I went last night at around 7:15 or so with 3 buddies (one of which was in town from Dallas). I ordered first and grabbed an xl tip/link combo for the table, next up was full and a half slab and finally an order of 12 chicken wings and fried okra so we could sample about everything.
For first day fare, I'd say it stacks up nicely to all my previous visits to the old location. The tips were well smoked and delicious, though perhaps I would like a little less fat rendered out, though I am sure that can vary day to day and portion to portion. They also nail what I consider the perfect link for me. Nice and smokey, slightly dried texture with a decent crunch, and not overpowering wth the seasonings. Compare this to the I-57 Rib House links I had earlier in the week, where I would literally have to spit out 5-10 red pepper seeds out with each bite, and the link had a slight liver taste to it. The rib or two I tasted were very good, and while sauce was not ordered on the side with these, there was only a slight smear of it on the meat side, which was perfect. I also have to say the wings are not to be overlooked. The 12 wing order was stacked close to 2 feet high and was a full wing section each. They came straight out of the fryer so they were crisp, meaty, satanically hot and delicious. They were ordered plain and served with a side of Honey 1's BBQ sauce, which compliments them well (not sure if they offer any other sauces with the wings though, as I was already seated when they were ordered). Damn friggin good eating. My Dallas buddy seemed to enjoy everything and commented on how much he liked the sauce. I agree completely!
Now one intriguing item I noticed on the menu was whole smoked turkey. May have to order that up sometime real soon!
Jamie

I went to Honey1 today at 2pm. I am not a big rib eater so I don’t have much to compare them too. I ordered a half slab to go with sauce on the side.

Here is my impression:
-The ribs have an overbearing smoky flavor and smell. Almost as if the cook used liquid smoke to add the flavor.

-The BBQ sauce was great. Actually it was one of the better BBQ sauces I have tried. Worked well with the soggy fries that was included.

-Overall I think the flavor and smoky smell of the ribs didn’t appeal to me. In my opinion these ribs are geared toward a certain audience which might have some affiliation with the South (i.e. Texas).

-Certainly worth another try. Maybe next time ill give the links or turkey leg a go. Hopefully the smoky flavor/smell will not be as overbearing.

-I am sure others will have a different opinion depending on your palate and experience with different rib restaurants.

/polster

"Almost as if the cook used liquid smoke to add the flavor."

Them's fightin' words to an old school barbequer like Mr. Adams.

polster wrote:In my opinion these ribs are geared toward a certain audience which might have some affiliation with the South (i.e. Texas).

As someone with "some affiliation with the South" (Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, but not "i.e., Texas") and as I relax here in the glow of digesting my dinner of Honey 1 tips, hotlinks and a couple of ribs and trying to ponder why I, of all people, should be so blessed to have this holy of holies now basically in my backyard, I am not entirely certain how I ought to react to this statement. One reaction: Well, yes ... or even "duh"; smoked meats taste smokey and as a Southern traditional method of cooking meats, should and would appeal to those constituting "a certain audience which might have some affiliation with the South." Another reaction: Sheesh...did your monocle pop out and the ends of your white tie curl up when you bit into those funky, smoky old ribs, Chauncey? Of course, I'm just coming off a revelatory trip to Virginia, in which I witnessed and partook of smoked meats of a type and classification that goes well beyond the daily smoking provided (in excellent form) by Honey 1 -- I refer to the smoked Virginia hams that spend months or more hanging in a wooden shack growing mold and funky flavor. Now THERE is some smokiness, and tough toothsomeness, for you. And I know there are matters of taste that can erode or defy attempts at objective criticism. But really.

We thoroughly enoyed dinner at Honey1.

A full, meaty, smokey slab. The biggest turkey leg I have ever seen, so delicious, juicy, meaty. Our two year old LOVED it. Spicy, huge hot links, quite spicy, so good.


I do wish there were more beverage options - Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, 7-up and water. I prefer Coke

We'll definitely be back. The family is very nice, the place is clean, and they seem very family friendly, udging from the toddler running around the kitchen and the pre-teens that brought our food.

the ribs have an overbearing smoky flavor and smell. Almost as if the cook used liquid smoke to add the flavor.

Yes! Exactly! The genius of Honey 1 is that they are able, through the ingenious method of applying smoke to the meat, not only to brilliantly imitate imitation smoke, but to surpass it so that it tastes like the most convincing imitation smoke you've ever had-- like an imitation smoke so good that it actually tastes like real smoke. Only a true master could produce the effect of actual smoke using only actual smoke to achieve it.

