Until a couple of years ago, the one thing the Oak Park food scene was seriously lacking was a good BBQ restaurant. Kevin and I are big fans of BBQ so you can imagine our excitement when Piggyback Tavern opened at the end of 2012.
Chef Jason Koraski came from one of my favorite Chicago restaurants, Avec, so it was no surprise that the food at Piggyback is so great. The menu focuses on two tastes: BBQ + Beer and Tacos + Tequila.
The first thing I love about Piggyback is that they serve their drinks in mason jars. Is their anything more southern than iced tea in a mason jar?
Even their shot glasses are mini mason jars!
Like I said their menu has both BBQ and tacos on it. While their are tacos are great, it’s the BBQ that we keep going back for. One of my favorite things on their menu is the Smokehouse Salad which has Smoked Chicken, Smoked Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Hard Boiled Egg, Croutons, and Fried Green Tomatoes. This salad is HUGE and I can always get two meals out of it.
Another great menu item is their Pulled Pork Sandwich served with fries and coleslaw. The pork is dry rubbed and smoked which adds all of the delicious flavor.
Lately our dinner of choice has been to share the Piggyback Q Plate where you get a sample of Ribs, Chicken, Brisket, and Pulled Pork with your choice of one side. One of our favorite sides is their Collard Greens which are served in the cutest little cast iron skillet.
Another delicious side choice are the Sweet Potato Tots which are seasoned with some of their dry rub they use on the meats.
Now let’s talk sauce. Piggyback offers four different BBQ sauces: Zesty, Carolina, Mustard, and Smokey Sweet. My favorite is the Smokey Sweet and Kevin loves the vinegar style Carolina.
As you can see from the pictures the portions at Piggyback are huge! The food is delicious and the service is friendly and quick. Piggyback is one of our favorite restaurants that we have frequented many times. If you are in the mood for some fantastic BBQ or have a taste for some tacos, head out to Forest Park and stop in Piggyback Tavern.
Piggyback Tavern is located at 410 Circle Ave. in Forest Park, IL
Roadtrip!!! I was in on good BBQ, but the sweet tator tots sold me!
The tots are sooo good!! Next time you are in the Chicago area you must go!
xo Paige
Yum! We hardly ever spent time in Oak Park, but that looks like it could be worth making a trip for!
Katie – you should definitely come check out Oak Park for an afternoon/evening! If anything, just drive around and admire all of the beautiful homes! We do that all the time and just dream about living on one, ha!
xo Paige