Bens Barbecue ..Top Tip?

Lots of bbq spots in this town. Some good , some not so good. Well here's a great one. All done right. AQ smoker, wood fired and carefully tended, tips with great bark, not fatty or dry and flavorful enough that sauce isn't required. If you want it tho, theirs is really good, with an allspice punch. Crispy Krinkle fries on the bottom and no less than 4 slices of white bread n top (extra large combo) for soaking up that tip nectar Links are smaller caliber than uj but near as tasty. Okra, gizzards, gizzard/liver combo, potato salad and free ice tea on weekends. Very friendly staff. Absolutely outstanding. Alsohave beef ribs which I haven't tried yet, but plan to. My current favorite. This one belongs in the top tier. Same interior decorator as Uncle John's, so you know what to expect.
West side got some good tips too.

Bens Barbecue
5931 W North avenue (corner North and Mason 1 blk east of Austin)

I was contemplating a late dinner this evening and when I read you post I knew what my plans were.

WOW!
Spot on!

I got the extra large rib tip and it's a mountain of food. The Tips have a great bark, beautiful pink ring and a good balance of smoky, porky flavor. They were happy to give me the sauce on the side. Honestly I don't detect any rub. The meat speaks for itself here. A steal at $18.50 for great BBQ. I'll definitely be back to try the beef ribs.

Great find kuhdo!

Currently enjoying a lunch of leftover tips.
Still damn good the next day.
This will definitely be a regular stop.

Stopped here one night late after work, was absolutely blown away by how good the rib tips were. 10/10, would eat again

I agree with all the above. Great to hear some other folks liking this as much as I do. This to me is what Chicago Q is all about. These tips really are good enough that you can eat them cold the next day, and thats sayin something. Like those skinny hot links too.
Know what else... that spicy sauce they have .... Get enough on there that it mixes up with the tip juice and soaks into the fries, sop it up with that white bread. Get sloppy with it. I don't care if it violates the laws of bbq purity. It's good. Actually, it's great.

kuhdo wrote:Know what else... that spicy sauce they have .... Get enough on there that it mixes up with the tip juice and soaks into the fries, sop it up with that white bread. Get sloppy with it. I don't care if it violates the laws of bbq purity. It's good. Actually, it's great.

I went with the spicy sauce as welll, figuring I had plenty of mild sauce at home, and I'm glad I did. I love the allspice as well.
Like you said, the 2 rules for this place should be 1) get it plain and 2) spicy sauce on the side.

Zoid, of course you are right on this. I'm usually more interested in getting sauce on the Fries and white bread than on the tips themselves (especially these tips which really need no help), but must admit that sometimes I stray from the true path.

Yeah I dunk every third tip or so, I have to admit. It's just nice to have the option or going naked or sauced.

I think we can all appreciate the need to occasionally dip ones tip.

Better be open on Mondays. The phrase "tip nectar" has got me in a one track mind type of thing.

My menu says:

SUN 12 PM - 1 AM
*MON 4 PM - 12 AM
*TUE 4 PM - 12 AM
WED 12 PM - 1 AM
THU 11 PM - 3 AM
FRI 11 PM - 4 AM
SAT 11 PM - 4 AM

Seasonal Hours may vary

Here's the #
(773) 637-0003

Gonna be calling in a few min. Looking to try spares, tips, links, and beef ribs.

zoid wrote:My menu says:

SUN 12 PM - 1 AM
*MON 4 PM - 12 AM
*TUE 4 PM - 12 AM
WED 12 PM - 1 AM
THU 11 PM - 3 AM
FRI 11 PM - 4 AM
SAT 11 PM - 4 AM

Seasonal Hours may vary

Here's the #
(773) 637-0003

I had one of my guys who was doing a job in Oak Park stop by to check out the tips. He was there at 4 and the door was locked and he couldn't see anyone inside, same thing at 4:10. I called at 5 and asked what their hours were, the guy said they would be open until "about 11". I said I was wondering when they opened and he said 4. Is that every day, I asked, and he replied "most days". I then asked about Thursday and he said 4. Moral of the story, if you're not near by be sure to call first.

