Mr. Francis is one of the most surprisngly unheralded places we’ve ever encountered. You won’t find this takeout-only barbecue spot in Fodor’s or even Chowhound.

If you’re not in St. Martinville (and we’re guessing not many of our 23 readers are), you’ll be driving rural roads at night to get here. The closest tourist-type areas are Lafayette, New Iberia and Breaux Bridge. While it opens at 5, the ribs weren’t available for a few more hours, at least on the first visit. Also note that it’s closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The crowd is on the raucous side, and we’re not sure if the large police presence on all three trips was a good thing or a bad thing.

None of these things are as important as the ribs. There are some other items on the menu like turkey wings. On our first visit we got the sausage, which was good. But…the ribs. A substantial order of the chopped-up ribs, plus a decent amount of fries, was $8.50. The sauce is very good but not game-changing. I guess the trick here is the preparation. There’s more of a direct heat feeling on these ribs than the usual, so get a real fire taste with this succulent pork.  The outstanding charring is a great counterpoint to the sauce.

While the ribs are the reason to make the long drive out to Mr. Francis,  it turns out the fries are quite good, too. There’s just a bit of some extra seasoning – paprika?