Uncle Flip's Smoke Pit

Today we spotted Uncle Flip's Smoke Pit in the Clipper Magazine--which is just a fancy name for coupons. Normally, we don't find anything new in there, so it stood out right away. BBQ food is a big deal with the people I hang out with most, so we decided to go out and try it for lunch.

I'm not too familiar with North Hollywood, but we saw Flip's buried between an auto stereo place and some other strip mall stores. The restaurant is all windows in front so we could see from the street that there were people inside (a major plus). There was plenty of street parking with meters, but it was Saturday, so I'm not sure what the area is like during the week.

Inside, the restaurant was very clean. It had a "grandpa's kitchen" kind of feel. The tables were wooden with black chairs. There are a bunch of tables, all for at least four people--which makes it a family-style atmosphere. The menu is short with specials scrawled on the blackboard.

The prices are great, for $5 you get a sandwich and 2 sides, which is enough for even a hungry patron. I ordered the pork sandwich, dirty rice and potato salad--I know it's a lot of starch, but the non-starch options were cole slaw or collard greens--neither of which I am a fan. I was interested in trying the Maque Choux-which is some kind of creamed corn macaroni combination, but they were out.

The sandwich isn't huge, but it's filling. It is piled high with pulled pork and no extra frill. It was very dripy and I didn't really notice the sauce that much except that it kept the sandwich moist. I kind of wished for more sauce flavor or maybe a thicker bbq sauce on the side. The dirty rice was wild rice with spices. I don't love wild rice, but this one was pretty good--it was sticky though and more together than separate grains. The potato salad was average--better than the grocery store but not really a stand alone favorite.

The other diners in my party had the same complaints as I did about the sauce. The beans were said to be sweet--more like brown sugar baked beans than anything else. The rib tips were a little dry only because they didn't come with extra sauce. There was only hot sauce on the table--so I'm not sure if you could ask for extra BBQ sauce or not.

Just as we were finishing up our meals, the owner came over with a plate of brownies. I thought that was a really neat touch! That made it feel even more like home. I read in some other reviews that there is often a treat at the end but what it is varies.

I would like to go back to Uncle Flip's again. I thought the food was good--just not outstanding. I want to try the ribs--and I want to know if you can get extra sauce to go with your meal. All in all it was a good experience. Next time I'm in the neighborhood, I'll head back.





Uncle Flip's Smoke PIt
4715 N. Lankershim Blvd
North Hollywood, CA 91602
MAP