ekreider wrote:Early this afternoon the Menard's on Clybourn had a good supply of Cowboy lump charcoal at $4.97 per 8.8 pound bag. Two displays, one of which also has a few bags of Royal Oak briquettes. Off to the left a little way down the aisle directly in from the entrance.

The bag I bought did not appear to have a crushing problem, but I won't know for sure until I get down a ways.

Menard's in general has been good to me for finding lump charcoal. Every one I've been to in my area (one on 95th and Harlem, another one on 23rd and Cicero) have carried Cowboy. In addition, the Walmart on 95th and Western carries Royal Oak. Having used both Cowboy and Royal Oak, I have to say I prefer Royal Oak. It seems to burn a tad bit cooler than Cowboy which, for my smoking, I prefer. But they're both fine products.

Just to point out, Berger Bros. (restaurant supply place that will sell to the public) sells a 40# bag for about $16. The bags are a bit unwieldy, admittedly, but for those of us who go through a lot, it's worth picking up a couple of bags and being set for a good little while.

Berger Bros.
1176 N. Cherry Avenue
(across from Jetro restaurant supply on Division)
312-642-4238
I believe weekdays only?

I believe weekdays only?

Yes and business hours also, though they do open early at 7 or 7:30 AM.

Regards,

Any Idea when the Berger Bros CLOSES? I have had no success trying to pick up some lump as every time I go the place looks deserted and haven't been able to get anyone to pick up the phone.

Thanks

Upe wrote:Any Idea when the Berger Bros CLOSES? I have had no success trying to pick up some lump as every time I go the place looks deserted and haven't been able to get anyone to pick up the phone.

Thanks

They probably close sometime around 3:00 if I had to guess. They are there early, though.

Upe wrote:Any Idea when the Berger Bros CLOSES?

Berger Bros hours:
7:30am - 4pm
M - F

Berger Brother's Charcoal
1176 N Cherry Ave
Chicago, IL 6062
312-642-4238
7:30am - 4pm
M - F

I'm planning to make a large charcoal purchase this weekend. Unfortunately Berger Brothers is closed on weekends.

Any other recommendations to get good, cheap lump charcoal on the north side?

turkob wrote:Any other recommendations to get good, cheap lump charcoal on the north side?

Were me I'd rearrange my schedule for Berger Bros. The charcoal will be less expensive and handled less, later being an important factor with lump charcoal.

Chicago Firewood or, if you have a card, Restaurant Depot. CF has 40-lb bags of Royal Oak, RD 20-lb bags.

Chicago Firewood
1300 N Halsted St
(between Goethe St & Scott St)
Chicago, IL 60622

another option to add to your list..Sams Club carries 40 lb bags of lump (Frontier). Tried some the other week and was pleasantly surprised..nice size chunks..and long burn times. I dont remember the exact price but i want to say it was under 20 bucks.
Restaurant Depot has Royal Oak as Gary says but unless you have a business you wont be able to shop there. Sams I believe will grant you a one day pass but I could be wrong

Oddly enough, I've found Foremost Liquor to be a reliable lump charcoal retailer. This is next to the Patterno's Pizza at Milwaukee, Foster, Central and Northwest Highway. I was there last night and noticed the 20lb bags of Royal Oak were plentiful and about $13. They also have hickory, apple, mesquite and cherry chips and used to have hickory chunks but I didn't see them last night.


Foremost Liquor Center
5303 N Milwaukee Ave
(between Central Ave & Parkside Ave)
Chicago, IL 60630
(773) 631-2600

Head's Red BBQ wrote:another option to add to your list..Sams Club carries 40 lb bags of lump (Frontier). Tried some the other week and was pleasantly surprised..nice size chunks..and long burn times. I dont remember the exact price but i want to say it was under 20 bucks.

bought a bunch last fall--think it was about 15bucks for 40lbs---nice price for a decent product---like some other lump a little better(Wicked Good or Ozark Oak) but they cost about twice as much too! Now to find a reasonably priced natural briquette at a decent price and readily available!

