Bon-a-Pit, Palos Heights

Any thoughts on this place? It replaced a retaurant that was there for years that I cannot recall the name of. The website says their BBQ is smoked over applewood. I have driven by twice recently but have not had the time to stop. Also, a little further north at 113th and Harlem in Worth is a Vic's BBQ with an opening soon sign.

Bon-a-Pit
12200 S. Harlem
Palos Heights, IL

Wasn't it Listone?

I think that may have been it.

I have gone to Bon-a-pit several times. The owner is very nice, and the sides such as the beans are very good. I never know quite what to say about the BBQ itself, and here is why.

The meats are smoked with applewood, and do retain a fair share of the smoke. In general, they are held on a little too long for my taste making them a little soft (not meat jello soft though). The meats are smothered in a sweeter sauce unless you ask otherwise, and if you get it without sauce you will notice the rub is little more than salt and pepper.

When I asked the owner about it, he would prefer to use a more agressive rub, and knows what he is doing. Unfortunately, the clientele's palates in the area dictate that they want something not so spicy, and on the softer side. So it is a little bittersweet to go there. Very good service, nice people, a good brisket sandwich, excellent beans. It is worth a trip to, and has potential, but a hardcore BBQ person may be a little disappointed if they are looking for ribs like H1 or UJs.

Strange this place has just come up, as this was my nephew's birthday meal choice last night. Agree that they are extremely nice and I have been several times when in the area. However, it does run on the blander side of bbq. Yesterday, the highlights were definately the brisket and chicken. The brisket perfectly cooked, just a bit light on smoke...and the chicken was just about perfect. We also had ribs, pulled pork, smoked tenderloin (don't get it) and sausage. Ribs were just ok, cooked well, again not enough smoke and I'm not quite a fan of the sauce that comes on everything (not my choice). The pulled pork my family adores, and it is very good...unfortunately it was really well sauced. The sausage tasted exactly like kilbasa without any smoke flavor...and smoked tenderloin?...lean meat, cooked for hours and covered with that sauce...really a good idea to pass. Definately a decent bbq option in the area...just wish they would push the envelope a bit.

i have not been yet but it is close to my house. guy across the street says that he & wife have good things there

An utterly middling experience at Bon-a-pit tonight.

Opening round of onion rings were probably the highlight. The BBQ sauce is, indeed, too sweet, but not quite cloying.

My salad was a bowl of lettuce with a single wedge of limp tomato. Depressing.

Dinners included a pulled chicken sandwich, smoked pork loin, and brisket. Chicken was alright; pork loin was not dry, but also entirely lacking in smoke. Brisket wasn't terrible; in some slices, there was a thin but distinct smoke ring. But it was a bit tinny tasting. And oddly enough, some slices did not taste smoky at all.

Fries were food service; mashed potatoes were food-service; roasted vegetables were Vesuvio-style--and not in a particularly good way.

I'll give it this: the BBQ here is a huge step up from the general meat jelly so common to these parts. At least there's some smoking going on here. Otherwise, I fear Bon-a-pit falls into the lots-of-mediocre-food-for-cheap category.