The Humble Hog

Had lunch w. friend from memphis, tn. He stated «i’m from memphis an i know bbq, and this is great bbq». Ben and the group do a wonderful job, consistently. Worth the drive from anywhere.

We were surprised by how much we enjoyed lunch. I had the brisket salad and my wife had the smoked turkey salad. The portions of meat were very generous. The flavor excellent. A nice small town Illinois surprise. The waitress was efficient and friendly

Pretty yummy. Excellent service for all 8 visits. It’s kid friendly, as the bar is kind of set off to the side. I give it ⁴⁄₅ stars because the IPA selection is limited to one beer… and its in a can. This place also has had Friday night gigs in the past; the building next door is adjoined and there is plenty of room with a seperate bar there.

I’ve been here twice. The first time, I was not impressed, and it almost made me not come here a second time. They ran out of half the items on the menu, my bloody mary was very watered down, and it took a really long time to get a table and be waited on. The last part I understand. In Paxton, when a new restaurant opens up, everyone trips over themselves to get in, and the first few months are extraordinarily busy. BUT… they should have been prepared.
The place used to be another restaurant, which had another room opened up with tables, that this place closed off, and is now something entirely different. The fact they ran out of food was irritating, since I’m pretty picky regarding barbecue, there was nothing I really WANTED to eat, and I settled. The fried pickles and onion rings were fried so thoroughly they were dry and really gross and probably seconds away from burning, had they left them in the fryer any longer. And again… the bloody mary was watery.
My husband convinced me to go again, despite me not wanting to, but we met a couple friends up there. This trip was a shining moment. I asked the owner, who was the one who waited on us, about the bloody mary, stating that I would like stronger than what I had previously. Boy, did he deliver. It was great, and bonus, they changed the drink to have a sausage, pickle and lettuce in it. I had to have two… Would definitely go back, just for that drink (if they made it exactly the same). They actually had everything that we wanted to order (mine was the pulled pork sandwich), and it was pretty darn good, but, I had filled up on the appetizers (and the sausage from the drinks lol) and wasn’t able to finish it. One friend ordered the fried pickles, which were cooked much better this time. They weren’t anything great, but they were good. The other ordered something else, but I can’t remember what (keep in mind, I’ve had two bloody mary’s at this point).
Overall, I’ve gotta average the rating out. I mean, if I go back and it’s more like my first visit, that rating is going down. If it’s more like the second, it’s going up. It really depends on their consistency, people…
Edit: So, we went back again. And, the service was ridiculously slow. I ordered a bloody mary again (I’m not a lush, you guys, I just like my alcohol). It took about 20 minutes to make, and I had to make due with my husband’s drink — called Paxton Punch or something equally uninspired — which was delicious. Unfortunately, either my cold ruined the drink or they really just made it too damn spicy. The waitress, who was nice, was slow. To be fair, my friend was being stupid and trying to0 hard to be funny… which really just was him annoying the staff. The poor bus boy got the most of it, though… Sorry, dude.
Food was still good, but not changing my star-​age. With the combination of how long it took to get service, and the fact that my drink was not in my hand BEFORE I started eating, Humble Hog really is consistently average

We just passed through on the way to visit family and stopped in. Good, solid pulled pork. Fish and chips was excellent. And an awesome piece of chocolate pecan pie. There’s something for everyone.
The place was clean and the décor had a ramshackle charm. Service was great!

Woah, who knew central Illinois would have this good of a BBQ place! Menu is small but wow, the portion sizes are ridiculous and the taste is pure BBQ heaven. You can taste the love I say. My hubs loved their brisket. Me? I pretended to be a cave woman like Betty or Wilma and went to town on some ribs and wings. Lip smacking good! Hell, I wouldn’t even mind driving from Chicago to Biloxi again if it means I can stop off of 57 in Paxton for this place. Legit, five stars, and a big woo hoo from little olé me!

This is the best BBQ you’ll find around here. Big meat filled ribs pit beans and Paxton punch sounds like dinner will be good today.

Great place to eat. Food was outstanding and the price wasent bad at all. I will definitely be back

Best BBQ in central IL! So far we have tried the brisket, turkey, and ribs. All are amazing and they give you large portions of meat. Best turkey I’ve ever had! If you want a drink from the bar the angry moon is good! We have been twice in 8 days since discovering this place existed. Pit beans, Mac n cheese, and green beans are all yummy as well. Can’t wait to try more!

Good BBQ! I hear a lot of people say the prices are a bit high for a small town restaurant BUT I say they are pretty reasonable. The only thing I would really say is to make the hush puppies BIGGER or add more to the order!!! :) Definitely try the hush puppies and sauce that comes with… SOO GOOD!!!

Wonderful establishment in the small town of Paxton. Very friendly owner and staff, with outstanding food. Nice beer selection but back to the barbecue — fantastic! You’ve got to visit Humble Hog if you’re in the area:)

Great BBQ, super friendly staff, laid back atmosphere, and awesome portions. So worth the drive.

