Uncle Don Ray’s

Uh WHO is Uncle Don Ray and what did you do with Uncle John? I traveled to the South Side for delicious sausage from Uncle Johns and was shocked to see a new uncle. I don’t like this uncle’s food. and its all turkey, which may or not be a good
turkey hot links were dry and tasted a few days old. The seasonings inside were
came with a few fries and 3 slices of wheat bread-​WHY? 2 rickety links and 3 pieces of bread. The person at the desk said that the food was the same, but NAH!

If you are like me you were more than disappointed to find out that Uncle John’s BBQ was no longer going to be in business and on top of that the Uncle John’s he gave the torch too was no where as good as the original.
I say all of that because I was so excited too see a new BBQ joint in the old location of 337 E 69^th street. It was close and convenient.
I wanted too love this place. I wanted it to be the place I go to on the regular. I wanted to rave about it but unfortunately that isn’t going to happen today. I also thought it was weird that they don’t open until 4pm by then you have lost out on so much business. I mean I thought Uncle John’s opening up at 1 pm was crazy but Uncle Don Ray’s opening at 4pm is a head scratcher.
The first time I went to Uncle Don Ray’s BBQ was on mother’s day. We asked for the fries to be plain but instead the entire order was but people make mistakes so I didn’t give them a ding on messing up our order. It was closer to the end of the day and the tips really were more of a «meh’ not «amazing»
My daughters told me hey it was the end of the night, plus the chicken wings they ordered were good and the hot links were decent even though they were no Uncle John.
One day she went back and I don’t know the day but the rib tips were still not up to par and the portion was small according to her so I don’t know what made her give this place another chance but she loves rib tips and I guess she was going for the three strike rules so she went back this pass Saturday 5÷24÷14 and the ribs were so flavorful and that’s all I could think about was getting my own order because she teased me with only one piece.
She also said they gave her a free sample of the turkey tips and they were delicious.
I went back excited about getting my order only to walk back home to discover they were cold, dried out and less than tasty bits of meat in my container. They were nothing like they were the day before when my taste buds were excited and couldn’t wait for more of the savory meat. They tasted nothing like they look and I watched as the young man pulled rib tips out of the oven so when did they cook the rib tips? how long were they in the oven? I don’t know why I didn’t think of that while I watched him fix my order.
While waiting on my order a young lady came into the restaurant and ordered 3 small «End Pieces» she also ordered a small link after talking with the young lady behind the counter because there was a bit of confusion on what she meant by «End Pieces» I asked her what was «End Pieces» because I had never heard that term used before in regards to ribs. She explained that it was the end of a slab of ribs and too be honest I was still confused because I thought they called that end baby back or something like that. Anyway, I watched as the guy prepared her order and from the way she explained what it was it didn’t look like the young man understood what she meant either by «End Pieces» so I told her I don’t think you are going to be happy with your order because he is chopping the meat into tiny pieces and you said it was suppose to have a bone in it like a slab. She went back to the window asked the lady behind the counter was she sure they knew what «End Pieces» meant and the young man assured her he did and the young lady told her she would show her the order before they wrapped it up and gave it to her. Just as I had expected that wasn’t what she wanted but I didn’t stay too see the final results so I can’t say if things were resolved or if she cancelled her order. It was messed up because she drove all the way from Oak Park thinking she was coming to Uncle John’s and got Uncle Don Ray’s. It would have been okay if she had a better experience.
If you go into this place envisioning what use to be there you are going to be more disappointed because this place doesn’t hold a candle to them.
At the end of the day I will go back to try the turkey tips and if I want some wings I will go there but I can live without their Hot Links and inconsistent, small serving yet expensive tips.
I wasn’t looking for this place to be Uncle John’s BBQ but I wanted it live up to the Slogan «DANG GOOD BAR-​B-​QUE»
Enjoy!