Pork Shoppe

Everything is great here! The food, the staff, the location, the space. Everything.
The pulled pork sandwich with a side of fries and a side of coleslaw are my go-​to now. I like the sweet sauce.
This food does not disappoint!

Five stars all the way!!! Love coming her and getting carry out. Both are always perfect!

Friday, 2:15PM.
Quickie:
— Food quality
+ Hygiene
— Customer service
— Turnaround
+ Variety of sides
And then???
We want to give Pork Shoppe’s menu another shot.
**********
Stuffed my face in:
1. Pulled pork BBQ sandwich
— The sauce prevented the moisture problem but it overwhelmed the entire dish.
2. Mac n’ cheese
— Mundane, missing character.
3. Elotes
— Sparse cheese rub.
Constructive comments:
*Do you compost?
*Source ingredients

Fabulous! Haven’t been here in years but was in the area and grabbed some lunch.
A rarity to find creamed corn, and it was excellent!

Pour faire l’expérience américaine jusqu’au bout il faut tester les Baby back ribs. Oui, c’est gras, oui, ça a l’air totalement insane, mais de temps en temps on adore manger avec les doigts et s’empiffrer d’une viande tartinée de sauce sans soucier de s’en mettre partout. Go baby back ribs!

Had the brisket taco it was awesome. I know i will be back. Hopefully there won’t be so many hipsters this time.

Ribs were super dry. are these reheated?! Cole slaw was soggy and brown… how old is this?! Sauces have no flavor… Totally not palatable! If you come for the pork belly pastrami then you’re ok. Other than that skip out on this Barbecue joint.

I had a bad experience the first time i had so some months later i gave them a second try. Absolutely terrible. BBQ sauces tasted like ketchup with crushed pepper in it. Meat was tough. I gave them another try based on all of these good reviews. I’m from K.C. originally so maybe my expectations are too high. But c’mon this BBQ is really bad. If you think this is good i feel bad you haven’t had real BBQ

Ten stars
This place is frickin awesome! Great BBQ at such an affordable price!
Came here on a Tuesday for lunch. The guys working were really friendly and down to earth. Got a pulled pork sandwich with 2 sides for less than $ 10! All of your silverware, water cups and most importantly sauces are self served in the back. There’s a big pig meat map on one wall and a bunch of mirrors on another. It just «feels» like a BBQ place.
Food came out quickly. The sandwich looked great. Good size, nice toasted bun, soft well cooked pork with great natural taste. The cornbread was huge and almost like a casserole while the Mac was delicious and nice and crispy on top. Everything was so damn good!
I can’t wait to come back again and again! Such good food for an incredible price. You rock, Pork Shoppe

Great BBQ place with gluten free options. Our favorites were the corn tacos on special and the pulled pork. We weren’t fans of the steak or the sauce selection but everything else was great. The place is small and cozy with a neighborhood feel. The staff were very nice and helpful when making recommendations. There are 3 selections for sauces but each one was mediocre at best. An upgrade to the sauce selection would make this place fantastic.

Ribs were delicious, Baby Back or St Louis. Brisket and pulled chicken were so moist! Sweet and spicy cornbread was fantastic and the mac and cheese could not have been more flavorful and cheesy! And don’t let me forget to mention the Texas brisket taco — amazing.
Place your order, grab some water and utensils and come hungry. The ¼lb a la carte options are awesome and more it was meat than I anticipated.
YUM!

Pork Shoppe… you had me at hello!
My boyfriend and I got on a serious BBQ craze after having some smoked wings on a trip. We order a lot of food delivery so over a few weeks, with this barbecue addiction weighing on our souls, we ordered from about every barbecue place in Chicago, receiving disappointing order after disappointing order! The BBQ fever could not be quenched and we almost gave up hope until one fateful day… when Porke Shoppe showed up in my Grub Hub search.
I have to say that barbecue places are out of control with their pricing. Fat Willy’s, Smoke Daddy, Lilly’s Q, yeah, I’m looking at you. You’ll easily spend $ 60 or $ 80 bucks on delivery for a couple of pulled pork sammies and some sides from these places and that seems like a lot for what I would consider simple food. What gives? However, breathe easy, because Pork Shoppe is so affordable that I seriously wonder if they are making any money!
At this point we have ordered from there like 7 times (no joke, in about a month!) and every single goddamn thing I’ve gotten has been delicious. The portions are not small either! Here is my rundown:
Brisket Taco for the low low price of $ 1.95 — awesome, you could have 3 of these for dinner and be happy.
Pulled Pork, Steak or Brisket Sammies — awesome, large, the sauces are delicious (the smoky sweet is my fave)
Sides: The french fries are really good. I bet they are amazing in house (haven’t been to the location yet) because they arrive that good for delivery. The baked beans with burnt ends are delicious. The salad is surprisingly big and fresh for a side salad. The corn on the cob is fresh (not frozen, not overcooked, not mushy!). Oh and my boyfriend loves the mac & cheese.
I heart you, Pork Shoppe. And FYI, you can charge at least .50 or .75 cents more for that taco, hell, for everything. It’s really good and the prices are crazy compared to the rest of the city.

