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    The Smo-King Pit

    4.2 (79 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

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    Kevin N.

    Great barbecue! Traditional place and very good!! Very friendly service and clean place.

    Wait area..
    Tyrone D.

    Well I am from Texas I like my BBQ so 3 stars is good for them because it is the best Bbq you gone get around the parts. I really like their baked beans, catfish is pretty good for being up north.

    4 rib special, with Mac and cheese and sweet potatoes.

    Stopped here while in town for a sporting event and it was outstanding. Service, food, value all of it was great. Can't wait to get back next time I'm in town. Didn't know what to expect since it was in a mall, don't let that scare you away. Give it a try, you won't regret it.

    How can any sensible person resist!?
    John W.

    After Big John's Ribs put themselves out of business, The Smoking Pit became the BEST rib joint in Peoria! The Smoking Pit is located in a mall on the north side of Peoria. Don't let the location fool you - this place is well worth the stop. The rib dinner is very good and quite filling. The rib tips dinner is very good,too, with a smaller serving. The staff is friendly and prompt and you won't wait long to be served.

    Rib Tips with fries & whole rack of Ribs. Baked Beans & GreenBeans for sides.

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    15 days ago

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    17 days ago

    Tender and smoky bbq! Delicious and affordable! Plenty of seats for dining in and the employees are always so kind and helpful!

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    10 months ago

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    5 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
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    2 years ago

    I love this place! The people are friendly & helpful. The good is wonderful! The owner waits on us alot & she even remembers my name!

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great food and great service. This is my favorite place for BBQ. Make sure to get the banana pudding for dessert.

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Good good, friendly staff, upgraded seating. Nice little place with good BBQ. Highly recommend

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    6 years ago

    Helpful 1
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    4 years ago

    I don't know which is better; the food or the wonderful people who own this business. I leave blessed every time we eat there. God bless you

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    7 years ago

    The Not so great Saturday BBQ Dinners my mom and I had the create your own two meat dinner the food was not good at all BBQ lovers Beware

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    7 years ago

    Great bbq, great service. Inside or outside dining. Smoked rubbed chicken wings to die for.

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

    The chicken could have been barbecued better. Went there based on Yelp reviews, wasn't impressed.

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    8 years ago

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    Mission BBQ

    Mission BBQ

    4.2(42 reviews)
    0.2 mi

    The service & vibe in this place are super awesome. Friendly, helpful and full of positivity! The…read morefood was delicious. All meats hand-rubbed and smoked in-house. No microwaves! All sauces, sides, etc. made fresh daily. I'll definitely be back!

    I'm going to still recommend their food because when you get the right stuff you ordered, it's…read moreusually good. However, for our Thanksgiving meal that we had early due to work, we ordered brisket and pulled pork as the meats in the family meal. They never opened the big containers of the meats for me to see if we got the correct items. I was able to see brisket in the top container and pork was verbally repeated back to me however they were reading off of the receipt. Well we got the brisket but not pulled pork. Instead we got super dried out chicken. It was too late to go back because they closed at 8. We had spent the previous 2 nights trying to finish off rotisserie chicken from Costco so the last thing we wanted was more chicken. It was so dry that I had trouble swallowing it. I sent a message and all I got back 2 weeks later was an email asking me to call and discuss the situation. This was after I sent a reply that I still had not heard back from anyone as of 12/7. No offer to refund or to make it right. I'm not going to call and discuss what I already clearly sent in an email and waste even more of my time with zero effort to make it right. I could have purchased 4 more rotisserie chickens for the cost of the container from here and been happier with it.

    Photos
    Mission BBQ - Part of their decor

    Part of their decor

    Mission BBQ - Pulled chicken sandwich with Mac and cheese

    Pulled chicken sandwich with Mac and cheese

    Mission BBQ - Turkey with coleslaw, potato salad, fries

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    Turkey with coleslaw, potato salad, fries

    Hickory River Smokehouse - Peoria - Our most popular combo plate!

    Hickory River Smokehouse - Peoria

    3.6(106 reviews)
    3.3 mi
    $

    Typically really enjoy this place. I thought I would try the ribs tonight because I usually just…read moreget turkey and sausage. Not sure if I'll get the ribs again. The size of these ribs are extremely small. I definitely got the end of the rack and it's pretty disappointing to be honest considering This meal for just one with two sides two meats a dessert and drink came to $38. Disappointing tonight for sure!

