Publication Date: Friday Jul 21, 2000

Restaurant Review: Uncle Frank's soul food

It isn't much to look at driving up and it isn't much to look at inside either. A brightly colored decor sparsely appointed with well used tables and chairs. Reminds me of the roadside restaurants that dot Louisiana Route 71, just south of Shreveport. Smoke houses are as common as catfish in that part of the country. And they are big too, some as big as a $2500 apartment in the Santa Clara Valley.

Affable Frank Bell grew up in Summit Hill, La., where he learned how to smoke meats at an early age and has been doing so ever since. For the past three years, Bell has been the proprietor, cook, smoker, master barbecue sauce-maker and general one-man-band at Uncle Frank's in East Palo Alto. But what looks plain and ordinary on the outside belies some of the finest and most honest food in the Bay Area.

There are over 750 different barbecue sauces available commercially in the United States today. Consequently, most consumers have come to believe that barbecue refers to a sauce rather than a way of preparing meats. Barbecue originated in the Caribbean; barbacoa was the Arawak Indian word for grill. What makes a classic soul food barbecue is the long, slow smoky cooking process in a pit or a smokehouse. The meat is prepared and the sauce is applied at serving time, rather than dabbed on with a brush while the meat cooks.

At Uncle Frank's meats are smoked outside daily on a home-built smoker the size of a small caboose. Bell asserts that if his smoker is filled with meat he could easily serve 1000 people from it. The smoker was built atop an old trailer and is portable--ideal for catering parties. The magic of the smoker is in the wood that is used. Typically, Uncle Frank's uses four different woods to fire the smoker: red oak, white oak, hickory and peach are among those frequently used, the latter imparting a sweetness to the meats.

The menu is simple at Uncle Frank's: beef links ($6.50), chicken ($7.00), pork ribs ($7.50) and beef brisket ($8.00) for lunch. Each order comes with nondescript servings of bread and potato salad, but a delicious red bean and white rice combination livens the side dishes. The chef applies his own secret seasonings to the plump, rich, flavorful beans.

Dinners differ from lunch in that you can choose one meat ($10.75), two meats ($11.75), three meats ($13.75) or the beef brisket dinner ($12.75). Each dinner is served with the same bread and potato salad, plus green vegetables. Thursday through Saturday special combo plates are available for $13.75, with added mixed greens and house-made cornbread. Catfish and fries are also offered on Friday ($8.00).

The smoky beef links are large and firm, yielding almost reluctantly to the fork, yet retaining a sealed-in juiciness that is as welcome as it is unexpected. The pork ribs would be almost enough for two but for the compulsion to overeat here anyway. The pork ribs are well marbled and the meat so tender it falls easily away from the bone. The chicken is succulent and tender and begs to be eaten with fingers. The brisket was not quite ready during a recent visit and chef Bell will not serve anything that isn't perfectly cooked. All portions are generous.

And I haven't mentioned the sauce yet! At Uncle Frank's the sauce is not a barbecue sauce, but is rather called "Original Louisiana Sauce Du Jour". Bell makes a fresh batch each day, slowly stirring in the dozen or more ingredients. The result is a sauce that is chunky, thick and sweet, with a lingering smokiness and piquancy to it. Bell recommends using it on rice dishes, pasta and even as a salad dressing. At Uncle Frank's the sauce correctly goes on just before the order is served. Happily, Bell has packaged his sauce and it is available at better supermarkets throughout the area. He also packages a marinade, but it is the "sauce du jour" that is exclusively used at the restaurant.

On my visit, Bell made his award-winning peach cobbler ($3.00). Loaded with butter and sugar, the thick slices of peaches had been slow-stewed in their own juices. The boiling down or reduction of these juices intensified the flavors of this very rich and satisfying dessert. So much butter was used that it had floated to the top of the container as it cooled and congealed, making it reminiscent of crŠme br–l‚e.

Everything is served "picnic style" at Uncle Frank's: 100 per cent disposable styrofoam, plastic and paper. The restaurant does not yet have a beer and wine license and offers only carbonated soft drinks and water from a commercial cooler.

Uncle Frank's has limited seating for 16 people but offers take-out service, and usually one does not need to call ahead to secure a prompt order. The restaurant will also deliver free within a five-mile radius. At Uncle Frank's it is "barbecue, the way it was meant to be," just like on Route 71.

Uncle Frank's, 2417 Pulgas Ave., East Palo Alto, (650) 321-6369

Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Ambience: No frills. Take-out and delivery are important features.

Highlights: Succulent smoked meats delivered with rich, chunky sauce. Come here for meat. House-made foods are delicious, others mediocre. Happily, most foods are made in-house. Fine, authentic barbecue.

Reservations: NO Credit cards X Parking X Beer & wine NO Takeout X Banquet NO Catering X Wheelchair X Access Highchairs NO Outdoor X seating 

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