Bobby Q’s BBQ

Just read through the other reviews and I have come to the conclusion that BBQ beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I love this place…
What I love:
Service is great, so is the cornbread. The pulled pork, brisket, and ribs (always ordered dry) are great. The best thing on the menu are the smoked wings. These are not buffalo wings with the fluorescent orange sauce. These are smoked, and the smoked flavor is awesome for what they are and what they are trying to be,
The live music is nice too
Passable:
Sauces. We had these folks cater a party we had. We put out Sweet Baby Rays sauce instead. But some folks love it, others hate it. I’ve found that if you order the ribs dry and get the jars of the sauce on the table, then mix the sauces, it turns out pretty good.
Sides… again some love ‘em, some can’t stand em. As for me, I am usually full before I get a chance to sample the sides. But my wife says she doesn’t care for them, so I thought I’d mention it.
All in all, this is a good BBQ joint, on par with the nearby SBRays and much better than some others I’ve tried.
So, you may love it, you may hate it. Folks expect BBQ to taste a certain way, and if it doesn’t match, then it does not pass. As for me, this tastes like BBQ is supposed to, so I love it. Give it a try, you may love it too!

Being from Texas, I am sometimes a glutton for punishment when I am on the road, and I go to BBQ places looking for a gem. Bobby Q’s will not win any national awards for their ‘cue, but I would certainly go back again. The service was excellent on the night I went, with two waitresses and only one other table. The waitress was very knowledgeable on Atkins/​low-​carb dieting, and was one of the few people I have met who naturally asked the right questions in order to help me with their menu. I ordered the half plate of ribs and chicken wings, and were pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the grilled wings. I added some buffalo sauce to the wings and it matched up nicely with the grill flavor. The ribs were passable, although I really did not expect anything earth shattering north of St. Louis. I think because it was a slow night, the ribs were probably sitting a little too long, and possibly came straight out of the microwave after being wrapped in Saranwrap a little too long. I am sure they would have been perfectly fine if I had doused them in BBQ sauce, but I eat ribs dry, and this was not the place for that. I am sure when the volume is larger in the restaurant, the ribs would be better. Overall, I would give the service a 5, the food a 2, and average this out at a 3.5.

I’ve eaten the ribs here and they were pretty good. What I was very surprised to find out is that they have great pizza. It has a very barnabyish taste (which for me is a good thing since I grew up on it).

I wanted to love this place so much, and it broke my heart that it was
just average. In fact the most memorable part of my meal was in fact
the spinach with garlic (which was a hefty side portion). I even
grabbed the mac and cheese side (which I would have done anyways I’m a mac freak) looking for really high quality and it was very creamy, bland, and… average. IF that.
As far as the BBQ is concerned, I had the smoked polish sausage to try
something new. It was good, but I wouldn’t say award winning and
hardly with any BBQ sauce which was supposed to come with it.
The ribs were alright, a lot tougher than expected and disappointed
both my boyfriend and I.
If you’re in the area and don’t have the time to drive into the city
for really amazing BBQ, stop in and have Bobby Q’s to tide you over. I
may even head back just to give it another chance and try something
else. Chicken, burgers, kids meals and even a «pizza burger» here.
Lots to try, maybe SOMETHING will blow my mind one day.

Awesome BBQ! I had the combo platter with pork and brisket, all very good. The young lady behind counter knows her BBQ. Loved the service. I’ll be hitting this place again soon.

A good BBQ joint in the NW burbs. I got the pulled pork along with onion rings and bbq beans. The pork was nice and moist. It has an excellent flavor that needs no extra bbq sauce. The beans had bits of pork and onion and were delicious. The onion rings are homemade and I enjoyed the love that was put into them. I picked-​up my order, but it seems like a nice, quaint family run place. They seem to have live music all the time, just check the schedule. They have a website so you can see the menu and everything. There is a New Orleans feel behind some of it. They also just seemed to start serving pizza. Very good BBQ spot. I recommend a try.

I tried the mini-​sandwiches with pulled pork, beef brisket and smoked turkey. Each was OK but nothing special. I also didn’t think it was particularly hot. It was dead the night I went and the service was extremely slow despite that.

When it comes to BBQ, even bad BBQ has its place with me in most cases. Unfortunately I just didn’t like Bobby Q’s at all. I tried to like it… going back 3 different times thinking maybe I just caught them on an off night, but no such luck. Meat overall was very dry, service was poor, sauce was I guess ok. I was very very unimpressed. Again, I really do love BBQ and in most cases I even find poorly done BBQ good at some level but this was really bad. One of only a handful of places for BBQ I have ever been that I simply didn’t enjoy.