Seth and Kerensa enjoyed the last available slab tonight -- much to the dismay of Octarine.

LTH,

Met Flip, Pigmon, Trixie-Pea, Octarine and Steve Z for an impromptu lunch today at Honey 1. If anything Robert Adams BBQ was better today than yesterday.

Honey 1 Large Tip/Link combo


Honey 1 Spare Ribs



Honey 1 BBQ Pit (Real wood, real smoke)


Robert Adams


Additional picture may be found here.

Enjoy,
Gary

Yeah I had lunch there and it was great. My friend who wanted to try it suggested tonight so I bit the bullet and brought her along with her brother and his gf. We walked into David as we entered and got to meet his lovely daughters, then got the bad news: no ribs To be fair Seth offered to share:)

We were all starving and not willing to wait the 1:15 for two slabs to be ready so we headed over to Fat Willys which they love. It was good but no Honey1. My friends do go in for the luxuries like silverware and things like that so it was fine in the end. We are definitely going to be back, the smoke smell was great in front of H1, they smelled it a block away!

Mike G - you go!

I not only stole the last slab from Octarine but also prevented the lovely CrazyC from taking any ribs back to the west side. I'd like to say I feel guilty, but that would be a falsehood, and I am an honest man.

Honestly, the ribs tonight were very good. Greasy, smoky, meaty, pleasant. Tips were even better: as a devotee of the crispy char, a la Lem's, they had a certain crunchiness that the slow smoked ribs good as they were didn't deliver. Fries were vestigial, but hot links were damn good as was the fried okra.

I'm definitely interested in the turkey legs. Don't tell my wife.

I think a trip to Calvin's may have been a better second choice; not to mention a bit closer.

I'm kicking myself now.

I was heading for an impromptou lunch of Hot Doug's encased meats with a friend right around noon today when we smelled a new smell on a familiar stretch of Western - barbecue. Not just someone grilling, but full-on low & slow application of smoke and heat to meat. It registered that it must be Honey 1's new location and we made a note to swing by after lunch to grab a menu and maybe some tips and links.

Unfortunately all of this was forgotten after we gorged ourselves at Doug's. Taking an alternate route home even removed the memory to swing by.

Well, I guess I can report on the size of the Saturday crowds?

trixie-pea wrote:Just got back from lunch there--and ReneG, I did see someone working a turkey leg that looked mighty fine.

El Panzone at Honey 1, Workin’ a Leg

A friend seeing this picture commented, “That reminds me a little too much of Body Worlds.”

polster wrote:-The ribs have an overbearing smoky flavor and smell. Almost as if the cook used liquid smoke to add the flavor.

Polster,
Honey 1's ribs and liq*id sm*ke in the same sentence make me chuckle.

Enjoy,
Gary

I see Mike G didn't want to admit that he and the two wild monkey boys ate there two nights in a row (wanting to keep up with G Wiv and David H). His excuse was that I hadn't been able to taste the ambrosia on Thursday. The ribs were great--ordered the sauce on the side which I would definitely recommend. I loved the smell coming a block away, which induced Liam to start chanting, "Honey 1! Honey 1! Honey 1!" as we raced toward the place. kafein, I'm guessing that was you and your family sitting down as we finished up. Great to see some many lth'ers supporting this great place.

G Wiv wrote:

polster wrote:-The ribs have an overbearing smoky flavor and smell. Almost as if the cook used liquid smoke to add the flavor.

Polster,
Honey 1's ribs and liq*id sm*ke in the same sentence make me chuckle.

Enjoy,
Gary

I was pointing out that I am not a big rib Aficionado and so I dont have much to compare honey 1 to. For my palate the over smoke smell/flavor did not apeal to me. Like I pointed out earlier for some other palates its probably a different opinion than mine. I have to give Honey 1 another try with maybe the turkey leg or rib tips/links combo.

What I did like was the BBQ sauce which i thought was top notch and would go with everything. I did not try the cole slaw because I had a bad food poisening incident many years back and have never eaten cole slaw since.

/polster

ReneG wrote:A friend seeing this picture commented, “That reminds me a little too much of Body Worlds.”

I concur!

You know, it may not equal the "Check Please effect" monetarily, but I have to say there's something pretty cool about the fact that the "LTHForum effect" happened within the same month for a barbecue joint and a kaiseki restaurant....

