ATown BBQ Shack - Aurora IL

Been compiling a list of BBQ spots out in the Western Burbs and this one jumped out at me right in my own backyard.

I spotted it a few weeks ago, and wanted to include an initial review here, but I just cannot seem to work out getting over there. Did a quick search and couldn't find too much mention of this place on the interweb so it appears to be under the radar.

I was heading west on New York a few weeks back and came upon a Marthon gas station. Sign said "$3.17/$3.27/$3.37 - Rib Tips $7.99"

I did a double take and noticed a little BBQ shack connected to the gas station. Never saw it there before, but I've driven by there for 10 years and never stopped for gas, so it didnt surprise me.

Atown BBQ Shack
(630) 892-3950
1116 E New York St, Aurora, IL 60505

Surprised they even have a website (caution, very basic web tools, might be music playing but I have no speakers here)
http://www.wix.com/atownbbq/atown-bbq-shack

The hyperlinks on the website are all out of alignment, so you need to kind of float around the general area before you can actually get to the menu and such.

Menu seems representative of the immediate area. Somewhat leaning into the Soul Food staples but then including some Mexican offerings.

So my intent was to have already tried this place and post that up, but that hasn't happened yet so I thought I would make a quick post to see if anyone else might have happened into this place by chance. I might have found a nice hole in the wall right close to me, or I might have found nothing more than a footnote for my listing.

Indications are the place has been here at least 9 months, but the menu also mentions "under new management" so I have no idea what its previous incarnation was.

The photos on the site certainly don't jump out at me. If you can get to the Recommended tab, you'll see everything from brisket to italian beef to bbq beans to mashed sweet potatoes.

Are marshmallows a common thing to add to mashed sweet potatoes like in the photo?

Hope to get a review up in the near future.

(If there is a thread that even remotely mentions ATown, hopefully this can be merged into it. I couldn't find a thing)

EDIT 10/07/11: Closed This place has now converted to a taco stand. No sign of the recently opened popcorn shoppe either. Had tried this place a couple times, but was hoping the economy, and their business, would pick up, as each time the stuff I had was definitely "held" for a long time. Was trying to get them on a good day before posting, but it never came. Oh well.

Willkat98 wrote:Are marshmallows a common thing to add to mashed sweet potatoes like in the photo?

I don't even need to look at the photo to say, yes, it's pretty common. Not in my family, but if I were to see this somewhere, I wouldn't bat an eye.

I'd also like to add that you Aurorans are really startin to tick me off with all these new bbq joints. Where are mine???

Willkat98 wrote:I was heading west on New York a few weeks back and came upon a Marthon gas station. Sign said "$3.17/$3.27/$3.37 - Rib Tips $7.99"

I did a double take and noticed a little BBQ shack connected to the gas station. Never saw it there before, but I've driven by there for 10 years and never stopped for gas, so it didnt surprise me.

Atown BBQ Shack
(630) 892-3950
1116 E New York St, Aurora, IL 60505

Good eye and nice find...gas station BBQ, great combo!

That's right next to where the La Quebrada Express used to be. Boss is out of town, so I just may stop there for lunch. And gas.

Just got back from Atown. I ordered the brisket with baked beans and coleslaw. The brisket wasn't as aggressively smokey as others (Smoque, Fat Willy's, nearby Gemato's), which may be a pro or con depending on how you like your brisket, and instead the smoke was more muted. The hot bbq sauce over the brisket was very good -- not cloyingly sweet (Gemato's sauce is almost candy sweet), but more tangy. Some point of note however are that the brisket came out almost chopped, whereas I usually prefer sliced, and it was very lean, and I usually like a little fat in there. But on the whole a decent brisket.

The bbq beans were quite good and had ground pork and bits of brisket incorporated. The coleslaw was standard but went well with everything else, and at least it wasn't KFC bad. And the whole thing came in under $10 w/ tax, so it was quite inexpensive as bbq goes.

Other Atown trivia:
Been open for around a year
Cartoon mascot is an anthropomorphic, cannibalistic pig in a chef's hat -- a bbq joint staple
The lunch menu is called the "$5 Holla", and that is awesome
I would have gotten the greens, but they were an hour from being done. Dang!

Verdict? Not a bad little bbq joint for the Fox Valley, but maybe not destination dining. Give it a go if you're in the area. Also if you pop in next door they just opened a popcorn stand with a rainbow of popcorn flavors -- cheese, hot cheese, caramel, pizza, cookies n' cream, grape (?!), and others.

mike

Mikelipino wrote:Other Atown trivia:
Been open for around a year
Cartoon mascot is an anthropomorphic, cannibalistic pig in a chef's hat -- a bbq joint staple
The lunch menu is called the "$5 Holla", and that is awesome
I would have gotten the greens, but they were an hour from being done. Dang!

Verdict? Not a bad little bbq joint for the Fox Valley, but maybe not destination dining. Give it a go if you're in the area. Also if you pop in next door they just opened a popcorn stand with a rainbow of popcorn flavors -- cheese, hot cheese, caramel, pizza, cookies n' cream, grape (?!), and others.
mike

Good stuff to know, $5 Holla lunch sounding good. You see the smoker, piles of charcoal or wood around?