    Review Visit: March 20th, 2019…read more Where there is smoke, there is usually fire. This fire was caused by barbecue sauce mixed with jalapenos. On a dreary and boring day off from work, I asked my mom out to lunch. Since she loves BBQ, I asked if she wanted to come here. Not long after that, the small lunch grew to include my sister and niece as they were also free and hungry. We pulled up shortly after they opened and must've been the first customers there as the place was empty. Upon entering, we were greeted by one of the chefs and he asked us if it were our first time there, as we had the clueless look on our face on how to order. He told us the layout is similar to a cafeteria. You order your main meal with him and then you slide down and get your sides/extras from the second chef. At the end of that is the cashier. I have to say that at every stop, the staff was patient and courteous to us ordering our food. The menu is posted behind the food counter, so you can peruse it while deciding what you want to eat. Once you are done paying, you carry your food to a table of your choice. If you ordered wings or anything that needed cooked, they will bring it out to your table. We all sat down and immediately dug in to our food. I got up to get ketchup for my fries and noticed they had jalapenos available. So, I snagged some of those for my pulled pork sandwich. That was a mistake but a good one. Hot hot hot! The first bite was the fire being started. By the 3rd or 4th bite, my mouth was ablaze. Between the jalapenos and the mixed bbq sauce (combination of hot and mild, I believe), my sister asked if I needed the fire department. I politely declined as I downed my soda and took some deep breaths to extinguish the five-alarm fire in my mouth. My mom got the 'Cue Shoe, which is their version of a horseshoe. She was in love after the first bite. My niece got some mild barbecue wings and chili fries. She didn't seem too excited about the wings until she got some hot sauce to dip them in. My sister got one of the turkey sandwiches and also fell in love after the first bite. She was so impressed that she wants to come back for dinner on her birthday. Price-wise, this place is cheap for the quality you get. My meal was $9 for a sandwich, two sides, and a drink. If you want, you can order just the a sandwich for as little as $4.99. I've been to a few barbecue places and this one wins on both price and quality. As for the restaurant itself, it has a heavy Texas theme. Texas license plates all over the walls. Wood floors, walls, and ceilings. Southern hospitality from the staff. On the back wall, they had one of the coolest things I've seen in awhile. A mosaic made of beer bottle caps. You can see it in the gallery below. All-in-all, it was a great way to spend the afternoon with the family. We left with full bellies and smiles on our faces. Those smiles may be hidden behind the barbecue sauce left on our cheeks from the food.

    Photos
    Hickory River Smokehouse - Peoria - Catering at Venue Chisca, Peoria, IL

    Catering at Venue Chisca, Peoria, IL

    Hickory River Smokehouse - Peoria - Chopped Beef Dinner!

    Chopped Beef Dinner!

    Hickory River Smokehouse - Peoria

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    Country Club BBQ - 3 meat combo with cornbread and mashed potatoes

    Country Club BBQ

    3.7(85 reviews)
    2.6 mi
    $$

    Medium - medium/high priced menu of some very tasty and great treats. The pulled pork…read moresandwich/fries/drink combo is a perfect fit for a relatively conservatively priced lunch. True gentlemen own/manage this eatery and do their collective best ensuring your food escape more than a hearty and filling meal. Seat yourself. Music is medium loud and the waitresses first class. Enjoy!

