Best Slab of Ribs in Chicagoland?

Wanted to get some ribs sometime this weekend and wanted to see what everyone likes. Carson's Ribs, Hecky's, Lem's, Honey 1, or any others? These would be for pickup. Thanks!

If you're not making them yourself, then I would recommend Lem's or Honey 1. Keep in mind that these are not baby back ribs, but are spare ribs.

How about Hecky's? Good? As far as baby back ribs, anything better then Carson's?

As a long-time resident of Evanston, I have patronized Hecky's for years. I generally order the turkey leg, and have enjoyed their smoked duck and turkey at the holidays. I was a skeptic regarding other approaches to BBQ, having grown up in the BBQ-free zone around Minneapolis. However, I recently ate the best ribs of my life at Honey1, where you can still taste the pork. At Hecky's, even without the sauce, the porkiness is overwhelmed by the smoke and the texture is very soft, whereas the ribs at Honey1 still have some porkiness and tooth to them. Still, I like the selection of sides at Hecky's and they deliver to my neighborhood and do large catering jobs very well. In addition, Hecky is a civic-minded guy who does a great deal for the community and his establishment improves the olfactory profile of our fair city every day of the year. Intangiables, but important for local patrons. Bottom line: Your call. My advice: try both and see what you prefer.

my favorite ribs, bar none, are the baby-backs served up at timber's charhouse.

Timbers Charhouse
295 Skokie Valley Rd.
Highland Park, IL

brschwartz wrote:How about Hecky's? Good? As far as baby back ribs, anything better then Carson's?

Hecky's has very good fried chicken.

Yes, I have had Hecky's fried chicken, real good, good spicey and tasty breading. The Chicken Shack in Evanston is supposed to also have real good chicken as well.

brschwartz wrote:Yes, I have had Hecky's fried chicken, real good, good spicey and tasty breading. The Chicken Shack in Evanston is supposed to also have real good chicken as well.

This is true. I was merely commenting on Hecky's chicken in an attempt to not say aything bad about their ribs.

brschwartz wrote:How about Hecky's? Good? As far as baby back ribs, anything better then Carson's?

Fat Willy's baby backs are my favorite in Chicago. As for spare ribs, you can't go wrong with Barbara Ann's or Honey 1.

I had Honey 1 ribs on Saturday, while they had a fair amount of meat on them, they seemed overly dry. The sauce was flavorful and tangy and overall a good experience.

Honey 1 has seating and will allow you to BYO.

Based on info I have read on this board I decided to try the Texan BBQ in Lombard on January 4. This was my first visit and I thought I would pass along my comments. Note: I really like ribs, but I don’t consider my self an expert. That’s why I read this site.

I thought the menu was decent, with 2 kinds of spare ribs, baby back, etc. It advertised that the ribs were hickory smoked for 14 hours. Prices were very reasonable. I’m not sure how detail to make this.

But you place your order with a cashier and then take your number and pick a table. I asked the cashier if the potato salad was homemade? She said yes. I asked if the french fries were fresh-cut? She said yes. So I decided to get a full slab of baby back, fries, and a drink. Dinners come with choice of potato, cole slaw, baked beans, and texas toast ($19). Drinks are self-serve.

The food came in about 7 minutes or so. And right away I noticed that either the cashier, or I, do not understand the term “fresh-cut fries”. Anyway I regretted I didn’t order the potato salad.

I picked up a rib bone and the meat fell off. In fact, the meat fell off of every bone I picked up. The rib bones were clean of meat as if chewed clean. I mean there was sauce, but no meat. I didn’t like this. I found the meat too be so tender that it was almost mushy, pre-chewed. They didn’t taste like they had been smoked at all, let alone over hickory for 14 hours. The sauce on the ribs and the spicy sauce on the table were not impressive, as was the cole slaw. I thought the beans were good.

Bottom line, I don’t think I will be going back to this place. Oh, it did have a very clean restroom.

dodger wrote:Based on info I have read on this board I decided to try the Texan BBQ in Lombard on January 4.

Is this place an outpost of The Texan BBQ in Algonquin near Port Edward?

dodger wrote:Bottom line, I don’t think I will be going back to this place. Oh, it did have a very clean restroom.

Doger,

Very polite of you to find something nice to say about the place.

Enjoy,
Gary

My 2 cents: I grew up on Carson's (and lived across the street from one one that was in Skokie for a year -- many a night when the wind was blowing the right way, it was, "We're having ribs tonigh, Sue."

For a few years growing up in Northbrook was a place called Jake's (not related to the Pizza chain) that made outstanding ribs with a nice deep-chile flavor, but they disappeared (to be replaced with Ira's Hot Dogs, still standing I think).

Carson's bite and chew is the primary factor I need to have in ribs. Meat jello is unacceptable, as is shoe leather. So texturally, they've always been consistent and ideal for me.

Their sauce is inoffensive yet moderately flavorful. That's damned faint praise. I've had much better sauce in many places. My one experience with Hecky's though was bad: it may have been the end of a batch (it was only about 6PM IIRC) but the ribs I got were leathery, dry, and lacking in meat.

I won't say they're the best, because I don't know, but the ribs at L. Woods are surprisingly good.

