There’s more to Franschhoek than fussy gastronomy

Salt and pepper squid with homemade mayo. (Photo: Georgina Crouth)

By Georgina Crouth

5 Apr 2024

Franks Corner Bar and Grill is the new baby in food-mad Franschhoek, bringing fresh American flavours to the table.

Franschhoek might be synonymous with fine dining, multicourse tasting menus, award-winning wine and people who sweat money, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t space for something completely different. Which is what visitors to a new restaurant in the heart of town, Franks Corner Bar and Grill, can expect.

To be frank, it’s far from French: Franks is a celebration of modern American cuisine, owned and operated by partners in the Franschhoek Beer Company (FBC), who describe themselves as “A Scotsman, an American and a South African walked into a bar… and couldn’t find a decent beer, so they decided to make their own”.

The American in this venture is motoring entrepreneur Frank Rodriguez, who visited the Franschhoek Valley in 2006 and fell in love with the place.

“My wife Ellen and I came to Franschhoek on holiday for the first time in 2006,” remembers Rodriguez. “After just four days here we bought a home and we still live in it. We just fell in love with the valley and its people. This is my second home.”

The Scot is Alex McCormack, a venture capitalist with vast experience in agriculture, engineering, medical, infrastructure and professional services.

And the chef is beloved South African chef and entrepreneur, Reuben Riffel, who has a string of restaurants, recipe books, and cooking shows under his belt, besides his association with MasterChef, Robertsons Spices and Samsung Electronics.

The spacious interior of Franks. (Photo: Supplied)

At the FBC, their beer is handcrafted on-site at what they describe as their “happy (and, we suppose, hoppy)” home in Franschhoek.

They describe their brewmaster as a perfectionist, who only uses pure Franschhoek mountain spring water and the best quality imported hops and malt he can lay his hands on to ensure a superior, unpasteurised beer.

The perfectionist, Rene du Toit, has a German Brauer und Mälzer qualification and a Diploma in Brewing from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling in the UK.

The company is the only producer of brewed hard seltzer in South Africa, Rodriguez proudly tells me. It has no preservatives, “no BS and definitely no mixing… because mixing is for paint”.

“Our seltzer is made the only way it should be — brewed in-house with crafted Franschhoek Valley Spring Water infused with a little flavour and a wink”, the website boasts.

Nashville spicy chicken. (Photo: Georgina Crouth)

Back to Franks: What’s the first thing that springs to mind when thinking “American cuisine”? For me, it’s hamburgers and fries, OTT New York pizza, fried green tomatoes (the classic southern dish which inspired the title of the 1991 hit film) and hotdogs, which I managed to avoid for 10 years of boarding school by professing to be allergic to weenies.

American cuisine extends far beyond the fast food served in the Mickey D’s, KFCs and Krispy Kremes of this world, which is why in a valley notable for its gastronomy, restaurants like Franks are a welcome addition.

Rodriguez, who describes himself as a foodie at heart, has been friends with Riffel since they first arrived in the valley, so when the site on Huguenot Street became available, they jumped at the opportunity.

Alex, who has been in the valley for 14 years, says a game of golf with Riffel had triggered discussions about a small brewery where guests could also order simple, well-made meals because it “gets a little warm in this neck of the woods”, they needed something bitterly cold.

A few months later, the project got off the ground. They imported their brewery equipment from Italy nine years ago, built the brewery to scale and appointed Du Toit, an excellent brewmaster.

“We’ve won gold and silver awards every single year, including the best dark beer in Africa. Our seltzer is a new thing. People are still getting around to it. We also have a beautiful lemonade.”

Salt and pepper squid with homemade mayo. (Photo: Georgina Crouth)

This is not just a tourist town, says Riffel. “Frank and I know that, and we really wanted to create a dining destination that was as much for the locals as the tourists.”

With new places constantly opening and closing in the valley, it’s the nature of the game, they wanted to differentiate Franks by focusing on uncomplicated, flavourful and fresh new-style American cuisine. “The idea is to play with classical American flavours, such as barbeque, Asian — especially Korean — and Italian.”

Riffel is not the chef though — he’s consulted alongside his business partner Ryno Snyman and Frank’s executive chef Aviv Liebenberg on the menu, which reflects a celebration of American traditional and contemporary culinary cultures.

Renovations took a year — Franks opened in mid-December, which must have been a baptism of fire during peak season, so the current menu is a “starter” menu, i.e. a work in progress.

One of the dishes that he’d like to see is a plain tomato sandwich — good bread, salted heirloom tomatoes, butter and fresh mayo. “That sounds slightly healthy, but then you add a portion of chips. As simple as that but delicious. It might sit with difficulty on a menu but as a special, on a day when tomatoes are stunning, you can easily do that.

“This is kind of the direction we want to go into. The food is going to be simple, using fresh ingredients. The menu might change, there will be a core of six dishes, including steaks, burgers, baby chicken and pasta, and we’ll be using our Spanish Pira oven for many of the dishes.”

The contemporary American restaurant and taproom has a double-volume dining room, with hanging plants, bespoke pendant lights, wooden floors, generous leather banquettes and custom-made furniture.

Franks is about elevated cooking at an accessible price, not fussy food: Rodriguez explains that the expensive tasting menus have a place and he likes to visit them occasionally, but what’s more important is “value-oriented, simple, fresh, quality food”.

On the menu, guests will find a selection of small plate starters, from baba ganoush and tuna tataki to corn dogs (served with homemade ketchup and pickled cucumbers) and steamed West Coast mussels.

Steaks dominate the main course selection, while the pork chop — not often seen in a restaurant — is served with braised red cabbage, blue cheese and mustard cream. I sampled the “Nashville” hot chicken — a spicy classic deboned chicken from the American South — which is rubbed with garlic, paprika and cayenne pepper. Another popular classic is sole meunière (also rarely seen on menus lately), which is served with Liebenberg’s signature pomme purée and a lemon butter sauce.

For dessert, the cheesecake is a knockout, but winter will see more crumbles and American-style apple pie, Liebenberg explains.

Wine lovers needn’t worry that the choice will be limited to beer: while the menu has been designed to pair with the FBC’s beer, the wine list is focused on Franschhoek estates. DM

Franks Corner Bar and Grill is located at 42 Huguenot Street, Franschhoek | Visit www.franks-corner.com

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