This is some pretty right food. Someone here gives a shit about q. Spares and tips tonight had a lighter smoke than what I'd expect at Uncle John's, but the barky outside and tender inside was for real. The links were a nice surprise. Much smaller size (diameter) than what you normally see in the aquarium q joints, but not lacking in flavor. Uncle John's still reign supreme. No beef ribs tonight, but one can hope for next time. The sauce was crap, imo. If I really wanted sauce, I'd stop at any mart and spend a buck on a bottle before I'd use Ben's house mild sauce. The hot sauce was a tad better, if you like vinegarry hot sauce. The fries are exactly what you should expect. Crinkle cut, frozen, pork grease soppers for dipping in the hot sauce.

Great find here. I'm sure as heck going back when I need a q fix in the winter. Much closer to home than Uj's, but I'm not 100% sure that it will completely scratch the itch for a tip/link combo like 69th street does. My first trial of this place gives me more hope than Smokin M's ever has for right aqua q in these parts. It's like someone with a clue got totally sick of Kenny's and Smokin M's making money, and set up shop with a better than avg product for the area.

Can someone please try to confirm if this place really opens at the stated times on weekends? I'm more a lunch BBQ kind of guy.

Best way to do that would be to call before you're thinking of heading over, no? See above for details...

Yeah, boudreaulicious is right, they seem to play pretty fast and loose with the hours. I called last Saturday to ask and even though the menu says they're open till 4:00 they said they'd e closing up around 2:00. Best to call.

Can someone scan and post a copy of the menu of this place?

It's not available online and it doesn't have any prices on it (pet peeve of mine).
I can try to type up the highlights tonight...

zoid wrote:It's not available online and it doesn't have any prices on it (pet peeve of mine).
I can try to type up the highlights tonight...

Is it possible to get a pic of the menu board, assuming there is one?

I agree smoke is generally lighter than the South side spots, but this may be less of an issue later in the day (?). Anyway, whatever your favorite is, I haven't found a better combo North of 63rd st. I always see people ordering wings there, have not tried myself, but might be worth checking out.

Boy, stomping all over my own front yard! I would not say this place is around the corner from my Bungalow, but certainly damn close...

And I guess I have not paid much attention. It had been for ages (as long as I've lived off of North Av), Joe's, and not especially good whenever I've tried. I did notice them renovating the exterior. Seems there was more there than I noticed.

Def better than Joes I think.

My spy's tell me that there is sign on the door stating that for summer the opening time is 4PM every day.

scottsol wrote:My spy's tell me that there is sign on the door stating that for summer the opening time is 4PM every day.

Not quite every day.



Ben's Bar-Be-Cue
"If it's Bar-Be-Cue, then it's Ben's"
5931 W North Av
773-637-0003
Mon-Wed 4pm-11pm, Thu 4pm-2am, Fri-Sat 11am-4am, Sun noon-11pm

Edited to correct address.

Oh man, missed that!!

Rene G wrote:

scottsol wrote:My spy's tell me that there is sign on the door stating that for summer the opening time is 4PM every day.

Not quite every day.



Ben's Bar-Be-Cue
"If it's Bar-Be-Cue, then it's Ben's"
5931 W Chicago Av
773-637-0003
Mon-Wed 4pm-11pm, Thu 4pm-2am, Fri-Sat 11am-4am, Sun noon-11pm

Well I didn't say they were good spys.

Tried to go there today (Friday). While the sign might say open at 11AM, I guess the employees never bothered to read it. Was there about 11:20 and it was locked up solid with no signs of life inside.

Ya'll--don't think this place is like McD's. CALL FIRST. It's foolproof.

I tried Ben's BBQ today at around 5PM and had a large TIPS with sauce on the side (both mild and hot on the side). MY observations are that the product is good but not great.

The Good:
[*]large Portions[/*]
[*]nice bark on the tips[/*]

The not so Good:
[*]lack of smoke smell / taste[/*]
[*]Mild Sauce tasted exactly like Open Pit BBQ Sauce[/*]
[*]Hot Sauce tasted like bulk hot wing sauce you might buy @ a costco[/*]

I personally think Honey 1, Uncle Johns, and even Hecky's tips are better than Ben's Barbecue.