Fire and Ice Smokehouse and Creamery

Took our family of 6 there after a bball game. Looked cute and was reasonably busy and we always try and find local places instead of the chains… but this place was a complete disappointment. It took almost 30 min to take our order and get us drinks. The ½ appetizers of onion rings and sweet potatoes were typical frozen fare that was pretty average. Our two little ones ordered mini corn dogs and a mini-​burger, they said they were ok. My son ordered the pulled chicken which he said was ok as well. Then things really went south from here. My daughter’s brisket sandwich was 90% fat and gristle and was inedible as was my wife’s brisket slider. The pulled pork was extremely dry and tasteless on the rest of the sliders. The ice cream, which was part of the kids meals, was pretty good. Then we got the bill we almost had a heart attack…$ 100 with no alcohol or tip. We could have gone to Texas Toad house for a better and more cost effective experience. We will never go back to this place again…

Possibly the worst food I have had at a restaurant. I should of know we were in trouble when I saw the makeshift kitchen. One of two appetizers was burnt. Both sides we had with our sandwiches were inedible. Wife spit out multiple pieces of bone and gristle from her chicken salad. The brisket, pulled pork, & beef tender loin sandwich I shared with my daughter was lacking the pulled pork and was inedible as well. So called brisket did not have the texture or flavor of brisket at all. More like greasy pot roast meat. On top of that was charged $ 2 for a split plate charge. Be real Fire & Ice, you serve your food in plastic baskets with wax paper. This place is a joke and shouldn’t be open long.

Wonderful service and great food!
So happy we finally checked this place out. Loved the cozy atmosphere, beautiful woodwork surrounds you with all the little pictures and signs on the walls to read.
Delicious loaded nachos with brisket and cheese.
Both burger entrees were cooked perfectly. The cheese in my Juicy Lucy burger was oozing out, so yummy. And THE BEST Xtra crispy tater tots. Mmmmm!!!
Had no room left for ice cream but will definitely be back again.
Affordable, fair priced menu!

Wow – this place was great! Awesome appetizers-​we had pulled chicken nachos-​yum! Pulled pork was nice and lean, great burgers, and nice thick-​cut smoky bacon on the BLT. I’m a cole slaw addict and this one was perfect – not overly creamy; nice and vinegary. Save room for ice cream; its delish! We stopped in here on the way home from our annual trip out to Harvard to chop down our Xmas tree. We will return for sure!

GREAT food, friendly staff. This is a great place in town to get BBQ, sandwiches, and awesome sides.

PROS: Everything we ordered was hot and tasty. We had the ice cream (later), and it was AWEsome– one of the best shakes I’ve had in a long time.
CONS: styrofoam even for eating in and plastic forks. I didn’t expect classy, but Jesus… And that is aside from the totally unnecessary F-​You to the environment.

lovely service, yummy ice cream…
but no one was too excited about their meals. loved the casual, laid back atmosphere. to be honest, we were expecting a more formal set-​up but this place falls right after fast food, then counter service, then fire and and ice. paper menus and trash cans plus open soda station with plasticware. however, it’s table service and they come by to refill your drinks. tough spot to be a vegi (i expected that) but the boca burger filled my tummy enough. we’ll come back for the ice cream for sure if ever in the area.

How can a smokehouse be out of ribs and brisket at 6:30 on a Saturday night, plus no soup. Saw a table of six and a table of two walkout.

Filthy kitchen. Wouldn’t know how the food is because I wouldn’t eat there, walked in and then saw the state of the kitchen, left.

Very nice staff here but I just came here to get the ice cream and personally although it was homemade it was not amazing but it was good.

There aren’t a lot of dining options in Marengo, so I have been to Fire and Ice about 3 times I think. My husband says the burger is very good. I think the pulled pork is a bit dry but was fine and the baked beans are good as is the ice cream. Overall, it’s a fine place if you don’t want to drive far.

Walked in. Stood in front of ice cream counter. Waited for any of the three people behind the counter to acknowledge our presence. Left ice cream-​less after ten minutes. Won’t return.

