Soul & Smoke - Avondale at Rockwell on the River Reviews
Submitted by Janice Fleckman on 08/10/2022
Janice Fleckman 5 stars rating.
The best barbecue Brisket sandwich and Mac and cheese in the city! I love Soul & Smoke. Eat outside by the Chicago river and you’ll feel like you are somewhere else.
Christian Totoy 4 stars rating.
This restaurant make the perfect combination for food and beers. They are closes to metropolitan brewery.
Submitted by Christian Totoy on 09/09/2022
David Reabow 5 stars rating.
Great bbq. Very pleasant outdoor seating next to the river and surrounded by trees.
Submitted by David Reabow on 08/14/2022
Tanya Bhatia 4 stars rating.
Mac and cheese - fantastic. 10/10. Would order again
Brisket - 8/10, would order again. So tender!
Rib tips - 9/10
BBQ sauce- 9/10. Reminds me of a Carolina sauce and its delicious. I would put that sauce on anything
Cornbread - 9/10. The perfect amount of sweet, salty, and moist-ness
Apple slaw 4/10. Strange. Wouldn't order again
Baked beans 7/10. They weren't all that sweet but the smoky flavor was still good!
Submitted by Tanya Bhatia on 07/31/2022
BRENDA PARKER 5 stars rating.
It was our first time visiting Soul & Smoke however it won’t be our last. We enjoyed everything we tried. The rib tips were excellent and the greens were tender & flavorful. Can’t wait to return & did l say how good the homemade pickles & Cole slaw were?
Submitted by Brenda Parker on 07/03/2022
S. M 5 stars rating.
Early in the day, I texted karaoke buddy who moved to Chicago many years ago and ask for recommendation for food and fun as I was spending the day in the city. I Checked my phone when I landed and it seemed communication ceased with no suggestions given. I googled Black owned bbq places and saw Soul & Smoke but was discouraged by the traffic I had to go through to get there. By the time I picked up my rental, there was a little traffic so I headed to Avondale. I didn’t expect the “ghost kitchen” but I was familiar with them so I ordered the all day pulled pork sliders with cornbread and a brisket sandwich.
Let me start off saying, please didn’t ever send anyone off without napkins or even wet wipes. I started with the brisket sandwich. I opened the compostable container and saw a huge delight. I picked up the monster sandwich and thought about how I would attack it. My mouth would not open wide enough to get good first bite. What I managed to get was a sample piece of the top soft brioche bun (I think) and the moist brisket with sauce. Let me tell you, it was tangy, not overly spicy and quite tasty. There was so much meat to compliment to bun. I took one bite after the other. I chose mix of lean and fat for the brisket so I was trying to see if I’d end up with more fat than lean. Not the case. I save to rest for the next morning.
Not onto the sliders. Rather than saying Lunch All Day, you should say, Lunch for TWO DAYS!! The apple slaw added a hint of sweetness. The pork was not dry at all, and I had it the following afternoon with out heating it up. The corn muffin was dense and delicious.
I’m grateful my buddy ghosted me, lol, because this place right here is on the list, forever! I plan to get some sandwiches to take with me back to CT. I just hope I could restrain myself on the plane.
Submitted by S. M on 06/26/2022
Daniel Howard 5 stars rating.
I ordered the Gumbo, Greens, and Pulled Pork Sliders for delivery. Everything was delicious! I would eat from here again.
Submitted by Daniel Howard on 06/25/2022
K W 5 stars rating.
If this is your first time at this location, this is a hub location, ordering is online, and you can scan a qr code to go to the site to select this restaurants menu.
This is a must try spot. We don't have many good bbq places up north, and this is by far the best I've had in a very long time. Their brisket and tips are juicy, flavorful, smoky and tender. Their hot link is something that you don't come by often, I highly recommend trying their hot links. Got a kick to it, the snap, and very juicy.
Submitted by K W on 02/14/2022
Arpana Hardas 1 stars rating.
I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and it was incredibly dry, like it had been sitting out for hours. They did not give me everything I ordered, and the sides are expensive. The coupon code I received did not work. I spent almost $40 and threw most of it away. I'll never order from here again.
Submitted by Arpana Hardas on 10/09/2021
Chelsie Tamms 5 stars rating.
Great flavors! We tried the brisket, mac and cheese, and baked beans - all were great.
I personally appreciated that the brisket wasn’t too fatty as sometimes that turns me off from getting it in general.
The mac and cheese was definitely cheesy and you can tell they use real cheese.
It’s really easy to pickup from the Avondale kitchen. You do have to check in on the screens to the left when you get there and then it gives you directions on which locker to go to or if you should go up to the counter.
A lot of great local options are working out of this kitchen, so you can order multiple different kinds of food if your family has different likes!
Submitted by Chelsie Tamms on 07/24/2021
Tom Harding 1 stars rating.
I guess it's all about preference but I found the brisket to be overly fatty. I like brisket that has a little bit of fat to keep it moist but that is not completely marveled with fat and greasy. The flavor was okay, but even if the meat had been better I still would have rated the brisket as average. It's not the worst brisket that I've had however it is definitely not the best. Finally the portion sizes are extremely small for the price and they don't offer family-sized meals. I would say to avoid this place unless you prefer a lot of fat marbling in your brisket. There is definitely a balance between dry brisket and overly fatty brisket and some of the best places that I have been to have nailed this. Unfortunately this place has not.
Submitted by Tom Harding on 07/14/2021
Mandie 5 stars rating.
Out standing! I can't say enough good this about their food. Hubby and I had the 1lb brisket with collard greens and baked beans. Brisket was juicy and so flavorful we didn't us the bbq sauce but did try it,so yummy! Greens were amazing, some of the best I have ever had. Beans blew my mind! Thanks for the amazing food. You guys have a customer for life.
Submitted by Mandie on 05/15/2021
Matt G. 5 stars rating.
Great variety and quality overall. Everything added up to a very satisfying meal. The delivery order was well packed and organized and arrived hot and on time.
The jerk chicken and cajun veggies & grits were the highlights for me. BBQ was very good too, and all the sides were tasty. Especially the mac & cheese, sweet potato, and cornbread muffins. A good number of vegetarian options too if you need them. Will order again to try the ribs next time.
Submitted by Matt G. on 05/05/2021
Kisha Johnson-Smith 5 stars rating.
I didn’t think to take pictures before hand, but this place is a winner! I had the brisket dinner. Everything was tasty & filling! What cheese do they use on the “Mac & Cheese”?! I was pleasantly pleased. The location is off the beaten path on the North side but now I know! If you like Famous Dave’s or Dickeys...Soul & Smoke wins the blind taste test hands down! Definitely returning, my husband gave praise to the Brisket sandwich as well. I can’t wait to try it! Check them out!
Submitted by Kisha Johnson-smith on 04/24/2021
Matt McCabe 5 stars rating.
We loved everything - ribs, brisket, mac & cheese, slaw, corn muffins. Dry rub ribs were amazing. High praise for the mac & cheese, some of the better restaurant mac & cheese we’ve had in the last few years.
Don’t sleep on the corn muffins.
Submitted by Matt Mccabe on 04/07/2021
