Blackwood BBQ - Oakbrook

My opinion for best cheap sandwich is the [do-rite donuts](https://www.doritedonuts.com) in the Sears Tower; chicken and pork sandwiches are fried to order for $6 and $7, IIRC ... maybe $8. Hand-breaded tenders are also pretty well priced. Oh, and coffee is only $1 with a donut. And for a bonus, you just take it to the 4th floor deck if you want to eat outside. But all the other restaurants in that area of the Sears Tower are out of control on price ... except for [Brown Bag Seafood](https://www.brownbagseafood.com), ***a full meal for $15-ish that's actually a meal with fish and greens and grains***. And as a growing chain, they also have a location at the north end of the financial district at 150 N Riverside (by the Small Cheval that's overpriced). Now in my opinion, the most in

I agree Blackwood is expensive (most BBQ joints are) but it’s some of the best BBQ I’ve had in the city, and is ahead of many of the southern state BBQ spots I’ve tried when traveling. BBQ is always going to be weighed because of the time to make it, and most other BBQ places in the city tend to have small side portions as well. Restaurants switching to cash-less is a whole other story that’s plaguing Chicago.

Blackwood BBQ, in the outlot of Woodfield along Golf Rd. has decent BBQ. Sweel Baby Ray's in Elk Grove Village on Higgins.

My Thoughts on Smoque

I don't understand the hype. I went last night and it was objectively "meh" at best. I tried pulled pork, sliced brisket, and baby back ribs and the coleslaw was the best of the bunch (which, no joke, the coleslaw was very good). It was honestly just middle of the road bbq, no better than Green Street, in fact Green Street's brisket was an order of magnitude better. I've found better bbq at Green Street, Blackwood, and El Ideas/Boxcar (though the pricing is certainly different at Boxcar). Maybe I just went on an off night and I would try it again, but I don't see how that place could be on the bib gourmand list.

One of the things we miss the most about living in Schaumburg is the food...so here's a non-complete list of some favorites: * Lalo's on Roselle for Mexican food and margaritas (not sure if they're still doing the all-you-can-eat buffet on the weekends, but it was a *steal*) * Village Tavern on Wise for their chicken fingers and overall bar food * Westwood Tavern on Meacham for basically everything - besides the normal "American" fare, they have surprisingly good sushi * Dan Thai on Schaumburg Rd. for Thai * Menchie's on Roselle for pour-your-own-froyo * Brandy's on Golf for gyros * House of Pho on Golf for pho * M SushiBurrito on Roselle for, you guessed it, sushi burritos * Stonewood Ale House on Mall Dr. for bar/American food * Blackwood BBQ on Golf, on the mall perimete

Blackwood BBQ. There are a couple of locations in the loop.

For lunch? Naansense is phenomenal, can’t really go wrong with Blackwood BBQ, Aloha if you like Poke, Siam Rice is solid (try the wonton soup), Roost (though it’s more West Loopish).

My Chicago Spots List (what next?)

Crisp chicken - Lincoln Park , Korean chicken, a joint, cheap, carry out/ delivery Athenian room - Greek, Lincoln Park, cheap Hash house - good brunch Gold Coast Q BBQ - Gold Coast bbq, dank Mac and cheese UrbanBelly- wicker park / west loop, Asian fusion, deliver, coconut chicken Pho, phat style rice bowl, dumplings BLVD - nice dinner west loop Toro - Lincoln park, hole in the wall sushi, Mitch owner is the bomb Cafe ba-ba-reeba - Lincoln park, great tapas and sangria, fun brunch The gage - Michigan Ave loop, American nicer, mussels, venison burger Summerhouse - Lincoln park, great ambience, American food, summer, date night Hubbard Inn - river north, happy hour, seafood Cold storage - seafood, happy hour, 1 dollar oysters Honey Butter chicken - dank chicken sandwich

Blackwood BBQ on Lake has some excellent fare.

