Big Dog's Smokehouse BBQ — Restaurant in Cicero

We waited a while to review from our August wedding because we wanted to live in our happily married bubble instead of focusing on the negative, but oh my was this the WORST experience of our wedding. Don’t get me wrong, the food was delicious! We were won over by the owner Cheryl’s customer service and personally during our first visit. The quote we were given was a great price as well. But once we had everything paid in full about 1 month out, everything started going south. We go to pay our final payment, and our quote goes up about $600-700. Annoying, but we paid it because it was so close to our day and deposits were already made. We get 2 weeks down the road, and receive a voicemail stating that gratuity and taxes were left off, so we had to pay an additional $700-800, after taking the gratuity down because of their error. 🙄 And of course, you can’t pay with card unless you want to be charged an additional 15%, so we had to take time out of work week to get a physical check and deliver it. And then they showed up after 4 when our wedding started at 4:30. We waited about an hour in between ceremony and reception, and then after everyone was announced, we stood awkwardly in front of everyone for about 15 minutes because the food was still not ready. When I went up for seconds (as the bride) I was denied because they ran out of plates. They took it upon themselves to substitute some portions of our meat with pork...not a huge deal, but why when we didn’t order that?! They still set up tip jars after charging us gratuity. And then Cheryl came to me in the middle of the dance floor and got snarky with me about not having a plan for left overs. We raved about them for so long leading up to our wedding, we went in frequently leading up to it because the food was so good, but we will NOT be going back and will not recommend...

Many cool things to say about this unique place. Big Dogs is super quick for lunch. Decorated in Americana and most of it is for sale. Music playing lightly in the background. They have a family movie featured in a marquis sign behind the counter. Today it was the Sand Lot and they get an extra star because they had closed captioning on which should almost be a law for gastropubs. Different wooden kitchen tables and chairs make up the dining room with the walls covered in Antique Coca-Cola and other nostalgic items such as the leg lamp from A Christmas Story. Had the brisket combo with Smokehouse Baked Beans and Chips. Have to order and pay at the counter then they bring it out to you. The server said the chef told him that he put extra brisket on the sandwich...so if my pics don't match your sandwich or if they tell everyone that then you will know.... The server also explained their 3 sauces on the table. Original, Sweet, and Hot. They are all good. The Original had a note of clove and was very good on the brisket as recommended by the server. Was added to the baked beans. Sauces can be purchased in mason jars. They have self serve soda fountain and also offer beer and wine. Only negs: Street parking, was cold in the dining room, large fountain drink is 3.29 but "comes with a Souvenir Cup". Don't make their own chips, do have high quality brand kettle chips served in a bag. Tables are a bit tough to navigate through to get to the bathrooms.

Overall a good home town restaurant with nothing chain...

This is going to be a long review so I apologize ahead of time . I just want to say this is the best BBQ place I have ever had . My bestfriend would always rant and rave about how good Big Hoffa's in Westfield was so my family and I tried it one day and I wanted to die . It was so gross . Well .. my boyfriend and I went on a date night this past weekend on the dinner train from Noblesville to Cicero and this is the only place on their website that interested me . No offense to Erika's Place or the other locals , but I eat at Erika's Place a lot and I didn't want something typical (pizza , pasta , etc) . I was a little afraid to go here at first because of the problem I had at Big Hoffa's , but I did anyway . I called ahead for a reservation (and thank god I did) and they were the sweetest bunch of people I've ever encountered . Their food was AMAZING , especially their baked beans (ohhh myyy goooooodnessss) . I think I could probably eat an entire container and then some ! My boyfriend and I aren't even engaged yet , but we both said .. "this place is catering our wedding" ! Haha . Fantastic place , sweet people with a cute little environment . I would definitely recommend this place over Big Hoffa's or any other BBQ place around .. even if you have to drive a little bit further...