Smalls, Smoke Shack & More

This place did not disappoint! Watched Best of on WGN for bbq and bookmarked the spot. The brisket was moist, and the various sauces were great. The beet box was fantastic! Super friendly kitchen staff. We ate in, only because we didn’t realize most people carry out — there are six stools, and the ordering/​eating area might by 6×8 on a good day, but later in the evening we basically had the place to ourselves. Definitely would like to return to try out their specials, but will probably carry out next time.

If Chicago were to have a contest for best fried chicken today, I would put all of my money on Smalls. It is quite possibly the best I have ever eaten. EVER. My main reasoning for this is that it is flawless «as-​is». It doesn’t need to be doused in sassy sauce or slathered with honey butter. It doesn’t need to be fried hard and covered in hot sauce. It’s got a little bit of kick in whatever batter they dip it in prior to frying and that is all you need. I kinda like Popeye’s spicy fried chicken and Smalls is like a very well trained chef did his spin on it, resulting in the holy grail of fried chicken
Even though they could be wildly successful with just the chicken, they have a very well balanced BBQ menu. My friend and I wanted to try it all!
— Brisket was my second favorite item. The biggest thing that made it stand out from other briskets is that it didn’t have an obnoxious amount of fat. Yes, I am aware that all good briskets have fat on them. However it should not be at a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ ratio to the meat. This was the perfect amount of fat (like the women of World Star).
— Ribs were sauced well and had a bit of a pull/​chew to them. Most bbq enthusiasts insist this is a sign of a well cooked rib. I am one of those people who grew up eating ribs that had been boiled, then finished on a grill to make them «fall apart» tender. So, I’m biased against chewy ribs. Maybe Smalls will convert me.
— Pulled Pork is also unlike what a lot of bbq novices are used to. It’s not like what your mom does in the crock pot with a can of cola. It isn’t a heap of shredded meat, drowning in sauce. It’s chopped pork that had been seasoned and braised. You add the sauce. Or don’t. Like the fried chicken, it fares perfectly well on its own.
–The fried beets were really good and I don’t even like beets. So if beets are your thing, this will be a must order. The fries were perfectly spiced with whatever they spice the fried chicken with and they were extra heavenly dipped in the wasabi mayo that came with the beets. The «not-​slaw» that comes with a lot of the menu items is basically a cucumber salad with a touch more vinegar.
— Whatever chewy salted maple/​brown sugar cookie they feature needs to be on the menu full time. It was the ideal ending to an impeccable meal.
Having read prior reviews, I opted to phone ahead and have my friend pick it up. He confirmed the kitchen and dining area are tiny. We were much better off eating at my place, where we could spread everything out and feast at our leisure. The only complaint I can find with the entire meal is that the fries and the beets must be consumed immediately, as their magic fades with every passing minute.
I implore you all to spend as much money here as possible so they can open another location that has a proper dining room/​bar and is a little more centrally located. Until that happens, I will be getting their fried chicken to go as much as I can without my trainer staging an intervention.

I was going to wait until my second visit before posting a review, but this place if O-​fficial. The seasoning, smoke level & service are all spot on. For an adventurous spin on BBQ, this is the place to beat. Definitely worth driving out of your way to try.

First time here and food was delicious… I tried the Filipino bbq pork… Yum!!! And staff was super nice and friendly.

Get the Filipino BBQ special. I’ll wait…
Isn’t it awesome? The rice, the veggies, THE MEAT! Oh it all works so well together. They always are sure to give me a free cookie because I drop about $ 120 everytime I am here, bcuz I need some for lunch tomorrow.
The fried chicken is also great, and their traditional ribs, but I will get that Filipino BBQ special as long as its on the menu, and it has been for awhile now. Please add it to the permanent menu!
it is a pretty small place… but you know, i expected that.

