Thomas BBQ - Aurora Illinois

I had an appointment with a specialist in the Copley Medical Park, otherwise I am never in this area. On the way there, I spotted Thomas BBQ and drove in to the strip mall for a closer look, it was not open yet but the smell was heavenly smokey. I returned about an hour later and wound up ordering the Alabama Platter which was rib tips, 2 hot links and a pulled pork sandwich, all of which I took home. Under the sauce, the rib tips were excellant, falling off the bone but too much sauce. I have not tried the hot links but they smell good and only sampled a fork full of the pulled pork which was very good and flavorful. It came with a side of potato salad which was heavily parselyed flavored and with dill, haven't decided if I likes it or not. It was noon and only 1 person was in there besides myself, mabye the prices are a little high but the pulled pork was very generous in portion. I was surprised to learn this was not the Aurora legendary Larry Thomas but Thomas Farms of Alabama.

Thomas BBQ
1649 Montgomery Road
Aurora, Il
630-375-9390
Monday - Saturday 11:30 to 7:30
closed Sunday

Lteo,

Yesterday, the first evening in a LONG time, I was going to be dining alone. During the afternoon a craving for BBQ hit that had to be quenched. I decided to head west and give Thomas' BBQ a run for their money. Incidently, I placed an order for more porcine products than any one person should eat at one time; combo of large tips and hot links and a full slab.

Let me say that their combo at about the same price of Honey 1's is equivilent to H1's small combo, and the ribs are loin back ribs instead of my preferred spares. That stated I was actually pretty satisfied with my experience. The ribs, tips, and links all contained a very rich but not overpowering burst of smokey goodness with my favorite, the links, bursting with juices followed by a nice kick. Unfortunately, my oder with 'sauce on the side' was translated into Alabamese* into extra sauce on the side. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the sauce, but I wanted to tast the pure unadulterated meat. The tips did spend some time in a warming area and were falling apart to almost nothing, but were very tasty. The ribs balanced the very fine edge of 'falling off the bone' and being toothsome with exceptional accuracy (no meat jello). Both orders were served with sysco-style large cut steak fries.

I spoke to the woman, who I believe to be an owner, whom to my surprise informed me that they have been at this location for over 4 years. Behind the counter you'll find what appears to be a gas fired cabinet style smoker. The rest place is tinted light brown with the gooey goodness of real smoke. I'm glad that there is a reasonably decent place to get some BBQ out here in the burbs.

Flip

*No offense to Alabama. They market themselves as Alabama style BBQ

I have eaten at Thomas' maybe 5 or 6 times over the last few years, wanting to like it. As you both noted, the ribs are overcooked, falling off the bone, and oversauced. The links are a special recipe from Alabama that they have had to work to get up here - as with most southern style links, they are much less seasoned than what people usually have here, but they are decent.

I am pretty sure they use a Southern Pride smoker, and amp up the water. Same level of quality or a little worse than Uncle Bub's IMO.

Sorry to disagree, but I must.

On the other hand there is a pizza place in the same strip center, the name escapes me, and the one time I ate there, had a small white pizza, it was pretty tasty. Next time I am there, I would choose the pizza place.

I guess Larry Thomas's place is out of business. Last time I went by the window in front was cracked and it looked pretty empty. Too bad.

dicksond wrote:
I guess Larry Thomas's place is out of business. Last time I went by the window in front was cracked and it looked pretty empty. Too bad.

Larry still cooks but just does special events and some street fairs, he was at Swedish Days in Geneva in June.

Thanks for the update on Larry, LTE.

Here is the pizza place I mentioned:

Botticelli's Pizza
1669 Montgomery
Aurora

dicksond wrote:Thanks for the update on Larry, LTE.

Here is the pizza place I mentioned:

Botticelli's Pizza
1669 Montgomery
Aurora

Just to clarify, dicksond WAS right, this was a great pizza place. I use to kick back a few with the owner, he was from Brooklyn, trying to bring "New York" pizza to Chicago. He dreamed one day of opening an authentic NY Style pizza place downtown, with the Chicago style big boys. ( I live a mile from this place)

Alas, Botticelli's has been sold, and not for the better.

