Location: 2051 N. California Ave., Chicago, IL 60647
A Quick Word:
After trying the pies and biscuits at Bang Bang... I have come to the conclusion that they should rename their storefront "Bang Bang BISCUIT Shop." Honestly, they serve the BEST biscuits I have ever eaten and yes, I ordered my pictures with the homemade biscuits taking the top spot. If it wasn't for the location, I would be here every morning filling my stomach with true amazingness. On the other hand, the pies are hit or miss. As you can see by my reviews I have only had one pie that I truly enjoyed. The atmosphere is very welcoming with a few tables for everyday patrons to enjoy their coffee and choice of bakery item. I had to rate the overall pie shop just above average... but, in terms of biscuits, I would walk farther than 5 miles for them.
What We Ate:
Where to begin. These biscuits are without question the BEST biscuits I have ever eaten. They have an amazing crust (crisp and thin), a moist, fluffy center, and are buttered to perfection. Each one is served out of their warming oven so they steam when you break into them. These biscuits alone are addicting and it becomes even better when you try their homemade jams and butters.
With a rotating menu, a different array of jams and butters will most likely be discovered on each trip to Bang Bang Pie Shop. This time, they offered a blueberry lavender jam, an apple butter, a sorghum butter, a chive butter, and a more typical salted butter. My favorite option was the sorghum butter. If you don't know, sorghum is a grain/grass that is turned into a sweet molasses. The sorghum butter had a nice sweetness to it, but still had a rich buttery flavor. The blueberry lavender jam was a close second with the lavender really shining through. The chive butter was a little too "grass" flavored for me and both the apple butter and salted butter were typical biscuit condiments. Hopefully they have a great variety for when you try these unbelievable biscuits.
So whenever I run into candied bacon, I have to try it. This candied bacon was a little disappointing. The bacon was thick cut and heavily peppered and only lightly sugared. There was so much pepper that it was almost spicy. The consistency wasn't that great either. It was extremely soggy as opposed to the typical thick and stiff sugary consistency like at Honky Tonk BBQ. It is still nice to have a salty side to counteract all the sweetness in the pie shop, but I will pass on the "candied" bacon next time.
For this year's Thanksgiving meal, I ordered the roasted pumpkin pie from the shop. My family is trying different pie shops throughout Chicago each year (last year trying Jimmy Jamm's) and so far it has been a success. This time around, the roasted pumpkin pie was once again a hit. Kept at room temperature for hours before the meal, the pie cut without any problems. The pumpkin was extremely creamy and the crust was very rich and flavored. It was a surprise to have such an amazing crust. The roasted flavor wasn't very prominent but overall the pie was still great.
Ehh... this pie was a big disappointment. I have a huge sweet tooth so the chocolate filling was awesome. It was kind of like a flour-less chocolate cake consistency. The bad part was the candy cane topping. The taste was too artificial and the chunks of candy cane were too big to enjoy with each bite. In fact, I ended up scraping off the candy cane pieces. The crust wasn't anything special. It seemed to be their standard crust that was essential flavorless, unlike the pumpkin one. I would STAY AWAY from this pie.
One disappointing pie followed by another. The cranberry apple crumble was the more "fruity" option Bang Bang was offering at this time. This pie was full of cranberries, apples, and topped with a brown sugar crumble. It wasn't sweet at all, which was not what I was expecting. To be fair, it did have a good cranberry flavor, but it overwhelmed the almost non-existent apple. The same bland crust made up the base of this pie. I would just stick with their biscuits.
Serving coffee is a nice touch for this pie shop. Nothing goes better with biscuits and pie than a nice mug of hot coffee. For a couple bucks, you get a mug of their in-house roasted coffee. It is definitely worth the cost so don't be cheap!
The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- There is free parking on California and on Armitage, but whenever you see a spot just take it because there isn't many open spots near the shop.
- Do order coffee. It is perfect.
- If you miss the biscuits, you will be disappointed so order TONS and TONS of biscuits!
- Do try all their homemade jams and butters. Almost all are unreal.
