Charcoal and wood in Chicagoland


 
D

David R

TVWBB Member
I had the day off Friday and made the trek in to Berger Brothers and Chicago Firewood. I live in the suburbs, so this is out of the way, but it wasn't that difficult.

Berger Brothers is just off of I-90/94. Take the division exit and go east three blocks. It's on the southwest corner of Division and Cherry. Park in the lot right at the corner and go in the steel door on the street. Pay cash or check and they bring it around to your car (at least they did for me). A 40lb. bag of lump was $16. I haven't used it yet, but it gets good reviews elsewhere on the net.

Chicago Firewood was a little harder to find. It is just another three blocks east on Division, then a block north on Halsted. The address is on Halsted, but you actually want to enter from Kingsbury. If you go one block north of Division on Halsted, make a left on Kingsbury. When you come to the T in the road turn right and you'll see the very-large piles of wood. They have a wide variety and will sell it by the log, if you just want a little.

The one thing I neglected to ask was whether they were open on Saturdays. Anyone know?

The whole trip was a lot less hassle than I had anticipated. Both places are recommended by Prof. Wiviott.

Berger Brother's Charcoal
1176 N Cherry Ave
Chicago, IL 6062
312-642-4238
Lump Charcoal

Chicago Firewood
1300 N Halsted (Rear Lot)
Chicago, Il
312-335-9696
Wood for Smoking
 
Hey David -- What kind of wood did you end up getting? Is it cut in to chunks? How much was it? I'm using cherry wood from my Dad's woodworking shop, but before that I got my wood from the Backyard BBQ Store in Wilmette. They have several kinds, but it's expensive.
 
I got some oak, but they have a wide variety. It was $1.50 a log. I don't mind cutting the logs. I saw them in 4" lengths, then chop them into appropriate sized chunks with a hatchet. It's not very time consuming if you do it that way.

What are you paying at Backyard BBQ?
 
I seem to remember paying about $8 for a 2 gallon-size bag. The good news is you can get oak, cherry, apple, grape, etc. and it's already cut. By comparison, I cut a cherry log that was about a foot long and it yielded about twice as much wood than what you get for $8. That said, I should say that I love the Backyard BBQ store. It is full of good things and knowledgeable people.

Which suburb do you live in?
 
Originally posted by David R:
I got some oak, but they have a wide variety. It was $1.50 a log. I don't mind cutting the logs. I saw them in 4" lengths, then chop them into appropriate sized chunks with a hatchet. It's not very time consuming if you do it that way.

What are you paying at Backyard BBQ?
Click to expand...

$1.50 A LOG????? I know Chi-Town is expensive, but I can buy single logs for $.75!!!!
 
I live in La Grange, so Wilmette is even more of a hike than downtown.

@Dave Hutson

It's the price of living in the big city. If anyone knows of a cheaper source, I'd be glad to hear about it.
 
$1.50 or $0.75 is still a whole lot cheaper than buying it pre-cut. I would think that you could do about 10 smokes/log...
 
David,

I'm just a little farther west of you in Clarendon Hills. Have you found a good source for lump anywhere out our way? The only lump I can find this time of year is the Big Green Egg brand at one of the hardware stores but it is pricy.

Bob
 
@Robert - You could check to see if Wannemaker is holding any, but the last time I was in there, they only had BGE.
 
Should be able to get Royal Oak Steakhouse Lump (green bag) at Menards, unless they've pulled it for the season.

What brand of lump charcoal at Berger Brother's Charcoal? (Is it listed on the Naked Whiz Database?)

There is another company in Woodstock, IL, that makes/distributes BBQ King Charcoal
 
I saw this ad on the Chitown CL.
Might be worth a road trip, if nothin more than a reason to stop by Ken-Tone's and grab a couple of Italian beef's.

Tim
 
Decided to go check out Berger Brother's as suggested since I was off today. Combined with a family visit to the city. Very easy to find as David described. Felt like it was 1959 as you go in the steel door to a little window and put in your order. Very old-fashioned. Got 3 40 lb. bags for $16.95 a piece. Considering that my option for lump locally was $19.95 for a 20# Big Green Egg brand, this was a great deal. I will let you know how it works once I fire it up this weekend. David, thanks again for the recommendation.

Bob
 
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