Mike G wrote:You know, it may not equal the "Check Please effect" monetarily, but I have to say there's something pretty cool about the fact that the "LTHForum effect" happened within the same month for a barbecue joint and a kaiseki restaurant....

Indeed.

One of my pleasant surprises was that Robert Jr recognized me, even though I had probably only been to the old location 3 or 4 times, and obviously hadn't been in many months.

It was nice.

The new space is also much more bucktown-friendly than the old one, and I hope that means a booming business. I'll agree with the other posters that, although we here on LTH care more about the meat than the sauce, Honey 1's slogan "It's all about the sauce" will probably attract more people. And it's a damn good sauce.

Someone should make an effort to convince them to allow BYOB. I don't drink much, but I can imagine others would find their experience much enhanced by a beer or two.

James ward gave H1 a nice plug at the end of his 10 o'clock news report last night. Hopefully, that will contribute to better awareness of the re-opening.

Another report:

My first Honey 1 experience.

Purchased rib tip-hot link combo & a turkey leg. Tips were smokey and kinda fatty; I found no dryness to complain of. Links were tasty enough, but I found that the pepper flavor predominated over whatever other spices are in them. "A pleasant enough sausage" I muse to myself as I wipe grease off of my cheek, "but not the eye-opening, sage-y, coarse ground pig heaven of Barbara Ann's hot links." Back in the old days, when I lived in Hyde Park, Ribs 'n' Bibs was capable of making a good slab of ribs. Once I purchased a hot link plate, because they were cheap and I was broke. I experienced them as a smoked Italian sausage with bar-be-cue sauce on them, not a distinct sausage unto themselves. Honey 1's hot links don't remind me of Italian sausage, but don't stand out a whole lot from the rest of the encased meat landscape.

And the turkey leg? Smokey. Turkey-ful. Delighful. Not tough, not over-marinated or pre-somthinged to fall off the bone. Beautifully straighforward, and something that I could probably convince myself isn't too unhealthy.

Fries, unhappily, were sitting already made in the fryer when I got there, and cold when I got home. Made me feel better about throwing them out.

Thought the sauce had a nice balance of sweet/vineagary/hot.

And, happily, while the place was empty when I walked in at 12:30 today, 4 more orders walked in right after me. I think that the smoker is doing its' advertising job.

I think because I walked in and ordered my food with sauce on the side [as consensus insisted I do] and muttered "turkey leg, I know you have turkey leg on there somewhere, where is it on the menu?" the nice young man behind the counter asked if I had eaten their food before. He seemed pleased when I told him where I'd heard about them, and that I was looking forward to becoming a good customer.

Which I am.

Giovanna

first time to the forum, but been lurking...

just wanted to thank everyone for recommending honey I and letting us know when it opened...

we went there this afternoon around 1PM, probably shortly after giovanna went. i read the reviews of honey I on this site and wanted to try it out. it was a short walk from my place (west bucktown). upon entering, the place was relatively empty, unfortunately, because people don't know what they're missing out on.

we ordered take out, a full slab and a large rib tip combo... it took less than 10 minutes to get our food and for the food, the price was very reasonable. walked home and opened up the take-out order and was pleasantly surprised by the aroma and quantity. we also ordered the sauce on the side (i'm not a sauce person), but the sauce is pretty awesome. not too tangy, just right... and i'm not a sauce person.

the fries had some smokey taste to it, but it was the ribs we went there for...

the ribs were delicious... we had the sauce on the side, so we were able to control how much sauce we wanted on... but ended up pouring the sauce on because it tasted so good. you can taste the smoked aroma of the ribs underneath the soft, tender ribs. it was definitely a delicious combination.

we'll probably make this a tradition every saturday... as we were leaving, we could hear robert jr. asking people to spread the word... we definitely will. speaking of robert jr. - he definitely cared about his store and the success of it. we'll definitely be back.

My fiancee and I were there around 1:20 pm today. When we got there, there was only one other person at the tables, but four or five others placed orders while we ate.

We got a full slab of ribs, a large rib tip/links combo, and a side of fried okra. The ribs were almost perfect. Good, smokey flavor which goes well with the tangy, and not too sweet sauce. I can't wait until the smoker is fully seasoned so it imparts even more smoke flavor to the ribs!

The combo was also very tasty. We both liked the spiciness of the hot links, and the tips were moist and not too fatty. The fries were average, but I always like them so I can eat more of the BBQ sauce.

My fiancee, who is an Arkansas native, proclaimed Honey 1's ribs "as good as the ones my dad used to make!" Our only complaint is that they have Pepsi products instead of Coke, and that they only come in cans. 12 ounces of soda is not really enough.