BrendanR wrote:Oddly enough, I've found Foremost Liquor to be a reliable lump charcoal retailer. This is next to the Patterno's Pizza at Milwaukee, Foster, Central and Northwest Highway. I was there last night and noticed the 20lb bags of Royal Oak were plentiful and about $13.

Foremost, at least the one you mention, is a good backup/emergency source of lump charcoal, they always have it in stock, even in winter. Not a great place for Turkob to stockup though, at $13 its $4-5 higher per bag than Berger or Restaurant Depot and is handled more.

buzzd wrote:

Head's Red BBQ wrote:another option to add to your list..Sams Club carries 40 lb bags of lump (Frontier). Tried some the other week and was pleasantly surprised..nice size chunks..and long burn times. I dont remember the exact price but i want to say it was under 20 bucks.

bought a bunch last fall--think it was about 15bucks for 40lbs---nice price for a decent product---like some other lump a little better(Wicked Good or Ozark Oak) but they cost about twice as much too! Now to find a reasonably priced natural briquette at a decent price and readily available!

agree on Wicked Good except its hard to find around here..Only place I know of is in Vernon Hills (which is somewhat close to work)
..I normally stock up on Royal Oak from Restaurant Depot but will be keeping a supply of Frontier around as well as long as Sams has it at a good price..

What is the general consensus around here as to the best brand of lump to buy? I hate when you have a gallon of dust left at the bottom, or the generic brands that contain chunks of paneling and the random nail or two. I guess what Gwiv says about lack of handeling is important vis-a-vis the coal dust issue.

I purchase Royal Oaks Restaurant lump hard wood at Berger's, if I can't get into Chicago, our local Menard's has Royal Oak 'Steak House' lump at a competitive price but smaller bags. Cowboy brand has turned into junk with mill tailings and dust!-Dick

budrichard wrote:I purchase Royal Oaks Restaurant lump hard wood at Berger's, if I can't get into Chicago, our local Menard's has Royal Oak 'Steak House' lump at a competitive price but smaller bags.

I wonder what the difference is. The Brothers Berger claim it's all the same, but I'm not so sure.

stevez wrote:

budrichard wrote:I purchase Royal Oaks Restaurant lump hard wood at Berger's, if I can't get into Chicago, our local Menard's has Royal Oak 'Steak House' lump at a competitive price but smaller bags.

I wonder what the difference is. The Brothers Berger claim it's all the same, but I'm not so sure.

think sometimes there is a difference in country of origin according to different color of the bags--iirc anyway. The Naked Whiz probably explains it all http://www.nakedwhiz.com/lump.htm

Snark wrote:now are you guys buying the "Weber" chimneys or are these just basic generic versions...And if so do you know if there is a difference...I have a Weber grill and so far have trusted their products and would prefer to stick with the Weber brand - even for accessories...

Thanx

I'm laughing about this. When I was a kid we'd just cut the bottom off a coffee can, put some wadded up newspaper in the bottom, fill it with charcoal, use three lumps of charcoal to lift the thing off the bottom of the grill, light the newspaper and in a few minutes you'd have things going. Buy a chimney? Ha!

I made it out to Chicago Firewood. A 40lb bag was 23 dollars.

You can find Frontier lump charcoal at Lowes. It is sold in a 10# bag for $6.97. It is the same product as the 40# bag but not as many super large pieces. Enjoy!

Frontier BBQ Crew

trpt2345 wrote:

Snark wrote:now are you guys buying the "Weber" chimneys or are these just basic generic versions...And if so do you know if there is a difference...I have a Weber grill and so far have trusted their products and would prefer to stick with the Weber brand - even for accessories...

Thanx

I'm laughing about this. When I was a kid we'd just cut the bottom off a coffee can, put some wadded up newspaper in the bottom, fill it with charcoal, use three lumps of charcoal to lift the thing off the bottom of the grill, light the newspaper and in a few minutes you'd have things going. Buy a chimney? Ha!

I'm laughing at the coffee can - who buys coffee from a can nowadays?

The Weber chimney starter is cheap, durable, and the folding handle makes it easy to use.

Darren72 wrote:The Weber chimney starter is cheap, durable, and the folding handle makes it easy to use.

