THE GREASY FOODIE: FAT SAL'S

The Greasy Foodie

The story begins blustry day Friday after Thanksgiving in 2008 in a cramped booth at a fake NYC deli in Nashville called Noshville. In between my wife, Rachel, and my brother, Michael, I sat across from my "cooler than me" cousins Mark and Sarah, and Sarah's just as cool husband, Danny. Mark, who lives the awesome life being a lawyer living in San Francisco working for Facebook, with his only downfall being his SEVERE lactardation..which has never been medically or scientifically proven to exist in Mark.. Sarah and Danny are foodies from NYC who have tried every dive "chicken finger" hut and "curry on a stick" in the big city. Danny and Sarah had discussed that they were trying to go to as many places from Bobby Flay's 'Throwdown' show as they could, and that there was one in Nashville we had to try.....a place that I had never heard of in my 13 years of living there..I will get to that adventure later.

I got an idea from my cool cousins idea. An idea became a hobby. And the hobby became an obsession. And thus produced the list.....a world-famous spreadsheet...of every restaurant that has ever been featured on Food Network and Travel Channel....every restaurant from the famous shows like "Throwdown", "Man V. Food", "Man v. Food Nation", "Food Feuds", "Food Wars", "Best Thing I Ever Ate", "Food Paradise" and "Diners Drive-Ins and Dives" to the obscure "Best Food Ever", "Meat and Potatoes", and "101 Best Places to Chowdown", plus my additions of the restaurants of famous chefs, favorite catergories (burgers, wings, pizza, bbq, and sandwiches) and local places of legend. Names, cities, food they are famous for, and addresses. It was and still is an obsession. As of 11:31am on November 27, 2018, THE LIST HAS 4,660 RESTAURANTS ON IT...WITH A FEW OVERLAPS HERE AND THERE. And then over Pastrami Eggs Benedict at Nate N' Al's Deli in Beverly Hills, Hannah and Andrew, our good friends, gave me the idea of the blog. Document every place I went. And thus, "The Greasy Foodie" was born. I will log the places, the shows they are from, and what I had. So far, every place I have been has been amazing, except two, one being mediocre, and another being down right awful.

If there is a city you have been to, or are going to, or are from and want to know what from my list is in the city, send me a email at agmarks@gmail.com

Friday, January 16, 2015

FAT SAL'S

THE FAT JERRY:

THE BIG FAT FATTY CHALLENGE SANDWICH

1300 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90028

http://www.fatsalsdeli.com/

http://www.fatsalsdeli.com/Menu-Hollywood.aspx

From Sandwich Paradise, Diner's Drive-Ins, and Dives, and Best Sandwich in America

What they say: "Motto: "we're making sandwiches over here" Fat Sandwiches: "Fat Sal" (warm thin-sliced roast beef topped with mozzarella sticks, onion rings, fries, mayo, warms brown gravy on a garlic buttered 9-inch baguette); "Big Fat Fatty" (12-pound fat sandwich: 1 ½ of cheese steak meat, 5 cheeseburger patties, 1 ½ of pastrami, 10-strips of bacon, 5 fried eggs, 10 chicken fingers, onion rings, jalapeno poppers, chili, marina sauce, a basket of fires and may-based "fat sauce" on a 27-inch long garlic-buttered hero); "Fat Banh Mi-Ki" (competitive eater Miki Sudo's Bahn mi-inspired sandwich: Korean-scented barbecue hanger steak marinated with soy sauce, sesame oil and crushed red pepper, onion rings, tomatoes, jalapenos, Szechuan slaw, and pickled vegetables, topped with mayo, sriracha, and teriyaki glaze on a baguette)"

WARNING: DO NOT PROCEED WITH READING IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH OR WEAK HEART (MOM!!)

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED (MOM!)!

STOP NOW IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE UNSETTLING IMAGES AND WORDS (SERIOUSLY MOM!!)...

When I started my list and this blog, both my food and restaurant bucket list were lengthy, places and foods that I wanted to go to before I was no longer able to. While the restaurant bucket continues to grow as my list grows daily, I have been able to knock a good portion of items off my food bucket list thanks to various places on my journeys. Bone Marrow, crawfish, oysters..and thanks to Fat Sal's, I was able to knock the fat sandwich off my list.

The fat sandwich is the product of the Grease Food trucks on College Avenue campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. "Fat Sandwiches", a sub roll containing a combination of ingredients such as burgers, cheese, chicken fingers, French fries, mozzarella sticks, gyro meat, bacon, etc.

Fat Sal's is the brain child of Sal, Josh, and Jerry (Ferrara of Entourage fame). They brought the fat sandwich westward. I have wanted to eat just one all my life, and one rainy LA afternoon, I got my chance. I had studied the menu for weeks and narrowed it down to one.

The Fat Jerry.

Philly cheesesteak, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, bacon, fried egg, fries, ketchup, salt, pepper, mayo on a freshly baked hero. Packed tight so no ingredient is lost in a bite.

Let that sink in and then let this sink in.

It was beyond words phenomenal. Outstanding. Mindblowing. Incredible. One of the best sandwiches I have ever had that I will never had again. There was so much going on and so much working together for a perfect combination of deliciousness.

Fat Sal's is a late night greasy spoon paradise and mecca and should not be missed....even if its a once in a lifetime experience because you cant take enough Lipitor and your cholesterol level is the same as your SAT score after..Fat Sal's should not and cannot be missed for an outrageously incredible meal.

If you want a good laugh and a good gasp, check out the menu and see some of the insane gastronomic inventions they got going on there. I have and will only have one, but I assure you and guarantee that anything that comes out of that kitchen will be over the top outrageous and incredible.

Also they have a eating challenge called the Big Fat Fatty....its too much...even for this place.

THE GREASY FOODIE