We were brushed off by the waitress when we arrived. We waited outside for 10 minutes and nobody came out. I went inside and was told somebody would be out soon and that they were very busy. We finally got a waiter and ordered drinks and onion rings– they were phenomenal! It took another 20 minutes to take our lunch order. Took about 20 minutes to get our food. It was worth waiting for but the potato salad was bland and tasteless. While we were finishing up, I asked for our bill. 20 minutes later I went back in to get the bill. After some attitude and pathetic mumbling about how busy they were, I was expected to pay inside. I took the bill outside because that’s where my purse was. No tip left because tips are based on service. Oh, I had to refill my own drink. Bottom line– good food, poor customer service!

Below average meal at best for a pre-​Bears lunch. Ordered pulled pork nachos, ribs and coleslaw. Chicken tenders and fries for the kids. Chicken had way too much salt… Not an accidental oversalting but clearly some preparation mistake making them inedible. Ribs and nachos were fair at best. Would not return.

Absolutely incredible pulled pork sandwich called «the Skinny». Seriously, this may be the best barbecue in the county. The cornbread is fresh and hot. The ice cream is all handmade. I imagine there is nothing on this menu that is not delicious.

Stopped in based solely on the Unilocal reviews. What a mistake. When we walked in, 4 of the 7 tables were occupied, the other three were piled with garbage from previous victims… I mean customers. The sign said please be seated, but there was nowhere to sit, so we stood at the counter trying to get someone’s attention to clear a table. The rest of the fiasco that was our lunch is detailed in the timeline below:
1:50 PM — Walk in, look for empty, cleaned table
2:00 — Someone starts clearing tables (should have walked out already)
2:05 — 3 employees (mostly) clean 3 tables, we sit
2:10 — Waitress comes for drink orders, we place full order, thoroughly confusing waitress. We ordered Nachos for an appetizer, waitress asked if we would like that to come out before the meals, yes please (this is important for later).
2:25 — 3 of the 6 drinks came out. No sign on the other drinks, one of which was… water.
2:35 — Our cheese curds appetizer comes. Nope, wrong table.
2:40 — Waitress comes to tell us that they are out of carbonation, so the 2 fountain drinks we ordered are not available. We substitute lemonade. Still no sign of the elusive water.
2:50 — Different waitress comes up and asked if we’ve been waited on??? I can only reply, «sort of». We tell her that we’ve been waiting for quite a while. She manages to bring the water, and the originally ordered fountain drinks. They were flat as could be.
3:00 — first kids hot dog meal comes out, along with the kids cheeseburger
3:05 — second kids hot dog
3:07 — appetizer nachos appear. What disappointment. NOT looking for gourmet here, but this was just a cup of cheese with a handful of stale bagged tortilla chips. Also told that they were out of coleslaw. How can a BBQ joint be OUT of coleslaw???
Ok, we’ll take baked beans.
Nope, out of that too. (REALLY???)
Do you have any onion rings left?
Yes
ok, we’ll take those
3:10 — Last kids hot dog appears
3:12 — first adult meal
3:15 — second adult meal
I will say that the pulled pork is good, and the «skinny» sandwich is good as well (ignoring the huge bone chip), but every fried item tasted like the grease in the fryer was in desperate need of a change, several months ago.
Unfortunately, I spent a couple hours of my life here that I will never get back. Hopefully I can save you from the same fate. If you are ever in Marengo, and looking for a bite to eat, keep driving when you see the big ice cream cone out front. I’d recommend checking out the gas station roller dogs before rolling the dice at Fire and Ice.

After a morning at the Illinois Railway Museum, my family and I were hungry! We made the ten minute drive to Marengo for some BBQ. Fire and Ice didn’t disappoint.
For lunch I ordered a pulled pork BBQ sandwich with side for a cool $ 6.99. The sandwich was well-​assembled with a generous helping of smoked meat, and a touch of BBQ sauce, anchored by two buns. Love BBQ like me? They had BBQ sauce (one flavor) available on the tables. The bacon bleu potato salad, my side, tasted overwhelmingly of blue cheese; perfect for blue cheese lovers but too strong for my liking.
They also serve up ice cream, though I was too stuffed to partake.
The ambiance at Fire and Ice is casual, cool and rustic. Great for a family meal! Outdoor dining is also an option. Waiter service, too; the gal that was our server was attentive and personable.
I highly recommend Fire and Ice. The value is very good, the meat is tasty, and it’s in a convenient location just off the main drag.