Now if they only started selling fried pies for dessert...

Western and Fullerton now smells (and tastes) like 79th and Cottage. Thank God. I hope they don't change a thing for the new patrons. (Well, maybe the link supplier; but they are still pretty good links.)

Great little food zone there, I agree. Bolero, the two Brazilian bodegas, Argentine, Puerto Rican, Mexican seafood and more all within a stone's throw. (Went to Bolero for a drink while waiting for BBQ tonight. Had not been in ages. It's really become a comfortable worn-in spot over the years. Cafe con leche and rum selections are outstanding.)

JeffB wrote:Western and Fullerton now smells (and tastes) like 79th and Cottage. Thank God. I hope they don't change a thing for the new patrons. (Well, maybe the link supplier; but they are still pretty good links.)

Great little food zone there, I agree. Bolero, the two Brazilian bodegas, Argentine, Puerto Rican, Mexican seafood and more all within a stone's throw. (Went to Bolero for a drink while waiting for BBQ tonight. Had not been in ages. It's really become a comfortable worn-in spot over the years. Cafe con leche and rum selections are outstanding.)

Hey JeffB,

I am a big fan of Cocina Boricua on Fullerton. Many find Puerto Rican cuisine kind of one-dimensional, but I greatly enjoyed the goat and PR tamales I had there...and the mofongo, with flecks of golden piggie, is the best I've had.

Hammond

JeffB wrote:Western and Fullerton now smells (and tastes) like 79th and Cottage. Thank God. I hope they don't change a thing for the new patrons. (Well, maybe the link supplier; but they are still pretty good links.)

Great little food zone there, I agree. Bolero, the two Brazilian bodegas, Argentine, Puerto Rican, Mexican seafood and more all within a stone's throw. (Went to Bolero for a drink while waiting for BBQ tonight. Had not been in ages. It's really become a comfortable worn-in spot over the years. Cafe con leche and rum selections are outstanding.)

And let us not forget Margie's for Ice Cream right down the street at Armitage.

And although it's been years now, Quenchers was a very nice bar, with a ReneG sized selection of beers.

I made a stop last night for 1 & 1/2 slabs and a large tips/links combo. I had the pleasure of meeting Ann Fisher, my first encounter with an LTHer in person, and it made the trip to Honey 1 even sweeter. It's nice to see the "community" come together, randomly, especially for myself, a relative newcomer. It was very nice chatting with you Ann.

The ribs were outstanding--even better than the one's I'd had a few weeks earlier at Barbara Ann's when the in-laws were in town. And I found the more-finely ground links very much to my liking as well.

I'll heat up the leftovers today--but I'm already planning a return trip.

Thanks to all the good people of LTH! It's really a great, great forum here and it's appreciated.

w-

Hi,

Today after the Bagel tasting, I went to Peoria Packing to buy 20 pounds of hot links. You can buy them frozen in 5 lb packs for less than $5; which is a very good deal when fresh is $1.65 per pound.

Afterwards, I decided to go to Honey 1 for a small order of tips and hot links. Just as I finished placing my order, LAZ and her husband walk in. As we sat down, JiminLoganSquare was seen outside in his car so I walked over to alert him he had company. Just as we were finishing, SteveZ walked in. Our collective group had ribs, tips, links and a turkey leg. Jim allowed to pull some skin off the leg, which was just fabulous.

Afterwards SteveZ and I went to Margies for ice cream.

There is never lacking of good company around here.

Regards,

I'm not the type to normally start up chats with strangers, but I figured that any random group of people waiting for their orders in the first few days at the new Honey 1, odds were good that there'd be another LTH-er, and I didn't want to find out about it only when we both posted and realized we'd missed the chance to connect in person.

The first person I chatted up turned out to be a guy originally from Memphis who'd heard the mention on James Ward's show and had come over at the first opportunity. I trust he wasn't disappointed. The second, who I was really sure had to be an LTH-er after he said he'd once been to the place on Divison, turned out to be Whitesnake. Great meeting you too, Whitesnake, and I hope to see you at an LTH event soon.

They were out of turkey legs, to their surprise, at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The young man working the counter said they'd been added almost on a whim, but they're clearly a keeper. He also laughed when I asked if they had an slabs, and gestured grandly at the new smoker, pointing out how much larger it was than the old one. I do note, however, that their new menu still suggests calling ahead for slabs.