Uncle J’s Bar B Q

True Chicago style bbq. Rib tips are very tender with slight hickory taste. Sauce is very good, but be careful about the hot bbq sauce. It’s really hot. Place is a get it and go. You won’t be disappointed.

Good bbq, nice staff, good prices. The portions are large, but the sauce is a bit unusual. Though, not in a negative way. I like the sauce because I keep coming back.

Rib tips are to die for. Get extra sauce.

so it seems like they opened up this place after closing down the old uncle johns? I think that’s what I read on one of the articles on the wall while I was waiting for my food.
anyways. this is a small pick up only restaurant. and when I say small. I mean like it only fit 1 line of like probably 6 ppl in there lol. the place is also very easy to miss if you are not paying attention. I passed it twice haha.
i ordered the link and tip combo along with the 6 wing special (2 free wings)
the wings was pretty good. nice and crispy. not too small
the ribs and link was eh. there was quite a few chewy pieces. the links was over cooked and a little dry.
also wasn’t a big fan of their bbq sauce…

i had a taste for ribs so I went to Lems, not my favorite but the only place I knew. As it turned
out they were closed, so I decided to drive over to 47^th street and stop at the first rib place i found. It turned out to be Uncle J’s and I got lucky. Lems is history.

They can be a little inconsistent at times, not as good as the original Uncle John’s, but where they’re on, they’re on! My go to for rib tips and hot links. Beware, the hot sauce is really hot.

I would’ve given it one star but the fries were really good. There were a few tender tips in my order but for the most part the meat was DRYYYYYYYY!!! No amount of sauce could help them. I was so disappointed!!! Uncle Johns was my spot and when I found out they were in the same family, I hoped for the best… Uhhh not so much!

Doesn’t get any better than this in the City of Chicago! Rib tip/​link Combo… Slap Yo Mama, finger lickin’, break out inna dance… Damn Delicious!!! Waiting for my husband to bring it home right now, gratefully, only about a 10 – 15 minute drive from our Hyde Park, South Shore Dr, condo… Lucky us!!!

Ribs and chicken are good! The hot is too hot for me so I stick to the mild. Why go to Harold’s when you can hit up this spot?
Street parking. Takes a minute to get your food but it’s worth it. $ 7.10 for 8 wings and fries called the #14 $ 6.50 special

I had a craving for ribs the other day and I looked on Unilocal to help me find a good spot. I started out at another south side place but when I got to the restaurant the sign said it was cash only which is not what is on their website. So needless to say I was pissed. I drove past another spot and they didn’t take credit cards either so I jumped on Unilocal and Uncle J’s came up. I called to see if they took credit cards and she said yes but they don’t let you call in your order. Since I was already on that side of town and was still craving ribs I drove over. The person taking my order at the window was very friendly and I ordered a half slab and 4 wings. They have a menu on the wall with combo numbers…50 or 60 something combos. Which I would say take the time to read because I only went about 20 down and ordered my wings and ribs separately but if I would have gone to number 46 I would have seen that order as a combo and saved 3 dollars. oh well!
So I placed my order and since the place is about the size of my hallway I went to my car to wait. About 15 mins later my order was ready. I dug into it when I got home and it was worth my drive over to the south side. The BBQ sauce was a little spicy but the ribs were deelish!!! Very meaty! The chicken wings were good… basic wings you would get at a rib joint. Nothing spectacular but good; I would do the combo again. The meatiness of the ribs has me wanting to try the rib tips next time. All in all definitely worth my trip and definitely going back when I have my next craving for ribs.

Believe it or not, I think good BBQ spots can be hard to come by. So, of course we wanted to have a little bit of everything on the menu to decide if this was a keeper or not. While they’re known for their hot links, I think a true PitMaster’s test is proven within their ribs and rib tips. We settled on the jumbo tips ($ 14.50), the wing special (8/​$ 6.50) and later discovered it was a better deal to go with the jumbo tip and link special ($ 15.00). We went with the mixed sauce, which was supposed to be a little hot, yet, still sweet. Boy were we wrong, that stuff was SOOO hot, we could barely eat our food! The rib tips were nice and tender and the wings where your average wings. The hot links were pretty good, but again, they were hot as heck!
The only issue we encountered was with our decision to change to the combo jumbo tip & link. It was $ 15 vs. the $ 14.50, we paid for just the Jumbo Tip. So, we should have paid the difference ($. 50) plus taxes (10.25%). However, they charged us another $ 1.09, which was a $. 60 tax on a $.50 item. Who does that? When we questioned it, they didn’t understand the problem. LOL, I’ll still go back.
Extra info:
This is a family owned business. The PitMaster worked at Uncle Johns BBQ for years! He’s known for his hot links. His daughter opened this place to high light his links!

