Barn & Company: A New Chicago BBQ Bar
My fiancé was oh-so-excited to let me know about this new BBQ bar. It sounded good to me, so we headed there a couple weeks ago. I could smell the smoker a block down Wrightwood. His eyes bulged and mouth started drooling; I just laughed. I immediately liked the atmosphere upon stepping foot into the establishment (even before ordering the artichoke dip and a 312!). The layout is as big as a barn, the lighting is warehouse-bright, and the wood walls are adorned with pigs.
Find a festive sports bar that knows we like to watch TV while eating and drinking. The ambiance is a mix of modern big city and rustic country—barn wood constructed walls, tin ceilings, and a visible open kitchen run by a wood burning pit.
"Pit Master" Gary Wiviott brings credentials to the establishment with his BBQ cookbooks, such as Low & Slow: Master the Art of Barbecue in 5 Easy Lessons. He describes the menu with a pretty vivid analogy. Its "hickory smoke barbecue, taking the traditional messy glory of Memphis, Kansas City, and Texas-style barbecue and turning it into a full-blown pig picking fest."
Wash the food down with weekly drink specials: $10 312 and Green Line pitchers on Tuesdays, thursdays are grab $3 cans of beers like PBR and Old Style, and Fridays and Saturdays are $15 buckets (Bud and Miller Light).
I had the chance to ask three quick questions with Barn & Company Principal Owner Adolfo Garcia.
Q: Name three reasons to come to the bar.
Adolfo Garcia: BBQ, cocktails, and sports.
Q: What type of crowd do you draw?
AG: We draw a wide variety of clientele. We draw an enormous amount of families from the neighborhood, BBQ aficionados from all over Chicago-land area, and sports fanatics.
Q: Pick a couple menu items worth visiting the bar for.
AG: Beef brisket and baby back ribs.
