#144: Frankie's BBQ

As a practicing Catholic, I recognize that the first week of Lent can be a challenge for some.  After the high of Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and then the first of six meatless Fridays can make this season for reflection seem like a burden.  I recommend that between this sandwich of fasting days, have a sandwich.  A nice, juicy pulled pork, wow-I-have-never-seen-that-much-dead-animal-on-a-bun-before type of sandwich.  Go to Frankie's.

Rib tips dinner

This windowless concrete BBQ outpost is far from inviting.  The limited seating inside recalls interrogation scenes from bad TV crime dramas.  However, don't go to Frankie's for the ambiance, go for the food.

Their specialty is the beef rib tips, a culinary tradition influenced by Chicago barbeque style.  I'm normally a pulled-pork, Memphis or Kansas City type of girl, but I accepted the sample offered to me when I mentioned it was my first time trying out this place.  Whoa, whoa: I ain't in Kansas [City, MI] anymore, Toto.

Order at the counter; takes about 15 minutes to get your food.

The $9 rib tips dinner platter includes cole slaw, a heaping of thick-cut fries and a mountain of rib tips drenched in a tangy, not super-sweet, and definitely not a Carolina style sauce.  The white bread below acts as a sponge for this deliciously thick sauce.  The pulled pork sandwich was decent, but stick to the tips if you want to max out your meat-eating potential for the day.

Where: There are two locations; I tried the re-opened spot on 23 (1132 South Bend Ave) but the original location is at 1621 Circle Ave off W. Washington St.
When: Whenever you see smoke a'rollin out.  
Website: http://frankiesbbq.net/index.php
Tip: At the South Bend Ave. spot, enter in the door in the middle and before you turn left to go inside to order, check out the ketchup container sitting on the window for a bit of Frankie's background.