Smokin' Woody's - Chicago

[viaChgo]

We had takeout baby back ribs from Smokin' Woody's (4160 N. Lincoln) this weekend & brought them over to a friend's for dinner. I've had take out from SW's a few times, delivery once, & have eaten in a handful of times as well. I've got to say, when I get the craving for BBQ, this place really hits the spot. I can't say if it's the best in the city -- I've never been to Lem's or Leon's -- but I think it's superior to those of Twin Anchors, which is what many swear by.

What makes the 'Q here so good is that they really smoke the meat. The ribs are tender, pink, & the smoke flavor permeates throughout. There are no boiled ribs at this place.

Has anyone else tried this place?

[Sweet Willie]

but I think it's superior to those of Twin Anchors, which is what many swear by.

What makes the 'Q here so good is that they really smoke the meat. The ribs are tender, pink, & the smoke flavor permeates throughout. There are no boiled ribs at this place.

Has anyone else tried this place?

no I haven't tried it, yet.

I'm not a fan of Twin Anchors (see review: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...ndpost&p=377511 ) , good to hear that Smokin' Woody's did not boil their ribs.

What time of day did you eat, some of the smoking places have been know to hurry up the ribs when busy so that you get a slab that was not smoked long.

Chicago does ribs well, but Texas does ribs great. There is no comparing a TX rib to a Chicago rib in terms of smoke.

Thanks for the heads up, we'll try it at somepoint for sure.

[ducphat30]

Smokin Woody's is tasty, but have you tried N and N smoke house on Irving Park just west of Ashland? I haven't been in a couple of years, ( I hope they are still open?!), but they had some of the most bone-lickinest, lip-smakinest ( yes those words are in the BBQ dictionary) tastiest barbecue I've tried in Chicago. The soul food is tasty too! I hope they are still open, because now I have a hankerin for some of those ribs.

[Sweet Willie]

Smokin Woody's is tasty, but have you tried N and N smoke house on Irving Park just west of Ashland? I haven't been in a couple of years, ( I hope they are still open?!),

Went to NN, now called Smoke Country House awhile back, here is a review.

I've wanted to try the Smoke Country House BBQ at 1465 W. Irving Park for a long time. This place used to be called the NN Smokehouse and I had always heard good things about it. I know this location had been closed for awhile, I'm guessing that there are new owners.

Finally tried it this evening.

Terrible, not bad, but terrible!!!!

I had the Country Platter which is a sampler of the ribs, brisket, pork and turkey.

First of all the whole plate was swimming in BBQ sauce, almost had to fish for the meats.

Ribs were spareribs and were very tough.

Brisket was sliced very thin and lacked any flavor.

Turkey tasted like someone took a turkey roast, sliced it and threw it into the "bowl" of sauce on my plate.

Pork was great texture, but that is the only thing good I can say about it.

As stated, just terrible.

Unfortunately for them, they do not know how to do BBQ.

DO NOT GO!

[ducphat30]

Went to NN, now called Smoke Country House awhile back, here is a review

Terrible, not bad, but terrible!!!!

Bummer, total bummer. Smokin woody's it is!!!

[viaChgo]

Sounds like NN = great but Smoke Country = terrible! That's too bad. Ducphat, your description of NN sounded really good -- delicious ribs & delicious soul food!

[ianeccleston]

Thanks all for the advice - we hit Smokin' Woody's this Sat. for lunch, and the hickory smoked ribs were great! My wife had the pulled pork sandwich, which was also very nice - tender, very juicy. His vinegary BBQ sauce is really nice - not too sweet or thick - just on the edge of too much acidity. A great foil for BBQ.

A side note - Calvin, the guy who runs the place, is a really, really nice guy. He spent a good deal of his time handing out baloons to the kids in the restaurant - he keeps a helium tank in back!

And, when he tried to take a not-quite-finished-beer away from my wife, who said "No, no! I'm not finished!", he surreptitiously brought a complimentary bottle of beer over to our table, saying "I saw how you wouldn't give up that last bit of beer, I know that you can finish another one." Nice guy, great BBQ. He bought my business for twenty years with that bottle of beer.

[iguana]

Thank you for the review-- I put Smokin' Woody's in the list of BBQ joints to try. I've enjoyed the pulled-pork sandwiches from Fat Willie's Rib Shack, 2414 W Schubert, (773)-782-1800, right near the AMC cineplex on Western.

[Sweet Willie]

you can tell it is a northside joint, I was just about to head out to try it, but it is only open till 9pm

[Sweet Willie]

BEWARE of any BBQ place that dumps a ton of sauce on the que so that you can’t even see the meat, is exactly what was screaming through my head as the waitress at Smokin’ Woody’s set my three meat combo platter down in front of me.

I had tried the beef brisket, pulled pork and rib tips combo, what I was served looked like BBQ sauce soup w/three lumps I assumed were my three meats.

Beef Brisket, again, why do I even bother!!??, The brisket here was almost like it had been steamed, sliced and BBQ sauce dumped on it, there was no smoked flavor to it whatsoever. I’m an eternal optimist that believes some chef in Chicago is going to have been to Texas, tried beef brisket down there and cook it here. The sauce is a far second though to the actual smoked piece of meat, after many many BBQ places, I’ve come to the conclusion that the chefs in Chicago don’t get it, but that stupid eternal optimist in me will search on.

Pulled pork. It was ok, but again, they have this smoker. USE IT!!!! The pork had a slightly smoked flavor. I would not get it again.

