Honey 1 [Post Check Please]

LTH,

Solo lunch at Honey 1 today, nicely busy after being on Check Please, 4-5 people in line, 12 or so in the dining room, everyone looked happy, especially the senior member of the Adam's family who was manning a full to the brim smoker and smiling. Nothing Robert Adams Sr. likes better than cooking BBQ.

I had a half slab and it was spot-on, no, check that, better than spot-on, just about perfect for my taste. Toothsome, yet yielding piggy flesh, rich pockets of flavor, bits of crisp bark providing counterpoint, succulent.....oh, hell, I may as well go all the way..........pure porky goodness!

As a solo diner I was able to concentrate on taste, texture, flavor and I came to a couple of conclusions. One, Robert Adams is an artist with a Chicago style Aquarium smoker and two, his overall skill level has, if anything, increased since moving to Western Ave.

Long ago on W Division Street an idiosyncratic three initialed sprite waxed maudlin about artisanal vs commercial, how selling 2-slabs of spare ribs per day and barely making the rent was the lot of an artist. How commercial success would immediately spoil the 'purity' of Robert Adams BBQ, his very essence or, as Michael Ruhlman might put it, Soul of a Pitmaster.

Hey Richard T, I'm here to tell you none, not even a wee bit, of your doom and gloom prediction has come to pass.

Enjoy,
Gary

Honey 1 BBQ
2241 N Western
Chicago, IL
773-227-5130

Honey 1 does indeed seem to be humming along nicely. The place was busy but clearly not overwhelmed at around 6:30 last Wednesday. My only problem was that, as a single diner, I could not rationalize an order of gizzards ':cry:' The combo was outstanding, though I made no converts of the guys at the tile shop on Fullerton, who apparently prefer the "bbq" at Gale Street. De gustibus. . .

Josephine wrote:The combo was outstanding, though I made no converts of the guys at the tile shop on Fullerton, who apparently prefer the "bbq" at Gale Street. De gustibus. . .

They must be "dentaly impared" and doomed to eat meat jello.

Is there parking easily accessible or do they have their own lot?

Easy street parking on Western (usually) or around the corner on Lyndale or Belden east of Western.

I had been meaning to get over to Honey 1 for a long time. Even since they were way out west. Finally made it last Sunday night around 6:30 p.m.

I have to admit - I wasn't that impressed. Ordered a whole slab (thought I should maybe get the tips combo but went with the slab). The only thing that won me over was the atmosphere, loved watching him work the smoker while I waited.

Ribs were kind of bland. Sauce didn't do anything for me. Meat had a lack of flavor. Not a huge amount of smokiness. Something was just off.

I'll give them another try but it just didn't knock my socks off.

As said before, *Real* BBQ is like sex, music, art... not everyone has the same taste, always wants the same thing, or has a great night every time.

Go back Honey 1 is geat!

Had lunch there yesterday. Small Tip Combo. Very good as usual. The tips were a bit more rendered out than I'm used to but I like the bark and the suace was a good foil. The link was not on top form, maybe it was me but it seemed a bit mealy. Good flavour, just the texture that was off a bit in my book.

I agree with judgement that the links have a different texture, but I think they are standard Moo & Oink brand.
I like the smokiness and the doneness of the meats, but often notice something missing. Honey One does not put a rub on their meats. That's what I miss, the extra zing a rub gives.
Overall pretty good Q, and close to Larry's(?) Liquors kittycorner from Think.

pizano345 wrote:I had been meaning to get over to Honey 1 for a long time. Even since they were way out west. Finally made it last Sunday night around 6:30 p.m.

I have to admit - I wasn't that impressed. Ordered a whole slab (thought I should maybe get the tips combo but went with the slab). The only thing that won me over was the atmosphere, loved watching him work the smoker while I waited.

Ribs were kind of bland. Sauce didn't do anything for me. Meat had a lack of flavor. Not a huge amount of smokiness. Something was just off.

I'll give them another try but it just didn't knock my socks off.

Try the tips, I think that's where Honey 1 shines, but I agree with other's point about there being some inconsistency from visit to visit, which is somewhat expected for this type of cooking process.

We stopped by tonight and grabbed some takeout. It was great to see the place so packed! 75% of the tables full and 5 or so people waiting for takeout.

We got takeout Sat. night. Just a slab of ribs, but very good!

Interesting - I've been trying to reconcile that the complaints about Honey 1 ribs are either
1) - too dry
or
2) - too fatty
and we were thinking that it is really hard for a food to be both too fatty and too dry.

Anyway, these ribs were neither too fatty nor too dry, and were still on the smoker when being paid for.

Also, they've redesigned their takeout menu, and it looks quite nice.

I still want a side-dish of beans

I dropped by Honey 1 tonight at a little after seven. There was a line of about 8 people waiting to order food and not an empty seat in the dining room. While I don't like waiting in line too much (I usually call first but this was spur of the moment), it was nice to see the place jumping. While I waited for extra large tips to go, the phone was ringing fairly frequently.

Having been somewhat of a Kansas City BBQ snob recently, I decided to head back over to Honey 1 in the mindset of wanting great Chicago-style BBQ. The place really is outstanding. Got a large tips/links combo and left there about to burst at the seams. I never had an issue with their sauce - it is outstanding - and really liked the tips. I wasn't sure if the tips were fattier than they 'should' have been or not as I don't usually eat tips, but they were good and meaty nonetheless.

What I liked best was the links. Very good flavor profile with what I consider to be the perfect 'link texture' (though I'm not sure how to describe it).

