Christopher's Off The Bone

Stopped by here for an early dinner with significant other this late afternoon, (sorry no pix).
First off, there was absolutely no money spent on the build-out. It was exactly the same as when it was Aegean Isles, (including the "Greek" artwork).

The menu is, well, "different". BBQ, of course, Ribs, chicken and brisket. Some salads; hamburgers and, steaks and miscellaneous stuff are featured and a polyglot of appetizers including that ever favorite BBQ pre-meal teaser... octopus, Huh?!?).

My lady ordered the chicken/rib sampler platter while I ordered the brisket/rib sampler. Each came with two sides. My lady chose the mac and cheese and the sweet baked beans. I opted for the garlic mashed and the vinegar slaw with an additional order of the cinnamon apples.

The ribs were fall off the bone with a good smoke ring, good bark and full flavor. The chicken was well smoked and tender and juicy although the rub was a bit on the "too fiery" side. The brisket was meh... dry, no smoke ring but a fair beefy flavor.

The sides were well done across the board with the mac & cheese and beans being the stars of the show. There were three vinegar-based house BBQ sauces, "Spicy", (which wasn't very), "traditional", (which was almost all heat and very little flavor), and "sweet" which was the best of the lot, (but could have benefited from a bit more heat).

Pricing was "medium-high" with the check coming to $60 with tip.

In conversation with the host, we found that they have been open for one week and are still having some growing pains. He said they were aware of the shortcomings and were working on it.

All in all, I think that they haven't quite thought the concept through and don;t quite know if they want to be a real Southern honky-tonk BBQ or a DINK destination BBQ/Chophouse. Whoever is smoking the ribs has his/her act together and the sides are well executed. The place will get at least one more visit from me, (if they survive), in about a month to give them the chance to work out the bugs.

Score for Christopher's Off The Bone; 2 1/2 ribs (out of 5).

7201 North Caldwell Ave
Niles, IL 60714
847 647-7722

Did they move the smoker? I miss the late afternoon porkwaft.

Pie Lady wrote:Did they move the smoker? I miss the late afternoon porkwaft.

I'd like to nominate that as a tagline.

Mr. Pie and I went here on the 4th, cuz nothing says 'Merica like BBQ. I had the 1/2 slab & 1/2 brisket combo with baked beans and slaw and a lemonade. The ribs were very good with a nice sauce that was not too thick or too sweet. The beans were good too, and although the slaw wasn't my preferred style it was still tasty. The lemonade looked like water but was very refreshing; nice and tangy and not too heavy or sweet. But the brisket is oustanding; tender, juicy, just a little fatty, with a nice thin BBQ crust. I hope they deliver. Mr. Pie said the chicken was just a little dry and bland but I believe he gave it a B, and an A- for the ribs. The only problem I had was the lack of corn as a side. No corn with BBQ? What?

Pie Lady wrote:Mr. Pie and I went here on the 4th, cuz nothing says 'Merica like BBQ. I had the 1/2 slab & 1/2 brisket combo with baked beans and slaw and a lemonade. The ribs were very good with a nice sauce that was not too thick or too sweet. The beans were good too, and although the slaw wasn't my preferred style it was still tasty. The lemonade looked like water but was very refreshing; nice and tangy and not too heavy or sweet. But the brisket is oustanding; tender, juicy, just a little fatty, with a nice thin BBQ crust. I hope they deliver. Mr. Pie said the chicken was just a little dry and bland but I believe he gave it a B, and an A- for the ribs. The only problem I had was the lack of corn as a side. No corn with BBQ? What?

Really? On my single visit I was only able to eat the sausage. Everything else on my plate (Ribs, chicken and very stringy brisket) was literally inedable. I gues they are still working out some kinks, huh?

I suppose so. What was wrong with what you ate?

Also, I must say that I can't vouch for the "proper"ness of the BBQ; the ribs were so tender the meat was falling off the bone, and I know some people don't like that, etc. But I suggest you try it again sometime.

