So, three years since the last post means an update is probably warranted. I lived in the neighborhood of Fat Willy's and Honey 1 for three years, and when the barbecue craving hit (hint: often) I always chose Honey 1, to the extent that I never even tried Fat Willy's. Sunday changed all that.

We went in with a group of four and ordered a Mac N Cheese starter, a full rack of baby backs, a half-order of rib tips, and two pulled pork sandwiches. The ribs were pretty good--I prefer St. Louis style, and I prefer Honey 1's ribs, but these were solid, nice pink ring, chewy. A little too saucy, but they were toothsome and nowhere near the "meat jello" that I thought I read them described as on this board. I didn't sample a rib tip, but they looked big and meaty and most definitely smoked--their black bark-like appearance did get me salivating. Both ordered sides of mashed potatoes (poor choice, as baked beans are clearly the option you should choose when presented with such a choice) but they were fine, buttery, a mild counterpoint to the three sauces on the table.

As for the pulled pork, I liked it. It didn't come out heavily sauced, but there was something on it--maybe the sweet/spicy vinegar that's on the tables in squeeze bottles? I added some more of that deliciousness and plunked down a pile of their house-made tomato-based sauce, sweet and smokey, for dipping. Forgot to try the spicy sauce. Definitely the two I tried were homemade, as they should be. I was a little confused by the sub-like (maybe turano?) bun--like a burger, I want my pulled pork on something white and squishy. The vinegar slaw topping the pork was interesting--ground almost to a paste, and very noticeable on some bites while gone others. Shreds work better, IMO.

I really don't like steak fries, especially the frozen variety used at Fat Willy's, but to their credit these were among the best of that variety I've had. Crispy, salty, and sized just right to scoop up errant shreds of pork swimming in saucy pools. Coleslaw was a good creamy variant with enough of a vinegar bite to make you take notice. Mac N Cheese was soooo garlicky--not sure I liked that overwhelming element. That said, I thought it was good, but too much cheese (yes, i doubted it was possible). I wanted some more noodles, and unfortunately lacked the foresight to save the bowl for ad hoc cheese fries.

Expensive, too, like others have noticed. I liked it, but I think I'll still keep choosing Honey 1 in the future. Although I do want to go back for the smoked chicken.....

They make very good salads. My husband likes the Ribs at Honey-1 better, but the Chicken more at Fat Willy's.

Fat Willy's doesn't get the LTH love-- a fact which I believe has not escaped co-owner/pitmaster Bo Fowler-- and several years ago, when it was a more pressing project to champion the south side BBQ joints cooking in aquarium smokers (and seemingly dwindling in number), one can understand why LTH barbecue heads would have sniffed a little at a Southern Pride-using joint with a long menu that takes in soups and salads and whatnot. It didn't fit the LTH paradigm of the wood-burning shack whose only idea of a side vegetable was fries.

It also may simply be true that it wasn't that good then. Fowler spoke to me of a learning curve on ribs that probably lasted five years or better, and the "ennh" with which I greeted a couple of meals way back when surely goes back that far. But she's been at it for some years now, and LTHers have found approval for a Southern Pride-using joint (Smoque), and I say it's time to give Fat Willy's another chance. Within its own style, it's a lot better than I remembered.

Fowler, who says she's working in her own version of a North Carolina style, goes a different way in a lot of ways than Chicago-style barbecue. She brines her meat in her own recipe of a brine (you can see some of its ingredients in my video at Time Out's site) and then cooks it for a long, long time-- I think she said 12 hours. When you order, the ribs which have been held are then brushed with sauce and heated under a broiler, caramelizing the sauce. This has led some people to suggest that they do baked ribs, not barbecue, because the amount of sauce and coming straight from the broiler makes them look like oven-baked ribs. I wish they would use less sauce, but there should be no mistaking them for baked ribs, they have the toothsomeness and smoke ring of low and slow barbecue, and compare very well to Smoque's ribs cooked under the same conditions. To me, this is the thing to have at Fat Willy's and you should be happy you did.

I was put off by Fat Willy's pulled pork years ago because it didn't fit my image of a pulled pork sandwich-- which had nothing to do with North Carolina's idea of one. A little better educated and mellowed about such things, I like it better as a sandwich now, even if it's not my favorite way to do pulled pork. But the combination of their tart, vinegary slaw and the chopped pork on a crusty bun works pretty nicely.

The other thing about Willy's is that since it is a sitdown restaurant, it has a bigger menu of sides. I don't quite get why soup is on the menu but I did have one side that was pretty great-- collard greens, full of porky flavor and enhanced by a shot of the vinegar hot sauce. These were about as good greens as I've ever had, and though by definition sides aren't the draw to barbecue places, these could be.