Tucked away in a small strip mall, which is just the repeating background of the suburban landscape, is a little Barbecue joint which can hold a candle to the best of them. This is a place where the servers seem to love their jobs, my service has been tremendous every time that I’ve gone, for both dinner and lunch!
The food is consistently great, served hot and with two wonderful barbecue sauces served on the side — ready for you to slather your food with just the right amount. The sauces are of the thinner, more vinegar-​based variety, not anything like Sweet Baby Ray’s which I usually use. My personal favorite here is the pulled pork, piled high on a sandwich or even on a platter. It’s consistently fresh, with a robust smoky, but not overwhelming, flavor throughout. Cornbread is served instead of the traditional bread and butter which adds a nice touch, and it’s good to boot!
The only thing that I wouldn’t recommend is the wings, which are NOT typical hot wings as I found out the hard way. They’re smoked the same way that the rest of the BBQ is, resulting in a chalky, stale taste that was not appealing at all.
The lunch special is $ 5 with a drink, like a beacon in these depressing economic times… TRY THIS PLACE!

I was really looking forward trying this place, based on the reviews here. I kind of regard myself as a BBQ aficionado– owning my own smoker and sampling it in KC, Memphis, Dallas, Houston, Florida and the Carolinas. Basically, everywhere I go, I look for good BBQ.
I took home a cornucopia of BBQ last night and was underwhelmed. My take on Bobby Q’s?
1) St. Louis Style Ribs– A bit too dry. Good rub & smoky flavor. Seemed like they were reheated.
2) Pulled Pork– Wonderful texture and flavor throughout. Definitely slow-​cooked and seasoned well. Greasy, though… as if it had been sitting for a LONG time.
3)Brisket was over-​sauced and greasy. I like mine moist and unsauced. I prefer to add the amount of sauce that I want on my meat.
4) Sausage– Tasty and surprisingly not greasy… given the experience with the rest of the meats.
5)Chicken– The only «star» on this meat-​o-​rama. Perfectly cooked, smoky-​pink on the inside and moist. YUM!
6)Cole Slaw was good, Southern slaw… very creamy and well-​balanced seasoning.
7)Baked beans were also excellent. Just the right amount of smokiness.
8)Sauce-The thicker, «Cajun» sauce was smoky and flavorful. I found the «Texas» to be runny and pedestrian. I believe that they’ve actually misnamed them, but that’s another story.
Overall, I was disappointed. I will, however, try them again AT THE RESTAURANT. Maybe a Wednesday carry-​out isn’t the best way to sample? I’d really like to support this place. There’s not enough BBQ’s in the Chicago area that «do it right». They have the quality and concept down… how about perfecting the final product?

Since it opened in 2003, Bobby Q’s has been touted as one of the best BBQ joints north of the city. It specializes in authentic BBQ smoked over hickory logs, and it’s somewhat famed for its ribs, Memphis style pulled pork and Texas style beef brisket.
It was closed for awhile, and is now under new ownership. Since it reopened, I’ve only eaten there for lunch. I bring glad tidings — my meals have been very good. They still have two BBQ sauces: a spicy Cajun (my favorite) and a citrus-​y Texan blend. Can attest to the quality of the pulled pork, chicken wings and ribs.
By the way, the ribs aren’t fall-​off-​the-​bone tender (if anything, they lean toward the slight toughness). But they are meaty and flavorful. Pitchers of BBQ sauce on the table ensure you never run out of sauce. They also bring you a basket of corn bread that is much better than their fries. Their lunch specials are very reasonably priced.
Friendly servers, clean and open dining area; a few TVs are mounted high on the walls (tuned to sports). Since it is directly across the street from Hersey high school, the room tends to be dotted with students on lunch break.
Note: this place is hidden away. From Rand Rd., it is behind the Target in the shopping mall. There’s also an entrance off Willow Rd., across from the high school.

Great family owned Barbecue restaurant, in a hard to find spot behind the Target store off Rand Road.
I give the Memphis Style Pulled Pork FIVE stars alone, it’s heavenly, as well as their Brisket sandwich. They also serve, slow cooked Texas style ribs with two different sauces. I prefer the Cajun sauce, which is made with molasses and honey, no corn syrup in these sauce recipes like other BBQ places. I spoke with the owner, who let us taste test a variety of meats, and ribs, she remarked that they have to order in some of their ingredients from the Southern states, to make several of their recipes complete and authentic. The Cole slaw is Southern style made, as well as the baked beans. So if your missing tastes from the South, stop in here and get your fill. They also cater and deliver, it’s a bit tricky finding this place if your not familiar with the area, so you may want to call for directions, since Mapquest was wrong getting us there.