The people on the phone barely speak english (not a bad thing, just a statement) and totally butchered our last three orders.

I mean, its pizza, not rocket science. Sausage pizza with jalepeno's should not come back with tomatoes and ground beef.

I don't mind the mix up, but it tasted pretty bad.

There is also a Tacqueria (sp) in that mall, that we kinda like. Was called Mi Casa but was bought from the owner by the former head cook. Pretty good, but I don't know what is actually bad. 4 months and still no take out menu though. I don't get that

I noticed in the thread New BBQ joint in Wheaton (Butler’s) that User Lilya mentioned the disaster at Andrew’s Open Pit (and other names associated with Jimmy’s Charhouse in Naperville) and mentioned being “on the lookout for a reliable BBQ place” ever since (User location listed as Naperville)

I checked back through some of my posts, and realized I only touched on a “cubic zirconia” in the rough, when I thought of my most consistent place for BBQ which happens to be a mile from me, and that’s the reason I resurrected this thread.

I have a love hate relationship with Thomas’ BBQ on Montgomery Rd in Aurora. I’ve been there often enough (couple times a month for about 4 years) that I have hit them on good days and bad.

(I wish discksond liked this place more, but I can definitely see his points above. I am a little more forgiving only because the next closest places are/were Smokey Bones and Famous Daves)

I mostly love them on good and bad days. I mostly hate them on days when I want them and they are closed. Closed is a relative term with Thomas’ BBQ, as they do a substantial amount of catering business, with summer being the hardest time to find them open (Aurora area festivals, and some Toyota Park gigs, versus winter when it’s a bit easier to find them open). But hey, in the summer, I’m more apt to smoke my own anyway, so I’m not complaining. Thomas’ is my weekday fix. Weekends are my own cooking. But I digress, lets get to the review.

First off, CALL AHEAD. Stated hours are non-existent, or loosely followed. Loosely, they are Tues-Sat, 11:30am to 7:30pm (last order 7pm‘ish). Its not uncommon to pull up to a “Closed for Catering” sign, so please call.

Second caveat: Take Out Only! They have two tables, then other times one, sometimes 5 chairs, sometimes none. Its really meant to be take out only. I have picked up with the family and taken ¼ mile south to Waubonsie Lake just off Kautz for a great picnic. In the winter, its get it home, or eat in the parking lot in the car.

Upthread, the loin backs were mentioned, and yes, I tend to avoid them. Suburban prices for BB’s that I can do better myself are not my idea of good BBQ. I stick with the pulled/chopped pork, the tips and links, and the chicken. As you’ll see, I have a affinity for the pork and beans as my chosen side.

Fries at Thomas’ are used as a serving vehicle for your food for the most part. Steak fries, just cooked from frozen, bottom of the basket your order goes in. I know this going in, and I don’t special order for fries. I have heard people come in and order fries crispy, on the side. But its still just Sysco type starting out, so I use it for its purpose, to keep the main meal out of the sauce.

Sauce: Thomas’ is as mentioned, billed as Alabama style, but I find the sauce a perfect balance of tomato and vinegar, without leaning too far towards the Carolina’s (vinegar) or too far into KC (tomato based). So the following might look “over sauced”, but it really it not too bad. That’s what the fries are for, remember

Pulled/Chopped Pork Sammy, Fries, Large Beans

Nice cornmeal topped bun, holds up best if flipped over immediately so the smaller bun bottom becomes the top. I plan on eating the last of it with a fork, as it sometimes disintegrates. Pork has nice smoke flavor, couple burnt crusty bits are sometimes present. Beans show some shredded pork. Not sweet tomato, good smoke flavor.


Chicken Dinner and Sm Beans, Fries as a platform

Really nice smokey flavor to the chicken. Breast is chopped in half (you can hear A LOT of cleaver action in the kitchen) and takes getting used too. Fries are a mess when you get down to them, but are what is expected, a smothered mess (but good to a degree) Small beans this time.

