BBQ Pit

Let me preface by saying, I have a very rare eating disorder. If i see gyros on the menu, I am compelled to order them, even if I'm in a BBQ joint locally renowned for their ribs and brisket. Never fails! I'm a self-professed gyro connoisseur. I also love brisket, but alas, i will have to save that for my second trip.

So, the gyros were very different, but in a new and interesting way. They clearly did not come right off a spit, but were instead individually grilled? I'm not sure how they were prepped, or where they came from, but they were all so uniform that I think they may have come from an outside food company.  I'd love an owner response to figure this out! I enjoyed them anyway; they were much less greasy than at other places.

The sweet potato fries were awesome! It was also nice that there wasn't an upcharge for choosing them. There is a charge if you want a regular sweet potato substitution. My kid date had the burger, which comes with waffle fries. Also great.

The space inside is limited. They do a lot of carryout and delivery business also. I think they only will deliver if you live in Highland Park ($4 charge)

This was totally different than going to Real Urban bbq, which is likely their big competitor in the area. RUB is more casual...more rushed...like the Chipotle of the bbq world (not a dis) where you have far fewer options, and it's all mass prepped so they get your food out quickly.

They serve alcohol here, and it's a much nicer place to sit and relax. You have table service and white linens, and the noise is a very tolerable level. It's a really nice atmosphere, likely due in part to the owner Gus, who, as it's been mentioned, is a super nice and friendly guy. The server and hostess I saw were also very smiley and sweet.

I really don't think the prices here are really higher than Real Urban's. The portions are totally different, so it's tricky. Let's compare the kid's burger, at $7, with milk (or juice) and fries included. This was a regular sized burger, which may equal two mini sandwiches from Rub, at $3 each, plus another side of fries at $3 (or was it $2?). Using the more conservative $2, BBQ Pit still comes out cheaper at $1 less before even calculating the juice. That's just one example, and it's not very scientific. I'll need a food scale to do better than that.

Gyros sandwich plate was $10. It included coleslaw and your choice of regular or sweet potato fries. I was satisfied with the price, though I used a $4 off coupon, and my total somehow came out to $18 even? That's very fishy. I know what the local tax rate is, and I shouldn't have paid more than $15. Hmmm........didn't get to see the before and after bill...........hmmmm...............

Will return for brisket, then an update.

we've been 20 visits a year customers for maybe 15 years and it's always the same consistent excellent stuff-except for the pictures they change on the walls.

the ribs are full and the bbq sauces are great and not something they dumped out of a vat they got from a food supply company.

the fries are also really good and original tasting. the sweet potatoe fries taste like it, and the waffle fries are thick and delicious.

there's really nothing I don't like. They've changed the size of the restaurant a few times over the years and some of the food they sometimes try new things, but it's the gold standard on the north shore. Usually with bbq places you end up dissapointed. There's not as much food as you thought you were getting, it tastes like something you get at a grocery store, you get the idea. BBQ pit is the opposite and that's why it's been a go to place for us for so long. For family meals they have some deal for $55 which is usually more than enough for 4 grown adults. I also like the size of the burger which is a real burger, not a mcdonalds sized burger.

The bread sticks they thrown in are better than most fancy restaurants and you can just tell in what they do that they care about the food they're making and the product they are selling you.

If you're on the north shore, this is what you want and I've tried most of the competition. Also look out for the chocolate cake, it's rare you see deerfields beaten at cake, but this does it.

Parking's usually pretty easy and at night most of the parking is at the west end of the lot where the stores which have closed for the day are located.

My single dinner at BBQ Pit:

+ Two of the delicious garlic breadsticks served before we even ordered
+ Half an appetizer order of solid onion rings
+ A tasty if over-cheesed Greek salad
+ A half-slab of near-perfect baby back ribs
+ Five large, plump, perfectly grilled shrimp
+ Half of a pile of awesome waffle-cut fries--with skins!
+ Several forkfuls of my wife's shoestring sweet potato fries
+ A bottomless glass of Diet Coke to wash it all down
+ Several hours of stomach discomfort, simply from overstuffing myself

But this is the kind of place at which to splurge.  I'm glad that they have a ribs/shrimp combo because I was very interested in both.  $22.99 for the combo gets you a LOT of grub.

Everything was really good, except for the sauce served on the side.  It was too sweet and tasted like a bottled sauce, even though I know that they make their own.  The sauce on the ribs tasted different; maybe they're the same but the cooking alters the sauce in combination with the meat?  Who knows.  Anyway, sauce is pretty important at a barbecue joint, but overall everything was so good that it didn't bother me.  All I really used it for was to dip my fries and shrimp anyway.  And frankly, both were good enough to eat unadorned so I used very little sauce.

We brought home half the onion rings and half the waffle fries.  I can't even imagine how I would have felt if I had finished everything.