Was craving some smoked pork goodness. Decided to take a break from Smoque and head over to this place for a try. Order at the counter and then take a number to the table where the food is later brought out to you. I had the Pork belly pastrami with the mac n cheese and cole slaw while my friends had the pulled pork.
You can help yourself to their three variety of barbecue sauces which are out for you. The food came pretty quickly and it looked appetizing. My pork belly pastrami was melt in your mouth delicious. Perfect amount of meat to bun ration. I drenched it in the Carolina sauce. The mac n cheese was really good. Nice crusty crunchy top with a cheesy creamy inside.
Tried a bite of my friend’s pulled pork. It was decent. Found it to be a little dry and tough even with the sauce incorporated. If you want a break from ribs, come over here and try their pork belly pastrami!

This place is amazing ! This is the 2^nd time I visit and it’s was just as good as the first time. They have really yummy brisket and I love their Mac n cheese. It’s a very low key chill spot. The crowd is mixed lots of young people but also lots of families. We had the brisket sandwich, Mac n cheese, fries and shared a ½ slab of Louisiana ribs. Everything was delicious.

Since moving two blocks from Pork Shoppe, there are two things that have stuck out.
1. The smell! We have a ton of great restaurants around here but the smell from Pork Shoppe is grilled meat goodness that permeates throughout the ‘hood.
2. Eat. Pork. Sleep. Repeat.
This is the billboard I see outside of my window. This could be taken a couple of different ways but let’s just go with they mean… eat pig meat. Okay. I’m cool with that. Either way I thought the sign was cute in a disturbing Sarah kind of way and knew I had to try their grub.
I’ve had a few things but seem to enjoy their pulled pork and pulled chicken sandwiches best. I like going at lunch time before 4pm as then for a good deal you can get the sandwich, fries and a pop.
Their fries are surprisingly way above average! I absolutely loved them! Their meats are pretty good, too. They aren’t dry though I honestly wish there could be a bit more moistness to them. Of course slather on some sauce and you should be all good. Both their sweet and tangy sauces are tasty to me buds. The sweet has a better consistency but I found the tangy’s flavor to appeal to me a bit more.
I head to this corner of Elston/​California/​Belmont all the time to hit up Beer Temple and I won’t hesitate to continue stopping at Pork Shoppe.

Quick and Friendly service.
They have seating at their counter, so I never give coming here alone a second thought.
Beef Brisket Tacos are the way to go!
They have three barbecue sauces to chose from: Sweet, Spicy and Tangy.
All 3 are great!
This place is an Avondale gem.
I only wish they had later hours…
Stay awesome Pork Shoppe!

I have a feeling that BBQ and bourbon were on Julie Andrews’ list of «a few of my favorite things,» after she put those kids to bed. They must have been getting on her nerves. Likewise for the nuns, while they were in the midst of having to «solve a problem like Maria.» Seems like everyone would have needed some down-​home relaxation.
My friends and I certainly loved the down-​home relaxation at the Pork Shoppe. On a Saturday night, having read the Unilocal about it, I expected it to be crowded. Then again, it was Memorial Day weekend, and I’m sure that some meat hunters had made their way to Wisconsin. It’s a bit of a pain to get here by public transportation, but a Divvy from the Blue Line in the summer air was a welcome chance to exercise-​off at least a quarter rib.
And the ribs did shine. We had the combination baby back and St. Louis style. I still prefer the backs (nothing against the arches of S. Louie). It’s nice that they arrive with the dry rub and you can add the sauces to your liking – a choice of sweet, tangy, and spicy (luckily, spicier than most places, and while not especially spicy, with a great flavor-to-«it’s-too-hot-I-can’t-taste-anything» spicy). A nice chew to them as well – no pre-​boiling here.
Many of the sides were fantastic as well. The man knows how to cook fries to a nice crispiness, the mac & cheese had a wonderful au gratin on top, and the cornbread was also the bomb (complete with a tasty, whipped butter). The beans were good, but nothing to write home about. I’d tell you about the cole slaw, but I would have had to kill myself (I’m not a big cabbage fan).
Now onto the bourbon. A bevy to choose from (including a Rye, Templeton); I hope a BBQ sommelier would approve of the the smooth Woodford I sipped. Don’t expect any other spirits or many mixers, other than the carbonated variety; or any other alcohol that isn’t carbonated (i.e., beer only, no wine). But that’s fine by me.
I like that the counter service saves a little cash on tips, and that one of the owners was there taking orders, serving and cleaning up as well. Very nice guy – I wish that all local businesses demonstrated such high-​quality and humbleness to their crafts.
Now an aside to you biker pedalers: If you’ve ever ridden the RAGBRAI bike ride across Iowa, the name of this place (Pork Shoppe) may remind you of the pork chop guy on the route. Pork Choooooop!!! Maybe they can license the rights.

