honey 1

My wife and I went to honey one bbq on friday. We are always searching for good bbq near our house in wicker park. Again we found another place that was just fair we had rib tips and hot links. The links had good flavor and just the right amount of heat and found them to be much better than the tips. The tips were kind of tough and didn't have the right amount of smoke flavor you would expect from the aroma that hits you when walking into the place. The sauce was good but if they are done right the sauce just compliments the flavor and not just to make them palatable I just don't get whats so hard about cooking succulant bbq when you have all the tools. I'm not a chef by any means but I can blow away any of the local bbq places in the back yard on my weber. Maybe because I love to cook and enjoy serving something I'm proud of. I guess We still have to go to Hillary and cooks on 17th ave in maywood for good bbq. It still is our local bbq place that we compare every place we try in chicago to. Still hunting and being disapointed time after time.Don't get me wrong the food at Honey One was not bad but it could be so much better.

Honey 1 is good, and I think worth a trip, but I have similar qualms as you: the flavor isn't smoky enough. I went to Barbara Ann's for the first time last week, and their ribs had just the right amount of smokiness--far smokier than what Honey 1 serves.

However, I personally thought Honey 1's rib tips were among the best, if not the best, I've had in the city (tied with BA's). I try to reserve judgment about places like these, because it can depend on what time of day you visit, how long since the ribs have finished smoking, etc...

I know a lot of people will disagree with me, but in terms of consistency and taste, I've had much better luck with Fat Willy's.

anyone ever had the ribs at roy's on superior and state?

if you're into smoke flavor, these ribs will please you. they are not your standard issue bbq, since they're asian-style and glazed with teryaki, but to my taste, they rock. ultra-smokey, very meaty st.louis-cut ribs.

if you haven't already, give them a try!

I feel the same way. I have been looking for the great food I used to have at Brudder's and N.N. Smoke house

Does this mean that Barbara Ann's has reopened? Oh, joy!!Their links are something to give thanks for.

YourPalWill wrote:Does this mean that Barbara Ann's has reopened? Oh, joy!!Their links are something to give thanks for.

Yep. There was a thread here mentioning it about a week ago. I think they just reopened within the last two weeks.

Interesting thread. I can't disagree that H1's meat is a bit less smoky than BA's and Leon's, eg, but they are cooked 100% over wood for gosh sake. They are different styles within the same theme. I think some tend to confuse seasoning with smoke (and I include myself). Is it that salt catches the smoke, or that salt helps us taste smoke? Whatever it is, when folks let the meat speak for itself with little to no seasoning (H1 as I perceive it) the smoke doesn't jump out at you as much as when a liberal hand with the seasoning is applied (BA, IMO).

I would say that the cue at H1 is delicate and balanced. I have to give Mack the nod on links and tips, but nobody, nobody in Chicago or near serves ribs as good as H1's. Just my humble opinion.

To each his own. You mention your favorite in Maywood. As Louisiana BBQ man and expert witness Mike Pike said on the stand down in Southern Illinois a few years back when asked about the indigenous BBQ of Marion and Carbondale, I've tried it.

Binko wrote:Yep. There was a thread here mentioning it about a week ago.

Here’s c8w’s post about the glorious day.

JeffB wrote:I have to give Mack the nod on links and tips, but nobody, nobody in Chicago or near serves ribs as good as H1's.

I’m afraid Mack may no longer be at Barbara Ann’s (as mentioned in the other thread). I was there on the first Saturday and the tall young guy (whose name I don’t know) was manning the pit. I only tried ribs and links and will say the barbecue was similar to that from the Mack era. I’ll need some more visits to say for sure but I’m cautiously optimistic. The ribs were good but I have to agree Honey 1’s are better.

JeffB wrote:Interesting thread. I can't disagree that H1's meat is a bit less smoky than BA's and Leon's, eg, but they are cooked 100% over wood for gosh sake. They are different styles within the same theme. I think some tend to confuse seasoning with smoke (and I include myself). Is it that salt catches the smoke, or that salt helps us taste smoke? Whatever it is, when folks let the meat speak for itself with little to no seasoning (H1 as I perceive it) the smoke doesn't jump out at you as much as when a liberal hand with the seasoning is applied (BA, IMO).

See, the problem is that the two times I went to H1's, my ribs were a bit on the dry side, and not terribly meaty. I mean, it was my bad luck and all, because my cousin's ribs looked good & juicy.

Barbecue is a delicate subject, and everyone seems to have their favorites they will passionately defend. But in my humble opinion, I've had a better experience my one time out at Barbara Ann's than my couple times at Honey 1's. For all occassions, I get sauce on the side and, to me, BA's ribs simply tasted better. I have yet to try Lem's, although it seems from reading various old threads on here, their product is wildly inconsistent, although when it's on, it's great. Or have I the wrong impression?

