Elgin BBQ Pit

Here’s the real deal… this joint is one of only 2 BBK joints in town. Their side dishes (Mac & cheese, beans, Cole slaw) are really bad – no taste, needs seasoning desperately. Their bbq us better, but I just bought $ 23 worth of bbq and asked to have my frequent diner card punched and was told «No, we only punch cards for dinners and sandwiches…» REALLY? The BBQ is not that good, so pass on Elgin BBQ Pit and travel into Streamwood or Hoffman Estates for better tasting bbq, at lower prices and more courteous service.

Since discovering this place a year or so ago, it had been a great place to get local bbq. However, feel like some time in the past month or so ownership or recipes have changed. The brisket, garlic mash and Mac and cheese were all similar, but kind of fell short to how it was previously. Visually, nothing I got looked like what I had enjoyed before and the real kicker for me had to be the change in hot sauce, a jalapeño hot sauce for bbq?
Probably going to have to discover another place for my bbq cravings.

First & last time i will visit this place.
Why? Food is overrated over priced, portions are ridiculously small. I don’t care for the bbq sauces, I’ve had way better! I mean come on! I’ve lived in Austin TX & have had the delight to indulge at SALT LICK (now that’s bbq). Elgin Bbq falls way low in my bbq scale. I smoke a better bbq at home any day! No gracias Elgin bbq

I came here on a Saturday around 1330 and after I order my food and pay for it, I am told that they are out of the item that I ordered. I had no problem getting my money back but how do you run out of rib tips by 1:30pm?

Sloooow. I was told 10 minutes for my carry out ordered at the restaurant, took 35 minutes and they told me 4 times «I’m sorry we’ve been busy». 1 star for service. Tips were tender and good portion size, they are stingy with the sauce (1 small cup for dry tips) and stingy with the fries.

Excellent local spot. Truly cannot say enough!
Pulled Pork w/​slaw on top and Brisket w/​Alabama white are can’t miss faves.
Cops love this spot too, so you know its good.

Chicken & ribs were heavy smoked. Too smoked for
ribs were a bit dry. $ 22 for full slab. French frys were good. other sides could’ve been better. Nice cashier. Great choices of bbq sauces on table. kinda expensive .sorry but I don’t recommend

This was my second time ordering from this place as I live very close. First time I ordered I would have rated a 3 or 4. We spent over $ 60 on food and The brisket was dry and they didn’t give any sauces with the order. This is my second time ordering by delivery. I placed my order at 6:26pm online and said it would be delivered at 7:15. It is now 8:10 and still no food. When I called to check on my order they couldn’t tell me where it was and assumed it was out for delivery. Giving it 5 more minutes before I call and tell them forget it and give me my money back. Trust me, I won’t be ordering from this place again.

This little hole in the wall BBQ place is small, a bit pricey but their BBQ is top notch. The desserts are excellent if you ever can find room after eating their meals. Their coleslaw and greens are excellent! Decent selection of sauces and they cater and deliver if you live in the area.

We were told our meal would take 15 minutes so we left right away to go pick it up. We ended up waiting an extra 30 minutes for our meal, so 45 all together. Also, we are about a mile and a half away from the place and they wont deliver to us because our zip code is Hoffman Estates. So that is a bummer that we are a 5 minute drive away and they wont deliver. They should go off of distance and not zip code. Food was OK, would have been nice to get a side of their sauces with our meals.

Its my first time here, right now im sitting at a booth all by myself feeling annoyed. theres a rude curly headed older woman sitting at the table next to me and keeps rudely reaching onto my table for napkins… im rather offended she wont ask me to grab her some instead of climbing on top of my table… ive been waiting for 20 minutes now for a chicken sandwich…
I finally got my food and sadly it isnt that great… i could have made this at home with a frozen chicken breast and some store bought bbq sauce.
The only thing good i have to say is i really liked the super friendly and bubbly cashier.

They do their grill right. Everything that comes off of it is on point. With that being said they NEED to fix two things, their poor choice in bread for sandwiches-​they need a new source as the one they provide is cheap and makes me not want a sand which. The other problem is their 8.00 fake chicken tenders that are three little stocks the size of your middle finger– the worst part is that you know it comes straight out of a freezer bag. Either get rid of the chicken strips or learn to make your own-​you would do so much better. Love everything else.

This is a great BBQ Joint!
The rooftop smoke stack… just puffing away, is a key indicator that a classic «Aquarium Smoker» is doing its job. This is a Southside Chicago style smoker that you rarely see beyond the city limits. When I win the Lotto, I’ll have one of these custom made.
This is a comfortable place to be. Everything is in your face and in full view… the cooking process, the sight and sound of a meat clever chopping rib tips, the presentation and the strategically placed «Aquarium Smoker» just doing its job.
Hell, when I win the Lotto… I just might buy this place and open a laundromat next door.

Ribs tips are good n juicy, ribs slab was a lil bit dry in the inside, and the sauces are good

Really great place in Elgin — kind of tucked away! We tried it last night for the first time. The brisket was falling apart, and so delicious! The sweet sauce was great. Everything seemed homemade and really great — the mac and cheese, garlic mashed and seasoned fries were very good! A little pricy, but it’s understandable considering the amount of food — especially meat. We’ll definitely patronize again!