Pulled/Chopped Pork Sammy/Link Beans

When I don’t want to deal with the fries which are usually a mess, I just order beans in lieu of fries. Hot link pictured is split. I tend to find an even mix of split versus whole, depending on the order. Read in a GWiv post here that split is sometimes common presentation, and I see split quite often when ordered as an extra with a sammy. With a dinner as an extra, I get whole links. Hot Links are really Mild Links, but I like the smooth grind texture as a change of pace.

Tips and Links

Fries are inedible when I get down to them.
Over sauced? Again, the fries are there to work as a pool. But the tips link combo, w/beans of course, that I can spend a ½ hour in hog heaven enjoying.

Bottle of sauce pictured is fresh. You order it, they take an empty from the shelf and take it in back to fill from that day’s vat. Short shelf life, no preservatives.

So does this place stack up against some of this site’s beloved?

Heck No!

But is it real BBQ, something to be enjoyed, when you don’t have time to get the Bandera or WSM going, after soccer and swim for the kids, when you need a fix of smoked pork, fantastic beans, and a sauce that is in no way a commercial offshoot of something?

Yes, Thomas’ BBQ fills the bill for me, and I am a purist when it comes to good BBQ as many of you are.

Lilya, I hope Thomas’ can help with your craving, at least until I get to review the new place in Oswego!

Nicely written and illustrated post, Will! That chicken actually looks pretty sharp, almost lacquered. I'll try it and the beans next time I'm out that way.

Thomas' BBQ in Aurora, Uncle Bub's in Westmont, and Smokin' T's in Long Grove are good examples of how well BBQ can be done in the 'burbs. To me, Butlers in Carol Stream has to get a lot better to compare.

MLS wrote:Thomas' BBQ in Aurora, Uncle Bub's in Westmont, and Smokin' T's in Long Grove are good examples of how well BBQ can be done in the 'burbs. To me, Butlers in Carol Stream has to get a lot better to compare.

and you are basing that on one visit where you got what you said was bad brisket..thats not too fair..

I've had dozens of good meals at the three BBQ's I mentioned, never a bad one.

Read my words, dude "To me, Butlers in Carol Stream has to get a lot better to compare." I said I'd give them another try, but I'll have to have some pretty good grub there before it compares to the others. Would you recommend maybe the grilled cheese, the turkey burger, or maybe the foot long polish-typical fare for a BBQ specialist?

Somehow you feel it is unfair for me to say it doesn't compare to me to other good BBQ places after only one visit (but, it really was terrible), but it is perfectly OK for you to shill for the place after, oh, yeah, one visit.

MLS wrote:I've had dozens of good meals at the three BBQ's I mentioned, never a bad one.

Read my words, dude "To me, Butlers in Carol Stream has to get a lot better to compare." I said I'd give them another try, but I'll have to have some pretty good grub there before it compares to the others. Would you recommend maybe the grilled cheese, the turkey burger, or maybe the foot long polish-typical fare for a BBQ specialist?

Somehow you feel it is unfair for me to say it doesn't compare to me to other good BBQ places after only one visit (but, it really was terrible), but it is perfectly OK for you to shill for the place after, oh, yeah, one visit.

wow !
im not shilling..just giving credit to where I thought credit is due..Id rather post about good experiences but believe me ,,Ive eaten a lot of rotton BBQ in the area..just never had aneed to post it more than once (if at all)
you already had posted your bad experience previously.. why continue to bring it up ? IMO the fair thing to do is to let the owner know your displeasure with the food so maybe he or she can make it right for you..

im not shilling

Thank you, Head's Red BBQ, for letting us know that. Because when a poster posts on a thread called "Thomas BBQ-Aurora Illinois" and fails to mention the topic or any other place other than the place they are not shilling for, it is good to know that they are indeed not shilling for that place.

I also like Sweet Baby Ray's in Woodale, all three Salt Creek BBQ locations, and Chuck's (yeah, I know most people are less high on his BBQ, but part of that is because everything else is so good) in Burbank.

In the city I'm partial to Smoque, Fat Willie's, Honey 1, CJ's Eatery, and Smoke Daddy's (and now consequently the pulled pork at Dunlay's on the Square (Logan)).

