Fat Pig

     Since the demise of Little Louie’s in Collingswood we have felt a little lost as to where to go to get a bbq fix.  After a bit of searching we decided to venture into the Fishtown section of Philadelphia to give Fette Sau (Fat Pig) a try. 

 

     For those who are not familiar, Fishtown used to be a section of the city that you would avoid venturing to but it has slowly been evolving into a cool place to hang out.  With places like Frankford Hall and Barcade springing to life like kernels of hipster popcorn the area has potential though most venues are still located between expanses of nothing causing  a lack of strollability. 

     Fette Sau certainly has presence.  As soon as we walked up and I saw the inviting picnic tables and the weathered house front with porch seating it set my mind to think, this is going to be a meal I am going to enjoy.

 

There is no wait staff at Fette Sau.  You approach the counter and have the opportunity to feel like a caveman as you survey your meat options (pointing and grunting is optional).  At first it felt a little overwhelming because we wanted to try everything, it was a good thing that the way the meal is served, you actually can try a bit of this and that without feeling like a completely fat pig when you are done.

We ended up getting a sampling of brisket, pulled pork, sausage, and ribs.  Our carnivorous choices were laid out family style on top of a piece of parchment paper set on a cookie sheet.  I thought that was a pretty neat culinary display.  For our sides we decided on the burnt end baked beans and the chili butter rubbed corn on the cob.  It was a lot of food and all together the entire meal which was more than enough for the two of us cost about $40.00. 

   As my drink option I chose the cider that was on tap (they also have a selection of craft beers on tap) because who can resist a drink served in a mason jar? 

 

After settling down at a picnic table we tore into our food.

 

I appreciate bbq places that dish out your meat sans sauce and then let you decide what kind and how much sauce to douse your food with.  Over saturated pulled pork is rather unpleasant.  Fette Sau offered three bbq sauce options.

 

Dr. Who fans will know which bottle I wanted to add an "ie" to.

Everything was yummy but my favorites were the pulled pork and the ribs (and I’m ordinarily not a big rib fan).  The baked beans and the corn on the cob were also fantastic.  Every so often friendly staff approached our table and asked how we were and if we needed anything.  I’m pretty sure the actual chef came to talk to us but he didn’t announce that he was the chef or anything like that so I’m not 100% certain.  Inside there are several extra-long tables and given the venues laid back feel it seems like it would be a fun place to chill with a big group of friends (only if those friends were not vegans or vegetarians). 

They did have some delicious dessert options, but we had a specific dessert destination in mind….

 

 

I can't eat bbq without wanting to sing this song from Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas