Chef D’Andre Carter and wife Heather Bublick have brought back barbecue glory to Evanston, a suburb with a legacy of smoked meats thanks to Hecky’s, Merle’s, and more. Carter, a South Side Chicago native, has shown an obsession for barbecue with Texas-style brisket, tender baby backs, and more. The operation also has a ghost kitchen in Avondale, a stall in the Time Out Market Chicago in Fulton Market, and a food truck.

Those who can’t get to Austin, Texas, might as well head to Ravenswood to sample the goods at ATX Bodega. The specialties here are Texas-style favorites: tacos, birria, and quesadillas made with smoked beef and pork. There’s also brisket, ribs, and pork shoulder by the pound.

This Jefferson Park spot lures fans with items like a brisket burrito and pulled pork poutine, for breakfast. Other favorites include smoked salmon, rib tips, and smoked polish sausage. Earl’s is equipped with a handy drive-thru, ideal for social distancing, and has a handful of picnic tables for outdoor dining. A sister restaurant, Ella’s BBQ in Lincoln Park, is also open.

Pit master Dominque Leach, who worked at fine-dining restaurant Spiaggia before opening her own establishment, smokes her meats using applewood and offers pork and turkey rib tips, smoked chicken, and brisket. She describes her barbecue style as Central Texas-meets-Memphis. Get the goods at Leach’s North Avenue restaurant or her recently-opened second location in Pullman.

Barbecue and the Gold Coast don’t sound like they quite go together (especially with valet parking), but hey, this joint is run by Art Smith, Oprah’s former personal chef. Chicago Q prides itself not only the quality of its meats — which run the full barbecue gamut of pig, beef, chicken, and links, plus gator, in the styles of the Carolinas, Texas, Tennessee, and Missouri — but also of its bourbon.

South Side-style barbecue is, understandably, a rarity on the other parts of town. This Humboldt Park spot is the welcome exception to that norm, utilizing an aquarium smoker to produce tasty rib and turkey tips, links, and slabs of ribs. There’s a non-pork smoker, too, for folks with dietary restrictions.

After nine years in business, Charlie McKenna’s popular Wicker Park restaurant has made some changes. The menu has expanded to include new items like Texas brisket and pimento cheese sausage while the service is now counter. Old favorites — fried pickles, tri tips — remain, as do Lillie’s Q’s lineup of bottled sauces, which range from tangy Carolina Gold to a mayonnaise-based Alabama white barbecue sauce. McKenna relocated to a new space inside West Town brewery District Brew Yards in 2020.

Hogsalt Hospitality operates a variety of successful restaurants, including a cafeteria-style smokehouse located inside a former West Loop warehouse. Texas-inspired meats, like brisket, pastrami, pork belly, and ribs, are sold by the half pound. The simple menu also offers several sides as well as Frito pie topped with brisket chili. Green Street offers patio seating as well as delivery and carryout.

Pitmaster Willie Wagner honed his skills on the competition circuit before opening a Wild West-themed smoked meats destination in Pilsen. His Memphis-style, dry-rubbed barbecue includes brisket, baby back and St. Louis ribs, smoked chicken, and some of the city’s finest pulled pork.

Arkansas native Robert Adams runs this acclaimed barbecue spot with his son Robert Jr. and together the two slow-cook their meats over wood fire in a glass-walled “aquarium” smoker. The result is tender, meaty, and lean spare ribs, rib tips, hot links, and pulled pork that’s gained a devoted following. And in keeping with the spirit of other South Side spots, they also offer non-BBQ items such as chicken wings, smoked chicken, fried fish dinners, and burgers.

Patrons won’t find seating or virtually any type of amenity at this South Side staple but they will enjoy grilled slabs of ribs, tender rib tips, and succulent hot links. Call ahead to place an order or be prepared to wait as lines are common. Leon’s operates a second location on 106th Street.

Slab is a family-owned smoke stack that serves links, rib tips, chicken, and baby-back and St. Louis-style ribs. The South Shore restaurant uses hickory in its aquarium-style smokers. Slab also makes its side dishes — fries, cole slaw, and macaroni and cheese — on site.

Chicagoans’ love of rib tips and its popularity can be traced back to this small South Side smoke shack. Lem’s has been an institution for more than 60 years, serving smoky, finger-licking tips with a tangy, vinegary sauce. There’s little else available on the menu except for some juicy hot links and fried chicken, but everyone should head to 75th Street to understand why the lines stretch out the door.

This cozy Chatham spot serves up St. Louis-style ribs, rib tips, wings, turkey tips, and more. Former pharmaceutical engineer Samuel Gilbert claims his travels to barbecue hotspots like Memphis and North Carolina gave him a chance to study the craft. The restaurant is takeout and delivery-only.

Located right off Interstate 57, this no-frills shack puts the spotlight on poultry, serving barbecue that’s a bit less common in the form of turkey tips and turkey links. Traditional rib tips and hot links are also available for carryout and delivery.