Q-BBQ Named a Michelin ‘Bib Gourmand’ Restaurant

The 2013 Bib Gourmand awards in the 2013 Chicago Michelin guide include 19 new restaurants, including the three-year-old Q-BBQ of La Grange.

Q-BBQ is one of only 12 of the 64 named Bib Gourmands in the suburbs, and the only one in the Lyons Township area.

“It really is a testament that we do make great food here,” said restaurant owner Michael LaPidus. “Our service is just over the top and our staff that we’ve assembled downstairs is really an [asset] to this award.”

The restaurant, formerly a Roly Poly location, celebrated its third anniversary in October. It specializes in traditional Texas-style barbeque with meat smoked in-house and dishes made from scratch.

Bib Gourmand awards are the elite Michelin guide’s “value” recommendations, denoting, according to the guide’s website, “good cuisine at a reasonable price in a variety of comfort categories.” Eligible restaurants offer two courses and wine or dessert for under $40. (More expensive restaurants compete for the well-known Michelin stars.)

Inspectors visit the locations anonymously; there is no application process. The other Michelin-awarded restaurant in the area is Western Springs’ Vie, which received a one-star rating in 2011 and maintained it in 2012.

LaPidus, a former president of the La Grange Business Association, also credited the Village of La Grange for providing a downtown conducive to a Michelin award-winning restaurant.

“We’ve seen this town do a great transformation,” LaPidus said. “There were tumbleweeds in the streets 10 years ago, and now you can’t even find a parking spot for an hour.”