Rib Tips turned out to be ribs, which were actually quite tasty. I wouldn’t go out of my way for them, but they were sure decent for north side BBQ.

Smokin’ Woody’s

4160 N Lincoln Ave

Chicago

773.880.1100

Hours: M-W 11:30-9, Thurs 11:30-10, Fri-Sat 11:30-11, Sun 12-9

[YourPalWill]

I'm a relative newcomer to Chicago as i am celebrating my third anniversary here in the next month or so. I'm a northsider who has developed an affinity for the food of the south side during my years here. Further, I'm a native of the southeast and think that I know my que pretty well as I have cooked whole hogs and other various chunks of meat over smoke for the last few years.

Having qualified myself to y'all, I now feel comfortable in saying that there is little virtue in Northside barbecue when compared to the work of the our south side and west side barbeque brethren.

Fat Willie's is admirable. They make a darn good smoked barbeque chicken. But, their ribs and pulled pork leave me scratching my head and wondering what do they do to that chicken that they don't do to their pork products. Me thinks its a supply and demand issue. There is simply a greater demand for pork products at Fat Willies which means that they hurry their ribs out of the smoker and on to the plate before they're ready for consumption. The chicken, on the other hand, being in lesser demand gets it's due in the smoky bath of their barbeque hood.

I think the problem with Northside barbeque is that Twin Anchors is the standard by which barbeque is judged on the northside. Shortly after I arrived in Chicago, a friend invited me for ribs at Twin Anchors. The boiled in sauce ribs of TA reminded me of a breadless McRib Sandwich which can be obtained at many places around the city for far less than one would pay for the detestible excuse for a faux McRib that Twin Anchors serves.

In my mind, the best of Chicago barbeque is epitomized by four things. A Crispy char on the outside, a smoky ring of pinkness in the meat, an al dente texture to the meat, and an overall prodcut that you could enjoy without sauce if you didn't have any available.

That said, in my modest southern opinion, there are three stars of the barbeque world in Chacago. They are:

Lems on 75th Street, which sometimes suffers from supply and demand problems, serves an excellent slab and half slab. The meat is smoky and tender and is complimented beautifully by Lem's piquant sauce that tastes more like a peppery buffalo wing sauce than an over bearing KC Masterpiece.

Nearby at Cottage Grove and 76th, one can find Barbara Ann's Motel and Barbeque where one can conceivably order a slab or ribs, rent a room and eat them on the bed...something that your wife surely wouldn't let you get away with at home. But, I digress.

Barbara Ann's specializes in rib tips and makes a wonderful barbeque and smoked chicken. I like to have BA's mix their sweet and hot sauce for me before basting my purchase. The sauce is both sweet and hot while not overpowering. Barbara Ann's may well make the best barbeque hot links in the city. One of the bonuses of eatring at BA's is that you're within spitting distance of Dat Donuts which shares a location with Leons (barbeque that I recommend avoiding due to the high use of nitrates in the cooking process). Dat is one of the city's finest donut shops.

If you make the BA/Dat trip often enough, your cardiologist may name his first yacht after you.

Finally, I would be remiss in overlooking what is, in my opinion, the city's best barbeque...that being Honey1 on Division Street, 10-12 blocks west of Cicero. The owners of Honey 1 are barbeque artists. Their product so luscious and so divine, that I tend to ask them not to sauce my tips opting instead to sauce them only with a little vinegar and pepper North Carolina style when I arrive home. Honey1 does both slabs and tips with expertise.

Now, I know that some of you may say, "But, hey aren't those bad neighborhoods?" The answer is an affirmative "no". They're just different than the neighborhoods you live in on the north side or in the burbs. My fat, white, middle class Volvo driving posterior is always treated extremely well in each of these establishments.

So, have no fear. Venture down to the southside or west on Divisionb Street one weekend afternoon and begin to introduce yourself to what real barbeque should taste like.

[nr706]

Smokin Woody's is tasty, but have you tried N and N smoke house on Irving Park just west of Ashland?

The guy who ran N&N (Larry Tucker) is now at LT's Grill, 1800 W. Grand. I tried Smoke Country House, in the old N&N space - it wasn't bad, but not as good as in Larry Tucker's day. FWIW, I'm a big fan of the BBQ from the original Hecky's.

[ronnie_suburban]

Smokin Woody's is tasty, but have you tried N and N smoke house on Irving Park just west of Ashland?

The guy who ran N&N (Larry Tucker) is now at LT's Grill, 1800 W. Grand. I tried Smoke Country House, in the old N&N space - it wasn't bad, but not as good as in Larry Tucker's day. FWIW, I'm a big fan of the BBQ from the original Hecky's.

←

I love Hecky's meats and that real smoke he uses to cook them. But I'm not a huge fan of his sides. And while I think his sauce is pretty good, I think he applies it with reckless abandon.

Hecky's BBQ

1902 Green Bay Rd

Evanston, IL 60201

Phone: (847) 492-1182

=R=

[gmi3804]

Nearby at Cottage Grove and 76th, one can find Barbara Ann's Motel and Barbeque where one can conceivably order a slab or ribs, rent a room and eat them on the bed...something that your wife surely wouldn't let you get away with at home. But, I digress.

OK, let's have a show of hands: Who in their right mind would ever pass up an opportunity to eat at a place called "Barbara Ann's Motel and Barbeque"?!?