Understand though that good BBQ is not the same as good brisket. In a trip to a few of the Texas temples of BBQ, I only found one, Kreutz, that I really liked the brisket, although for overall BBQ, I thought Salt Lick was among the best I ever had.

In Chicagoland, in my experience, only Smoque and Smokin' T have consistently good brisket-one reason is they make it every day. But overall now, there is lots of good BBQ, especially pulled pork, in Chicagoland. There is no reason to put up with "rotten BBQ." And I agree that Thomas' is a vastly under-appreciated joint-but I like to eat it right there at the small table in the window up front-to me, BBQ doesn't travel too well unless it's really quick.

And thank's again for letting us know that you are not shilling.

MLS..you are the only one that brought up any BBQ places other than Thomas BBQ in this thread so not sure what you are getting at ..I was merely responding to you..
just for the record though I will agree on three of the places you listed even though I may be at risk for being a shiller for said establishements..Smoque, Sweet baby rays, and Honky Tonk
Good BBQ is not good brisket? care to elaborate on that one for "us"?

It seems to me that you are the one who complained about

"rotton (sic) BBQ"

as a rationale to "not shill" for that place.

I gave you 14 ways that I think can help you avoid that in Chicagoland. No one should have to put up with bad BBQ in Chicagoland these days.

And thanks again for not shilling for that place.

MLS wrote:It seems to me that you are the one who complained about

"rotton (sic) BBQ"

as a rationale to "not shill" for that place.

I gave you 14 ways that I think can help you avoid that in Chicagoland. No one should have to put up with bad BBQ in Chicagoland these days.

And thanks again for not shilling for that place.

I ask again..please elaborate on how "good BBQ is not the same as good brisket"..im confused on what that statement actually means

"good BBQ is not good brisket"..

If you are going to quote me, please do so correctly.

I said

Understand though that good BBQ is not the same as good brisket.

Anyone who has ever done it knows how different smoking a brisket is from smoking Boston butts or pork forequarters. To me pork is a far superior meat for BBQ than beef. Part of that is a personal antipathy for Texas and things Texan, but mostly it is the fat/meat ratio of big chunks of relatively inexpensive shoulder meat from a pig that is the perfect excuse and reason for "low and slow."

Nonetheless I search for good brisket, partly because it is so hard to find. Most BBQ places, including all in the southeast, just do pork. And good BBQ pork should not be hard to find. There are lots of techniques that yield great results;it is a very forgiving process as long as you stay "low and slow," but even that is not sacrosanct as the Cooks Illustrated method takes hours off the preparation. Rubs vary dramatically, woods too-still lots of great product. I've had good results with hickory, apple, cherry, pecan, and maple.

Brisket is a totally different beast. When I do it myself, I like to cook it in a pan to hold the juices. I always use an untrimmed brisket with the fat up and never flip it. But I know that pit masters in Texas never(?) use a pan and swear by that. Rubs for briskets and type of wood seems more critical with oak and hickory being my favorites.

Some people fixate on the sauce. I contend if the sauce is so important to you, you are not paying enough attention to the meat. Good pulled porked and good brisket to me don't need much or any sauce-maybe a little extra rub on the side, but that's all. I'm afraid a lot of sauce is used to hide mediocre brisket. Whenever possible I try to get my sauce on the side (not always possible in North Carolina and South Carolina/Georgia).

Brisket is a small part of BBQ-to my mind a difficult and elusive one, but nevertheless worth pursuing but not fixating on. Good brisket is hard to find, good BBQ should not be.

MLS wrote:"good BBQ is not good brisket"..

If you are going to quote me, please do so correctly.

I said

Understand though that good BBQ is not the same as good brisket.

Anyone who has ever done it knows how different smoking a brisket is from smoking Boston butts or pork forequarters. To me pork is a far superior meat for BBQ than beef. Part of that is a personal antipathy for Texas and things Texan, but mostly it is the fat/meat ratio of big chunks of relatively inexpensive shoulder meat from a pig that is the perfect excuse and reason for "low and slow."

