It was 4th of July Weekend in Chicago and the weather was beautiful. Valeria was busy on Saturday afternoon and I was in the mood for an All-American lunch. BBQ ribs would certainly fill the bill, but where to go? Chicago has a number of really good barbecue restaurants. Some are upscale and trendy with silverware, china plates and a wine list. Some are hole-in-the-wall joints with plastic forks, paper plates and lemonade. I decided to try an in-between place that has been in Chicago for almost 40 years (30 years longer than I have) but which I had never visited. It was also within walking distance of my condo, which was a bonus on such a beautiful day.
Carson’s Prime Steaks & Famous Barbecue, which I have often heard referred to simply as Carson’s Ribs, is at the corner of Wells and Ontario (there are two other locations in Deerfield and Milwaukee).
Chicago, IL 60654
Carson’s is a family restaurant that serves up pretty large portions of classic, barbecued baby back ribs, chicken and pork chops. In addition, the menu features numerous other midwest-classic steaks, fish and chicken dishes, sandwiches and sides.
There is a full bar, but I did not order a drink so I can’t comment on their cocktail program. There is a short wine list, but, if you are a wine drinker, you may want take advantage of their offer to bring your own for a corkage fee (I didn’t ask how much).
But I was really only there for one thing: I wanted some BBQ Baby Back Ribs.
Now, I am well aware that barbecuing is a near-religious experience for some people. There are endless arguments about beef versus pork, dry rub versus wet mop versus sauce and the right ingredients for whatever way you chose to season the meat you prefer. Then there are all the discussions of smoker design, wood selection, charcoal selection and so on. Let me be clear in my preferences: I love all the variations, at least when they are well done. BBQ beef or BBQ pork; both yummy. Dry rubs, mops, sauces? All can be delicious (or not). You may well have a preferred cut of meat, precious family rub or sauce (or both) recipes that are your idea of BBQ perfection. If so, I congratulate you and hope that I get to taste your variation one day. I plan to remain happily unfaithful to any one formulation and play the field for as long as I can.
With that out of the way, Carson’s is a 3rd-generation family restaurant that has chosen to smoke their ribs with no rub, long and slow in a hickory wood smoker. Hickory is the classic BBQ smoke for me, though I certainly enjoy mesquite, applewood, cherry and other hardwoods used in some places. They are not cooked to the “fall-off-the-bone” stage, which most pit masters would agree is overdone. Once cooked, they are slathered with a sweet, smoky and just slightly spicy BBQ sauce and (from their appearance) tossed under a broiler or onto a grill to give a quick char to the sauce.
I found my half-rack of ribs to be perfectly delicious and cooked just right—tender, but still with a bit of chew. There are a million delicious recipes for BBQ sauce, but the smoky, sweet and just a bit spicy sauce that Carson’s uses is, like hickory smoke, my idea of classic BBQ.
The sides dishes supported the ribs adequately. I liked the cole slaw a lot.
Nothing fancy here, just shredded cabbage in a creamy, mayonnaise-y, slightly sweet, slightly tart, dressing. The fresh-ground pepper on top was a nice touch.
The Au Gratin Potatoes were a classic midwestern version, which is to say there was plenty of cheese (cheddar, I think) with nicely cooked, diced potatoes, but not a lot of seasoning. I like to make them with some onion, herbs and maybe a little garlic, but that’s personal taste.
The only dish that really disappointed me was the Hot Fudge Sundae at the end. Of course, I never should have ordered that, anyway. I ordered just a half-rack of ribs to keep the calories down, so ordering dessert made no sense at all, but there you go. The hot fudge sauce was excellent—rich, thick, warm and intensely chocolate. The ice cream tasted like a cheap grocery store brand that had been frozen and unfrozen a couple times; it has too many ice crystals and not enough vanilla flavor or creamy smoothness.
I will definitely return to Carson’s for the ribs and cole slaw and to try a few other things on the menu. The wait staff was friendly and prompt. This is definitely a family-oriented place, so feel free to bring the kids and grandpa.
Carson’s Prime Steaks & Famous Barbecue – Chicago
Address: 612 N Wells St., Chicago, IL 60654
Phone: (312) 280-9200
Reservations: opentable.com
Website: https://www.ribs.com
Dress Code: Casual
Price Range: $30 and under
Hours: Lunch: Monday – Saturday: 11:30am – 4:00pm, Sunday: 11:30am – 3:00pm;
Dinner: Monday – Thursday: 4:00pm – 10:00pm, Friday & Saturday: 4:00pm -11:00pm, Sunday: 3:00pm – 10:00pm
Credit Cards: AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Additional Locations: Deerfield, IL and Milwaukee WI.
The author has no affiliation with any of the businesses or products described in this article.
All images were taken with a Sony Alpha a6000 camera and a Sony-Zeiss SEL1670Z Vario-Tessar T E 16-70mm (24-105mm full frame equivalent) F/4 ZA OSS lens or Sony 35mm (52mm full frame equivalent) F/1.8 E-Mount Lens using ambient light. Post-processing in Adobe Lightroom® and Adobe Photoshop® with Nik/Google plugins.