All-in-all, a very pleasant experience. I still think their pulled pork sammy needs some work but everything is was wonderful and there was a good crowd in there. Could smell the place a block away on Lyndale where I had to park.

leek wrote:Also, they've redesigned their takeout menu, and it looks quite nice.

They is our own Mike G. Nice job, Mike.

Yeah, that was mine. Full disclosure, I guess that makes it a commercial relationship of a sort, even if I got paid in pork.

Mike G wrote:Yeah, that was mine. Full disclosure, I guess that makes it a commercial relationship of a sort, even if I got paid in pork.

You are indeed a Renaissance Pork Maven.

Why don't you post the menu for all of us to admire? Really; I'd like to see it without having to haul my arse all the way to Honey 1.

You can get to it at their site (which Crazy C did):

www.honey1bbq.com

I went there on a Sat. night a week after Check Please. The ribs, while delicious in flavor - as always - were incredibly fatty, way more fatty than I'd had them in the past. I got the impression I should stick to off-peak times.

I forgot to mention in my post above that I also thought the tips were substantially fattier than I'd had there before.

I had thought it was just me, since none of my dinner companions agreed, but based on the post above it looks like Robert Sr was indeed working off a fattier selection of ribs on Saturday.

Mike G wrote:You can get to it at their site (which Crazy C did):

www.honey1bbq.com

Honey 1 was having some problems with their website, but it is back online, in case anyone went to look for the menu and couldn't find it.

Has anyone had the catfish at Honey 1?

I haven't been able to find any comments on it.

griffin wrote:Has anyone had the catfish at Honey 1?

I haven't been able to find any comments on it.

That should tell you something. Seriously, it's pretty standard frozen breaded catfish. It's good enough, but my preference is for the smoked meats.

LTH,

Took my nephew and his kids to Honey 1 today, thought about trying Smoque, but it's only been open a couple of days and I wanted a known quantity.

Robert Adams Sr was gracious as always, letting us take a gander at his wood fired Chicago style Aquarium smoker and posing for a picture.

Scott, Anne, Robert Adams, Michael



Anne, who thinks pigs are too cute to eat, had chicken nuggets* and declared them Best in Chicago.



Michael has no such qualms about pigs dug into a full slab of ribs.


Ribs were spot-on.



We enjoyed a very nice lunch at Honey 1, all three wanted to know when we could go back.



Enjoy,
Gary
* I never knew Honey 1 had chicken nuggets

...caused me to make my maiden voyage to Honey 1 last night. I would have gone to yesterday’s darling, Smoque, but it's a bit farther than the 2.1 miles to Honey 1 from my place.

Anyway, here's a first timers tip:

Try to route yourself so that you can park on the northbound side of Western.

On to the grub.

I had the Tips/Link combo and loved it. I can't go all verbose like others can but good, good stuff.

My wife had the Pulled Pork Sandwich. My wife generally doesn't care for BBQ. My wife's comment mid sandwich: "We'll be doing this again".

Can’t wait to try the New Kid on the Pit…as it were…

P.S.: Later last night, while doing some "work" on the computer and sipping a Bourbon, I caught a very nice smoky aroma from my fingers...this after several washings.

Wow, did I have to browse to Page 4 before finding a Honey 1 thread?

Owed my friend a slab of ribs as his Illini got lucky and defeated my Hawkeyes last night. We ate in and ordered a full slab and a half slab.

These might have been the best ribs I have had at Honey 1. Nice and tender, but with a dry and "crispy" outer layer, which I don't think I have ever really experienced on Honey 1 ribs. Even the fries were great this eve; almost too hot to pick up.

Ribs like the ones I had this eve make me want to go kick my WSM

Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:These might have been the best ribs I have had at Honey 1. Nice and tender, but with a dry and "crispy" outer layer, which I don't think I have ever really experienced on Honey 1 ribs. Even the fries were great this eve; almost too hot to pick up.

Another data point: some coworkers and I grabbed a full slab and large link for lunch today, and the ribs were also the best I've ever had from H1. So we either got lucky or Robert has hit a serious stride lately. In any case, it was so good that we *almost* went there for dinner tonight.*

-ed

* we ended up at sol de mexico, which was outstanding. really, truly excellent. the lamb in mole negro and beth's duck were both absolutely superb. a soul-satisfying meal.

I have to agree. I gave Jamie a ring on my way home from work and he told me a should run to Honey 1 as the ribs were particularly good tonight. I have to agree. While they were closer to meat jello than I am used to at Honey 1 the did not, by any means, lose their tooth. The bark was crispy and smokey and while I typically trust Jr.'s hand with saucing, I got sauce on the side tonight. It was a good thing I did because these needed only the slightest bit of sauce (mostly for the vinegar tang) to be at their best. Man, after having those ribs I don't think I'd believe that there is a better rib in Chicago than Honey 1 at their best... simply superb!

P.S. the fries were good tonight... what's up with that?!?

Jamieson22 wrote:Ribs like the ones I had this eve make me want to go kick my WSM

Jamie,

No need to kick your WSM, you can get good approximation of Honey 1's fat in the fire deliciously crisp caramelized tender with texture spare rib* using Kit's WSM Direct method.

Enjoy,
Gary

*Thinking about Honey 1's spare ribs as caused an involuntary Homer Simpson reaction.

That looks like a great method to try. Will give it a shot next time I do some spares.

As a total random side note, noticed your Weber grill brush in photos. I recently grabbed a Grill Wizard Grill Brush, and while only having used it a couple times, I have to say it is great. Seems like it will avoid the clogged up bristles I always get on the Weber brush, rendering them useless after a couple months.

Jamie