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 has locations in ghost kitchens in Avondale and South Loop, and there’s a truck that will make stops at Logan Square farmers market and more. Later in June, they’ll also debut a stall inside Time Out Market Chicago in Fulton Market where a special hot link will debut and they’ll also sell bottled barbecue sauce.

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. Lincoln Park sister restaurant Ella’s BBQ is also open.

The place that started Chicago’s barbecue renaissance is well-known and beloved by smoked meats enthusiasts. Smoque holds a long-standing spot on the Eater 38 thanks to its melting pot of styles. The meaty St. Louis ribs are slathered with a Memphis-style dry rub and smoked over apple and oak, while the moist and tender brisket by way of Texas is one of the finest in town. Sides are no afterthought, either, as homemade mac and cheese, brisket chili, and BBQ beans are all excellent. Staff have set up a covered and socially-distanced patio that’s also BYOB.

Barbecue, beers, and blues are all that’s needed for a great time and this Wicker Park spot has been providing them since 1994. Diners who are indecisive (or extra hungry) should try one of the platters, which comes with choice of several meats, but make sure to also get an order of the smoked wings. For dessert, the skillet cookie is among the city’s best. The restaurant has a second outpost inside Hotel Zachary in Wrigleyville.

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.

County Barbecue, under new ownership, operates like a meat-and-three spot with rib tips, St. Louis ribs, Texas brisket, hot links, and more. A fire damaged the space in 2016, but the space has been rebuilt and continued to deliver quality smoked meats.

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. For the time being, Honky Tonk is exclusively offering takeout and delivery.

Owner and 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. For now, Honey 1’s menu items are only available for carryout.

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. Staff are currently offering carryout and delivery.

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.