's not unusual to find sauce that's too sweet or too hot. Ooga Booga's sauce is a perfect blend of everything without too much of anything. It is the perfect complement to the ribs.

My son prefers the pulled pork. I've had the occasional samich too (world's worst (or greatest) samich is their motto) and it's very good. Sometimes pulled pork has a tendency to get soft and break down into a semisolid goop. Maybe it's because the meat is allowed to soak in the sauce on the burner for too long; that's my theory anyway. My son is well aware of this and he is always ready to call shenanigans on any sandwich that fails this test. We've never had that problem with Ooga Booga. The meat is always tender and chewy without being tough or too soft. And then there's that sauce again. The only real fault with the sandwich in my opinion is the bun; it's nothing special and once or twice he has mentioned that the bread was dry, maybe because it was a day-old bun. My solution was to soak it in a bit of sauce, which usually works.

We also tried the brisket once or twice. That has gotten the thumbs-up from my daughter, a notoriously picky eater. When my lovely bride is in the mood she'll get the BBQ chicken, which is moist and tender and not too rare, which happens sometimes with chicken. Never had occasion to try the smoked corn beef or the other sandwiches: fish, pork-beef-brisket combo, garbage (pork-beef combo maybe? I don't know) and chicken sandwich.

Let me take a moment here to bring up the side dishes, especially the cole slaw. I've been know to go overboard on a good scoop of slaw and Ooga Booga cole slaw is perfect. They get it just right and it's very smooth. Not too much vinegar tang but not bland either. Nice and wet but not too runny. The beans are good too, which surprised me a bit because beans are not on my A list. I keep meaning to try the cabbage and kraut but never have gotten around to it. They also have something called fried sweet corn that I am dying to try, but it's marked in-season only and every time I've asked about it they were out. Lastly there are french fries; they are not bad but nothing really special either. I would skip in favor of the slaw or beans.

They have some good-sounding desserts -- buttermilk pie and pound cake. I thought I saw something with pecan on the specials board yesterday but don't quote me on this one. Since we are not big dessert people I've always saved my dollars for the main course, but I would expect them to be as good as anything else.

Ooga Booga is not a fancy place. I got plasticware with my slaw and there's a roll of paper towels on each table for napkins. No wet wipes either, but there's a clean bathroom so you can tidy up there. The place has a old feel and no real decor. But you can eat in if you want and there's no bulletproof glass like some of those South Side joints that make me a bit nervous. For entertainment, listen to the guy in the kitchen, who has an amiable crankiness (when I was there he was giving it to counter kid because the kid couldn't figure out the coffee maker or immediately find the private giardiniera stash in the lower fridge. Poor kid).

Prices are what you'd expect at a place like this: Full slabs for $17-$18 with two sides and a bun, sandwiches for $4.50-$7 (higher price is half-pound, nice). Whole chicken is $11 with fries. I don't think they have the tips like some South Side joints but I saw links on their menu. They have discount specials every day; I sometimes beg the wife to get the rib special on Mondays so there's something nice -- well, two things nice counting her -- waiting for me at the end of what usually is the worst day of my week.

Now comes the hard part -- finding this place. It's on the east side of Lockport, a few hundred yards off Ninth Street (159th Street if you are coming from Tinley Park, Orland Park or points east). There's a lot of new retail development on the east side of Lockport just west the year-old 355 extension, and Ooga Booga is just west of all that, sort of on the edge of the older part of town. To find it, turn north from Ninth Street onto Thornton Street (it's right where Ninth curves to the southwest) and follow Thornton around as it curves west. You'll see a liquor store just before the intersection at MacGregor Road (VJ's I think it's called but don't quote me) -- Ooga Booga is in that strip mall at the north end. If you don't have a good nav system I strongly suggest doing a Google or Yahoo map search before you go because it's real easy to miss it.

I'd recommend calling ahead if there's anything in particular you want because it's a quality place and quality will always trump quantity. I was there yesterday and there was no smoked brisket; the kitchen guy mentioned to a customer that for some reason there'd been a big run on the brisket the day before they were just out. They do bulk and party orders too so that might affect availability.

Ooga Booga Bar Ba Q
110 MacGregor Road
Lockport IL 60441
815-838-7576 (or 838-PORK; I love numbers like this!)

I finally had the opportunity to try Ooga Booga last weekend. Here is what I found:

I ordered a smoked corned beef sandwich (6.50), a mini pulled pork sandwich (1.50), and a 1/2 slab of spares (8.95). The pricing as you can see was really inexpensive. Pete (one of the pitmasters and owners) was there, and as with every good bbq place, he loves what he does.

Now onto the food. The sides I received were fries (which were crisp, hot and tender), and a side of BBQ beans which were molasses laden with chunks of pulled pork. Both sides were very good, though the beans were a little too sweet.

They served sauce on the side of the que, which is usually a pretty good sign. The corned beef was cut into thicker slabs (which is not my favorite), but had a nice smoky flavor. IMO, not as good as the smoked corned beef at Chuck's (but that is not a complaint), but good nonetheless.

The pulled pork had a pretty good mix of crispy bark along with more tender interior pieces, and held a good smoke flavor. I didn't care for the sauce so much as it was a bit too sweet when I added it on. They have 3 sizes of sandwiches, and for a little snack as we were trying several items, this was ideal.

The ribs were spares, as I mentioned above, that were uncut and still had the tips attached. There was nothing really wrong with the ribs as they were moist and tender without falling off the bone. What I didn't like so much about them is that the smoke flavor did not permeate them thoroughly, and the spice rub was not aggressive enough.

All and all, it was a good value, and I will be back again. I just wouldn't expect something in the league of Uncle Johns, or Honkey Tonk. The place was easy to find, and less than 5 minutes west of the 159th st exit on I-355.

Glenn

glennpan,

Thanks for taking one for the team. I pass that way occasionally, it's nice to know there is something worth trying.

Regards,

Any recent vists to this BBQ joint?
http://www.oogaboogabarbaq.com/index.html <---click me
Never been there yet but its on the list now.

so has anyone been here lately

I went there a couple of months ago, and discovered that they have a brisket burnt ends appetizer which was pretty decent. They are still in business, though I was the only one in the restaurant when I was there.

Burnt ends, smoked corned beef and Ooga Booga cabbage & kraut....I am gonna have to check out this place soon, I will snaps pics too.

Made it out to Ooga Booga today. Had a rib snack of spares with tips on, half slab of babys and some burnt ends. Glennpan you are right on about the lack of smoke and weak rub on the ribs.
They have been in biz. for about 5 years and use a small southern pride cooker. I did ask what kind of wood they use and was told hickory. My nose or mouth was looking for smoke but did not find much if any. Overall I was let down with the ribs....Burnt ends were decent good flavor and spice.





Spares with tips on em



Baby Backs


Burnt Ends