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Friday, June 23, 2000
Island Pepper Shack: good take-out food
Prize-winning chili, smoked meat make up for facility's lack of fine dining
OK, so the Island Pepper Shack isn't exactly a restaurant. It is, however, the only place around here we know of where you can get a steaming bowl of the only chili to ever win top honors not once, but twice, at the revered Terlingua International Chili Championship.
Located on the outskirts of Port Aransas in a colorful little shack with a palm frond awning and a single picnic table out front, the Island Pepper Shack doesn't offer fine dining in a traditional sense.
What it does offer is slabs of smoked beef brisket and pork ribs slathered in a thick sweet homemade barbecue sauce that changed Fred Franklin's life, pulled pork sandwiches that are enough to make a temperate man stuff himself and about 250 kinds of hot sauce.
Salsa tinker
About 20 years ago, Franklin, the Pepper Shack proprietor, moved to Port Aransas because he liked the beaches and was able to support himself as a TV repairman in what was then a quiet little town on the edge of Texas.
In his spare time (which was plentiful) he also liked to barbecue with friends, fancying himself as something of a culinary tinker. One day, as he was toying with the recipe of a barbecue sauce, it came to him.
"I was just fiddling one evening, playing around, and said 'Man, this is it,' " Franklin, who is known as Uncle Fred, said.
And so, in 1994, he opened up the Island Pepper Shack. Specializing in salsas, hot sauce, barbecue sauce, mustards and ketchup for sale in gourmet stores across the country, Franklin and his wife, Pat Marsh also barbecued some on the side.
Six years later, he owns a new shack, and sells smoked meats to a regular crowd. But he still doesn't plan to expand.
"I'm 60 years old," he said. "I guess I'm winding my way down. I'm not out to set the world on fire."
Pepper paradise
On a recent visit to the Island Pepper Shack, the appeal of the slow-pace was easy to see. Outside the shack , a fat dog named Lil'Boy lay under the picnic table outside by the soda machine that sits by the front door, apparently well fed on scraps and, like Franklin, comfortable with the island life.
Inside the shack the fake wood-paneled walls are lined with bottled hot sauces, posters of peppers and other assorted spicy paraphernalia. Here, you just walk up to the linoleum-covered counter and place your order (take out only, unless you prefer to buy a soda from the machine outside and sit in the shade at the table and eat). Lil'Boy comes in and out as he pleases.
On our recent visit, Pat Marsh, Franklin's wife and business partner, took our order and then brought out a tray containing more than a dozen kinds of salsa and a bowl of corn chips, inviting us to sample them all as she prepared the plates. Among the offerings was a surprisingly good salsa that was slightly sweetened with peaches. Sounds odd, but it was fantastic: spicy hot and chunky with the traditional fixings of onions, tomatoes and peppers, it had a hint of sweetness that set it off from any other salsa.
Meat-based menOutside, a longtime friend of Franklin and Marsh lolled in the shade, and entertained us with her theory that Hurricane Celia was actually a man-made storm that spun out of control.
When the food came, though, there was little talk. Served in Styrofoam containers, wrapped in paper or ladled into a cup, it was nonetheless grand.
We tried the combo plate (brisket, sausage and ribs), the competition chili and the pulled pork sandwich from the somewhat limited, meat-based menu.
As Lil'Boy expectantly curled up nearby, we dug in under the shade of the palms fronds. The brisket was tender enough to cut with the edge of a plastic fork, charred black on the outside with a juicy, reddish interior. Spiced with a dry rub as it smoked slowly, it was delicious.
The skin of the sausage popped appealingly, and a hot, delicious grease oozed out. The sausage itself was spicy but balanced. And the ribs were falling-off-the-bone good. Doused with the thick, sweet barbecue sauce that Franklin hit upon years ago, they were extraordinary. The plate, which cost $7.75, was more than one hungry man could finish.
Texas Red
The chili, which is based on the recipe that won Cindy Reed top honors at the Terlingua International Chili Championship two years in a row, is served ladled into a 12- or 16-ounce Styrofoam cup, but was delicious nonetheless. The Texas Red was mild enough for a child to enjoy and packed enough flavor to keep someone bent on burning their mouth distracted.
The pulled pork sandwich was worth the trip alone. Served on a Hoagie roll, it comes stuffed fat with shredded meat that drips with a delicious, tangy nectar of grease and the spicy, sweet mustard that Franklin makes in the back.
There is no dessert at the Island Pepper Shack, and the only beverages available come from the machine outside.
The Island Pepper Shack may not offer fine dining, but they offer plenty of good eating.
At A Glance
Island Pepper Shack
811 S. Alister, (361) 749-4702
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
Entrees: $3-$7.75
Checks: Local
Credit cards: All major
B.Y.O.B
Not wheelchair accessible
Food: * * ½
Service: * *
Atmosphere: * *
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