Brad Olson
TVWBB Diamond Member
A couple of weekends ago my wife and I were in Des Moines and had a chance to stop at Uncle Wendell's BBQ on Ingersoll Avenue for a snack.
Uncle Wendell's is in a pretty narrow storefront so there's room for a long counter and the kitchen on one side and a single row of tables along the wall.
The special of the day was a rib meat sandwich so we got one to share. Instead of a bun it's white bread that holds the meat, which had good flavor and was a little on the peppery side.. I wish we'd been hungrier so we could've tried some other menu items.
I ordered beans as the side and when I counterman told me they had some macaroni and cheese (not a regular menu item) I figured I had to give it a try. The beans were in a tomatoey sauce with plenty of meat and I liked them, but the mac & cheese was absolutely killer good. The cheese itself wasn't super thick or excessively cheesy like some I've had, but it was well-seasoned and had a great chile kick at the end (which was an unpleasant surprise for my wife, who doesn't care for spicy food) and I could've made a meal out of it alone.
I was surprised to learn that Uncle Wendell's has been in business for 20 years as I'd only heard of them a couple of years ago, but based on the sample we had I can see why they've hung around. When I go back next April I'm definitely going to try and stop in again.
Uncle Wendell's is in a pretty narrow storefront so there's room for a long counter and the kitchen on one side and a single row of tables along the wall.
The special of the day was a rib meat sandwich so we got one to share. Instead of a bun it's white bread that holds the meat, which had good flavor and was a little on the peppery side.. I wish we'd been hungrier so we could've tried some other menu items.
I ordered beans as the side and when I counterman told me they had some macaroni and cheese (not a regular menu item) I figured I had to give it a try. The beans were in a tomatoey sauce with plenty of meat and I liked them, but the mac & cheese was absolutely killer good. The cheese itself wasn't super thick or excessively cheesy like some I've had, but it was well-seasoned and had a great chile kick at the end (which was an unpleasant surprise for my wife, who doesn't care for spicy food) and I could've made a meal out of it alone.
I was surprised to learn that Uncle Wendell's has been in business for 20 years as I'd only heard of them a couple of years ago, but based on the sample we had I can see why they've hung around. When I go back next April I'm definitely going to try and stop in again.