Dodger, I went to the Texan in Algonquin with much anticipation. I thought I was really in luck, because I am in Algonquin once every 25 years or so, and I just stumbled onto it. Everything, from the meat to the napkins, was really bad. Not mushy, but very old and dried out.

I knew I'd had good ribs lately besides at L.Woods. Now I remember where. Al's Char-House Steak House in La Grange. L.Woods' ribs were outstanding for the meat; Al's ribs were outstanding for the sauce.

I was a Twin Anchors fan (I pride myself on the BBQ) for years. I have tried every rib shack in chi-town from Kenney's to Carson's (Carson' have some tough ass ribs) from Smoking Woody's to Smoke Daddy's. I like Smoke Daddy's (DIvision) and Fat Willy's just of of Western north of Fullerton. Fat Willy's also has a great BBQ Brisket.

1. Fat Willy's
2. Twin Anchor's
3. Smoke Daddy's

Do not waste your time at Smokoing Woody's

If you have the time and a ride Leon's on Cottage Grove mmmMMMMM

When did Twin Anchors start making BBQ?

Hello!

Well, I consider myself a decent judge of the art of BBQ and love to try new options in the Chicago area. I grew up on the South side and now make my home on the North. I still frequent the S.Side and discovered Nick's BBQ about a year ago - Tinley Park, Palos Heights...and maybe a few more in the area. The best ribs I have evere had. My favorite sauce...sweet and smokey. I buy it by the bottle and take it home for regular use. Not a place for fine dinning, but great for filling up on great ribs and average sides. Although the baked beans are to die for! A joint on the S.side, but a winner for ribs and beans!
Thanks Nick!

Enjoy,

CD

chadduffy wrote:Hello!

Well, I consider myself a decent judge of the art of BBQ and love to try new options in the Chicago area. I grew up on the South side and now make my home on the North. I still frequent the S.Side and discovered Nick's BBQ about a year ago - Tinley Park, Palos Heights...and maybe a few more in the area. The best ribs I have evere had. My favorite sauce...sweet and smokey.

I confess, I'm a bit skeptical of barbecue in that area (my folks live out that way) and I absolutely loathe the Patio and Pit Rib House, but I'll give Nick's BBQ a shot. I'll probably skip the sauce, though. (Not a fan of sweet BBQ and the smoke should be in the pig).

Capt. Grubby wrote: Twin anchors serves up a great slab (Frank Sinatra's favorite)

I believe Frank has not produced anything worthwile since his death...but the reputation still lives on. Twin Anchors...the same.

CALVIN'S on Armitage a couple blocks west of Western.

I notice there has been a certain reluctance by certain BBQ mavens to say what they really think about Twin Anchors or the broader subject of actual, slow-cook barbecue versus restaurant-style steamed/baked/sauce-covered "barbecue." I suggest these readings, first, a chi.eats thread from the prehistory of LTHForum:

http://tinyurl.com/a9bnu

Second, this Reader review, any resemblance is purely coincidental:

http://tinyurl.com/dhy8c

I will point you to my earlier post in this very thread to briefly summarize my opinion of the ribs at Twin Anchors.

stevez asked if the Texan in Lombard was related to the one in Algonquin. Sorry, don’t know, I have seen both and would doubt it. But that is a guess only.

Thanks to Jeffb for his review of the Texan in Algonquin, I was going to try it.

But now I want to try Honeys 1, LWoods, and Fat Willy’s.
Will let everyone know my thoughts on these when I get a chance.

Binko wrote:

brschwartz wrote:How about Hecky's? Good? As far as baby back ribs, anything better then Carson's?

Fat Willy's baby backs are my favorite in Chicago. As for spare ribs, you can't go wrong with Barbara Ann's or Honey 1.

I finally tried Lem's on Friday night, after driving back from Three Floyd's brewpub in Munster, IN (definitely recommended! Beer was fantastic as usual and the food was surprisingly good). I still prefer Barbara Ann's, but Lem's were awesome, too. They have a very distinct barbecue sauce--I'm trying to pinpoint the exact taste, and I think it's allspice. But the ribs, the tips, and the links were all fantastic. I'm a tips-link combo guy so, in my order of preference, it's Barbara Ann's, followed by Lem's, followed by Honey 1's.

After reading everyone's post about the delicious barbeque, I convinced Felix to try Honey 1 yesterday evening at 7pm. My previous visit with Cathy2 after the move was favorable. This time, we ordered a full slab, large rib tips, 12 chicken wings and a whole barbeque chicken. We also asked them to put the barbeque sauce on the side (last time they over did the sauce) and took them home to share with our kids. The ribs and rib tips were tough and dry. The barbeque chicken was very disappointing. The chicken had the appearance of a mummified chicken (extremely dry). The only good food was the fried chicken wings. It's too bad that the food quality was not consistent. They must have tried to salvage an over-cooked chicken. That's our last time for this place.

Binko wrote:They have a very distinct barbecue sauce--I'm trying to pinpoint the exact taste, and I think it's allspice.

Binko,

Clove is one of the more forward flavors in Lem's BBQ sauce.

Enjoy,
Gary