Agreed, the Weber chimney holds up very well, not only durability but the conical shape of the grate insures airflow for fast even starting.

d4v3 wrote:What is the general consensus around here as to the best brand of lump to buy? I hate when you have a gallon of dust left at the bottom, or the generic brands that contain chunks of paneling and the random nail or two. I guess what Gwiv says about lack of handeling is important vis-a-vis the coal dust issue.

I've had consistently good results with Royal Oak, Wicked Good is said to be good charcoal, but I've only used it a few times due to accessibility.

I prefer to buy direct from Berger Bros, right off the pallet. Lump charcoal tends to break up the more it is handled, smaller pieces that fall through the grates, charcoal dust that can choke out a fire. When one buys lump at Foremost, a good place to have in the pocket for emergencies, its been tossed from pallet to truck, delivered, tossed on a forklift, tossed on sale/display pile and generally gone through at least a little wear and tear.

Not picking on Foremost, the occasional lump I've bought there has been fine, just outlining some of reasons for buying as close to the source as possible, aside from the obvious lower price.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

Darren72 wrote:The Weber chimney starter is cheap, durable, and the folding handle makes it easy to use.

Agreed, the Weber chimney holds up very well, not only durability but the conical shape of the grate insures airflow for fast even starting.

And they come up cheap on amazon at least once a year!

G Wiv wrote:

d4v3 wrote:What is the general consensus around here as to the best brand of lump to buy? I hate when you have a gallon of dust left at the bottom, or the generic brands that contain chunks of paneling and the random nail or two. I guess what Gwiv says about lack of handeling is important vis-a-vis the coal dust issue.

I've had consistently good results with Royal Oak, Wicked Good is said to be good charcoal, but I've only used it a few times due to accessibility.

I prefer to buy direct from Berger Bros, right off the pallet.

Can you request certain brands at Berger? I bought from there for the first time last week and when just requesting a 40lb bag, was given a different brand. I want to say it is Nature Glow or something like that (can't check, away from home for work right now). It says it is for restaurant supply/not for resale and it came in a brown bag. I used it this past weekend and while the chunks were suitable, they were not as big as I expected them to be. I'm a bit worried about what I'm going to find on the bottom of the bag.

nature glo is royal oak's foodservice brand

they also have lazzari mesquite lump. not sure about other brands.

I agree that Nature Glo/Royal Oak tends to have more smaller pieces. Suitable is also the word I'd use to describe it, but at Berger Brother's price it rises to desirable.

The Lazzari Mesquite charcoal is excellent, if you like mesquite. This is a charcoal, not a raw wood chunk, and it imparts much less mesquite flavor than wood chunks. Nevertheless, a lot of people don't like to use it for low and slow BBQ.

ziggy wrote:Can you request certain brands at Berger? I bought from there for the first time last week and when just requesting a 40lb bag, was given a different brand. I want to say it is Nature Glow or something like that (can't check, away from home for work right now). It says it is for restaurant supply/not for resale and it came in a brown bag. I used it this past weekend and while the chunks were suitable, they were not as big as I expected them to be. I'm a bit worried about what I'm going to find on the bottom of the bag.

I was also surprised at how small most of the pieces were from the 40lb bag I got at Burger Bros.

lynnplace wrote:You can find Frontier lump charcoal at Lowes. It is sold in a 10# bag for $6.97.

Lowe's on Touhy had ten pound bags of Frontier lump charcoal for $4.64 per bag. Lump charcoal Database rates Frontier made in the USA recommended, Lowe's carries the not made in the USA lump which has a rating of average.

I'll try the Frontier and report back.

Regards,
Gary

Darren72 wrote:The Lazzari Mesquite charcoal is excellent, if you like mesquite. This is a charcoal, not a raw wood chunk, and it imparts much less mesquite flavor than wood chunks. Nevertheless, a lot of people don't like to use it for low and slow BBQ.

The two bags of Lazzari I got last year (at Ace Hardware in Evanston) were really excellent quality, and I'd describe the amount of mesquite flavor as "almost non-existent," especially if using any kind of wood chunks along with it.