Asia marries Texas = pure deliciousness!
Texas + Asia = food orgasm
Any which you put it the end result equals the same! This place rocks and I will put my left thumbnail on this claim, as I’m right handed (not that stupid).
This was the best meal I’ve had in the last 30 days!
No other place is doing what they do here. Maybe the exact meal I made me recollect to my previous travels. My order was the Filipino BBQ pork, which was amazeballs!
My initial bite of the garlic rice was taking me back about 7 years to the beaches of Boracay in the Philippines taking cooking lessons on the local food. The spicy vinegar dipping sauce is spot on Filipino favors that I learned and will always remember spending over a month in that beautiful country.
Then you try the pork which first you get the wonderful smoke flavor that reminded me back to my very first REAL BBQ joint in San Antonio, TX. After that smoke, then you almost get this umami flavor of the Asian sauce that’s on the pork. The pickled veggies were def on point and the fried egg to tie everything together was just a nail on the coffin.
I did get try to the fries that were tasty and accompanied with I think a 5 Chinese spice blend. Nice fresh fries!
Very impressed with this place and will add this one to the repeat offender list to see if they are consistent enough to replicate «Best meal in 30 days!»

If you like meat, you have to try Smalls.
The good:
— Food is always fantastic. The pulled pork platter is my favorite but I’ve tried everything and it’s all good.
— The beets, garlic bread, and the garlic rice are ¹⁰⁄₁₀.
— Staff is usually pretty friendly.
— Food comes out fairly quick.
The bad:
— PARKING SUCKS. Never any spots.
— Very small seating area with just stools. Better to get it to-​go.
— It’s pretty pricey, but I would say you pretty much get what you pay for here.

This place is amaaaazing. Great BBQ small joint that is great for take out. We’re new to the neighborhood, and are happy to discover this gem.
Love their Texas Toast sides, garlic rice, fries, and their Bibimbap options.
I just wish their green bean sides came in larger portions…
P. S. If you LOVE their ‘banana ketchup’, you can find it at Joong Boo Korean Market on Kimball. That’s where they get it. ;)

Awesome find! The smell is intoxicating. I wanna bottle it and bring it home with me for my apartment air freshener. I will be returning. Great guys, great bbq!

–The place is very small! Counter seating only!
Better off ordering and picking up. We ordered when we got there for take out and took 15 mins.
–FYI: Fried chicken takes 20 mins
+Service is so friendly & seems like there are a lot of return customers!
+Brisket BBQ: So good! Comes with a tiger sauce which is really good! Fries come with and Texas toast.
+Bibimbap Brisket: Good but spicy with a kick! My mouth was on fire but I like that sort of thing.
+Filipino BBQ: Comes with a sort of slaw mix and taste good mixed all together.
It is a bit pricy. $ 10+ per dish. We shared 3 between 3 people. I think definitely 1 dish a person is the right way to go.
Put this on your must try for takeout!

A tiny shack that packs a punch with flavor and fries their chicken with that perfectly fried quality, though still juicy inside. With an interesting menu infusing Asian American tastes and food that often gets sold out, it leaves the often customer trying other entrée choices that are equally, as tasty. (Thinking about my childhood, we often ate fried chicken with spicy versions of ketchup. Banana ketchup which is Filipino or a masala ketchup which is Indian. We loved using a hodgepodge of collected sauces with meats. So, I’m glad the owner is sharing a part of his Asian heritage with the masses)
To get the most out of your purchase, dining nearby is a necessity. The place is minuscule and getting a seat is based solely on timing since there are only a handful. Same story goes with parking unfortunately.
If dining there, expect the nice owner to chat you up a bit about food, his place, etc
Oddly enough, on my visits, local (popular) chefs had happened through for carry-​out. An overheard conversation would ensue with both chefs discussing everything restaurant related. Kinda cool. Also crazy when you realize, this person is the chef at my next bookmark!

I got a full slab of ribs and the Filipino BBQ pork. What a treat! These were some of the biggest and meatiest ribs I’ve ever gotten before. The smoke flavor is superb while still remaining really juicy. The BBQ pork also had excellent smoke flavor and it went really well with the garlic rice and fried egg. I had to keep my son from sneaking bites of it when I wasn’t looking.
When you go, be sure to call ahead. I walked in and waited about 50 minutes to get my food. (Still worth it!) The place was super busy and the staff is really friendly. I saw others eating the chicken and brisket while I was waiting. I’m going to have to try those the next time I visit.

