Though barbecue sauce can be used to power tractors or grease slip ‘n' slides, it’s best for making beans sing and chickens dance. Start a party on the tongue's floor with today’s Groupon: for $15, you get $30 worth of barbecued fare at Carson’s North Wells location. Carson's was named one of the top 40 Chicago restaurants ever by Chicago magazine.
While this Chicago institution's recent remodel gave it an entirely new look, its menu still features the recipes that have earned it fame since 1977. Meats are smoked for hours in a hickory pit and bathed in Carson’s signature sauce. Rib rumbly tummys for their embarrassing racket with a half-slab of baby back ribs ($15.95). Half a barbecued chicken satisfies full-sized appetites ($13.95), and entrees all come flanked by cole slaw and other sides. Choosy eaters can opt for salmon fillets prepared with their pick of barbecuing, blackening, ginger glaze, or caramelization ($19.95). Carson’s attentive service makes dining there an exceptionally smooth experience, like riding a hoverboard over an ice rink.
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Reviews
Centerstage Chicago reviewed Carson's, and Gayot named it one of the top 10 barbecue restaurants in Chicago. More than 110 Yelpers give Carson's an average of 3.5 stars, and Zagat rates Carson's food as very good to excellent.
- Make no bones about it: Carson's knows ribs. Widely regarded as doing for ribs what greats like Lou Malnati's and Giordanos have done for deep-dish, no rib lover can claim to know all there is without an intimate knowledge of the way Carson's does it. – Kate Schwartz, Centerstage Chicago
Carson’s Prime Steaks & Famous Barbecue
When the first Carson's opened its doors in 1977, it was far from the only barbecue joint around. Yet the quality of its tasty, smoky barbecue is proven by the fact that it’s still gaining accolades from the press more than 30 years later.
The menu remains as it has always been—offering tender cuts of barbecued meat. Churning out everything from baby-back ribs and barbecued shrimp to grilled prime new york strip or prime rib, Carson's grills and smokers never stop working. In fact, the barbecued-beef sandwiches boast brisket that simmers in flavorful smoke for a whole 24 hours.