I was in the western Chicago suburbs in the early summer for a trade show that was, well, quite frankly, a waste of time for me. I mean, it was good to see people and to network. But it was poorly attended by the people it was meant to attract. I had finished up at the show one evening and was on the hunt for barbecue. I did a quick search for barbecue in the Schaumburg and I found a place called Blackwood BBQ. I put the address into the GPS and moments later I was sitting in the parking lot in front of Blackwood BBQ.
Blackwood BBQ started as a venture between some like-minded friends a few years ago when the group started to smoke meats at a small store front in Chicago doing mostly catering jobs. Within a couple years, they opened a sit-down fast-casual restaurant in the Chicago loop. More downtown locations followed, but the original owners were growth-stymied by a lack of capital investment.
Enter David Sloan and Franklin Buchanan. The half-brothers were executives with the Naf Naf Grill chain during the companies growth via franchising. The Middle Eastern fast-casual restaurant started in Naperville in 2009 and expanded to 36 stores in 12 states. When a private capital company bought Naf Naf Grill in 2016, Sloan and Buchanan stayed on for the transition period. In 2018, they both left Naf Naf Grill and started their own private capital company - Venture Kitchens - and immediately invested in Blackwood BBQ. Their investment allowed Blackwood BBQ to open their first location outside of the Chicago city limits in an out-lying building near the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg in 2019.
Blackwood BBQ is located just off Golf Road at the West Drive entrance to Woodfield Mall in a small strip mall north and west of the mall proper. (see map)
The decor inside the Schaumburg Blackwood BBQ featured a sort of rustic look with a number of wood tables with a mist-mash of chairs and benches for people to sit on. It was the kind of place where rolls of paper towels were on each table to use as napkins. Strings of lights criss-crossed the area above the dining room. There was a small bar with a couple flat screen televisions on the wall on the back bar. Music was wafting through the sound system in the place with songs by diverse artists such as country music icon Buck Owens, 60's one-hit-wonders The Human Beinz, and blues/funk guitarist Black Joe Lewis.
Being a fast-casual restaurant, the ordering is done at a counter. The menu is on the wall just before a self-ordering screen. Blackwood BBQ features beef brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken and Mikeska sausage. They even had a vegetarian option with a smoked jackfruit. Sides included charred Brussels sprouts with a maple glaze, mac & cheese, and Mexican-style elotes. A full bar was available with beers and mixed drinks.
I was third in line behind two groups who were using the self-ordering screens when one of the guys behind the counter motioned me to come over to him. He had a thick Eastern European accent - in fact most of the guys behind the counter had a thick accent that was tough to understand. I placed my order with the guy and he rang me up at the register. I had ordered a Revolution Brewing Anti-Hero IPA that one of the other guys poured for me over at the bar. I was given a buzzer disc that went off when they had my order ready to pick up at the counter.
Like most times I go to a barbecue joint that I haven't been to before, I like to get the combo plate. Blackwood BBQ only offered two choices for their combo and I wanted to get brisket and burnt ends. "No burnt end," one of the guys behind the counter had said when the guy at the counter who took my order inquired if any were left. I got the pulled pork instead. For my sides, I got the cole slaw and the baked beans which had chunks of brisket and pulled pork with sautéed onions and peppers added. A piece of grilled Texas toast and pickled onions and dill pickles also came with the meal.
They had six different sauces available on the table to choose from. The Chicago sauce was a sweet and spicy sauce that was simmered in Old Style beer. (That was interesting because they didn't offer Old Style at Blackwood BBQ.) That sauce was all right - I didn't think of it as very spicy, however.
And of the sauces that I tried, the Chicago was the best. The sweet and smoky Kansas City-style also had a bit of a spicy kick, but it wasn't all that good. The sweet and thick Memphis-style sauce was pretty bland. I tried a bit of the North Carolina vinegar sauce on the pulled pork and it was pretty bland, as well. I didn't even bother trying the white Alabama-style sauce or the South Carolina mustard sauce. I like sauce with my barbecue, but these all were pretty underwhelming to me.
The portions, I thought, were rather skimpy, portion-wise. The brisket featured four small slabs that were thick cut and very moist, but the bark was somewhat sticky and very salty. The pulled pork was fine, flavorful and juicy. But there just wasn't enough of it for what I paid for the whole dinner. I did like the beans and the Chicago-style sauce did help zip up the taste a bit. The cole slaw was also fine. I was just disappointed in the meat portions they served.
I felt that Blackwood BBQ was good, but I also thought it was rather expensive for the meat portions served. I'm not too keen on fast-casual restaurants that serve beer because it's sort of a pain if you want to get a second beer during the meal and you have to go through the line once again and place your order. (Sometimes when I encounter fast-casual ordering in restaurants I usually just order two beers or drinks.) I thought the brisket and the pulled pork at Blackwood BBQ was good. But I felt there just wasn't enough for what I paid.
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