    Review Visit: September 25th, 2019…read more You need not arrive on a horse to be allowed entry. Ever since this place opened, I have only heard great things about it. With my mom loving BBQ and her birthday lunch coming up, I asked if she wanted to come here. She said "yes" before I even finished asking. Her love for BBQ is that strong. So, we arrived on a slow Wednesday afternoon. The parking lot was spacious with only a few cars taking up spots. We parked and headed in with our empty bellies. Once inside, we were greeted by wood and I mean wood. Wood everywhere... which is pretty usual for a BBQ place, if you've never been. The Country Club was no different. Our bartender/server told us we can sit anywhere and she would be right with us. My mom picked out a seat and we had menus in front of us not a minute or two later. After pouring over the menu for about 10 minutes, we both decided to get the pulled pork sandwiches with french fries. As we waited for our food, we looked over what BBQ sauces they offered. Our table had 3 to pick from: Blueberry Moonshine, Rootbeer Reduction, and Carolina IPA. Looking around, I noticed there was another flavor, Dark Ale Mustard, at another table; I got up and snagged it. Before we knew it, our food was right in front of us and boy did it look appetizing. With 4 flavors of BBQ sauce to choose from, I couldn't pick which one I wanted to try. They all had unique names/flavors, so it was a tough choice. In these kinds of predicaments, I usually use my fries to dip in small samples of each flavor and see which one I like. The fries were delicious and only tasted better after sampling them in the sauces. After bouncing between the Dark Ale Mustard and Blueberry Moonshine, I settled on the mustard to put on my pulled pork. First bite in, I knew it needed more sauce. I flipped the sandwich over and added more sauce to the side I didn't put any on. Second bite in, I knew there was something wrong. It wasn't the fact that the sauce was sparse because I loaded that sucker up. It was the fact that the pulled pork was dry to the bone. With each bite, I would grab a bottle of sauce and add it to where I was going to have the next bite and even then, the dryness would penetrate all flavor. The bun and sauce had plenty of flavor on their own and the pork was juicy on the surface, but I couldn't help be disappointed in how dry it was. This is just a wild guess, but I am guessing the pulled pork was sitting in a steamer/warmer all afternoon. My two other small issues with the Country Club was the soda and the atmosphere. I grabbed the RC Cola version of Mountain Dew and my mom got lemonade. The soda was fine at first but then I noticed that it was mostly the syrup that is used in fountain drinks. I could barely finish it as it tasted like melted cotton candy after a certain point. Now, for the atmosphere, it just felt dirty. The place itself is clean and all that... it just had an air of dirtiness to it. As for the service, our waitress/bartender was fantastic. She was working the bar but made many trips to our table to make sure everything was going great. It sucks to hear so much hype about a place to come out disappointed after visiting. I had a great time hanging out with my mom and treating her to lunch; I just hope we visited at a wrong time and the place does actually live up to the hype and good online reviews it has. Stay saucy, readers.

    Photos
    Country Club BBQ
    Country Club BBQ - Tator tot bowl with Mac and cheese and brisket

    Tator tot bowl with Mac and cheese and brisket

    Country Club BBQ

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    The Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern - Pulled pork torta with bacon potato salad

    The Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern

    4.2(416 reviews)
    4.2 mi
    $$

    Wow wow wow! My bartender recommended the wings and they are to die for! First smoked, then fried…read morethen sauced with Asian buffalo sauce. I'm not sure what the sauce was, but I couldn't stop eating it! Then went with the Asian tacos with brisket. Very interesting combination of sauces and brisket. I added the vinegar based bbq sauce for even more yum! Ended with the key lime pie. Definitely different than I was expecting, but very solid none the less. I highly recommend this place! Go get you some!!

    The wife and I were in town for a wedding, and I'd read some good reviews about the Blue Duck…read moreBarbecue Tavern. We dropped in for dinner on a cold Tuesday evening about 6:30pm. Not real busy, but I did notice that there seemed to be several "Door Dash" pickups while we ate dinner. We had good service. Our waitress was attentive and knowledgeable about the menu. We ordered 1/2 rack ribs (4 stars), 1/2lb Brisket (3 1/2 stars), Brunswick stew (4 1/2 starts), and Chili Con Carnie (5 stars). The house made barbecue sauce was the highlight of the meal (5 Stars). The ribs were very good and fell off the bone. The sauce made them exceptional. Brisket was tasty, but a little dry for my wife's liking. In hindsight, we probably should have ordered the brisket "chopped". The waitress indicated that the "chopped" brisket was more "fatty". The Chili Con Carnie was very very good. Not something that you see at a Barbeque place often. I highly recommend. The key lime pie was very tasty and better than what you get at most places. Although not quite exceptional. Worth a try though. Overall, we liked the Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern. Great location and lots of character. Very good ribs, excellent homemade barbeque sauce.

    Photos
    The Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern - Bar area

    Bar area

    The Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern
    The Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern - Old fashion and Bloody Mary.

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    Old fashion and Bloody Mary.

    The Smo-King Pit - bbq - Updated May 2026

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