2135 Old Middlefield Way
Mountain View, CA 94043
(650) 964-4476

Hours:
Monday – Friday :
Lunch 11.30 am – 2.30 pm
Dinner 5.00 pm – 8.00 pm

Saturday :
Noon – 2.30 pm
5.00 pm – 8.00 pm

The Nutshell

Uncle Frank’s is a BBQ oasis in the parched, mega-mall wasteland that is the South Bay. The brisket was maybe the best we’ve had in the Bay Area and they give you a mountain of food. It’s hard to beat the low-key ambiance of the bar Uncle Frank’s lives inside of. Great side dishes, friendly staff. Yum.

The Place

Uncle Frank’s lives in the back room of an unassuming bar called Francesca’s. Walk right past the bar and to the left and you’ll find a run down but clean dining room next to the pool tables with a little kitchen in the back. We lorded over our meal in a big ol’ booth that could have fit 6 or 8. The staff was super friendly and the service was fast. You’ve got to go to the bar for your drinks, which was hardly a problem. It wasn’t at all crowded on a Thursday night.

The Sauce

Lately I’ve been finding a lot of sauces like this – good but not great, sweet, not particularly spicy, good with ribs and maybe not quite as good with brisket. I tend to think brisket is the harder meat to pair with sauce anyway – the Kansas City sweet thing just doesn’t cut it. If you want the heat you might be disappointed, but a sauce like this allowed the quality of the meat to come through. I had to ask for extra sauce, which they happily brought in a big cup. All in all, no complaints.

The Meat

I ordered the two-meat platter with both brisket and ribs. The waitress delivered a giant plate of both. I try not to leave BBQ behind, especially when it’s good, but I couldn’t eat it all, no way. The brisket was thick cut (which Tamar didn’t care for), but it was fork tender, smokey, and flavorful. This may be the best brisket we’ve had in the Bay Area. Tamar in particular liked that it was nice and lean – the sign of a long slow smoke. A lot of the brisket we’ve had around here is rather fatty in comparison.

The spare ribs were a bit more hit or miss. The first two I ate tasted ok, and had a beautiful pink smoke ring, but were dry almost to the point of being jerky-like. The next few, however, were quite tender, juicy, flavorful, and on par with ribs from someplace like Everett & Jones. Compared to baby-backs or gourmet baby-backs, spare ribs can be harder to cook evenly because one side of the rack is so much thicker than the other. This is why I’m such a fan of the pouch method for smoking – I think it helps to avoid the jerky problem in the short end.

A side note: Tamar wanted to branch out a bit since Uncle Frank’s is supposed to be ‘Lousiana Style’, so she ordered the cajun fried shrimp. Clearly they were frozen, but super tasty just the same, with cajun seasoning and a crispy batter. Made a nice counter-point to the BBQ.

The Sides

Great sides at Uncle Frank’s. Tamar couldn’t stop talking about the potato salad, which was pretty close to how we make it at home. I thought the beans were by far the best I’ve had. I could taste just the right amount of the seasoning that I think gives BBQ that special something: celery seed. Overdo it and it’s over-powering, but get it just right in sauces, rubs, and (apparently) beans, and it’s wonderful.

Tamar also got some slaw which was pretty mediocre. It had pineapple in it, which I object to. The only real loser of the bunch was the cornbread, which was like yellow sheet cake, except that there was some kind of effervescent, chemical after-taste. Not good at all.

In the End

I might drive down to Mountain View just to go to Uncle Frank’s again. It’s got lots of character and lots of flavor. It’s not the cheapest BBQ around, but you certainly get a lot of food for your money. The beer is cheap and plentiful too, and you can get a cocktail if you prefer and stay to drink up and play pool after the BBQ is gone.