One of my favorite places for bbq I crave for their spicy jerk chicken and those rib tips garlic mash can’t go wrong with anything you choose. Really fresh food with a bbq kick. Definitely a place to try

I never actually heard of this place until a co-​worker mentioned it. She raved about how good it was, so of course I had to try it.
My boyfriend and I drove over pretty late at night, about a half an hour before they closed (yeah I know we were being that annoying couple). They already had all their chairs up like they were going to close, we dined in anyway. They were kind and helpful.
The inside was cute and properly decorated for the theme, with chalk boards and wooden tables. The only thing I thought was a little funny, is how it got pretty smokey inside. The employee proceeded to open the front door all the way (and it was just freezing outside). I didn’t say anything for a little, but then had my boyfriend politely ask if they could shut it. I mean we were sitting pretty much right in front of the door. Other than that they were pretty accommodating.
Funny thing is I actually ordered the wrong thing. I tend to do this with barbeque. I’ll order rib tips, when I actually mean to order burnt ends (which are my favorite). To be fair though, they weren’t on the menu in the restaurant, just on the take home menu. My rib tips came with 2 sides. I chose cornbread and fries. All of it was presented nicely on a big tray, and it was honestly just more than I could have ate at once. They had a few different sauces you can choose to dress your things with, I chose the sweet and it had a very good flavor. The rib tips had a decent amount of meat on them and the fries and cornbread were good as well. I’m not sure if they do this for every meal, but they give us a few little pieces of jalapeño corn bread as well. I guess to sample (Twas good). My boyfriend ordered a burger and said that was good as well.
Definitely a place to come back to, and try new entrees and sides. Next time we’ll come earlier too!

Ridiculously awesome. If I could afford it, I would eat all my meals here, every day… forever. A little pricey, but understandable for the amount of food and the quality. Staff has always been friendly. Highly recommend the brisket tacos!!!
Keep it up guys and gals!!!

Mmmeaty goodness! The Hubs brought home carry-​out for dinner from here so we could give them a try. How on earth has this place existed so close to home and we never heard of them?
We got the 3-​meat combo dinner to share which also comes with jalapeño hushpuppies & 2 sides. The 3 meats were tried were the jerk chicken, pulled pork & the beef brisket. All of them were quite good but the jerk chicken & pulled pork were the standouts. They give you a little cup of sauce per meat (¼ C?) so if you like it really saucy I’d ask for more. The 3 sauces were also very good — we tried the sweet bbq sauce (tasted like a rootbeer bbq sauce), the smoky bbq sauce & the white sauce (Garlicky goodness on that jerk chicken & brisket! Wow!).
For our sides we got the jalapeño slaw (AMAZING!) and the burnt ends baked beans — also good.
We ordered an extra side of the hushpuppies since the meal just comes w/​2 and we love us some hushpuppies! I’m sad to report those were the only disappointment of the meal — they were the blandest hushpuppies we’d ever had, though dipping them in that white sauce perked ‘em up.
There’s a reason the prices of the 2 & 3 meat combos are steep — they give you a TON of meat. We got 6 servings out of it (so 3 meals for the Hubs & I) with the meat alone. The sides of slaw & beans only lasted for the first meal for us both — we gobbled those up. Even for someone with a big appetite I could see the 3-​meat combo meal being 2 dinners for them.
We will definitely enjoy Elgin BBQ Pit some more in the future!

Barbecue isn’t at the top of my list of cravings, but once and awhile, I appreciate some good ‘cue, especially whole hog pulled pork. Mrs. BurgerDogBoy loves it, so we do seek it out from time to time.
Probably the best we’ve ever had was in the ‘barbecue capital’ of Texas, a town called Lockhart, between Houston and Austin. If you enjoy Texas style barbecue, and haven’t been there, go! A close second or tie for first was navigating our way down the North Carolina barbecue trail last year. Many think that our modern style of barbecue was first introduced in North Carolina, and there are a good couple dozen places dating back a hundred years that will try and convince you of that fact.
I’ve had ‘passable’ barbecue here in Portland, at a place that is owned by «Snoop Dog’s» uncle, «Reo’s Ribs.»
«Experts» believe that barbecue is an art, and I have to say I might agree. The US is home to many different styles of preparation, including Carolina, Kansas City, Memphis, Texas and more. Some are sauced, some are dry rubbed. Some in North Carolina have a mustard-​based sauce, instead of a tomato one. I do like that.
I admire anybody that starts a restaurant. Hard, thankless work, for little chance of success. Especially when they start a place in a geographical area not particularly known to be a hot bed of that genre, like the Elgin Pit BBQ in Elgin, IL.
They have all the usual offerings and sides, and it can all be ordered ala carte, as a plate dinner, or in combinations. The «two meat combo,» comes with your choice of two meats (ribs, pork, brisket, sausage, chicken) and two sides. I opted for take out, and went with chicken and pulled pork, fries and collard greens. Collard greens ARE one of my top cravings.
Elgin’s are slightly sweet, which is a surprise, as I am sued to a thick smoke flavor seasoned with garlic, processed pork, and onion. Elgin’s are a-​ok, not just my preparation preference.
The pulled pork and chicken were excellent. Chicken was sauced, pork was not. Both had benefited from hours in the in-​house smoker.
Give them a try if you’re passing through the area, or take a drive and pick some up. In a world of suburbs chock a block full of hot dog and pizza joints, Elgin BBQ Pit is an island of unique flavors.