So far my favorite brisket BBQ joint. The buttery Texas toast with garlic sauce on the side complement the brisket like nothing else. Came with a side of natural cut fries. Now I’m not a big fan of natural cut fries because so many places screw then up (soggy, bland, dry, etc) but these fries were spot on (crispy, peppery, prefect) and they came with a side of banana ketchup. If you think that sounds weird, it does kinda sound weird, but it is quite refreshing. We also ordered a half slab of ribs, came with a bed of garlic rice and a side of buttery Texas toast. Yum yum yum. But that brisket sandwich takes the cake.
Also, this place is so small and is on a residential street, you would miss it if you didn’t know what you were looking for.

Smalls, Smoke Shack @ 4009 N Albany in a tiny & I mean tiny converted 1 car garage. I got one of the smokey specials. Bibimbap special seasoned banquet beef brisket seasoned w/​soy/​maple/​sesame glaze delicious. The meat also had bean sprouts which added a very nice crunchy texture & sliced carrots. Steamed rice, Korean hot sauce & kimchi (kind of sounds Korean?). I was told the owner is Filipino.
The girl taking the order was very friendly and helpful in explaining different items on the menu. If your expecting a large fancy restaurant you won’t get that here. Smalls is exactly as the name says, but the food was very good.
I can’t wait to come back and try some of the other items in the menu

The building is bright blue so it is hard to miss! It is really tiny inside, with enough counter seating for 6. Kind of hot, but smells delicious! Don’t sit by the window, since the A. C doesn’t really reach that area. If you sit at the counter by the kitchen you can even watch them make your food!
Filipino BBQ pork ($ 11.50) is served over garlic rice with a sunny side fried egg, assorted house pickles, and house jalapeño vinegar. They are very generous with the meat and it has just the right amount of sauce! The garlic rice is dry but tastes great with the yolk of the sunny side egg.
Buttermilk brined fried chicken– ½ dark ($ 11). You can also get it mixed ($ 12) or white ($ 13). You can also opt for a ¼ portion for $ 8/​$ 9 instead. I would recommend the ½ since the chicken is not too large. Comes with fries, texas toast, banana ketchup, not slaw (house pickled vegetables). Takes about 20 minutes to fry. The chicken was crisp and tender, and the portion of fries is very large. The Texas toast was surprisingly good too!
Brown sugar sea salt cookies are 2 for $ 3 and make an excellent dessert.
Lots of gluten free options and one vegetarian– smoked tofu, so you can come with all of your friends! Definitely give this place a try. Lots of free street parking. Closed on Sundays and Mondays!

Smalls has been on my list of places to try since I moved to Chicago and it now goes on that much shorter list of places that I am embarrassed not to have tried sooner. This place is a powerhouse.
One of the reasons it took me so long to try Smalls (aside from the fact that they close on the early side and are about four miles inland from my house) is that I couldn’t really figure out what the deal was — were they a Korean restaurant? A barbeque restaurant? A fried chicken restaurant? After a visit, I now understand that the answer is «all three» and that their secret is that these are three different classes of food that have been yearning to be fused into one.
Their bibimbap platter with smoked brisket is amazing. The smoky flavor of the beef is beautifully set off by the spicy sauces and pickled vegetables. And to avoid ruining the textures, they actually just lay all of the ingredients out in giant stripes on a tray, so you can combine them at your leisure. We also tried sides of long beans (delicious) and fried beets (who knew you could fry beets?), which further rounded out the meal. If you got the smoked tofu variation of the platter, this might be one of the best vegetarian meals in Chicago.
(We also tried the fried chicken, which was honestly merely okay. The spices in the coating were nice, but the problem is that even fast-​food-​chain-​restaurant fried chicken is really good, so it’s really hard for any restaurant to establish any noticeable superiority.)
We were more than happy to call it a night at this point, but one of the staff (or maybe the chef?) happened to be photographing a plate of their new «rib tip special.» When he was done, he told us that it wasn’t fair to plate it in front of us without letting us try it, so he gave it to us! That special turned out to be my favorite of the dishes — spicy cuts of meat covered with pickled cauliflower and jalapenos, needlessly piled on top of a bed of french fries, rendered extra-​delicious by the spices. We took home a very large box.
Even leaving aside the extremely generous and cheerful service, this was an overwhelmingly satisfying meal. Everybody knows that smoked meats are great. This is the secret of barbeque. But it turns out that «smoked meats plus korean vegetable sides» are WAY better than «smoked meats plus southern sides.» Barbeque is complemented with sour and salty vegetables so much better than by cheesy noodles or sweet beans or cabbage with mayonnaise.
A restaurant and a new cuisine, all in one.

