After a Comcast shoot in Forest Park the other day, we stopped at this BBQ place in Maywood which was highly recommended by another employee...Hillery & Cook's BBQ on 17th Ave.

Upon arrival, my first impression was that the place was pretty ghetto. The lobby is very small and could probably only hold 10 people comfortably. There's not much of a dining area, just a small counter by the window that you could stand at to eat your food. Mostly everything, from the tiles on the floor to the paint on the walls looks as if it hasn't been updated in the past 20 years. The only wall decorations besides the menu board were a 4 foot long scary looking fish mounted on a board and a small framed picture of some type of food which is pretty much indeterminable since it is so sun-faded.

The lobby is separated from the kitchen like a prison cell. Access to the kitchen area is through a metal gate which is locked with a key from both sides. The ordering area has been completely sealed up with the exception of a 3 foot wide homemade plexiglass window. So you can talk to the employees, there are jagged slits carved out of it, probably done with a utility knife. There is also a homemade swiveling contraption so they can give you your food without actually making any contact with you.

It was promising that the menu was quite limited. This told me that they probably put all their effort into making some really damn good BBQ. I placed my order for the $5.00 BBQ pork sandwich with the large African-American woman behind the counter. She wasn't mean, but wasn't super friendly either. While waiting, I purchased a can of RC from the machine in the lobby.

When my order was complete, I slid $6 through the plexiglass window. I waited momentarily for my change, but then she said "We're good, thanks". Now, I'm not about to haggle over some pocket change, but unless sales tax in Maywood is 20%, then I should have gotten some change. There was, of course, no cash register total that I could see, nor was there a receipt. I didn't care, I was just hungry.

My plan was to pull over someplace on the way home to eat, but one look inside the packed styrofoam container, and I knew there was NO WAY I was eating this in my car. I decided to stop at the O'Hare Oasis and eat it there. Although they were quite conservative with their napkins (I got one) it was freakin fantastic!

To sum it up, Hillery & Cooks BBQ gets:
- 1 out of 10 for cleanliness
- 3 out of 10 for friendliness
- 9 out of 10 for tastiness