Try some real Chicago BBQ at Honey1 or Lem's... ribs or rib tips/hot links combo. If you're afraid of the South Side, the best "Epcot" BBQ (all of the regions, all types of meat) are Smoque, Green St, and Blackwood. Have heard good things about BBQ Supply Co. but never been myself.

Hear me out here.... Check out Blackwood BBQ. It's quick serve but they honestly have some great pulled pork, sliced brisket and sauces. Their Mac and cheese is great too. Otherwise, BBQ Supply Co., Smoque and Pork Shoppe (great rib tips and pork belly pastrami)

Street Food: Maxwell Street Depot, Calumet Fisheries, Red Hot Ranch, Jim's Original, Lem's BBQ, Mario's Italian Lemonade, Big and Little's, Antique Taco, Devil Dawg, The Jerk Taco Man, Original Rainbow Cone. Chicago (mainly fast food) Restaurant Chains: Benjyehuda, Harold's Chicken Shack, Roti, Aloha Poke, Freshii, Portillo's, Superdawg, Als' Beef, Blackwood BBQ, Furious Spoon Ramen, The Budlong, Lou Malnatis Pizza, M Burger. EDIT: while not necessarily street food or a chain, the breaded steak sandwich at Ricobene's is also worth adding to your list.

You'll need a smoker...I believe they use Southern Pride electric or gas smokers (where you add wood chips for smoke, but temperature is electronically controlled). Purists hate the idea of this, but it is easy and leads to consistent results. I've got an electric smoker on my balcony that I might be willing to sell...If you want to do brisket, you're probably looking at an overnight smoke (or waking up really early to start it). I've had pretty good results with it...I just don't have that many times where I need to prepare 10-20lbs of meat (over the course of many hours). I doubt Blackwood does anything crazy. Rub with a spice blend, place in smoker with a mix of hickory and apple wood (as claimed on their website), and wait ~14 hours. Generally you only actually need smoke in th

Anybody out there work at Blackwood BBQ?

I'm looking to make a brisket and I think Blackwood's is the best I've ever had. Does anyone work at Blackwood and is willing to share how they make their brisket??? Thanks in advance!

In no particular order or geography (keeping it around $10/meal): * Spotted Monkey * Saucy Porka * Chicken Planet * Luke's Italian Beef * Pierogi Heaven * Caffecito * Green Apple Phoever * Ba Le * Kamehachi * Benjyehuda * Blackwood BBQ * The orgy of food trucks that park at Monroe/Wacker or Monroe/Clark (literally any of them). Also: Revival Food Hall. I am sure I am forgetting another dozen places. But if you're eating lunch at a big fast food chain (I know some of the places on my list are chains) - it's your own damn fault.

Along Clinton in Presidential Towers is a murderers row of Blackwood BBQ, Blaze Pizza, Five Guys, Naf Naf on one block, plus Chipotle and Naansense kitty-corner.

[Blackwood BBQ](http://blackwoodbbq.com/) is a fun option if you don't mind an afternoon food coma.

There are decent non-chain (or local chain) places too. In some particular order (and by no means extensive): Revival Food Hall, French Market, Chicken Planet, Blackwood BBQ, Saucy Porka, Brightwok Kitchen, Spotted Monkey, Green Apple Phoever, Perry's Deli, UB Dogs, Luke's, Firefin Poke, Cafecitto, Habanero Baja Grill, Oasis Cafe, the entirety of Greek Town and JP Graziano (if you're in West Loop), and Farmer's Fridge vending machines all over the place. And I'm sure as hell I'm missing a dozen other places worth going to for lunch. Don't get me wrong, I love me my food trucks - Aztec Dave's and Donnerman being my favorites. Just pointing out there is an option of a local brick/mortar, too.

> I work in the loop and it actually can be a chore to find good food. I've had a very different visit - I've only been to a handful of places that aren't good. Check out Saucy Porka, Blackwood BBQ, Pierogi Heaven, Sopraffina, Luke's, or Mac Kelly's (excellent salad bar) if you haven't already.

Blackwood BBQ, Benjyahuda