Well, they weren’t kidding when they names this place. Smalls be small. Only a couple of seats, but most of the service seemed to be takeout anyway. The biggest area in the place is the kitchen, where staff milled around and called to customers with a jolly attitude.
I got the fried chicken, which was excellent, and finger-​licking good (oh wait…). Tender with a salt-​and-​peppery crust. You will need lots of napkins to eat this. (Or at least I did.)
The garlic rice wasn’t great, honestly. It was rather hard and tasted like old rice that had been resurrected from the dead by a brief whirl in the pan.
Texas toast wasn’t toasty, just sort of chewy, which was a weird experience for store-​bought bread.
My friend got brisket but didn’t rave about it.
The big draw here for me would be the chicken, followed by the exceedingly friendly service. There are other items on the menu to try, but it’s a crap shoot whether you will be able to «dine in» (and we don’t live nearby so we would be eating in the car… can’t imagine doing that with the messy chicken!) It’s up to you to decide how much inconvenience you’re willing to put up with.

Wee tiny restaurant, with big flavors and generous personality.
My favorite thing was the beets with the spicy dipping sauce; my second-​favorite thing was the beets with no sauce. I have tried a lot of beet dishes in my time and have found a small handful others which were just as good, but none that were better. And at Smalls, the preparation is totally unique. These are going to rank really high on my beet list.
The pickles were pretty mild; I would love to see them amp up the flavor on those. And the pulled pork was a bit bland and not really pulled so much as chunked. Also, it was supposed to come with a mustard bacon sauce which sounded right up my alley, but it didn’t taste anything like mustard or bacon; it was more earthy and vinegary, sort of like soy. Anyway, the sauce was just okay on the pork but worked much better when mixed into the garlic rice.
The fries have a nice seasoning on their own, but the glorious banana ketchup makes them superb. These guys should sell their recipe to Heinz for twelvity million dollars.
Finally, the fried chicken was hot hot hot – let it sit for a few minutes because you are getting it fresh from the oil. I really liked the chicken but it did need a little help from the banana ketchup to reach its full potential; in other words, it is a little bland on its own, but expertly cooked, not to mention quite large.
I wanted to love the food as much as the awesome, gregarious staff pumped me up for it. And to be sure, it was all good, but only the beets and fries were great. Still, Smalls is a gem worth travelling to try.
PS. You will come home smelling strongly of wood smoke, and that is a-​okay in my book.

O.M.G.
I first found Smalls on Unilocal and after reading through the reviews it was a must-​try. First off, I’m Filipino myself, so the combination of Filipino/​Korean and BBQ flavors grabbed my attention immediately. I dragged my hubs here during a snowstorm the other week because I was just craving to try it.
Smalls was exactly what it says — a shack. It’s a very small storefront… I think a converted garage… with little seating, so expect to take your food out. The distinctive aqua color makes it easy to spot. The person who took our order, I assume, was the owner. He was super friendly and you could tell he was passionate about what he does.
And YES, the food absolutely lived up to the Unilocal Hype. The hubby had the BBQ brisket Bibimbap. It was soft, tender, and was a flavorful blend. I had the fried chicken w/​fries and banana ketchup. Fried Chicken was crispy on the outside and tender/​juicy on the inside. Loved the banana ketchup filipino flair.
Still a few other items on the menu I’d love to try!

First visit– I found Smalls an interesting place– I came at the end of their rush. I tried to order on the phone in advance since I really hate to wait for to go orders– but it went straight to a recorded message– I found it wacky they have a 312 phone number but are in the 773 zone. but I guess phone rules have changed.
The reason it went to the recorded message, they were so busy taking phone orders, and that is their set up-​if they are on the phone, you get a pre recorded message. So, I had to wait 20 mins for my order.
I ordered Fried Chicken. By the time I got home– the chicken was still hot– the french fries not as much, they were going limp. and I thought just average. The chicken was decent enough, I think next time I will try the brisket or ribs. The banana ketchup came with the order, it tasted like regular Heinz Ketchup to me– maybe a little better, Nothing crazy good.
The staff was super friendly and the cook, maybe he was the owner, made a point of thanking me by name for waiting. You gotta love that. I did.