Fredine’s Barbecue House

This little hole-​in-​the wall BBQ joint serves, in my opinion, the best BBQ in the world. Granted I’ve only had the tips, but holy smoke, that’s all you need. This is not your haute cuisine, upscale BBQ joint. It’s strictly take-​away and you need to place your order though about 3 inches of bullet proof glass. The accompanying sauce is delicious and representative of what a Chicago sauce (or any BBQ sauce for that matter) should taste like. Just the right amount of sweet, sour and kick. I swear I ordered a small rib tip and after several measured hacks with a machete-​like cleaver from the owner I received a football sized newspaper-​wrapped package containing smokey heavenly bliss. The owner is a really cool, nice guy too. Oh. If you don’t want everything smothered in sauce — order it on the side. Pretty sure they only serve RC Cola to drink. Sorry to hear the other reviewer’s experience at Fredine’s but it’s not one I’ve had. A+.

I’ve been desperately seeking a new neighborhood que place for a while and a relative mentioned Fredine’s.
Well, I went to Fredine’s last week and was HIGHLY disappointed. I ordered a tip/​link combo and for the most part, it was horrible. The charred meat (tips) were DRENCHED in TOO MUCH SAUCE and like most bar-​b-​que places the FRIES WERE UNDERCOOKED and hard to find at the bottom. The links were edible, but, In the garbage the rest went, A WASTED $ 9! The only good thing I can say is that the sauce (mild or hot?) wasn’t ½ bad.
Visibily, the inside of the place needs a facelift and doesn’t elude cleanliness. And to top it off, the person chopping my meat was on a cell phone.