We first discovered Bones BBQ at the Freight House Farmer's Market a few years ago. Like a ghost, they disappeared and left no trace of their smoky, delicious whereabouts. Fast foward to 2012, like a mirage in the distance, a tiny barbeque shack on the side of Brady Street appears. A real smoker sits behind, spouting smoke and sending the scent of cooked meat into passing cars. Lo and behold, Bones was back and better than ever.
Ok, so a shack on the side of the road sounds a little sketchy, but sometimes those places have the best food. Sometimes they have the best food poisoning as well, so buyer beware. Bones is more of a cute lil cabin and did not give anyone food poisoning.
We haven't been able to determine open and closing hours yet, it's a bit of a crap shoot with a consolation of McDonald's.
Drive up and the simple menu is on a board.
Looking for a sandwich? You've got 3 basic options, pork, chicken, and beef. For an additional $2, make it a meal deal with 2 of their 4 sides, coleslaw, baked beans, potato salad, or potato chips. Steak sandwiches are available on Fridays.
If you want your babybackbabybackbabyback... ribs are available full or half slab or in a dinner with 5 bones and 2 sides. A la carte sides are available in single servings, pints, and quarts.
The sauce is served on the side of the sandwiches. It's a sweet and spicy tomato based sauce. Best served haphazardly drizzled over the sandwich. The meat has always been the star, as it should be with barbeque.
The chicken is juicy, tender and has a light smoky flavor. I've yet to had subpar dry chicken from Bones, a common occurance at most other establishments.
The beans are a bit spicy and seem to be made with their signature barbeque sauce and lots of pepper. The buns were pretty standard, nothing to get in the way of the starring ingredients.
The Quad-Cities has a serious lack of decent barbeque places, but with Bones and Bare Bones in Illinois, things seem to be heating up. However, both places have limited hours and my taste for bbq has no limits.
They may have a had a bite or two.