Moontime Smokin' Que — Restaurant in Crystal Lake

Moontime Smokin’ Que is a fantastic addition to the downtown Crystal Lake restaurant scene! You know that undeniable craving for BBQ—the one that won’t go away until you satisfy it? Last week, I had that exact craving, and I’m so glad to have a spot nearby that delivers.

They have all the traditional BBQ staples, but they also serve up some pretty magical brisket and pulled pork tacos—so good that I failed to photograph them because I was too hungry to wait!

Enter the Brisket Grilled Cheese—an absolute game-changer. This isn’t just any grilled cheese; it’s indulgence on another level. Melted cheddar jack and gruyere envelop tender, smoky chopped brisket, all nestled between perfectly toasted sourdough. But what truly ties it all together? The blueberry chipotle BBQ sauce for dipping—sweet, smoky, and just the right kick of heat to make each bite unforgettable.

The mac n’ cheese was super creamy and still tasted great cold when I brought it home—always a good sign! And if you're looking for a fresh, bright side to balance out the richness of the grilled cheese, I’d definitely recommend the cucumber salad.

This is the ultimate adult grilled cheese—pure comfort food with a gourmet twist. It’s the kind of sandwich that makes you smile, bringing out your inner child while satisfying the most grown-up of BBQ cravings. Moontime Smokin’ Que has officially earned a top spot on...

Moontime Smokin Que is a hidden gem of a place in my opinion. It’s located right next to the Crystal Lake train station on the side street.

We tried a couple items which were all very good. For starters smoked chicken wings were very flavorful! Even for health conscious people, they are smoked not fried. We also had a bowl of thier chicken chowder whereby the chicken pieces were smoked and gave a unique flavor to the soup. The corn muffins were ok but could be better.

The beef brisket we ordered by the pound was full of flavor. They smoke all the meats on site and boy are they good. We like that they asked which cut of meat we would like; lean, fatty or mixed. I think it’s good to try both your first time. We tried both and both were very satisfying. The coleslaw was very good too. It was fresh and a nice change up being a mixed flavor of sweet & tangy. They offer several inhouse made sauces including a new one that is spicy sriracha. It complimented everything really nicely.

We would have loved to have tried desert but we didn’t have room and took some of the leftovers home. If you’re looking for really good traditional smoked bbq and can’t get to Texas then this...

I’m confused by the great reviews… we went here because of the reviews and were disappointed after spending $70. This place was mediocre at best. Took 30+ minutes to get our food (we arrived at 5:20pm before the dinner rush and we had 2 adult meals + a kids meal), the water tasted gross so we ended up ordering soda instead because the water tasted undrinkable honestly and needed a drink so settled for soda, the pulled pork was SO dry - we drenched it in the sauces they provided too and it still wasn’t good. The baked beans were crunchy and under cooked…And I believe my husband got food poisoning from this place (he randomly threw up in the middle of the night and was feeling extremely nauseous following our meal). Also - their menu prices don’t match what you’ll actually be charged. We were charged ~50 cents more per item than what the menu stated. Not a major deal but why the difference? And it wasn’t the tax - we were also charged tax on top of the extra charges for each item (example - menu says pulled pork meal is $14… we were charged $14.56… kids meal $7.99, we were charged $8.40, etc etc). Won’t...