Fat Willy's Rib Shack: User Reviews

Great bbq
By shlk_2000 from East Village, October 31, 2009

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Reliably terrific bbq. Terrific apps, especially the macaroni & cheese, and great brisket and chicken sandwiches. I strongly recommend.

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Yum!!!!!
By SusieQue from west rogers park, June 23, 2009

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Love the pulled pork sandwich (eat half and take the other half home). Great baked beans and the baby back ribs are to die for (and cost like it, too). Only disappointment was the chocolate peanut butter pie- skip the dessert and order the chicken noodle soup or baked sweet potato side instead.

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Absolutely Terrible
By fischy221 from Logan Square, February 8, 2009

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This restaurant was horrible. From the 20+ minute wait, we expected to have a decent meal after a movie. When our food finally came, the rib tips were over cooked, the fries tasted like cardboard, and the mac and cheese tasted like rotten socks. The worst part of it all was that the garlic bread tasted like burnt plastic minus any taste. For what we got, it was definitely now worth the price they charge you. I would not recommend this place to my enemy. The ambiance was decent, very southern-ish. Don't waste your time here. There's a Burger King across the street.

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OMG Whatta Rib Tip
By Mikeyman from Munster, IN, October 23, 2008

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My best friend and I went to Fat Willy's on a whim for his birthday. What a great meal! Best onion rings, delicious corn dog, my rib tips were the meatiest I've ever had, and his brisket was so tender, so smoky, so yummy! Great corn, sweet potato, collard greens. Our server was really nice, and they sang a Happy Birthday song (to the toon of the theme from The Flinstones) to my friend. The coconut cream pie and the chocolate pecan pie were okay, but we didn't really mind, because the rest of the meal was so incredible. We'll definitely be back. WORD OF WARNING: Do NOT park on Schubert. Apparently the entire street is a no parking, no standing, don't even THINK about breathing zone. Kinda killed the buzz, ya know?

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Not worth a long review
By ab from uptown, September 29, 2008

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A name like Fat Willy's makes you think of a nice greasy hole-in-the-wall undiscovered gem. This gem is made of dirt. Overpriced, and the ribs were mushy and dry. The pulled pork was bland and dry. Go to Smoque for great brisket or Smoke Daddy for fairly decent pork. Fat Willy's doesn't know what they're doing.

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Terrific
By Jetsy51 from Jetsy51, September 7, 2008

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The great smoked flavor-taste will definately bring us back to Fat Willy's. We had to wait a couple minutes for a table outside, but was well worth it. The ribs tip had a very distinct charred taste with perfect tenderness and the sauces on every table were fresh and served warm. The portions were perfect and it's a great location because of the movie theatre next door. We would recommend Fat WIlly's to anybody who appreciates good BBQ in the north.

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To be honest, I had...
By Luke from Chicago, IL, July 12, 2007

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To be honest, I had the best barbecue burger in my entire life. The staff was friendly and they cooked it EXACTLY as I asked. It was...amazing and memorable.

I am so bummed! Fat...
By Kathy from Chicago, IL, June 30, 2007

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I am so bummed! Fat Willy's used to be so good but I agree with the recent negative reviews. It seems the success has gone to their heads and they have relaxed on the quality yet raised the prices. The last few times I have gone for carry out (and I only live 5 minutes away) the fries are old, and over cooked once I could swear they had been re-fried to heat them up. I always get the sandwiches smoked chicken, brisket or burger and each one has been cold and dry and as though they have been sitting for hours. I tried ordering there and just waiting and it still sucked. I will probably give them another chance but just one.

THE WAIT STAFF WAS EXCELLENT,...
By alisa from chicago, il, June 24, 2007

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THE WAIT STAFF WAS EXCELLENT, BUT THE FOOD, WHICH WE ORDERED TO GO WAS COLD ALL OF IT RIBS, CHICKEN, MAC AND CHEESE AND CORN. IMAGINE HAVING BARBEQUE THAT IS COLD WHICH WAS OBVIOUSLY SITTING OUT NOT BEING KEPT WARM NOT A GOOD PLACE FOR CHICAGO STYLE RIBS. MAYBE EATING IN WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER.

Ate at Willy's before catching...
By Brian from Chicago, IL, June 13, 2007

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Ate at Willy's before catching a movie across the street. Maybe Willy took the earlier reviews to heart because my experience was great. 3 of us sat outside & the server was very attentive. After ordering, she refilled our water 3 times without so much as a glance her way.
The food was ready and served very quickly. Damn Willy does it right! The sauce they have is unbelievable and the ribs are tasty even without the extra sauce. A half slab & steak fries was more than enough food to satisfy. Their soup is good too. Try it again if you didn't like it the first time, I'm definetly going back