Barn & Company

We went to Barn & Company on a whim before seeing MDQ at the Apollo and loved it! Great brisket and sides, but the real revelation is the chicken. Not to be missed. You won’t settle for mediocre BBQ chicken after tasting this beauty!
Not only was the service great, but Gary the pit master (BBQ life coach) came out and shmoozed with us and (rightfully) took pride in describing everything we ordered. When I told him that the Grilled Asparagus was amazing, he told us all the details about the quality of the food, his technique and the attention that goes into making each batch. All this for a menu item that most people would bypass at a BBQ joint. Don’t!

3 friends and I came to eat and have a drink here last Tuesday evening. We have never been here before so thank you Unilocal for helping me find Barn & Company.
Tuesday is «Taco Tuesday» at B&C and they have a build your own taco bar for $ 9, they give you three shells to start then each additional taco is $ 3. They allow you to pick from a host of toppings and because this is a BBQ joint they had pulled chicken and pork as meat options in addition to ground beef.
My one friend had the taco bar and loaded his plate a mile high, certainty worth the $ 9 Unilocalers. He also said that it all tasted great!
Because I’ve been such a little fatty lately and have been feeling bad about my self I decided to get a half chicken and asparagus, as did friend #2 while friend #3 had a burger.
While both friend#2 and I really loved the taste of our meals and felt it was prepared for us in good time, we both thought it was a rather small portion for the price we paid.
Service was friendly and approached us quickly, and the chef also asked us how our meals were and talked for a while. Thats cool I think!
Also on a side note, they have a extensive list of whiskeys, including a 120 proof bourbon which was actually rather smooth.
Will I be back? Yes.

Quality place. Fried pickles for the appetizer was just okay, but the beef brisket was great. Service fine as well.

Highly recommend the Sunday buffet deal, however I have ordered the wings a separately a few times recently and for $ 11 you get 10 wings which is a bit expensive. The worst part is the wings themselves are rather small. The food tastes good, but I left feeling hungry both times which is a shame. They need to add the number of wings for me to recommend them to others

I wanted to like this place, but the brisket I had was almost all fat. I realize brisket is fatty to begin with, but more than 50% was fat. I had mac and cheese as a side and that was phenomenal and the taste of the brisket was delicious but I am disappointed in the amount of the fatty meat on my sandwich I threw out.

Awesome Barbecue Brisket It’s the Best ! Stop Bye Barn And Ask For Terrance Great Manger ! What A Hidden Gem !

This place is great!!! You should definitely check it out if you haven’t already. They’ve got great food & drink specials. Lately I’ve been going Tuesday’s for all you can eat tacos. & if you’re into country music you’ll love it here.

Stopped in for lunch prior to seeing MDQ. Very good food. Especially the wings with the fire dry rub. Service was awesome. Marissa was friendly and hospitable.

We went to Barn & Co. after the performance of Million Dollar Quartet at the Apollo tonight. We had great service, the Christmas music in the background was great, and the food very good. My only complaint would be that my fries were not very warm when I got them. However, I couldn’t complain about the amount of food, especially my pulled pork, that we received. All-​in-​all, great place. We would definitely go back again. Our server, Dani, was very friendly and attentive.

Marissa was are server several times. She is always very friendly and very attentive… always great service

We came around 8:30 pm on a Sunday night following MDQ at the Apollo — which they have an ad in the play bill. We seated ourselves and waited and waited. A table was given menus behind us 5 minutes later, but no less than 3 staff members walked by us several times and didn’t bother to acknowledge us. We ended up walking out as did the table behind us when we couldn’t get service.
We had eaten here one time before and the BBQ is actually pretty good. The pitfall is the service — its just really, really slow. For example, the time we did eat here, we had to ask three different servers for cutlery to eat our food.

Great spot!!! Equally great service. I come here to visit my friend Ernesto. He’s shows me a great level of hospitality. Looking forward to the game on Monday!

It was a total accident that I walked in here. My girlfriend and I were waiting for seats at Lou Malnati’s next door and decided to head in and find some seats and have a few beers. We got super hungry and decided to order some wings.
I swear, these wings drove me crazy. Dry, stringy. I’m used to that type of wings from restaurants and bars. But these wings were great. Juicy, tender (yet firm), with a nice crunch on the outside and just enough sear. I have no idea how they got it just right, but regardless of the glaze or rub, it was perfect.
It was almost tempting enough to pass on the Chicago deep dish pizza waiting for us next door.