I really enjoyed eating at the Humble Hog. I personally loved the BBQ. Very good! The owner seems friendly. He came over to our table to talk to us a couple of times. We are new to the Paxton area and we don’t know many people, so we really appreciated the friendliness. The establishment was very warm and inviting! Did I mention that the BBQ was delicious?! We wanted to try a little bit of everything, but noticed this restaurant did not have a sampler platter on the menu. The owner did not hesitate making us two of them though. We really appreciated that!!! It was to die for. We will be back!!! ADD THAT SAMPLER PLATTER TO THE MENU!!!

Everything we had was great. Brisket, ribs, nachos, pulled pork, etc. I would ask for more sauce on the side next time because it’s great stuff. Owner walked around tables greeting customers. Very quaint place with great atmosphere

Being a BBQ Guy and a Chef this place is first class. Great place to stop for great service and great Q. Keep up the great week.

For some good food in Paxton, I think this place is great!!! It’s not the best BBQ I’ve had but it is a solid choice for Paxton. The restaurant itself is very cozy — lots of wood and very open. Each table is adorned with the quintessential paper towel roll. The daily special is written on the board as well as a few choice beers on tap. The bar area itself is small and the kitchen has an open window you can see in. The restaurant was FREEZING… despite having a super warm two-​door entry way. I kept my winter jacket on the entire time. The tables are spaced well throughout the dining area.
I ordered the poutine which was a mistake. As soon as she said «Queso Fresco», that should’ve been a huge red flag… I’m Canadian… and I know poutine. Poutine doesn’t have queso fresco. It has cheese curds. But I was missing Canada and my blinders were up. The «poutine» was a platter of fries covered with queso, BBQ pulled pork and jalepenos. The fries were not made in house… at least I don’t think. The queso seemed pre-​packaged. The pork was TO DIE FOR… so tender and succulent… I could’ve eaten that all day. I wasn’t a fan of the BBQ sauce —- it was a mix sauce… that overly sweet mix sauce that is comparable to Lil Porgy’s.
It was a GENEROUS portion — I could’ve easily made it for two meals, but I just had some fries, ate all of the pork and left the rest. The bill came out to about $ 10.
The meat here awesome… the sauce not so much. The fries were nothing to write home about. If I came back here, I would definitely order something else… the poutine needs a serious revamp — better fries and most definitely cheese curds — why would you use queso when you can get awesome cheese curds from anywhere in nearby amish country or one of the many Wisconsin cheese stops in the area… My heart still belongs over to Black Dog in Champaign…

Some of the best BBQ I’ve had. The place is homey. The waitress were friendly. We had the smoked ham and also the Brisket. Both were tender and the sauce excellent. We started with the fried dill pickle chips and the breading was a cornmeal golden crunchy delight. We will be back.

I married a townie from Paxton, and came close to flicking off her front door neighbor who turned out to be (now former) county judge. It a small little town and the only gem was the chinese restaurant (who many in town thought i worked at). Wife and I drove down for a road trip and simply put, definitely worthy of a stop. Cool laid back vibe. The gold standard for me is texas bbq from Lockhart, TX. This stuff is silver, really yummy and great portion size. Service was excellent, our little
one spilled apple sauce and the server came over quickly to clean it up. Wife had brisket sandwith and i had the bbq poultine. I had a huge appetite and still had leftovers. Both great quality and quantity. Definitely worth a drive off I57, just watch out who you are tempted to flick off.
The owner Ben has another project opening soon down the street. Wife and I look forward to the short walk down from her parents to try when it opens.

Great first experience at the HH. The place was hoppin. We had our appetizers within 5 minutes of walking in. Entries were perfectly timed and piping hot. We had ribs, pulled pork and brisket.
We really like BBQ and couldn’t wait for this joint to open. I was very impressed with their ribs. I had to try one dry and one with their sauce. I loved both, but can’t decide which I will order next trip.
My wife loved the brisket. I had a piece of her brisket and wanted more. The brisket was done to perfection. It wasn’t falling apart but stayed in its slices until you pulled it apart.
The slaw was great. I’m not a big fan of creamy slaw so this was right up my alley. And the beans were awesome. Beans had bits of pulled pork or brisket in it. I will probably order the beans as takeout for my next gathering. Can’t wait to go back when the full menu is up.

First day of business went very well. Overall our group of eight enjoyed everything that was served to them: pulled pork sandwiches, ribs, poutine, hot dog, beans, slaw, onion rings, deep-​fried pickles, and French fries.
The service was friendly and efficient. We understood that the opening day for a business can be hectic, but our servers were confident and responsive. The owner came out to greet customers and gave a firm hand shake to boot.
My husband and I do not live in Paxton, but will definitely return to the Humble Hog in the near future. I have confidence that the menu and business will only improve with time.