Fowler is sincere and thoughtful about her barbecue and knows the capabilities of her Southern Pride well. If you haven't been there in a while, you should give it another try.

The one time I tried Fat Willy's (some years ago), they served my pulled pork sandwich on garlic bread. Have they stopped doing that? It was awful.

We regularly get delivery from Fat Willy's. They have very good salads. I like their chicken (it is not dried out) and the ribs are fine. I think you can get them dry, if you remember to ask for it that way. The delivery lady was really nice, and made friends with the dogs - then again, she was bringing meat to our house, what's not to love

While we live closer to Honey 1, and I like their ribs and links better, Fat Willy's delivers, has salads, and I like Fat Willy's chicken better than Honey 1. Due to FW's proximity to the movie house they don't have things sitting around holding for very long. I don't think I've tried the pulled pork at either place. They are so close together that we do end up comparing. If I have good stuff to make a salad and sides, and we want ribs, we'll walk over to Honey 1 for takeout. If not, we get FW.

Fat Willy's is great. There are a handful of solid BBQ here in Chicago and I personally think that Fat Willy's is one of the top places to check out. The last time we dropped by they were closing and that was around 1030, I believe(which I think is early, but that is my opinion). I've you've never been, then you definitely owe it to yourself to check it out.

Rib up!

After going to a movie on Western the other night we stopped by Fat Willy's for some BBQ. While I didn't love the brisket sandwich (it was fairly dry), the rib tips, (which might've been a bit over-sauced), had a great smoky flavor to them & we devoured them. Combine that with the cucumber salad, cornbread & coleslaw that we fully enjoyed and you can pretty much guarantee that next time we're over there for a movie we'll stop back & try other things. After reading this thread, it'll be the chicken & mac & cheese.

I am chiming in here because no one has mentioned my favorite menu item, the beef brisket (not the sammich, that is a different brisket and clearly inferior). The Beef Brisket here is fantastic, though due to their meticulous cooking process, it is only available after 5 pm and in limited quantities (beware, it sells out fast). They smoke it for 3 days, which really gives it a unique, smoky flavor that I haven't had anywhere else in Chicago. The meat is served dry with a side container of juices that when you drip on the meat make the texture perfect - tender, juicy, to die. Add their bbq sauce (hot or sweet depending on your preference) to taste, and it's one of my favorite bbq dinners in the city. EV1 is better if you want tips n links or ribs, but for brisket, my money is on Willy. Never trust a skinny chef.

Suiname wrote:The meat is served dry

I don't doubt that at all, if they really smoke it for three days. I'll bet it's dry as shoe leather.

Suiname wrote: They smoke it for 3 days, which really gives it a unique, smoky flavor

I had no doubt that they didn't smoke anything for three days but I wondered what the actual time was.The Fat Willy's web site says they smoke the brisket "all day"; a call to Bo Fowler got a reply of "8AM to 5Pm", which is 9 hours for the mathematically challenged.

I stopped by Fat Willy's today for a very quick lunch. I hadn't been in a long time and, based on today's visit, I will make this a more regular stop. I had a 1/2 pulled pork sandwich. The pork was smoky, well seasoned, and quite moist. In short, much better than what's being served at a lot of the newly opened BBQ joints. Fries were nice and crispy. The sandwich is served on a ciabatta-style roll, which was also pretty good for what I assume is a food service roll.

Tried it once. Dry, no -very dry beef approaching jerky consistency, with tired sides and even more tired, surely and indifferent service. The price wasn't tired though. It cost a good buck to be fed this mess. I don't wish places bad luck, etc., but this was not a visit I will likely make again. Did I mention that the parking sucks?

I parked right in front of Fat Willy's and there is a huge parking structure across the street.

thick wrote:Tried it once. Dry, no -very dry beef approaching jerky consistency, with tired sides and even more tired, surely and indifferent service. The price wasn't tired though. It cost a good buck to be fed this mess. I don't wish places bad luck, etc., but this was not a visit I will likely make again. Did I mention that the parking sucks?

The bolded part in particular makes me wonder if you actually went to Fat Willy's, considering the parking there is really easy. There's a big parking structure across the street, and it never seems to actually charge you to park there. Even if they do, I think the posted price is like 2 bucks. I had a harder time finding a spot at Smoque, and that wasn't really all that hard either.

Not sure why I haven't weighed in this before.

I've been going to Fat Willy's regularly for years; being able to walk there is one of my favorite things about living in Logan Square. For the quality of the food and the portions I think it's a really good value (except for the delicious but overpriced BBQ chicken wings). I'm rarely able to finish one of their dinner combos.

In terms of the food, my go-to dish is the smoked 1/2 chicken. So far it is my favorite chicken in Chicago. I prefer it to the chicken at Smoque or the much more expensive bird at Lula Cafe.

