Whiskey Hotel Barbecue — Restaurant in Roscoe Township

Hey Everyone, Can you believe that there is an actual local BBQ Bar and Grill near the Rockford area called Whiskey Hotel BBQ located in Roscoe, IL!  I discovered it on FaceBook one day as I opened it.  Erica, because you were so kind enough to post it for Will, I was able to meet him Saturday with my best friend visiting me from WI. What a wonderful yummy day I had! When walking in, we saw the sign saying to seat ourselves.  I decided for us to sit at a higher table instead of a booth. After looking at the menu, we made our final decision. Unfortunately, due to winter weather, the menu did not have a lot of variety to choose from. That was okay with us for we were determined to eat there anyway!  On the menu, there were four appetizers and two main dishes but as it gets warmer that will definitely change! He said that next week he will have the BBQ back, too. I would suggest hitting follow on their FaceBook page so you can keep track of the delightful dishes that are yet to come this year and pre-order your BBQ! That is to say, we decided on 12 smoked naked chicken wings which Will did share his recommendations for the sauces and what they were made of so we picked the Alabama sauce and a North Carolina sauce to go with them. Since we didn’t have a taste for any sandwiches we just decided to try the Smoked Italian Beef another time. I chose the Alabama sauce and she chose the other one. My best friend was like “Wow!” and humming and very impressed with the taste and flavor of them!  They were seasoned nicely, not too salty from the smoke on them and we both couldn’t believe how crunchy they were too! I noticed that they do have a Pepsi soft drink machine for those who do not choose to pick cocktails from the back of the menu or just drink water.  I peeked around the corner and spotted a pool table so you might want to bring your pool stick for a night of fun too!  I also noticed if you like playing darts, they also have a dart machine as well.  He was kind enough to show us where he cooks his meats and interestingly enough to find out that his bigger pit was made by his hands which will make it one of a kind. We do intend to come back over and over again with my intention to try all his meat dishes and when I do I will share those moments with you! It was a very friendly place and the atmosphere was nice.  I can’t wait until it gets warmer because if it’s packed inside, he has tables for us to...

I’ve been here a few times and have just been able to order off the regular menu but most recently I got served a “Bar Menu” That has none of the good stuff that you actually want to eat and just sides like cheese, curds, table nachos, and oddly enough burgers at a barbecue joint. & This is a sitdown restaurant might I add. they should have the full menu, but instead they move the full menu to some trailer in a parking lot 15 minutes away from the actual sit down restaurant. I would rather sit and eat good barbecue, then stand and eat at some shack. They told me they don’t have a full menu because they don’t have kitchen staff which I thought was odd because why would you not put full kitchen staff at a restaurant and not in some trailer in a parking lot I won’t be coming back here until they introduce the full menu to people who actually come in and want to sit down and enjoy some barbecue. I can’t lie and say that the food isn’t good because it is, but I won’t be served table scraps when I know the menu there is much more expansive. I don’t know whose idea was to move all the kitchen staff into the trailer and leave the full restaurant with one server empty-handed with a bar menu full of sides and burgers, and nothing having to do with barbecue. It’s a sad turn from when I walked in a few months ago, and I could just order what I wanted and I’m assuming all these five star reviews are from then and the people haven’t realized that they’ve totally gutted their menu and are serving less than half of what they were serving before. Don’t expect any North Carolina pulled pork and a side of mac & cheese when you go and sit down at this restaurant, I had to get up and leave to find that out but then wait 10 minutes for someone to even acknowledge that I was there. I hope this place doesn’t go out of business because of lack of interest in the restaurant with a full kitchen...

To start off, I really do love this place. When they were just a food truck in the parking lot of my local grocery store I was so excited to stop by and get their food. When I heard they were opening a permanent location in Roscoe I was thrilled! But since then, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to spend my money with them.

You cannot get lunch on any day other than Sunday, and they’re only open for 3 hours on the other 4 days that they’re open. On the days where they are open for dinner, they don’t serve all of the barbecue that they’re known for locally, instead they serve their “bar menu” which I have not yet been able to try.

When you are able to stop in on Sunday for lunch, the staff are extremely friendly. POS system for payments is easy to use and the chalkboard menu definitely gives off the “small business barbecue” vibe in a good way. Once you do order though, is where a glaring issue lies. For whatever reason, there doesn’t seem to be a streamlined process for serving customers. Even with 2 people behind the counter during my last visit, it took over 5 minutes to put together a sandwich. Bread, meat, onions and their sauce. Maybe I’m being picky, but taking that much time to serve a single sandwich and small side is simply excessive, let alone if there is a line out the door and people are hungry. (This is coming from someone who gladly waited over 40 minutes in 40° spitting rain for their brisket sandwich when they were starting out in their food truck.)

I come from the service industry where I know things can be hard. I also come from a family that owns a small business and I know how that can be even harder. That being said, usually if a business wants to keep people coming in the door, they make it easier for people to give them money, not harder. I really hope some things change in the future so I can get their...