Los Gatos Weekly-Times Photograph by George Sakkestad Bonnie Leonard, who with her sister-in-law, Gloria Leonard, recently opened Little Lou's in Los Gatos, prepares to bite into a slab of baby back ribs. The specialty at Little Lou's is finger-lickin' good meats By Suzanne Cristallo The building housing their successful Little Lou's Barbecue in Capitola literally was plowed under to make way for a motel. So Bonnie and Gloria Leonard--sisters-in-law and partners--moved their restaurant to Los Gatos. Serving fare from the building that once housed Little Caesar's pizza in the Village Square on Los Gatos Boulevard, the pair opened their doors just two weeks ago to local retail customers. It was a forced move but a logical one. For the past year and a half, the partners used the kitchen in the Los Gatos location to prepare food for their A. Angela Marie Catering business. Reuniting the two businesses under the same roof allows for a commute now of just a few minutes' walk for the women, both of whom are longtime Los Gatos residents. Little Lou's specializes in midwestern meats barbecued in a chitwood oven. Chicken, prime rib, tri-tip, baby back and pork ribs are cooked on racks that allow the fat to drip into the bottom of the oven and the smoke from hickory to permeate the meat. "Anyone who wants more of a hickory taste should just bite into the wood," jokes Bonnie, who claims the seasoning from their special sauce, which is sweetened subtly with a touch of sugar, makes the meats "so goooood!" A half-pound of prime rib with creamed horseradish, cole slaw, garlic bread, potatoes and a choice of two small side dishes runs $10.95. The Santa Maria tri-tip steak dinner is available for the same price. Chicken--whole, half or quarter--comes with two sides. Pork ribs are of the four to five-pound size. All dishes, including a third of a pound hamburgers, quarter-pound hot dogs and hot link sausages, are served to go. No table service is provided. "No foolin', we feed you" is the restaurant slogan, and for the catering business that provides Mexican, Italian, Greek and East Indian menus along with traditional American, the slogan is "We cater to fit your budget." "We consider ourselves very clever with words," says Bonnie, adding that if she's not having fun with her customers, she's "not doing it right." Although Little Lou's is her first restaurant, Bonnie spent many years managing food facilities for the government, including Air Force and Army bases. A Detroit native, she grew up with southwest cooking in Arizona and lived for years in Athens, Greece. Gloria, a Philippine native, managed a coffee shop and bakery in Manila and worked as a secretary for her uncle, the Philippine consul in the Netherlands. Widowed by Bonnie's brother when their daughter was young, she came to share her sister-in-law's home in Los Gatos in 1984, eventually joining her to buy Little Lou's and A. Angela Marie Catering in 1992. They remain the exclusive caterer for the cottage resort El Salto By the Sea--now Monarch Cove--in Capitola while handling a variety of special events for groups of up to 600. "We're very international," Bonnie says of their catered food, but she observes the public moving more to meat dishes when it comes to take-out. Little Lou's Barbecue of Los Gatos, 15466 Los Gatos Blvd., #111, Los Gatos. Open for lunch Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Dinner Mon.-Thurs. 4:30-9 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 4:30-10 p.m. 356-5768. [ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, November 25, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.