I tried it with the family the other night and thought it was okay. Nothing spectacular but not horrible, either. Here's an item-by-item breakdown:
MeatsBrisket:
Tender, smoky, had a nice bark. Rub was reasonable and not polluted by unnecessary components. Some sections were pretty darned dry, though. Nevertheless, the best item we tried.
Ribs (St. Louis):
Nice bark, decent smoke and most importantly, the meat was tender but not falling off the bone.
Chicken:
Moist but kind of just there. Light smoke and maybe a bit undercooked (not raw but not optimal, either).
Pulled Pork:
Fine. Decent smoke, tender meat and tasty bark.
Turkey Breast:
Tender, decent flavor, still reasonably moist.
Smoked Sausage:
Cured, seemed like a standard-issue commercial sausage, don't bother.
SidesCorn Pudding:
Sweet, mushy and nondescript.
Mac & Cheese:
Nothing special. Bland and mushy.
Baked Beans with Brisket:
A sweet and bitter disaster.
Green Beans with Bacon:
Really mushy beans but a tasty side.
French Fries:
Appeared to be hand-cut. Over-salted and slightly under-fried but had potential as an eat-in item.
Hush Puppies:
Pretty tasty. Not overly sweet and nice savory seasoning notes. Crispy exteriors, moist interiors. Probably the best side we tried.
Collards with Pork:
Respectable, appropriately bitter.
Cornbread:
An overly sweet and over-seasoned disaster. This ate like a bad dessert.
Potato Salad:
Other than containing far too much crunchy business (was that raw onion?), it was a pretty nondescript take.
Texas Toast:
Burnt, mushy, flavorless bread.
SaucesTried 3 (I don't know which ones) and they were all pretty horrible. Tasted like they had fake smoke added to them. On the positive side, I thought the meat was good enough that it really didn't need any sauce. Fyi, we ordered everything with sauce on the side.
I liked this place more than Real Urban BBQ, mainly because the meats tasted like they'd actually been smoked (for the most part). That's not saying a whole lot but maybe it's saying something.
=R=
City Barbeque
365 Lake Cook Rd
Deerfield, IL 60015
(847) 960-4129
Same planet, different world