I was with Steve on the visit he mentioned above and I'm sad to say that the food was pretty horrible. Nothing tasted even remotely smoky and everything had clearly been held for some time. The brisket, the worst item on the platter we ordered, was a wet, gnarly pile of shredded meat fibers that was essentially unrecognizable (save for the menu description) as brisket. Ribs were dessicated. Pulled pork was flavorless. Chicken was dried out and tasted like it had been overcooked in an oven. As Steve mentioned, the sausage -- not made in-house -- was decent. Most everything was covered in a sweet, gloppy sauce that just made matters worse. At $40, the price on the platter for 2 was ridiculously high. However, if it had been free, I still would have been disappointed. If they'd paid me to come eat it, it still would have been a net loss for me.

When we left most of the food on the table, our server asked us if we wanted it wrapped to go. We said we didn't. He then asked how it was. I said "I've had better" and he didn't seem at all surprised by that comment.

They do have a smoker and maybe the food's better at peak hours (we had a weekday lunch when the place was virtually empty) but what we had was definitely not worth returning for. This felt like a place that decided to jump on the bbq bandwagon with little or no bbq knowledge at all.

=R=

That's a shame, our dinner was a lot better than that. The brisket was not shredded, but in three perfect strips. Nothing was as dry as you're describing, not even the chicken. You may still say you've had better, but assuming things have really improved and our dinner wasn't a fluke, I think you'd be pleased with them now. I'm actually looking forward to returning. Dry ribs were the reason I never returned to Carson's.

Pie Lady wrote:Dry ribs were the reason I never returned to Carson's.

Well, I wouldn't hold Carson's up as a paragon of BBQ, either.

ronnie_suburban wrote:I was with Steve on the visit he mentioned above and I'm sad to say that the food was pretty horrible.
=R=

How long ago was the visit. Perhaps they are starting to figure some things out, although one can only hope that the rib meat will stay on the bone despite the name of the place.

scottsol wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I was with Steve on the visit he mentioned above and I'm sad to say that the food was pretty horrible.
=R=

How long ago was the visit. Perhaps they are starting to figure some things out, although one can only hope that the rib meat will stay on the bone despite the name of the place.

It wasn't that long ago, probably in the last 10 days or so. It was a showcase for how to make bad BBQ. I'd love to see them turn things around, but I'm not holding out much hope, based on their past track record (not just with the BBQ, but also with the previous two incarnations of the restaurant).

I'm glad to report that Christopher's off the Bone has been put out of its misery. They have been closed for several weeks now with no sign of life in the parking lot and a "Restaurant not Open Today" sign on the door. Their big smoker is still chained to the sign, but the restaurant appears to be no more.

That's a shame, I liked it when I went. My friend offered to take me there to celebrate quitting my job, and now I wish we had. I will miss the porkwaft®.

I would need both hands and feet to count how many places died on this spot. The space is so nice inside, they ought to build a retirement village on top of it and make that the dining room and lounge.

I noticed when I drove by last Sunday that they appeared to be over and done with. Of course the big sign in the window that advertises "St. Luis Ribs" probably didn't build much customer confidence...

LuvstoEat wrote:Of course the big sign in the window that advertises "St. Luis Ribs" probably didn't build much customer confidence...

No it wouldn't. I'd definitely keep driving.

Now I'll never be able to go back to confirm that it really was as bad as the one time I went. (No disrespect to Pie).

One time I actually did go back to something because I couldn't believe it was as bad it seemed to be.
That was David Lynch's DUNE, and it really was that bad.

Ram4 wrote:

LuvstoEat wrote:Of course the big sign in the window that advertises "St. Luis Ribs" probably didn't build much customer confidence...

No it wouldn't. I'd definitely keep driving.

13.0517

RIP

=R=

It was that giant S at the end of the name that bugged me. No apostrophe, just a big S. Whaa?