Rudy's BBQ Shack

Spent a LOT of time trying to find good barbecue in the area, and Rudy's is literally the ONLY one I will even consider eating at again. The food is beyond amazing every time, the staff provides a comfortable and home style feel. I love spending time at the big, beautiful park across the street to build an appetite before getting the best BBQ you will find in NWI.

The food here is amazing. Great ambiance and tunes. And the service was fast, friendly and top notch. Definitely worth checking out if you're travel to or through Valpo.

This is one of those places that you aren't too sure about when you pull up out front but once you get inside, you are so glad you stopped. There isn't anything fancy...it's just good bbq! Our server was very friendly and attentive. The vibe was very low key and comfortable. The bbq sauces were yummy...especially the zippy one!
Don't miss out on this one; great food, reasonable prices and a easy going spot for bbq.

Stopped in for lunch on a Sunday to check out this place while in town. The place is clean, the staff friendly, and the location convenient.

Ordered the meat sampler, baked beans, Mac n cheese, cole slaw, green beans, smoked wings, and hot link.

The smoked wings arrived first with a side of ranch sauce. We ordered plain rub style. Our initial take on them was that they were overcooked. The skin was hard and heavily seasoned. Yet, with all that, we kept coming back to them again and again. They seemed to grow on us as we ate more and more. Don't know if they are normally cooked so crispy, so may need to come back and try again.

The meats we got in the sampler were all decent. Ribs were well seasoned, nicely cooked and we loved the rub! They came un-sauced, which is the preferred way. The pulled pork, brisket, and pulled chicken were all tender and decent. The real star of the meat show was the hot link. Deliciously smokey, tender and just wonderful.

They offer two sauces, one regular and one spicy. The sauces were thin and tasty, a good complement to the meats.

The Mac-n-cheese was good, but the real treat was the crumbled homemade tortilla chips on top. Could have used a lot more of those!

The green beans were kind of a disappointment, but the other sides shined well enough to where it didn't bother us. Wouldn't get the green beans again.

The cole slaw was wonderfully tangy and perfectly balanced. Really appreciated the effort put in that recipe.

The baked beans were fantastically sweet and chock full of meat chunks. Outstanding.

Bottom line: we'll be back whenever we're in town. It's worth a stop!

He was right I will be going back soo yummy I got rib tips pork belly and pastrami beef

I saw Rudy's during my 1st visit to Valparaiso. Since I live here now, I had to put it on my list of places to try.

First of all, they have sweet tea. That should make it an automatic 5!

My first visit,, I went with the Rowdy hog which came with ribs, pulled pork, rib tips, pork belly, and hot links.  The ribs were hands down the best of the bunch.  They had an excellent rub and were cooked to the point that they were easy to chew but you had to tear it off the bone.  Pulled pork was seasoned well and tender.  The hot links was a solid sausage.  Some of the rib tips were cooked just right and some were cooked too much.  The pork belly was fried and decent.  The last piece I had was fried too much.

My 2nd visit, I had the brisket and mountain beans. The brisket is the best meat they serve. It is moist and fatty with a good crust of black pepper.

I have had 2 sides so far - slaw and mountain beans. The slaw was ok but the mountain beans were phenomenal. They were meaty with some kind of BBQ conglomeration. No beans out of a can here!

There are 2 sauces - both vinegar based. There is the regular and the spicy.  The spicy is a 2 on a heat scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being mild.  Personally, I thought the sauces needed a little more punch.

The dessert option is homemade cheesecake from a place down the road that they buy from. The cheesecake was good but I bet it was cheaper down the road.

Overall, Rudy's is a good BBQ joint.

Awesome food, cold beer, fantastic server (James). My son wanted BBQ and we were just coming through town. Ribs were fantastic. Falling off the bone and great flavor. Pulled pork and pork belly were awesome also. Loved the sauces too.

Drove by this place for years. Finally gave it a shot. Have to say this is one of the best (if you don't come up calumet often) secrets in Valpo. Best smoked bbq I've had in a long time. If you like bbq etc this is the place.

Rudy's is the best bbq in the area. When you first pull up to the building it looks average but walking inside, the atmosphere is very cool. The waitress was seriously the nicest person and made sure we always had full drinks and that everything was to our liking. The amount of food you get is well worth the price of it and the brisket nachos were OMG good. We got the brisket, pork belly, spicy sausage and it all literally just melts in your mouth, you can tell it's been cooking for hours and hours. The sides were very good, I got the pasta salad and it was delicious, the fries were your average French fries but still were crispy and went well with the bbq. We will definitely be back!

Great place, staff attentive, food is edible, best place to go during COVID, they seem to enforce rules where other venues don't. Small tap selection, but top shelf in my opinion. Rib tips and smoked chicken can use a whew bit more flavor, but that's not real breaker.