Flavor First at Fat Burgers

We Tried (Almost) Everything on Chef James’s NEW Menu at Fat BurgerS

Eat Pray Leah Norman - Food Blogger - Topsail Talk — Leah Norman

So, it goes a little something like this: first, I got to meet the new owner and chef of Fat Burgers Sports Bar and Grill in Sneads Ferry. We totally hit it off and I fell in love with their revamping of the menu. This led to me writing a spotlight about them. And that led to us being invited to have a private dining experience with Chef James, who you should know by now, preparing the menu and test kitchen items for us to give feedback on.

Scroll to the bottom of this article for more images.

If you’re scratching your head, make sure you catch up on our previous post where we introduced Taylor and Chef James.

Fat Burgers - Sneads Ferry - Topsail Talk — **Chicken** **fried** **chicken** **sandwich**

What you need to know:

When they acquired it last year, they made huge changes to the menu, including taking 31 items off the menu and implementing a brigade- style kitchen that cut ticket times in half.

Taylor believes if you can master basic food, you can elevate and expand. Chef James says that in cooking school he had to master making sauces for an entire year before he could do anything else. And it shows. Throughout our dining time, he made amazing homemade bbq sauce and one of the best lemon cream sauces I’ve ever had. Lemon sauce is my absolute fav!

Let’s get into everything he served us:

What we ate

Philly cheesesteak egg rolls: angus steak, peppers, onions, mushrooms, provolone and American cheese, chives, and house made “sirancha”. These were so tender and cheesy! Fried perfectly! The sirancha is AMAZING, y’all. (FAV menu item alert)
Spicy Italian sausage lumpia: spicy Italian sausage is encased in an egg roll, served with homemade tomato sauce that has a sweet, mouth watering flavor. He shares that he learned from an Italian Grandmother who had been cooking her entire life. I want him to show me how to make this. Phenomenal!
Bbq pulled pork nachos: the pulled pork is the star of the show and it’s topped with cowboy caviar, homemade queso, house made potato chips. The pork is so tender, and it’s not totally shredded so it maintains all that fatty flavor and texture. (FAV MENU ITEM ALERT)
Chicken fried chicken sandwich: a mouthwatering, tender chicken breast, served schnitzel style. It’s oversized and fried perfectly. The most important part: it’s served with a lemon cream sauce that’s good enough to stick your face in! He served it sandwich style, but on Wednesdays it’s the special, and served with mashed taters and green beans. (FAV ITEM ALERT)
Cali transplant salad: this item was made specifically for Rachel, who is unable to eat the majority of meat and dairy, due to dietary health restrictions. She absolutely loved it! It features fresh, spring lettuce, red onions, cherry tomatoes, avocados, and garlic parmesan croutons. The star of the show is again, his homemade sauce, well, dressing in this case. It’s a fresh take on Italian dressing, made with vinegar, mustard, and honey. This dressing is actually not on the menu…. but she’d love to try more dressings that Chef James creates!
Aloha Burger: this is one of their feature burgers, but I don’t normally eat cooked pineapple on anything, including pizza. Guess what? This one is amazing. I’m telling you…besides the fact that their patties are some of the best I’ve ever had, the Swiss cheese compliments the burger perfectly, as well as the Black Forest ham, and homemade bbq. It was hard to stop eating. The pineapple was an amazing accompaniment and not too overpowering.
Ooey Gooey Burger: if you’re a fan of the classic cheeseburger, it gets an amazing facelift here. Starring provolone, two pieces of American, bacon, then topped with cheddar. Waltons peach moonshine is used to caramelize the onions.
The buns they use are amazing and they don’t get soggy. Why? They’re brioche, and also from Toronto.
Chicken Wings: my hubby, who was present, is a wing aficionado, so this was a huge plus for him. They asked what his fav flavor was and gladly brought him lemon pepper. They were fried perfectly! Crispy, golden, and juicy. Additional flavors are offered, like Buffalo and garlic parmesan. The bleu cheese is homemade and delicious.
Homemade Apple Fritter: you heard that right! We were just as shocked as you probably are, to hear about this. It’s a test kitchen item that will be a feature and if it does well, will be added to the menu. He takes the egg roll wrappers, fills them with fresh apples, and tops them with Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder and candied walnuts, made in house. Honey and cream is then mixed together for the cream sauce served on top, with more Cinnamon Toast Crunch powder. This was crunchy, hot, and unique.
Homemade cake slices by a local woman named Kisha are also being offered. She used to provide them to the previous owner, so if you remember and loved them, don’t fret, they’re still for sale. I had the double chocolate and it was very decadent and moist.

Chef James has total control of the kitchen and hires all the cooks because Taylor trusts and respects him so much. He takes so much pride in what he does and he loves to talk about his food and visit with the people who are eating it. This is the definition of true passion and it’s beyond inspiring to watch Taylor praise and encourage him.