note: this joint is in Tonganoxie KS
Out on the northwest corner of the KC BBQ debris field sits
a little outpost the locals call Fat Sam's.
Sharing the north half of a liquor store, Fat's is easy to drive by - a
couple times. Sadly, the sparse external
signage still outperforms the interior.
Stark beige walls are adorned with nothing more elegant than a promo
Pepsi clock and 50" flat screen.
Fat Sam himself stands on point (that's a brisket pun) to
process orders at the first generation e-lectronic cash register. (I should point out that Sam has let himself
go a little bit from his Tongy wrestling days, but "fat" is
over-the-top self-deprecation.)
The Good Housekeeping Playmate of the Year (2003) ordered a
pulled pork sammy - regular size. Her dashing
beau manned up with a large brisket and sausage sammy on a 6" hoagie
plussed up with some homemade fries of which GHPOTY ate more than half. Jeez.
The pork was just okay, not quite tender, tasted a'ight. The Fat One doesn't get clever with naming
his sandwiches, but he should. In fact,
The Fat One should name the large, two meat sammy "The Fat One". I couldn't believe how much meat was in it. I don't want to lose my membership in the
Order of the Man Cave, but I'll admit it - I actually pulled out some of the
brisket so I could get the dang thing in my face. (I felt so Justin Beiber.) Nothin' shy about the brisket d'boeuf; t'was
tender and tasty. I'd always like more
smoke flavor. The sausage (from
Krinzman's) was wonderful - coarse grind, firm and tasty. The fries were junk. I hate underachieving tubers bathed in a
scorched oil. Knock it off, America! In all, our tab came to $16 and a whole
bunch of pennies.
My professional assessment (based on my
scoring standards):
Brisket...
Taste: 8 Tenderness: 9 Appearance: 8 = Overall: 8.4
Pulled
Pork… Taste: 7 Tenderness: 8 Appearance: 7 = Overall: 7.4
Sausage…
Taste: 9 Tenderness: 9 Appearance: 9 = Overall: 9
Sam cut the ribbon on his joint way back in March of Aught
Ten. I know it's tough starting a
business at any time and I appreciate what Substantuel Samuel is doing. Maybe 9 months is not enough to work out the
kinks, but he'd better up his game and darn fast. Still, I'm giving THREE piggies on account of
the fact I want Santa to know I've got a good heart... and because Sam is
giving Tongy the best he has to offer.
It ain't great, but it's good.
