Encouraged by my foray into suburbia, I decided to try another place I'd heard good things about. Russell's Barbecue in Elmwood Park has been around quite a while and still seems to be very popular (crowded with families, most with at least one screaming child). From the outside the place appears very promising with an old-fashioned road house look, nice old neon, and a large square brick smokestack. You pick up your food at the counter and head to the dining area and its many old wooden booths. The barbecue part of the menu has beef, pork, and ham sandwiches ($3.95), ribs ($9.75 a slab), and chicken ($4.15 a half). The beef and pork sandwiches turned out to be very similar: a rather small serving of very thinly sliced meat with a small dollop of sauce on a standard small squishy hamburger bun (I have no problem with the small squishy bun; that's how most great bbq is served). The meat was nice and lean but seemed devoid of any seasoning and had no detectable smoke flavor at all, kind of like a dry unseasoned Italian beef. The sauce (extra sauce is easily available at the counter) was like a spiced ketchup with clove predominant; only one version is available. They came with fresh but unremarkable fries, a small tub of bland cole slaw (not creamy style but without any vinegar zip), and a couple discs of a good sweet-dill pickle (I wish more places included pickles). The sandwiches were certainly not terrible but they were certainly not barbecue. The ribs were similarly uninspired. The slab was tiny though what little meat there was had good texture, tender but with a bit of chew. Again there was absolutely no hint of any smoke flavor and very little seasoning. Even after eating a whole slab, my fingers had no trace of smoke smell (honestly now, isn't sniffing your fingers several hours later one of the little pleasures of eating barbecue?). It's hard for me to get very excited about this place. Russell's Barbecue 1621 N. Thatcher Ave. (just north of North Ave.) Elmwood Park 708-453-7065
Chicago, IL