Bull's BBQ-First Trip

On Thursday, Denise and I went to Bull's BBQ in Kankakee.  All I can say is that Kankakee finally has a BBQ restaurant that understands what BBQ should be.  They don't get there on every point, but they are closer than anyone else in the area.  I had the pulled pork sandwich with BBQ beans and coleslaw as the sides.  The sandwich was big and piled high with meat.  The pork was good.  Some of the meat was a little dry but too dry, but that can happen when you have to let it sit while waiting to serve it. I can live with that. What made me happy was the fact that they did not drench the meat in sauce. They let the meat stand on its own and at the table you add as much or as little sauce as you wanted.  The meat was not over smoked but you could see the smoke ring on some of the bigger pieces of meat.  There were also pieces of the outer bark added to the sandwich. Perfect way to do pulled pork. Actually, that is the way I do pulled pork.  

The best part of the meal were the BBQ beans.  The ball was hit way out of the park on this one. The beans were smoked along with the meat. They were sweet but not overly sweet.  You could taste the brown sugar, but it wasn't overpowering.  I have wanted to make some beans like this but I never had a big enough smoker. I do now.  I can't wait to try making beans this way.  The beans were a perfect complement to the pulled pork. These beans are worth the trip to Bull's all by themselves.

There were two areas that Bull's didn't quite hit the mark for me. The BBQ sauce and the coleslaw.  The BBQ sauce was only OK. It had a flavor that was a bit off to me. It wasn't sweet which is fine, but there needed to be some sweetness to counter some of the other spices that were used.  There was also no tang or punch to the sauce that maybe a little vinegar might have helped with.  Some spices that were added just didn't work.  It did have almost the perfect amount of heat.  It did not burn you, but you could feel the heat when you were done.  They could have added just a touch more heat without it having been too much.

The coleslaw was not good at all.  They attempted a vinegar dressed coleslaw and again they needed some sweet to go with it.  I don't know what they added to it but occasionally there was an almost bitter taste while I was eating the slaw.  They need to work on there slaw, just to put it mildly.

Denise had the BBQ nachos. I of course had to taste and finish what Denise didn't eat.  These were good.  Tortilla chips were topped with pulled pork (chicken and brisket were also available), BBQ beans, BBQ sauce, cheese and jalapenos.  It was good and messy.  Fortunately the sauce didn't hurt the flavor of this. Again, the beans and the pulled pork made this as good as it was.  They did use what appeared to be homemade tortilla chips that stood up to the sauce and cheese. Surprisingly, even the last few bites, the ones that I got, were still nice and crisp. This was a nice "appetizer". Denise got the half order and it was huge. I can not imagine how big the full size order would be.  

Finally, Denise also got the mac and cheese.  I did not try this but Denise liked it. Which says a lot because she knows her mac and cheese.

Bull's is definitely worth a second trip. Or third. Or fourth. I will definitely be going back. I have to try their pulled chicken sandwich, the brisket and of course the ribs. I will let you know how they faired with those dishes.