Hot damn it’s loud in there, turn the music down how am I supposed to talk with my friends.

Honestly surprised by the number of 2 & 3 star reviews for this place. It’s a solid 4 star restaurant and continues to get better. My girlfriend and I go there about every week or two for their amazing smoked wings. It’s so good, I go about 15 minutes out of my way on the way home sometimes to pick up carry out wings. It’s our favorite wings in the city by far and if you’ve never tried the smoked wings with the dry rub, you’re missing out. Sooo much better than greasy buffalo wings! Also, they have some of the best sweet potato fries in the city.
Gary the pit master stops by your table when he’s not busy cooking and he genuinely cares about your experience and your food. He’s as old school BBQ as you get, this place is authentic and they’re not faking the BBQ thing.
It’s a great place for a BBQ dinner, to watch the Bears games and one of my favorite places to grab a drink in Lincoln Park. The service hasn’t always been top notch, but it’s getting better and if there was one thing I’d improve it’s the cocktails and consistency of the bartenders making the cocktails. I think this place has the opportunity to step it’s game up in Lincoln Park for whiskey selection and whiskey cocktails coupled with BBQ.
Either way, come get a beer and some BBQ!

This weekend I realized I am an amateur when it comes to BBQ. And Pitmaster Gary Wiviott is a genius. I guess I’ve been fooled for so long by crappy BBQ places I had no idea what real BBQ was like. And thanks to Chef Gary, now I do.
First off, taste is such an individual thing. I could love a dish and you could hate it having ordered the same exact thing. So it’s important to realize what the chef is going for. That is the case with the BBQ here at Barn & Company.
For example I noticed a few reviews that said «the ribs didn’t fall off the bone.» And at first, I thought the same thing. Because that’s what the over-​sauced crap we usually get a «casual American dining chain restaurant» has taught us. Soak ‘em in BBQ sauce an no one will notice there’s no meat on them…
So Chef Gary sat down with my wife and I and for the next 30 minutes explained the finer points of BBQ. I was so fascinated, I wish he did a master class on this stuff. or people were forced to watch a video overview of BBQ before they ate. This way they would get what he’s going for.
So back to the ribs. The ribs were huge and meaty so when my wife asked me «what kind of ribs are these because they don’t seem like baby-​back ribs.» I thought, «hey she’s right (don’t tell her I said that) they aren’t.» So we asked Pitmaster Gary.
Turns out they were baby back ribs but they come in different sizes. These were 2 ¼ (not sure what that means but I’m learning and guessing they were bigger…) but who knew? I thought they were «baby» back because they were small. No sir.
Then the bite. he explained what we was going for was a solid bite. One in which you had to pull the meat off the bone. Not too tough but not falling off. Well he hit that right on the head. And now that I knew this, I was going to town on these suckers because every one of them (even reheated the next day) were like that.
The food is not to be scarfed down. It is to be enjoyed. Savored and tasted. When he explained some of his cooking techniques, you could taste the layers of flavors. The citrus, the brining of the chicken, the smokiness of the wings balanced by a quick shot in the deep fryer. I felt like a blind man who finally learned to see.
We ordered the piggy platter with 3 meats and two sides and fries and it was amazing (now that I know what I’m talking about). Besides the aforementioned ribs, we got the pulled pork and the half chicken.
The chicken was so juicy and did fall off the bone. After we learned of the brining and smoking technique, we understood just how much love went into this chicken. Careful with what you’re thinking weirdo…
And pulled pork. We learned they smoke the shoulder then pull it to order so it doesn’t dry out and retains the flavor. It’s brought back up to temp with some sort of citrus reheating liquid (I was trying really hard to pay attention but there’s only so much a guy can remember) and it showed. Moist, tasty and again, layers of flavor — no sauce needed.
Sides were also excellent. Crispy sweet potato fries with sea salt, creamy mac and cheese and cornbread with a spicy butter. Gary brought us some wings which were also amazing. Smoked and deep fried with a dry rub and no sauce. So you could actually taste the wing and not try to hide it by drenching it in sauce.
People — get yourself to Barn & Company. This is the real deal. And ask Pitmaster Gary to educate you on the finer points of BBQ. Your world will be forever changed…