DON'T:
- Be aware of their pies. I have only found one out of three that I have enjoyed. So it is more hit or miss than you think.
How far would I walk for this food?
A Quick Word:
After trying the pies and biscuits at Bang Bang... I have come to the conclusion that they should rename their storefront "Bang Bang BISCUIT Shop." Honestly, they serve the BEST biscuits I have ever eaten and yes, I ordered my pictures with the homemade biscuits taking the top spot. If it wasn't for the location, I would be here every morning filling my stomach with true amazingness. On the other hand, the pies are hit or miss. As you can see by my reviews I have only had one pie that I truly enjoyed. The atmosphere is very welcoming with a few tables for everyday patrons to enjoy their coffee and choice of bakery item. I had to rate the overall pie shop just above average... but, in terms of biscuits, I would walk farther than 5 miles for them.
What We Ate:
Homemade Biscuits
Where to begin. These biscuits are without question the BEST biscuits I have ever eaten. They have an amazing crust (crisp and thin), a moist, fluffy center, and are buttered to perfection. Each one is served out of their warming oven so they steam when you break into them. These biscuits alone are addicting and it becomes even better when you try their homemade jams and butters.
Homemade Butters and Jam
 |
| From Left to Right: Blueberry Lavender Jam, Apple Butter, Chive Butter, Sorghum Butter, & Salted Butter |
Candied Bacon
So whenever I run into candied bacon, I have to try it. This candied bacon was a little disappointing. The bacon was thick cut and heavily peppered and only lightly sugared. There was so much pepper that it was almost spicy. The consistency wasn't that great either. It was extremely soggy as opposed to the typical thick and stiff sugary consistency like at Honky Tonk BBQ. It is still nice to have a salty side to counteract all the sweetness in the pie shop, but I will pass on the "candied" bacon next time.
Roasted Pumpkin Pie
For this year's Thanksgiving meal, I ordered the roasted pumpkin pie from the shop. My family is trying different pie shops throughout Chicago each year (last year trying Jimmy Jamm's) and so far it has been a success. This time around, the roasted pumpkin pie was once again a hit. Kept at room temperature for hours before the meal, the pie cut without any problems. The pumpkin was extremely creamy and the crust was very rich and flavored. It was a surprise to have such an amazing crust. The roasted flavor wasn't very prominent but overall the pie was still great.
Chocolate Candy Cane Pie
Ehh... this pie was a big disappointment. I have a huge sweet tooth so the chocolate filling was awesome. It was kind of like a flour-less chocolate cake consistency. The bad part was the candy cane topping. The taste was too artificial and the chunks of candy cane were too big to enjoy with each bite. In fact, I ended up scraping off the candy cane pieces. The crust wasn't anything special. It seemed to be their standard crust that was essential flavorless, unlike the pumpkin one. I would STAY AWAY from this pie.
Cranberry Apple Crumble Pie
One disappointing pie followed by another. The cranberry apple crumble was the more "fruity" option Bang Bang was offering at this time. This pie was full of cranberries, apples, and topped with a brown sugar crumble. It wasn't sweet at all, which was not what I was expecting. To be fair, it did have a good cranberry flavor, but it overwhelmed the almost non-existent apple. The same bland crust made up the base of this pie. I would just stick with their biscuits.
Coffee
Serving coffee is a nice touch for this pie shop. Nothing goes better with biscuits and pie than a nice mug of hot coffee. For a couple bucks, you get a mug of their in-house roasted coffee. It is definitely worth the cost so don't be cheap!
The DOs/DON'Ts:
DO:
- There is free parking on California and on Armitage, but whenever you see a spot just take it because there isn't many open spots near the shop.
- Do order coffee. It is perfect.
- If you miss the biscuits, you will be disappointed so order TONS and TONS of biscuits!
- Do try all their homemade jams and butters. Almost all are unreal.
DON'T:
- Be aware of their pies. I have only found one out of three that I have enjoyed. So it is more hit or miss than you think.
How far would I walk for this food?
DISCLAIMER: I would walk MORE THAN 5 miles
for their BISCUITS!
OVERALL:
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