So my bf has been bugging me to try this place since it smells so good every time we drive by. I finally gave in. First of all, let me admit, I am NOT a fan of meat in general. But when I do eat BBQ, I smother it in sauce to mask the taste.
So, when we ordered from the Pork Shoppe, we got a pulled pork and pork belly pastrami, each with two sides, and it only cost $ 20! Their slaw was pretty good. They add raisins and apples? to sweeten up the taste a little bit. My bf also enjoyed their corn bread, which had little pieces of jalapeño. I would have taken a picture, but it smelled so good that I didn’t waste any time taking one. Let me tell you, the pork belly pastrami is AMAZING. Super tender and juicy thick bacon, and I didn’t even put any sauce on it. It had that awesome smokey flavor that stays on your fingers for a couple of hours. My bf and I were supposed to split the sandwiches in half and share, but I just ended up eating the pastrami myself. If he wants to try it, he’ll just have to get his own next time! Oh, and the staff was SUPER nice.

Sometimes in these smaller shops the ambience is lost but not here. It’s small but not crowded or over powering in some theme they’re attemping-​not this place it’s quality bbq and good table space and great service.
I went to school in kentucky and know good southern bbq and this place is legit but also has some sauces that are of a modern flare. Sandwich combos are very affordable –we got two sandwich combos, a beer and a diet coke and a pickle all for $ 24. Most bbq places give you one combo for $ 14 and our sandwich was huge and the combo comes with TWO sides !
So I guess they’re opening a new place in Andersonville-​which is great they’re expanding just PLEASE DONT CHANGE you’re too perfect. The pork belly pastrami, as highlighted is FANTASTIC (Yes I know I like to use caps a lot but it really is meaningful in this situation) and the Mac and cheese is breaded and extra cheesy and it’s shells which is my favorite type of Mac and it’s not like super cheddar and dry like most bbq places. Also grab a jumbo pickle to slice on that sandwich and the jalapeño cornbread was crispy and tasty (but not dry) .
The service was beyond words –I interacted with three different people and they were all overly friendly and conscience of my well being which is above and beyond what I can ask for in a chicago restaurant. THANK YOU PORK SHOPPE YOURE AWESOME. I’ll recommend this place to everyone.
Good bourbon selection too. Sorry for the long lost I’m just so in love **also didn’t proofread fyi**
Also wanted to edit/​add there is parking on the side of building and street parking was easy

I drive by this place all the time and convinced a friend to stop here with me. We were both operating on an exhausted, end-​of-​the-​week hungry stomach. I got the beef brisket with a side of chili and sweet/​spicy corn bread and then on top of that, the Texas brisket taco daily deal. All of that (note: huge portions for both sides) was only $ 13, tax included, and 2.5 nights worth of dinner.
The super yummies: Corn bread with honey butter — literally one of the best I’ve had ever. A must-​get! It’s more sweet than spicy but you can’t miss that hint of spiciness thrown in there.
The pretty good: Brisket — tender, soft, lots of brisket, and pretty flavorful by itself (although the tangy sauce really adds to it as well). Chili — on the verge of too soupy for me but there’s a smokey taste to it and the chunks of beef thrown in are an added bonus.
Skippable/​just don’t get — I don’t know if it was an off day or something (especially given how good everything was) but the biggest disappointment was the Texas brisket taco. It was pretty bland overall and what threw me off the most was the utterly unappetizing, unappealing, dried taco shell! Not a fan…
(+) Very good, quick service. The guy at the cashier was super pleasant.
(+/​-​) I liked the tangy sauce better than the spicy. The spicy was at a good spice level but the flavor didn’t cut it for me.
Will definitely be back for another visit!

Pretty solid place, although not consistently out of this world.
The good:
The meat, perfectly cooked (beef brisket, pulled pork)
The pork belly pastrami was an awesome treat for the BBQ lover who has tried everything.
Amazing sweet and spicy cornbread — it comes with honey butter and it may be the first time in my life I’ve actually enjoyed honey butter.
Pretty awesome chili with brisket and ground beef.
The so-​so:
The Mac and cheese was fine? Gooey sauce, crunchy top, all that. But it wasn’t unique in any way. It also didn’t compare to the cornbread. I wouldn’t be against eating the Mac again, but I wouldn’t want to order it.
The bread on the sandwich — it was huge and there was so much bread it was sometimes hard to taste the meat! Very well made and fresh, just a bit too much of it!
The sauces — sorry guys, none of them really did it for me. I wound up mixing the tangy and spicy and still wasn’t totally happy with the combo. Maybe try thicker sauce options?