Frank's Texas BBQ (Sanzhi)

Cuisine Greater Taipei Restaurants
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[quote=“Icon”][quote=“Maoman”]I don’t know the facts of the story but with the biased reporting I’m seeing here, it’s clear that no Taiwanese journalist does either!

I also don’t like to see guys get railroaded. I’m going to make a point of visiting that place in the next couple of weeks just to show my support.[/quote]

True, true. Not much we as public can do aside from eating at the place and wishing for a fair trial.[/quote]

We drove out to Sanzhi with the dog yesterday and stopped by at about 4 p.m.at Frank’s. We waited for about an hour for a table that could accomodate my dog (labrador) as well. The wait was okay because we drove out a few more kilometers to look at the other BBQ place (the wife’s). Actually the wife’s place looked busier than Frank’s with more of a buzz and waitstaff wearing American Indian headgear. Then when Frank’s called us on the cell, we headed back to Frank’s.

I ordered the Wrangler Rib Eye 10 oz Special - comes with chili, salad, corn, dinner roll and drink. This was NT$660 for the entire meal + 10%. My partner order the BBQ Boneless Beef Spare Ribs for NT$480 (no drink). Service was pleasant and swift. The steak - well, was okay, nothing to write home about - more like a Rustler’s or Ponderosa’s - but for that price I’m not complaining. The salad was fine, but the lettuce had not been iced down or refrigerated, the chili was okay, the corn was from a can. My ribeye was better than my partner’s boneless ribs which was tougher. I wouldn’t go back anytime soon, but I can see why the place is popular. By the way I asked the waiter if they used American Beef, and they said yes. They even brought water for my dog, and so it’s a place to consider if you are in the area looking for a reasonable place to eat.

42

I haven’t been to Frank’s, but I am from Texas (lived in both Houston/Austin) and have been to a few Texas BBQ / Cajun places in the East and in general you don’t find anything authentically Texas out there yet (which is OK; I had the same experience in New York). I imagine a few things contribute to this.

First, there’s no local Texans around to help you cook. Chinese people trying to emulate my own cooking skill never get it quite right. It is extremely hard to master another culture’s cooking style. I’ve only mastered two different Chinese cooking dishes after quite a lot of effort. I think you need to spend a lot of time around the food, eat a lot of it, and have lots of experience cooking it. Local chefs don’t, so they may miss the mark.

Second, the owner himself has been away from Texas for a long time and is in Taiwan doing his own thing, so has to cater to local chefs while not under the influence of the Texas BBQ market. Maybe local Taiwanese do not like Brisket all that much?

But he’s probably better than many Texas BBQ places in Texas. You only really get that juicy, fall-off-the-bone pork rib action at places like Snow’s or The Salt Lick. I’ve had my share of leathery-tough pork rib in Texas at established BBQ joints, and even overly-fatty ribs at relatively well-known places. From the sounds of it, Frank has done a good job with his restaurant and made a cultural contribution to Taiwan.

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finally ended up going to both and will add my comments, as a disclaimer I am neither from texas nor america

In sum, I prefer the Longhorn

Food, I find the steak tenderer and juicier in the Longhorn.

Atmosphere, the Longhorn is a little dank and is full of more common fowlkes it seems, makes me feel more like I’m in an adult venue having a night out, it is also much smaller and more intimate, lower lighting so nicer for romance and evening conversation, and they have semi-talented bands - they also didnt mind my dog sitting under the table on a very long leash. Whereas frank’s is more like a clean cut diner full of students and families, yes you can have a dog, but people sit their dog on the chair next to them and treat it like a child, when in franks i feel it’s more childish and fake (ironic maybe?)

the staff in the Longhorn are way nicer, just naturally nice people just doing a job, in franks they are more professional, do their quality check backs and that jazz, but that again makes me feel like it’s less authentic since they are faking it. Also, in franks there is obvious pressure to turn your table over quicker and get the next feeders in and I found the staff very inflexible and unaccomodating - we showed up at 8:00 one evening and they said they kitchen closed, we had just driven 30minutes out there and there was no other food option!

I know other people will probably say that franks is obviously better because it is cleaner, staff better trained more luminescent… but I’m a youngish guy without a family so if I go out for steak I wanna kick back and be allowed to be dirty, use my hands and teeth and spit the rind out on the floor for my dog (ok so I don;t do the last bit, but would like to).

Basically. franks is a better more professional place, but for me that takes the heart and passion out of the experience, if you have a young family or normally sit your dog on a high chair at dinner, go to franks. If you are young, out with the boys, on the lash or on a date, go to the Longhorn.

      • Edit - - -

Changed “wife’s place” to “longhorn”

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[quote=“itakitez”]In sum, I prefer the wife’s place.

Food, I find the steak tenderer and juicier in the wife’s place.