Nonetheless I search for good brisket, partly because it is so hard to find. Most BBQ places, including all in the southeast, just do pork. And good BBQ pork should not be hard to find. There are lots of techniques that yield great results;it is a very forgiving process as long as you stay "low and slow," but even that is not sacrosanct as the Cooks Illustrated method takes hours off the preparation. Rubs vary dramatically, woods too-still lots of great product. I've had good results with hickory, apple, cherry, pecan, and maple.

Brisket is a totally different beast. When I do it myself, I like to cook it in a pan to hold the juices. I always use an untrimmed brisket with the fat up and never flip it. But I know that pit masters in Texas never(?) use a pan and swear by that. Rubs for briskets and type of wood seems more critical with oak and hickory being my favorites.

Some people fixate on the sauce. I contend if the sauce is so important to you, you are not paying enough attention to the meat. Good pulled porked and good brisket to me don't need much or any sauce-maybe a little extra rub on the side, but that's all. I'm afraid a lot of sauce is used to hide mediocre brisket. Whenever possible I try to get my sauce on the side (not always possible in North Carolina and South Carolina/Georgia).

Brisket is a small part of BBQ-to my mind a difficult and elusive one, but nevertheless worth pursuing but not fixating on. Good brisket is hard to find, good BBQ should not be.

uh ..i think thats what i did quote..
in any event I agree with everything you said except I dont see how it supports the statement..
any piece of meat slowed cooked on an indirect fire is BBQ IMO..BBQ is a technique..and whether its brisket or pork or ribs or whatever the fact that each get cooked differently ( time, rubs, etc)doesnt support your statement
For example I cook brisket right along with my butts in the same cooker at the same temp(right underneath the butts in fact) so how would the butts be considered BBQ but not the brisket??

Since it seems you are highly passionate about your BBQ in general maybe you would like to joinus up at one of our Chicago BBQ outings we do with all the BBQ guys in the Chicago area..I think Dave Raymond has invited any LTHers to attend..so far only the only LTH'ers to attend are CCrush and G Wiv ..good place to talk BBQ whether points of view are the same or not (and ours obviuosly isnt) and check out area BBQ places..think the next one is in March at Smoque

Good BBQ is not good brisket? care to elaborate on that one for "us"?

Looks like your quote.

Is your question that I just don't use the term "BBQ brisket?" Of course I consider brisket part of BBQ? Are you really just arguing semantics?

[

Brisket is a small part of BBQ

To me pork is a far superior meat for BBQ than beef.

That's implicit and explicit.

How remarkably uncontroversial barbecue is. A safe subject if I've ever seen one.

well Santander-sometimes people make it more controversial than it needs to be..in any event I attempted to extend the BBQ olive branch and invite him to join us on our regular bbq outings where bbq fans can eat & debate bbq all evening in a friendly atmosphere but I didnt get a response to that part of the thread
IMO there really is no right or wrong way when it comes to BBQ..just different methods..its just plain ludicrous to single out specific business establishments, meats, etc as wrong...nothing wrong with having a friendly debate about BBQ as I witnessed one night in Honky Tonk between GWiv and Sweet Baby Ray but some prefer to make it uglier than it needs to be ..thats not my thing
anyway the comments in the threads speak for themselves ..time to move on..

By they way have you been to Smokin M's at all lately? ..been trying to make a return visit just to see how things are a year later

here is my take on the thread
bill (and me and others i know) are more for placing positive judgments on things and just not commenting as much on the negitive
any your comment about brisket and bbq i think you are saying brisket is harder to cook than pork
no doubt about that
by all meant come hang out march 2 at smoque some of us will just be back from the nbbqa and i am sure we will have some good stories to tell as i am sure barry will have some great bbq too
please send me your email address and i will send you and invite
my email address is raymond294@alo.com
i agree about kruez market and salt lick ( they cook on two old hickory pitts and one southern pride smokers)
louis mueller talor cafe coopers angelos luling barb q blacks southside marketgonzales food market railhead meyers blacks smittys
ya you bet they got some good bisket
lots of pitmasters not so many chefs
in the words of my friend mike mills
"peace love and barbecue"
being a little more political and a little more behind gwiv
our book is going to be titled
life liberty and the pursuit of barbecue

You can see from my previous posts that I too seldom trash places especially first time out although I have been mentally saving a post for Madame Tartine's for some time now.