Went to Barn and Co. with a couple friends last Sunday night around 7 pm. There was PLENTY of room and we had our choice of sitting inside or out. The manager (I guess???) that greeted us was pretty strange… They might want someone friendlier at the front door, even on a Sunday!
Our table didn’t have anything on it outside but our waiter was quick to bring waters, silverware, plates and sauces which was nice. We started with the barn burners which was a good chorizo stuffed jalopeno appetizer. My friends ordered a couple pulled pork sandwiches and I got the Eastern Carolina burger. I figured it’d be hard for them to screw up a burger with pulled pork on it and fortunately, they didn’t find a way. All the food was good.
There’s nothing special about the food or ambiance at barn and co. but you can get a really solid bbq meal and the service was just fine to me. If you’re looking for the best bbq in the city this is not your destination but if you’re just looking for a solid meal filled with meat… you’re good to go!

I have returned twice since I was ignored by the non existent staff at the time. The service has improved greatly. The food is great. I haver had the same waitress the last two times and she is fantastic. I will not give the place 5 stars again because I may go in when my waitress is off and then you never know…
I guess I went in dressed as a ghost tonight. I was ignored by a totally inept wait staff. If they don’t value business, the best way to show it is with an incompetent operation.
Sat for 20 minutes and was never approached. As I was walking out, the «Manager» offered to pay for my dinner. I kept on walking. Maybe they are conserving Lake Michigan water. Is that the reason diners are IGNORED? Conserve water?
This place has an identity crisis big time. At dinner time, it should be a RESTAURANT. It seems to want to be a BAR, first, restaurant second. Ignoring people who want to eat while the screwball wait staff is pushing beers at people remaining at tables who have already eaten. Hey Geniuses, WHY NOT MOVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE FINISHED EATING AND WANT TO DRINK TO THE BAR??? Here you have a place with a great Chef and the staff is busy asking the Lincoln Park hipsters if they want a 7^th Corona or Coors Light.
If you are the kind of person who likes to go through life with your head up your ass, Barn and Company may have a wait staff position with your name on it.
If somebody wants a «dining experience» where you are ignored by the staff, but you want to watch hipsters get hammered, this is your place.
Wake the Hell Up, Gary. Stop taking people for granted.
Stay away until they appreciate returning customers, or better yet, hire a real manager.

Booze place and the food still lacks flavor. Not my kind of BBQ. I like: (1) kids eat free, (2) daily specials [read fine print], (3) Spring Rewards, (4) plenty of TVs, and (5) Chef is always here.
BBQ RIBS — relies on 3 kinds of sauces plus ketchup. Too dry for my taste. Doesn’t fall off the bone.
FRIES — perfectly done. Attractive red spice sprinkle but no discriminating taste.
COKE ($ 2) — bottomless. The flattest Coke in North America! U.S. sodas are famous for heavy carbonation. I hope the beers are better.
VENUE — spacious. Plenty of seating — high bar stools and tables, up close ‘n personal with bartender. Clean. Organized.
SERVICE — informative. Pleasant. Helpful. Thoughtful.
BBQ CLASS — my first visit. Forgetaboutit. You don’t really learn how to make BBQ sauce from scratch as it was pre-​made and you decide on the add-​in. The class was heavy on whiskey and food (it’s a good thing) but I was there to learn.

All you can eat wings for $ 12.99! I felt like I had to eat at least 20 in order to get my monies worth. Mind you they only bring you 5 at a time– it’s not a sprint it’s a marathon. So I settled in and decided to try a set of each sauce and rub. Let’s just say I like the sauces and rubs at Buffalo Wild Wings more. Sad that I like a chain restaurants selection and taste better than a place that has a giant smoker in front.
All the wings were just meh. The buffalo sauce wasn’t spicy and neither was the chipotle. The Bbq was this odd sweet flavor. The jerk rub was my favorite by far. It was the only rub that actually tasted authentic.
Barn and Company is a great place to watch the big games because they have huge flat screens everywhere. The bartenders are slow and it takes a lot to get their attention. And you’ll probably only see your waitress once an hour at most.
Sigh. Why do my friends and I come here? It’s large enough to fit all of your friends without being too congested. And you can breathe. Prices are reasonable and they do offer a bunch of specials when you can get service.