Weber Grill Restaurant

The giant grill is really cool!

We went to dinner at the Weber Grill Restaurant in Lombard.  There are 4 locations - here, Chicago, Schaumburg, IL and Indianapolis. We haven't been here to eat in over 4 years - it was one of the first restaurants we went to when we moved here.

Pretzel rolls (probably from Labriola across the street)

What we ate:
Bruschetta - Nick felt like having bruschetta; the bread was grilled so that is why it was on the menu. The bread wasn't as crispy as typical bruschetta - but it was novel that it was grilled.

Bruschetta

Korean BBQ steak salad - so the last time we were here (4 years ago) we ordered a steak salad and it was amazing.  But since it has been so long since we have been to this restaurant of course the menu has changed and it is now a Korean BBQ steak salad.  The flavors were good but not as great as the salad from 4 years ago.  It was a little weird but the steak came out sizzling on a griddle (like fajitas would be served).  So it was odd to be putting really hot steak on colder salad greens. The steak had a kimchi flavor to it (hence Korean steak). Korean flavors are "in" right now, but we missed the old, more traditional (but gourmet) steak salad.

BBQ combo

Salad with sizzling steak behind it

BBQ combo with pulled pork, brisket, mac n cheese and sweet potatoes.  The meats were great, especially the brisket - it was so tender you could cut it just with a fork.  But this is a "grill" restaurant so we would expect the meat to be great.  The mac n cheese was good, not great and the sweet potatoes were a bit disappointing.

Final thoughts on Weber Grill Restaurant:
Food - the food was good but we would probably return and get more traditional steak fare than bbq as we have some other bbq joints we prefer.
Service - good service; our waiter was friendly.  The location of our table seemed to be near where a lot of waiters were milling about so it was a little distracting.
Atmosphere - when we drove up to the parking lot we were worried because it was quite full looking.  But there didn't seem to be that many people in the restaurant itself.  Maybe they were in a back private room or in the large bar area where we couldn't see them. It was a little busier when we left. They do carry out and one odd thing we saw in the parking lot when we left was people "tailgating" - literally they had the tailgate of their SUV open and they had put up a card table with chairs.  It looked like they had gotten food from a couple of different nearby restaurants as PF Changs, Uncle Julios, Champs and DMK Burger are right there (we've never seen that before - maybe it was an unique date night).

Honey One BBQ

We went to dinner at Honey One BBQ in Chicago.  We had heard about this place from watching $24 in 24 on the Food Network.  But they have also been featured on Chicago's Best and Check Please.

Chicken wings

Chicken wings - some of the best Nick has every had.  They had enough meat on them to make it worth eating. They came with fries, bbq sauce and 2 slices of bread. The sauce on the wings was tangy yet sweet.  Unlike other bbq sauces, we couldn't classify it to a particular style or region. It was unique on its own.

Pulled Pork Sandwich - The sandwich came with coleslaw on it and fries on the side.  We wish there was more meat on the sandwich.
Both of the entrees came with fries; we didn't know that for sure when we ordered them (the menu doesn't really specify it) so we got from fried okra as well.  The okra was pretty typical; nothing super special.

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Final thoughts on Honey One BBQ:
Food - The wings were great.  They had a lot of rib options on the menu so that must be a popular item. We could smell the smoky bbq flavor from blocks away.
Service - You order your food at a counter and then the food is either brought to you to dine in or you can carry out. It seemed like the food took a long time to get out to us - and there were really only 2 other tables full of people there at the time. Apparently quality and freshness doesn't go with speed.
Atmosphere - Casual atmosphere.  There are several tables where you can dine in. There is a tv in the dining area so we were able to watch part of a NCAA tournament game while we were waiting.

fried okra 

Q BBQ

Some friends of ours who are moving out of state wanted to have Q BBQ in La Grange on their last night in Illinois.  We had been there once before over a year ago and enjoyed it (but have been too busy trying other new and different restaurants that we hadn't been back).  As a side note, Natalie's mom knows someone who judges BBQ and he thinks Q BBQ is the best in the area.



Texas Chopped Brisket Sandwich Q style

For dinner we ordered the Texas Chopped Brisket Sandwich and a half slab of ribs with pulled pork.  The brisket sandwich was topped with blue cheese and cole slaw (what they call Q style) and it comes with Q puppies (hush puppies/corn fritters) and another side (we chose baked beans).  Along with the ribs and pulled pork, we had a double portion of Q puppies and green beans.  Our friends love Q puppies so much they suggested ordering them as a side in addition to the Q puppies that are provided with the meal - we weren't disappointed. The meat on the ribs fell off the bone and was moist.  The brisket and pulled pork were also moist and tender; they had a smoky flavor without being dried out.  At each table there is a tray with 4 different bbq sauces to add to your meat - Memphis Sweet, Texas Spicy, South Carolina Mustard and North Carolina Vinegar. Natalie liked the sweet and the mustard.  The men at the table liked combining the sweet and spicy together. The sides of baked beans and green beans were pretty typical of most bbq joints. We also could have chosen from other sides of mac n cheese, corn bread, fries or cole slaw.

Ribs and Pulled Pork

Final thoughts on Q BBQ:

Food - everyone in the group liked their respective dishes, some had never been there before but they said they would like to return.  This was our first time trying the ribs and they did not disappoint. We have tried all of the meat except for the chicken and loved it all. Some of the others in our group tried Q's micro brewed root beer and enjoyed it immensely.  We also enjoy that Q is located near where we live.

Service - order at a counter and they bring the plates out to your table.  We had a large party so it was a little confusing but they were nice to let us tie up so many tables for a long time.

Atmosphere - fairly happening for a Tuesday night. However, we were able to push together several smaller tables to make room for all of the group.  We also saw a lot of people carrying food out.

Smoque

After being inspired by the most recent Top Chef episode about BBQ, we decided to go to Smoque, considered to be one of the best BBQ joints in Chicago.  Smoque is located at 3800 N Pulaski.  We had heard about Smoque through word of mouth and know that it was featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive Ins and Dives.

Sliced brisket, mac n cheese, coleslaw, cobbler

We ordered the following: Sliced brisket platter, with coleslaw, macaroni & cheese and cornbread.  Pulled pork with a side of brisket chili.  Peach cobbler for dessert.
We had heard that brisket was the thing to order here and it did not disappoint.  Nick especially loved it because it was moist but didn't fall apart when you stuck your fork into it. The pulled pork was good and flavorful but the brisket is the best we have had in the Chicago area. The sides were all tasty and could have been a meal unto themselves. Nick liked the cornbread because it wasn't gritty and it was moist. The brisket chili was wonderful because it had the great brisket in it and it had a bit of a kick to it - now we have an idea of how to make good chili at home. The peach cobbler was warm and gooey and had a nice crusty top.

Pulled pork, 2 cornbreads, brisket chili 

We knew that sometimes this restaurant can have long lines.  So we tried to get there as early as possible for dinner.  We arrived about 5:45pm on a weeknight and had no line to order and were able to find parking in the lot behind the restaurant.  When we left at about 6:30 a line had formed and seating was starting to get limited. If you are in the area you can call ahead and pick up your order.

Final thoughts on Smoque:
Food - excellent, definitely go for the brisket and try your favorite sides, bbq sauce has a vinegar base
Service - counter service, but all the employees were very helpful and attentive.  It sounds like when things get busier, there is an employee who manages/expedites the limited seating.        
Atmosphere - most of the seating is long communal tables so you might not be sitting next to someone you know.  If you get there at a non-peak time like we did you will get your pick of seats. You can see their many accolades and awards on their walls.

Start of a lineup as we are leaving