Russell's Barbecue

Russell's has the best barbecue in town. What makes it for me is the sauce. The sauce isn't that gloppy, thick, cement-like sauce you will find at a lot places, plus you get to add as much or as little as you want your self. The sauce is a little thin and watery but has a light flavor with a unqiue mixture of spices and tastes. It's excellent. Get the barbecued sandwich. Really, there's no point in going here for anything else. You can forget the burgers and all of the rest, the reason to spend half an hour finding a place to park and then standing in line just to order is for the barbecue. Get plenty of sauce because you will want to dip your fries in it as well and then just eat until you feel ready to burst. There is nothing fancy here. The tables aren't fancy and there is no decor to speak of. If you think having juke box control panels on each table is the height of table settings, then you know you are in the right place. It's great barbecue and unlike any other you will find. Try it! more

In my lifetime I have tasted one bar-b-q joint that was better than this. And that was in Milwaukee on a Friday night in March - when my husband and I just decided to take a ride. So I don't even know the name of that place. But I hope I can somehow make it back there one day. Russell's on the other hand is really the ultimate bbq in like the whole world, as far as i can tell. I've been going there since my womb days and so have my parents and their ancestors. dating back to the day the door first opened. Russell's has great messy sauce that will keep you asking for extra. Dip the fries in the sauce, and you'll think they are the best fries ever. If you've ever been to Russell's you need to try a combo platter. they have great beef, pork and chicken. the ribs are really secondary to the other meats, but all are top quality. You must also try the corn on the cob and mac and cheese. more

OK, let me get Russell’s negatives out of the way: I don’t like their fries (kind of thin and plain), I’m so-so on their barbecue sauce (very tasty but kind of thin) and their burgers are average at best. Fortunately, I realize that I am abnormal, because everyone else I know who’s gone there loves Russell’s and their barbecue sandwiches—which are truly very good, sauce and all. (In retrospect, ordering anything non-barbecue on the menu borders on sacrilegious). Along with ample parking and ample seating, Russell’s gets pluses for serving beer as well as for serving breaded mac and cheese “nuggets” as a side order which tastes, for lack of a better word, awesome. I am hard-pressed to think of a better barbecue joint in the area—much less one with the type of history and following that Russell’s has. more

Russell's is one of the best BBQ restaurants I have been to here in Chicagoland. The atmosphere is very casual; to me it's more of a lunch place than a dinner place. You can get all kinds of BBQ items, from a pork sandwich to a slab of ribs. The fries and other side dishes are excellent, too. You get pretty big portions for a relatively low price. more