When I'm not in the mood for chicken I'm happy with Willy's burger, the ribs, or brisket (last night I had the burger). Their ribs are not on the same level as Honey 1 or Smoque but I always enjoy them nonetheless. I've not found a brisket I really love in chicago but the one here will do.

For sides I tend to stick with the sweet potato (love the brown sugar butter), collard greens and Texas toast. Also, their salads use quality greens and fresh vegetables. I prefer their sides to what I've found at most Chicago BBQ houses.

I find their food to generally be consistent regardless of how busy it is or what time of day I show up. The one problem I have had at willy's has been with service, though things are drastically better in that department right now. I think they have a new floor manager. A few years ago the majority of their waitstaff should have been in another industry. I'm happy to say that's no longer the case.

If I need an actual meal and not just a pile of delicious smoked meat I will always choose fat willy's over what else is available in the city.

I had some friends over to watch da bears Monday night. I promised ribs only to remember that Honey One is closed on Monday once I was on the way home.

Being tight on time, I threw in the towel and stopped at Fat Willies versus trying to get over to Barn and Co.. What a disappointment. Two racks of ribs a half chicken and a half pound of tepid tasteless pulled pork to go set me back $100. The ribs were meat jello texture, the chicken dry as the Sahara.

That chocolate Pecan Pie was still pretty good.

Lesson learned. Leave work earlier on MNF nights so you can get some decent barbeque.

YourPalWill wrote:I had some friends over to watch da bears Monday night. I promised ribs only to remember that Honey One is closed on Monday once I was on the way home.

Being tight on time, I threw in the towel and stopped at Fat Willies versus trying to get over to Barn and Co.. What a disappointment. Two racks of ribs a half chicken and a half pound of tepid tasteless pulled pork to go set me back $100. The ribs were meat jello texture, the chicken dry as the Sahara.

That chocolate Pecan Pie was still pretty good.

Lesson learned. Leave work earlier on MNF nights so you can get some decent barbeque.

Will,

Barn & Co. is closed on Mondays. too.

I actually think they were open this past Monday b/c the Bears were on MNF but I'm not sure if it was only by reservation...seem to remember something like that posted.

stevez wrote:

YourPalWill wrote:Lesson learned. Leave work earlier on MNF nights so you can get some decent barbeque.

Will,
Barn & Co. is closed on Mondays. too.

The "leave work early on MNF nights to get decent barbeque" still holds, however. For, on Mondays and Tuesdays, Uncle John's (down on 69th - a bit of a ways) has a full-rack of very very good BBQ ribs for the princely sum of $14.00 IIRC, on special. (They also offer specials of "half pans" of Rib-tips, or best-in-show Hot Links, for $26 apiece on Mondays and Tuesdays). Two racks of ribs and a half-pan of tip/links would have set YPW back only.. well, 60 or so bucks I think, a good 40% less.. and would have given him a) The best bbq in the city and b) More bbq than he or his friends could have consumed while watching Da Bears crush Da Boids, no matter how hard they tried (the half-pan is a monstrously large amount of food for the 26-bucks - doubt 4-5 people with LTH-style appetites would have any chance at finishing it)...

c8w

Now, that sounds like a MNF option. I love Uncle john's and it would have given me a good reason to leave work early.

Not sure where home or work is.... but on mondays
Mickeys has SLABS of RIBS on Special.

Ive gone out of my way many times for their ribs.


Mickey's Gyros & Ribs 525 N Harlem Ave
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 848-3333

jazzman wrote:Not sure where home or work is.... but on mondays
Mickeys has SLABS of RIBS on Special.

Ive gone out of my way many times for their ribs.


Mickey's Gyros & Ribs 525 N Harlem Ave
Oak Park, IL 60302
(708) 848-3333

The only issue with those is that Mickey's ribs aren't BBQ ribs. They are coked in an oven and finished on a grill. I'm pretty sure that's not what YPW is looking for.

Another option?:

The Pork Shoppe on Belmont is pretty close to both Honey 1 and Fat Willy's.
The pastrami is great; I'm not sure if the ribs come from a pit or an oven.

Pork Shoppe: Also closed on Mondays.

Buddy

I went for NYE and was very happy with my meal. Mr. Pie ordered the St. Louis ribs and I ordered the baby backs and we split them. Both were good, but I might prefer the baby backs. I had the grilled corn (delicious) and Texas toast (dry, with very little garlic flavor). But the salad was surprisingly full of assorted ingredients and came with an outstanding blackberry dressing that I requested on the side. This became the dipping sauce for the Texas toast as well. But the coconut cream pie was incredible, and tasted like it was frozen, like a cross between ice cream and custard. It didn't hurt that it was topped with about a cup of whipped cream.