BBQ place on Randall Road, South Elgin

I don't drive on Randall Road as often as I used to, but I was in the South Elgin area a coupl eof weeks ago and noticed a BBQ place in one of the new shopping centers along the west side of Randall. But... I can't remember the name of the place. Does anyone in the area know the name? Better yet, has anyone tried the place?

Thanks!

...ron

Took the family out for dinner last night and we headed up Randall Road to try the BBQ place that I had driven by earlier. Its called canyon Creek BBQ (www.canyoncreekbbq.com). Its in a strip mall on the west side of Randall, north of Silver Glen Road. Its just north of the JuRin restaurant.

it is a very small place, with seating for no more than 50, including the bar. Decor is Texas barn, with cow hides and cattle skulls hanging on the wall. The staff was very friendly and our wait at 6:45pm was only 10 minutes or so. At about 7:00, however, the place was full and there were two or three groups of people waiting for tables.

The menu is mostly BBQ, but they do have some kids selections and sandwiches that aren't BBQ for those who would rather eat something else. They have some interesting sounding appetizers including Bottle Caps, which are flash fried slices of red and green jalapeños. I couldn't talk my wife into trying them, unfortunately. We did try the corn fritters, which were great! They are deep fried perfectly and full of corn kernels and nicely sweet.

For the main course, my daughter had a burger with BBQ sauce on it that she said was good. It was served with curly fries. Her friend had the Chicken Tenders appetizer, which she enjoyed. The tenders looks very large and were breaded and fried. My wife and I had combo plates. We both had brisket and sliced pork, and I added baby back ribs to mine. The combos were served with Cole slaw, beans and either fries or a baked potato. The brisket was tasty and tender, but was sliced thin, as if it were sliced for a sandwich. The pork was tender, but didn't have much flavor besides the sauce. the ribs were tasty and falling off of the bone, which would probably be great for most people, but I like my ribs to be bite-off-the-bone instead of falling off. the Cole slaw has a sweet vinegar based dressing and was very good, and the beans were in a sauce that tasted of brown sugar, but just barely. They were good, but the flavor could have been stronger.

I talked briefly with the owner (he was behind the bar) and he told me that they have been open for about 6 weeks. He cooks on site over wood (there is a wood pile out back) in a J&R cooker (http://www.jrenterprises.com/smokers.html) and he said that he is building a trailer with another JR for events.

Overall, I enjoyed the dinner. The BBQ isn't what i would call great, but for this area, its pretty good. I think it was better that the BBQ Shack in St. Charles, but I read here that the BBQ has changed their menu recently, so Ill have to go back there again.

Canyon Creek BBQ
572 Randall Road
South Elgin, IL
847-289-2121

Thanks for the review!Years ago i lived in South Hellgin for a while and there was a place called Tee Gee's.I was right by the river.The guy pulled off a fanastic Memphis style pulled pork"smoked in-house"sandwich with slaw.He knew what he was doing because he didn't sauce the que.He'd give you plenty on the side though.His cheeseburgers were great too, with his secret sauce.They eventually were forced from that location and moved up Rt 31.There he began soaking his pork in sauce and it just wasn't the same-at all.That place is long gone now.That original place had a real Memphis barbeque sandwich just like i ate almost daily living in Memphis.

The Bar-B-Que Shack in St. Charles has added cajun to it's menu, I posted a report from a visit there 2 weeks ago. I'll have to give this place in South Elgin a try sometime, thanks for the review.