Smoque BBQ

Dear Friends and Family,

After reading about Smoque BBQ on Daily Candy, we decided to give the place a try. Now, sometimes you feel like living life on the edge and sometimes you just like safe and sound. Smoque BBQ is one of those safe and sound places. Specializing in barbecue in general, it's still a little schizophrenic. It offers Texas brisket, Carolina pulled pork, St. Louis ribs and generic baby back ribs and chicken.

We ordered the St. Louis ribs and Texas brisket. It comes with four sides - corn bread, french fries, baked beans, and peach cobbler - and cole slaw and pickles. The brisket was fork tender, fatty brisket. Nice texture, but it was a little salty compared to the brisket we've grown used to. The ribs were nicely smoked with a decent, but generic rub. Each came with its own barbecue sauce to use as desired.

The corn bread, moist with good corn flavor, wasn't overly buttery or cakey. It was my favorite part of the meal. The french fries came in their own bag. Fried twice, they were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside without being too greasy. I didn't have either the baked beans or the peach cobbler, but Mr. mouse thought the beans were a classic Midwest baked beans - sweet with an overture of onions with some nice chunks of pork. His take on the cobbler? A little tart in a good way, they were individually baked which was a unique touch.

It's BYOB. Some people brought wine to have with their barbecue. Uh, we're guilty of barbecue with champagne, so pot here isn't going to call the kettle black...

The funniest part of the whole experience was the people watching. To begin with, no less than an even dozen of Chicago's finest came to partake of the barbecue - four detectives, and three different groups of police officers. You never felt more protected. And, then, there was the guy who ordered the pulled pork sandwich - obviously he doesn't keep strict kosher! We had a good time...

Overall rating: 7/10

Smoque BBQ
3800 North Pulaski Road
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 545-RIBS
http://www.smoquebbq.com/


Cheers!
mouse