Whiskey River BBQ & Honkeytonk, Mt Prospect

Whiskey River BBQ
702 River Rd, Mt Prospect
(847) 298-7200
http://whiskeyriverchicago.com

Taking over from the old Dick`s River Roadhouse {an unremarkable bar and grill that won't be mourned}, I was a little skeptical. I've been twice now, and while it`s not Smoque, I'll probably keep it in my regular rotation, as it's the closest restaurant to my house.

We had gone a few weeks ago, and both had the pulled pork: SueF a sandwich, me a 'redneck taco' which is on a cornmeal hoecake. Those were decent, good sized portions, only slightly smoky, but tasty. Didn't love the hoecake (if you're going to call something a 'taco' you should be able to pick it up), but otherwise pretty good. They have three sauces on the table: Kansas City Sweet (think KC Masterpiece thick really sweet), Memphis Spicy (nice chile heat, not as sweet), and Carolina Tangy (mustard and chile powder forward, vinegary-thin, but rather different from what I had in NC -- but still my favorite).

Tonight I was dining solo -- pro tip, it's not useful to try to read a book while eating barbecue.
I ordered a half slab of 'Memphis Spicy' which I think is just the 'Memphis Dry Rub' version (there are two others) with their spicy sauce added. Tasty, but I prefer a little more bite. Not quite fall off the bone, but pretty close, but definitely not meat jello. Unlike the pulled pork, the portion was kind of small -- six bones together about the size of my admittedly large hand -- but for $10.99 with two sides and a corn muffin, a good value. The sides I chose were the tater tots (nice and crispy), and 'Alabama slaw' which was described as creamy, but more vinegary than creamy (probably a bit of mayo in there), and chopped a bit too coarse to be easily eaten with a fork unless it were a bit creamier (they also put it on sandwiches, where it would probably work better).



I have yet to try their brisket as I'm brisketed out from Rosh Hashanah leftovers (mmm more brisketacos for lunch today?), but I'm looking forward to going back. Live music on Wednesdays, lots of big screens otherwise showing sports and music videos.

Wasn't there a Whiskey River in Chicago (somewhere on the north side) about 15+ years ago? We had our firm holiday party there and it had live country/rock country music as well as food. Same owners?

Elfin wrote:Wasn't there a Whiskey River in Chicago (somewhere on the north side) about 15+ years ago? We had our firm holiday party there and it had live country/rock country music as well as food. Same owners?

Whiskey River's Website wrote:The new Whiskey River has a chef driven American BBQ and comfort food menu, served in a fun, high-energy atmosphere," says Mark Hoffmann, who along with Fred Hoffmann owns and operates Moretti's Ristorante & Pizzeria, The Snuggery and dozens of other restaurant concepts in the Chicagoland area. "Whiskey River has an unique blend of charm, great food, hip music and a fun atmosphere that makes it the ideal neighborhood spot to unwind.

That makes it sound like there was a previous Whiskey River, but I'm not sure.

Google also reveals a place with the same name at 1997 N Clybourn Ave, but a Trib article from 1993 sounds rather different, as a C&W bar whose "Spaghetti Western Cantina is serving an Italian/Southwestern menu"

There's also a place about to open in Hoffman Estates, I'm guessing they're multiplying.

Closed. The sign out front says "New Concept Coming"