Atmosphere, the wife’s place

go to the wife’s place.[/quote]Forumosans. Please stop referring to Frank’s original restaurant as his “Wife’s place”. To set the record straight. Frank created Frank’s Texas BBQ with some Taiwanese business partners which had nothing to do with his wife whatsoever. She didn’t create, manage, run, or even come to the place very often. When Frank had the initial falling out with his business partners, he was also going through a difficult period with his wife with divorce looming on the horizon. Once Frank was kicked out of the business he created, his wife was invited by his business partners to come join to run the restaurant and collude against Frank in a frivilous lawsuit, which ended up failing miserably because it had no merit. Remember all the tearful TV interviews his wife gave? Not one stitch of truth to any of them! She’s still not the owner of the “Longhorn”, just the public face along with another foreigner (British) who also is there just for window dressing. Lastly, that woman is no longer Frank’s wife. He finally ended up buying his divorce, like most foreigners who end up divorcing their Taiwanese wives.

Frank appreciates everyone who takes the time to publish reviews regarding their eating experiences at his two Frank’s Texas BBQ restaurants (third branch opening soon!). Frank’s goal is to meet the needs and expectations of his customers and he welcomes all positive and negative comments in order to increase the quality of your dining experience.

Thanks for listening. :bow:

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Out of curiosity, where is the second branch and where is the third going to be?

Frank is a hard working man who deserves his success. I’m another who prefers the Longhorn, but I wish Frank all the best.

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Second’s in Jinshan on main road, drove by it a couple of times.

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Follow this link for information on Frank’s Texas BBQ Jin-Shan.

His next restaurant is currently under construction in Jiao-Shi, Yilan County just after you get off Highway 5 once you make it through the snow tunnel. I’ll post the specific details when he’s ready for his grand opening.

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Hey, bit confused, Northcoast Surfer - aren’t you Frank??! Why do you refer to yourself as “he”?

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[quote=“Taiwan for Life”]Hey, bit confused, Northcoast Surfer - aren’t you Frank??! Why do you refer to yourself as “he”?[/quote]Trust me. I am not Frank. He can barely swim let alone surf and I never would have married his former wife! :roflmao:

You know who I am, and I know who you are.

This is Frank!

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[quote=“Northcoast Surfer”][quote=“Taiwan for Life”]Hey, bit confused, Northcoast Surfer - aren’t you Frank??! Why do you refer to yourself as “he”?[/quote]Trust me. I am not Frank. He can barely swim let alone surf and I never would have married his former wife! :roflmao:

This is Frank!
[/quote]

And Frank speaks with a different accent too, eh?

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I have been to eat at Frank’s twice now and both times I enjoyed the food. Frank’s beer is the best. I finally found out who makes it. I am glad he is doing well with his business as that is inspiration for all of us foreigners. It sucks that (Sanzhi) is so busy; good for him bad for us. The biggest complaint I have with his store is that the music is too loud. I found myself singing right along with the tunes BUT had to turn down my hearing aid to do it dagnabbit :grandpa: . Turn the music down Frank! My absolute favorite thing to do on the way to surfing and after is to swing by the restaurant and fill up a couple to-go cups full of the beer. Of coarse you can’t drink and drive but you can put the beer in a container and take it with you. It’s nice.

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who makes the beer?

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Thanks for all the posts. It is an eye-opener to see what Frank has been through since a few of my brother-in-laws have been coaxing me to move back to the island to open a restaurant (or three). It seems that the reviews are mixed. Good luck Frank.

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Who makes it,indeed?! Well, I have wrestled with saying who but not sure I should tell. :secret: I called and asked a hostess who eventually gave me a name…but when I went in to eat, it seemed like a closely guarded secret by the wait staff.They said it was Frank’s special brew but I didn’t know Frank had a distillery; so someone has to mass produce it. Either way if it’s a secret I don’t want to out the guy. I just don’t want to ruin a good thing. It’s delicious! Sorry tommy525 but…that is something for Wikileaks. I hope you understand.

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I see! You dont want to be “on the run” like wikileaks chief I guess :slight_smile:

If its a private brew, im betting its made by that small brewery in north taiwan, forget the name. I dont think TAiwan Beer does small private batches.

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Survey Says…!

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haha! They’ll never catch me! Maybe I will just flee to some small island somewhere in the Western Pacific Ocean…oh…wait… :tic:

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:laughing: I have asked them on several occasions to turn the music down and they said “That is the way the boss likes it”. It is close to club level loud. :idunno: I guess “rennao” is what he is after with the music volume but you can’t really have a conversation at that level.

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Yes…add me to the list of people who think the “music is way too loud”. Having said that…the restaurant is not really aimed at couples wanting a good meal in a cosy atmosphere…definitely geared to the large family / day tripper…

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Yeah, my friends and I almost walked out because the music was so loud we couldn’t talk to each other. We asked for it to be turned down, were told “The boss likes it this way.”, but then they did turn it down enough that we stayed. And this was on a weekday evening when the place was mostly empty.