Local ghost hunter and soon-to-be Spinal Tap cover band bass player Damien F. and I hit Fat Bobs this past Friday for lunch. I love the atmosphere at this BARBECUE joint. I remember the days when the original owner (Bob) scoured Buffalo (and the country) for old signs, photos, bottles, steer skulls… you name it and he found it. And once he found it he nailed it up to the walls in order to create an atmosphere akin to an honest to goodness southern barbecue joint. Fat Bob’s’ current owners continue on with that tradition by sticking with the original honest-to-goodness slow Texas-style cooking that customers have come to love.
Friday was a packed house at Fat Bob’s. The back patio was open, but the tables inside were buzzing with barbecue fans waiting for their beef, pork and poultry to cook in the custom built smokers out back. So we grabbed a couple seats in the rear by the fish-tank and ordered a couple beers while we looked at the menu. With every sandwich comes an added side. Sides range from baked beans to mac & cheese to sweet potato fries. The sandwiches include burgers, grilled BBQ chicken, fried catfish and sliced Texas beef brisket. Big Smoke Entrees listed St. Louis Pork Ribs, smoked turkey dinner and pulled Memphis pork butt.
Damien ordered the Fat Bob’s Sloppiest Joe, which I knew was a good call. I went for the pulled Memphis pork topped with homemade coleslaw on a Kaiser roll. As we waited for the ‘fixins’ we scoped out the fish-tank, which is absolutely mammoth. On the other side of the tank is the bar, so customers can look at the fish or scope out customers on the other side without being too obvious. Every table has a six-pack cardboard container on it filled with everything you need for your meal. I knew we were in for a treat, so I wasn’t too concerned that we had not indulged in one of the Fat Bob’s starters (shrimp gumbo, Texas chili, cornmeal fried rock shrimp and cornmeal crab cakes), all of which looked really good at this point.
When our meals arrived we dove right in. Damien’s sloppy Joe was so good that he proclaimed Fat Bob’s as his new favorite restaurant in Buffalo. My pulled pork was very good and very filling. Of course I also tried the mac and cheese (served southern style) and a side of the baked beans (what’s a barbecue without baked beans), which just about did me in for the day. Hey, if you’re gonna get done in, then it might as well be at Fat Bob’s in Allentown. The meal left us both very satisfied to say the least… next time it’s going to be a b-line for the patio.
Fat Bob’s is located at 41 Virginia Place in Buffalo. 716-887-2971