Over the weekend I visited a BBQ restaurant named "Smokey Bones". It's located at 680 Mall Drive in Schaumburg, IL. I was driving home from work and my wife and in-laws wanted me to meet up with them for dinner. One thing is for sure this place indeed serves ribs(see previous review).
The restaurant is located near the Woodfield Mall but might be a little difficult to find for people coming there for the first time. Mall drive is a street that looks like it's nothing but car dealerships. But if you drive a little further down you'll see the place. The parking is typical for a suburban restaurant. Plenty of it and free! Once inside the place has a log cabin type of feel. Tables and benches are all made of wood and the lounge has nice leather seats with a fire place burning.
When you sit at your table you get utensils wrapped in paper napkins and both varieties of BBQ sauce waiting for you at the table. There is a control panel for volume if you care to listen to one of the many TVs spread along the dining room and bar area. The menu is what you would expect from a place like this. There are two varieties of ribs, both baby back and St. Louis style ribs with a mustard based BBQ sauce along with a selection of burgers, chicken, and pork.
Our waitress comes by and we put in our drink order. Again sorry, we're non drinkers but this isn't a fancy place so you're typical beer is on tap along with a few specialty fruity drinks. I ordered a diet Coke with lime and the waitress promptly returned with 2 limes hanging off the edge of my glass! This scored her a couple points! When it's time to order I put in a order of baby back ribs(full slab), baked beans, cole slaw, and to start a salad with thousand island dressing.
My salad arrives and it's standard iceberg, tomato wedges, and carrots. Not bad but nothing amazing. The weird element was the carrots. The weren't chopped but rather 1/2 inch shavings. They added nothing except for a strange mouth feel.
My dinner arrives along with a bag for finished rib bones, 5 wet naps, a stack of extra napkins, and a fresh diet Coke without me having to ask for one(huge in my book). I sampled my baked beans first and they had a nice blend of smokey and sweet flavor. They were just a tad dry but tasty regardless. Cole slaw was next and it was flavorful and creamy but very little crunch came from the cabbage. Both sides were tasty but both moisture levels were off just a touch. Now time for some ribs! The ribs were tender with a nice pink smoke ring in the middle(yes they are fully cooked). The sauce had a smokey yet sweet taste and I was not shy of adding more. The ribs were quite good and they for made good left overs the next day.
For dessert we ordered the warm strawberry donuts. These are really a treat. They are strawberry donuts coated with cinnamon and sugar and served with a warm strawberry dipping sauce! They were warm, tasty, and very unique.
Price wise the slab of ribs were $18 and the donuts $5. A fair deal for the amount of food I received. Overall I say that if you're in the area it's a place worth checking out but it's also not worth more than a 20 minute drive if you're not. Overall rating **1/2 out of ****.
The restaurant is located near the Woodfield Mall but might be a little difficult to find for people coming there for the first time. Mall drive is a street that looks like it's nothing but car dealerships. But if you drive a little further down you'll see the place. The parking is typical for a suburban restaurant. Plenty of it and free! Once inside the place has a log cabin type of feel. Tables and benches are all made of wood and the lounge has nice leather seats with a fire place burning.
When you sit at your table you get utensils wrapped in paper napkins and both varieties of BBQ sauce waiting for you at the table. There is a control panel for volume if you care to listen to one of the many TVs spread along the dining room and bar area. The menu is what you would expect from a place like this. There are two varieties of ribs, both baby back and St. Louis style ribs with a mustard based BBQ sauce along with a selection of burgers, chicken, and pork.
Our waitress comes by and we put in our drink order. Again sorry, we're non drinkers but this isn't a fancy place so you're typical beer is on tap along with a few specialty fruity drinks. I ordered a diet Coke with lime and the waitress promptly returned with 2 limes hanging off the edge of my glass! This scored her a couple points! When it's time to order I put in a order of baby back ribs(full slab), baked beans, cole slaw, and to start a salad with thousand island dressing.
My salad arrives and it's standard iceberg, tomato wedges, and carrots. Not bad but nothing amazing. The weird element was the carrots. The weren't chopped but rather 1/2 inch shavings. They added nothing except for a strange mouth feel.
My dinner arrives along with a bag for finished rib bones, 5 wet naps, a stack of extra napkins, and a fresh diet Coke without me having to ask for one(huge in my book). I sampled my baked beans first and they had a nice blend of smokey and sweet flavor. They were just a tad dry but tasty regardless. Cole slaw was next and it was flavorful and creamy but very little crunch came from the cabbage. Both sides were tasty but both moisture levels were off just a touch. Now time for some ribs! The ribs were tender with a nice pink smoke ring in the middle(yes they are fully cooked). The sauce had a smokey yet sweet taste and I was not shy of adding more. The ribs were quite good and they for made good left overs the next day.
For dessert we ordered the warm strawberry donuts. These are really a treat. They are strawberry donuts coated with cinnamon and sugar and served with a warm strawberry dipping sauce! They were warm, tasty, and very unique.
Price wise the slab of ribs were $18 and the donuts $5. A fair deal for the amount of food I received. Overall I say that if you're in the area it's a place worth checking out but it's also not worth more than a 20 minute drive if you're not. Overall rating **1/2 out of ****.
3 comments:
yummy! i love ribs! again, get out of the burbs and come to the city otherwise i will have to be your city reporter! =P
I've been to this place. They used to have a location on the south side on 95th street but it recently closed. I had the chicken and ribs combo. I was pleased. I thought that I received a lot of food for the price. How does it stack up to Carson's?
Eric, Carson's is still the best in my opinion. Best cole slaw and tastiest ribs. I'll go there soon and do a comparison.
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