First time In Chicago a few weeks ago and the food was incredible. Service was prompt and overall friendly. Great ambiance and some of the best flavor I’ve found in my travels.

Oh my goodness!!! Soooo good. First time here the rib tips were off the chain. Food never made it home. The staff were friendly and prompt. I definitely will be back and back and back.

Very friendly folks. Based on the reviews, I had the rib tips. It was 7:30 pm. The portion size was huge. But the meat was dried out. I was so looking forward to it. 1 star perhaps I should have gotten there early.
Also had the the wings. I definitely would go back for them. I should have gotten the 6 wings for $ 6.50 get 2 free. 3 stars.
The links looked fabulous.

Living across the street is dangerous as I am always tempted by the delicious smoky goodness wafting through my windows. I have never had an issue with service, I’m always greeted with a smile. I generally place my order them run across to pick up a craft brew to go along with my meal. When I come back, it’s hot and ready.
I’ve only had the tips, chicken wings and pork links but they are soooo good. The flavor of the tips is wonderful, they are tender and the links are always smoked and spicy. Mixed sauce is preferred because the hot by itself has strong vinegar aftertaste for me. For $ 13 I get about 2 lbs of tips 2 huge links, fries, slaw and two slices of bread. Totally enough for two but you will need extra bread for all that spicy sausage! Ask to bag the fries separate because they get greasy and dont get enough sauce under all the meat.
Standing room only so no place to sit and wait but they accept plastic so I’m happy. In only wish the hours were more consistent.

I wanted to find an alternative to my regular BBQ spot in my neighborhood and I ran across Uncle J’s on 47^th Vincennes. The food was plentiful. I ordered a slab of ribs and small order of hot links. The ribs were good and we had enough meat to eat for two days, the same with the hot links. The links were hot but I could’ve used more sauce. I would recommend Uncle J’s to my friends and neighbors. Oh yeah, their service is quick. The cook told me 5 – 6 minutes and it was 5 – 6 minutes, unlike other bbq joints in Bronzeville that can take up to 45 – 60 minutes for a simple order. Take out only hole in the wall, but a good hole in the wall.

IT’S The SAUCE. It’s so thick and rich. I Had the tips/​hot links/​and an extra order of fries. I’ve since been back just to get the fries, like I said IT’S THE SAUCE:) The tips were tender but not too tender and the hot link was seasoned well. I will definitely be going back.

Had a craving for ribs late one night. Someone recommended Uncle’s J to me — one of few rib places we found that was open late and took credit cards. Great service and the rib tips were delicious. I love their sauce.

UPDATE!
In my last review I stated I went to Uncle J’s to sample the bbq before placing a huge order for a family gathering, When I originally talked to the mgr/​owner he stated I could pay for the order the day before and pick it up the day I needed it. Unfortunately I was unable to go by the day before so I called the day of around 1pm. and the mgr would not come to the phone to talk to me so he allowed this teenage girl to take my order. She gave me the total and I informed her I will come pick up at 530pm. When I arrived at 535pm my order was not ready and I had 10 hungry family member at my home waiting for food. I was furious! Not only was I angry at the point that I was told my order would be ready but I was also furious that the manger refused to come and address his customer.
When he finally waddled his fat butt out of the back he began to argue with me and tell me I need to pay ahead of time and it would be an hour before he could have my order ready. Not only was he rude but when I looked in the smoker where was NO FOOD! I assume he was going to have to cook my order. Anyone who has ever bbq’d knows it will take more than an hour to do so. I stormed out and went to UNCLE JOHNS ON 83RD.
When I got to 83^rd I was met with a smile and with compassion when I told her my story and that I have 10 family members waiting. She simple said «give me 15 minutes» in around 30 minutes I walked out with tons of food and I was very happy! Uncle Johns on 83^rd was glad to accept my 120.00 and I was more than delighted to give it to them. UNCLE JOHN’S ON 83RD AND COTTAGE SAVED THE DAY!
I will never return to Uncle J’s on 47^th and will tell everyone I know NEVER to spend their money there. I foresee this dump closing soon!

Tender, but not fall-​off-​the-​bone tender. HOWEVER, you get A LOT of meat for a good price, the sauce is great, and I ate these a day that I was sick with a throat ache and they no joke made me feel so much better.