Thanks for the invite. I will, however, be out of the country escaping this amazing Chicagoland winter March 2.

I know they are temples, but I was not impressed with Black's or Smitty's brisket, or do I have to say, BBQ brisket? Kreuz offers "fatty brisket" which was way more to my liking than the others.

i agree about smittys and blacks real good but not as good as her brothers place

clearly you know plenty about bbq

as for bill
he is a good guy
his brother in law got trampled pretty good by forum people

for me its hard ot listen to people make judgements about what i am doing without knowing what i am putting into it

i think it is fair to say that i am much much more commited to my businesses
than the folk on lth are aware
i cannot speak for other businesses but for us
we have our hearts and soul into it every day
and many millions of dollars as well

so when people make judgements about my business basis on what an hourly paid employee may or may not have done it is hard to take

not that we dont train care work or do what we should be doing
it is just impossible to be on he details all the time

too many details and too many distractions

i would love to invite you and any of the others out to see our operation
and then i would be much more open to opinions which then would become more than one sided

have a good one and i will keep you in the loop for the next event we have

The Aurora Beacon News reported this morning (5/02/2010) that Thomas' BBQ has closed without notice.


http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beac ... 02.article

so it was a south bound train

Shoot, I was just there a couple weeks ago.

Just popped over to the Toyota Park web site, and see that Thomas BBQ has been replaced with The Patio as the barbecue concession there.

I know it was the catering/concession end that held Thomas' up over the last few years.

We'll miss this place.


Edit: 5/4/10:

One last post mortem on Thomas'

I called the number in my cell phone tonight while waiting at my daughters track practice.

Guy answered "Thomas' BBQ"

I said, surprised that someone answered "What time are you open till tonight?"

He, who I couldnt tell if it was the owner (I forget his name, Duane or something) then said "Um, that location is closed." and without any prodding, went on to say "We had a big company come in and buy us lock stock and barrel and they only wanted us for our catering operation. We are now centered in Bolingbrook."

I wished him well, and asked if he ever opened a location, to be sure to post on their web site. He agreed.

So I wonder if Thomas' had a concession contract of some sort with Toyota Park, and The Patio who now has that concession, also happens to have a large Bolingbrook operation that also does Patio catering out of.

Might be more than a coincidence, but that is my own speculation.

Told him I enjoyed the 7 years, and he thanked me.

I guess I have closure now

Saw an ad in my paper this morning for Thomas' BBQ catering. I looked up the website and they still show a Montgomery Road address. In the meantime, Sim Sim Kafe has moved into their old store front on Montgomery Road. It serves Mediterranean style carry out.

http://www.thomasbbq.com/index.html

Thomas BBQ is BACK!!!

Haven't gotten there yet, but saw they finally opened 2 miles north on New York.

Don't have the scoop on what happened, but don't need to!!

I'll be reporting back shortly to give an update on their wares, but the sign finally went up after a couple day soft opening.

Website was finally updated with the new location yesterday!

Thomas' BBQ
2711 East New York St
Aurora , IL 60504

(630) 820-2227 Ph
(630) 229-6168 Fx

After losing Comfort Zone and The Shack in the past 3 months, getting back a joint with a track record of great BBQ (at least for me) has been great to look forward to for 2012!!

New menu is up too and please get past the "fall from the bone talk". Ribs were never their strong suit for me anyway:
http://www.thomasbbq.com/catering.html

I gotta get there and get the word out locally to keep this place in business!

Edit July 1, 2015:
I thought Thomas BBQ was closed as its place at 2711 New York seemed to go dark overnight.

Just found them again, looks like they moved up the road a bit to the old ACE/DMG Hardware store.

Same phone number, but address is now:
Thomas BBQ
1955 E New York St
Aurora, IL 60502

Have not been to the newest location as of yet.