So glad we finally stopped in to try Fire & Ice’s delicious BBQ offerings…
After an afternoon at the Illinois Railway Museum, the fam was mighty hungry and BBQ was everyone’s top choice.
The restaurant is clean and cozy, and on a Tuesday afternoon not too busy with dine-​in diners (everybody was getting their stuff to-​go).
When you first go in, it does seem like it’s counter service only, but they do actually wait on you at the tables. Counter service for to-​go orders and ice cream, however.
Our waitress was very friendly, accommodating and quick to handle last minute changes to our order.
The food was served piping hot and the BBQ did not disappoint. Perfect portions and the BBQ sauce was sweet and tangy. I prefer my BBQ vinegary and spicy, but the sweet and tang went well with my smoked brisket sandwich.
Fries were crisp and cooked well, but I much prefer hand cut fries when I visit a place that does all their BBQ in-​house and makes their own sides (potato salad, mashed potatoes, macaroni salad) from scratch.
Only complaint would be the slightly loud, large flat-​screen TV on the wall. I much prefer to dine out and interact with my family and not have to compete with a television set murmuring the History Channel.
Didn’t try the ice cream because I was too full, but I’m definitely planning on it next time. Great restaurant!

We’re on our way back from an afternoon at the Apple Orchard and the only town I can think of on our way back that might have something worth stopping since we’re already out this way, is Marengo.
I’m the driver so I ask my gal pal to pull up Unilocal and check Marengo, IL for any restaurants that have good reviews or sound interesting. Just moments go by, and she says something about Fire & Ice. Gee, that sounds like an interesting name for a restaurant. They have good reviews on Unilocal and the whole smoked meat thing sounded good so off we went to find the restaurant.
We parked in their small lot because there wasn’t any street parking and walked in to this cute place with friendly faces. First thing I notice is that everyone eating here appear to be regulars. That’s a good sign to me! I also took note of their ice cream case you immediately see when you walk through the entrance.
We are seated at a four top against the wall and are handed a small paper menu. The server took our drink orders and gave us some time to peruse the menu.
Their food is reasonably priced and they make all their sides in-​house. Since we have never been here, we all picked out stuff that we know to play it safe. Around the table is a half slab of ribs, a pulled pork sandwich, pulled pork dinner with baked beans and cornbread and a whole smoked chicken. It was a difference of $ 2 to get a whole smoked chicken instead of a half smoked chicken so I ordered the whole chicken. I ended up pulling all the meat off the bones and covered it in their BBQ sauce to take home for dinner the next night. There was more than enough meat to feed me for lunch at the restaurant and for my hubby and I to make a few more meals out of it. The cornbread was fresh and buttery delicious. I didn’t taste the baked beans, but my husband finished them off and told me that he really enjoyed them. I tasted a bite of the ribs and they were fall off the bone good! Overall we enjoyed our meals thoroughly.
So after lunch here, you can’t help but indulge in their homemade ice cream made with real cream. I’m technically lactose intolerant, but I encourage others to eat ice cream so I can taste a few spoonfuls. My husband got a scoop of the mint chocolate chip and our friends shared a scoop of the same and a scoop of regular chocolate ice cream. You can taste the freshness of their ice cream. They use fun ingredients like chocolate covered bacon in their ice cream treats. You can order a malt or a sundae or just a scoop to eat their or take to-​go.
The pricing was extremely reasonable and the friendly service was priceless. I love small towns like Marengo and the people in these towns can make all the difference!
I was not a fan of the styrofoam cups and plastic ware you’re given to use when you eat. I get that you need plastic ware for to-​go orders but if I’m dining in somewhere, I want a glass and some silverware. It just felt a little «cafeteria» like and didn’t fit in with the whole feel of the restaurant.
I do look forward to the next time I’m out this way, we definitely have a new lunch/​dinner destination!

I’m sorry I have to do this b/​c I like to support small businessbut here are some facts.
1. Dusty napkin holders on table
2. Funky tasting iced tea not even drinkable b/​c what the heck is wrong with it? I’m worried. When asked to change it worker stated «we make it ourselves so its hard to be consistent. «
3. Hair in basket food came in.
4. Funky tasting slaw that worker came by & replaced with a different side without me even saying anything only b/​c i already complained & server saying «I tasted it & it isn’t like it usually is».
That being said its a mom n pop place. The server may or may have not been the owner & was super sweet & just wanted to make everything right. My husband really liked his food. However, due to the above issues I just couldn’t return.