BBQ Near Oswego?

I have a friend who lives in Oswego and is looking for a good BBQ spot. And by BBQ I mean wood smoked meat.
The only recent post I could find for the area was Thomas BBQ.
Any other suggestions?

Great timing. I'll be moving out to Montgomery in about 2 weeks. I hope somebody has some answers.

Not strictly BBQ, but Harner's Bakery & Restaurant in North Aurora has a pig roast the first Friday of every month, not to mention some of the best breakfast and bakery products in the area at all times.

Harner's Bakery & Restaurant
10 W State St
North Aurora, IL 60542
(630) 892-4400

Kind of a wasteland of BBQ this far out. I live west of Aurora and the best I have found is in Wheaton inside Mariano's grocery store called Todd's BBQ. I am a huge fan of Smoque in the city and the ribs are comparable which is a huge feat. The pulled pork is some of the best I have ever had. The baked beans are the best I have ever had. The brisket I found to be to dry for my liking. You can eat in at the bar or get it to go. The also let you orders ribs for $1 a bone. It is on my rotation once a week.

Mariano's Fresh Market
625 S Main St
Wheaton, IL 60187

vike86 wrote:Kind of a wasteland of BBQ this far out. I live west of Aurora and the best I have found is in Wheaton inside Mariano's grocery store called Todd's BBQ. I am a huge fan of Smoque in the city and the ribs are comparable which is a huge feat. The pulled pork is some of the best I have ever had. The baked beans are the best I have ever had. The brisket I found to be to dry for my liking. You can eat in at the bar or get it to go. The also let you orders ribs for $1 a bone. It is on my rotation once a week.

Mariano's Fresh Market
625 S Main St
Wheaton, IL 60187

is this "Todd's" found in all Mariano's?

curious since I believe once the vultures have picked the Dominic's in Shorewood/Plainfield on route 59 carcass clean it is to become a Mariano's.

I know it is the one in Frankfort and a few others for sure. Not sure it they all carry it or not. I have high hope that the one on rt59 will carry it also.

jimswside wrote:is this "Todd's" found in all Mariano's?

curious since I believe once the vultures have picked the Dominic's in Shorewood/Plainfield on route 59 carcass clean it is to become a Mariano's.

There's no Todd's in the Mariano's near me on Elston. They have a hot food bar, but it's all Mariano's branded stuff.

The only Mariano's near the city with BBQ is Harwood Heights

http://www.marianos.com/storelocator

Sharko's on the corner of 59 and 111th St. (on the border of Plainfield/Naperville).

If he's up for short drive have him head to Morris.

I'm from Oswego and we've headed out several times when we're looking for solid Q.

Ron's Pork Shack
1514 Creek Dr
Morris, IL 60450

I've passed the recs on to my friend and made him swear to report his experiences.

Here is one that I tried... it was pretty decent.

Smokey's Wood Pit

US Route 47 & 126
Yorkville, IL 60560

http://www.smokeyswoodpit.com/

I haven't made it to any of the places listed here yet. But a few weeks ago they had a piece on Chicago's Best about a place in relatively nearby Hinckley called South Moon BBQ. Now, fair warning, they just moved into a new larger space and my visit was just before the move. The old place was tiny. I think they had 2 4 tops and 2 2 tops. They also had a picnic table outside. Yet they had 6 people working there, though one looked like she was just recently hired. I suspect to compensate from the TV shout-out.

Anyway, who cares? How was the food? Pretty darn good. I had the burnt ends and my wife had the pulled pork. Both had a decent, though not overpowering smoke taste. I only had a bite or two of the pork. But the burnt ends were really done well. They were cooked enough to render the fat but not overcooked to the point of being dry. They were just about perfect. They had a nice amount of rub. My only complaint would be that I personally l like a little crispness on the edges. But overall, very nice.

Having just moved from the city, I miss the tip/link combo from Honey1. But for the middle of nowhere, this was real good.

South Moon BBQ
146 East Lincoln Highway, Hinckley, IL 60520
815-286-9227
www.southmoonbbq.com

vike86 wrote:Kind of a wasteland of BBQ this far out. I live west of Aurora and the best I have found is in Wheaton inside Mariano's grocery store called Todd's BBQ. I am a huge fan of Smoque in the city and the ribs are comparable which is a huge feat. The pulled pork is some of the best I have ever had. The baked beans are the best I have ever had. The brisket I found to be to dry for my liking. You can eat in at the bar or get it to go. The also let you orders ribs for $1 a bone. It is on my rotation once a week.

Mariano's Fresh Market
625 S Main St
Wheaton, IL 60187

Tried this one today. They were out of brisket so I wasn't able to try that. The pulled pork was very good. But I'm not a fan of the ribs. They had a good amount of rub, but I like my rub with a little more bite to it. The real problem was that the ribs were just falling off the bone. There was no integrity to them at all.

Haven't tried Thomas BBQ at 2711 East New York Street in Aurora, but it qualifies as close to Oswego.

I was actually over there on other business a few days ago. It looked like they are catering only. But their website makes it look like a legit restaurant. I'm going to have to try it.