Don't get me wrong--I do like Honey 1 a lot--they have my favorite sauce in town, and are in my top 3 rib joints. But I don't think they're clearly above all the other Q around here. It'll take me many many more trips to each of these place before I establish a firm and definite opinion, but at the moment, BA's heads my short list of Chicago Q.

Binko, we are on the same page, definitely.

When Honey 1 moved to the North Side, I worried that I would visit BA's less often, out of sheer laziness, particularly as the weather changes for the worse.

I do think the seasoning makes a difference, though I would not suggest that the folks at H1 change anything. Also, BA's pit is seasoned with thousands of hours' more smoke. That might make some difference as well. Then there's the darn LTH effect -- high turnover forces a real BBQ place to walk a tightrope. Do you make a big batch up front and keep it warm, drying out but getting smoky for the throngs at dinner time, do you cook things more quickly than otherwise, losing many of the attributes of BBQ, or do you try to do it "just right," take some time as you go, and get criticized by diners who are used to instant service but have to "endure" a 20 min wait for ribs at H1?

When it comes to barbecue, what I like best are ribs. When it comes to ribs, I like them chewy but still moist. I like to taste smoke in the meat. I prefer a thin glaze of sauce, given a bit of caramelizing.

Vanished places I have enjoyed included Bones, Uncle Mel's, Bone Daddy and American Smokehouse. I realize my tastes must be somewhat rarified, since the places I like keep going out of business.

With some of the posters above, I have to say I've been disappointed in Honey One. After all the fawning praise, I expected rib nirvana, or at least Wiv-ana. What I got was stringy, dry and drowned in sauce.

Have I misunderstood? Is it the things other than ribs that are garnering all the applause?

Honey One BBQ
773/227-5130
2241 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647

LAZ wrote:With some of the posters above, I have to say I've been disappointed in Honey One. After all the fawning praise, I expected rib nirvana, or at least Wiv-ana. What I got was stringy, dry and drowned in sauce.

I haven't had them frequently (though we live about 4 blocks away) but you should get them without sauce. My beef is that they don't have many veggie side choices. My husband isn't into okra

LAZ wrote:With some of the posters above, I have to say I've been disappointed in Honey One. After all the fawning praise, I expected rib nirvana, or at least Wiv-ana. What I got was stringy, dry and drowned in sauce.

I guess part of it might be that we both had our expectations set too high, whatwith all the praise for Honey 1 on this board. I went their again last night and have decided once and for all that the rib tips are the best in the city (at least so far). Unlike my ribs, I like my rib tips sloppy and saucy, and those meaty, smoky tips with Honey 1's sauce kicks all sorts of ass. If only they had the hot links to match... BA's has the best combo in the city.

Mrs. johnny and I had Honey 1 last night. Unfortunately, after several great previous meals, this one fell seriously short. The tips were REALLY tough and chewy, while the links were dry and nearly inedible (emphasis on "nearly" since I was really hungry). The okra was great - as always.
Perhaps this batch had been smoked too long at too high a temperature or something. This meal was particularly disappointing because we had an amazing tips and links combo from the Evanston Hecky's last week - no doubt largely due to the fact that Hecky himself was working that night.
While I'm certainly willing to give Honey 1 another chance, I hope this recently disappointing meal does not indicate a pattern.

Binko wrote: If only they had the hot links to match... BA's has the best combo in the city.

Couldn't agree more. I never liked hot links till I had 'em at Barbara Ann's. Now I look for reasons to head down to the South Side.

Leek wrote:My husband isn't into okra

Did he see her when she was on Letterman? That kinda changed things for me.

JSM wrote:

Leek wrote:My husband isn't into okra

Did he see her when she was on Letterman? That kinda changed things for me.

My husband wanted me to clarify - once a vegetable is fried, it ceases to be a vegetable.

After double checking the website to see that Hot Doug's is closed for the holidays, two friends and I opted for a lunch at Honey 1. Kept it simple with 2 slabs and an order of Okra. I would have to say one slab was the best slab I have had at Honey 1. Super moist, and perfect texture and pull left in them, as well as just the right amount of smoke. The other slab was also very good, though just a bit more dry.
Both slabs were also VERY meaty and I started feeling full after two middle and 2 end ribs (though I managed to eat just one more rib) .
Jamie

My husband wanted me to clarify - once a vegetable is fried, it ceases to be a vegetable.

Oh yeah. And I guess you're one of those people who insists that Macaroni and Cheese isn't a vegetable, too.

YourPalWill wrote:

My husband wanted me to clarify - once a vegetable is fried, it ceases to be a vegetable.

Oh yeah. And I guess you're one of those people who insists that Macaroni and Cheese isn't a vegetable, too.

Well, duh! It's TWO vegetables!