FATZ

Recently we took a day trip up into the Northeast corner of Tennessee.  I’d checked Trip Advisor for possible places to eat in Greeneville, which was our primary destination… My first choice, the “Bean Barn”, a local joint, looked like it was out of business.  So we went for our second choice…

This is the FATZ Café in Greeneville Tennessee… I’m not sure that I should be eating at a restaurant named FATZ!  We had eaten at another FATZ location in South Carolina a couple of years ago and we remembered that it was a decent road food stop.

The entrance to FATZ was framed by these attractive big planters overflowing with blooms.

I always prefer a table…with chairs…instead of booths.  To me, a chair is predictable and the seats in many booths just aren’t that comfortable. (Prior to losing about 45 lbs., the spacing between table and booth seat was also important!) This FATZ location only had one table that was half-booth and the other side had chairs.  So we ended up being seated in the bar area.

 

This is a view of the main dining area at the FATZ Café in Greeneville. 

I was unable to find out how or why these restaurants are named FATZ… There are 46 FATZ Café locations in the southeastern USA.  They are exclusively situated in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee.  FATZ Cafes are operated by Café Enterprises Inc.  The company is currently testing 2 other concepts, ‘Tavern 24’ and ‘Tablefields’.  To learn more, you can go to http://www.cafeent.com/ourbrands.html.

Our waitress started us out with these small warm poppy seed rolls.  They were fairly tasty although not really special… However, the butter was soft just as it should have been!

Laurie ordered a sandwich plus a bowl of soup.  The soup was tomato bisque and it was quite tasty.  Laurie liked it a lot!  

Looking at the on-line menu and the various options, it appears that we weren’t charged for the soup…  Per the menu, the soup should have cost $3.79 but I’m guessing that it may have been substituted for one of the ‘Signature Sides’ that she could have chosen from.  Soups and salads are not listed as Signature Sides…

For her sandwich, Laurie ordered one of her favorites…a Patty Melt. ($8.49) This is seasoned grilled Angus beef topped with melted Cheddar, Swiss cheese, and caramelized onions on grilled rye bread. 

Laurie had requested her hamburger cooked medium rare and our waitress said she’d do what she could to ensure that it was cooked as requested.  Apparently FATZ burgers are supposed to be minimally grilled to medium.  Happily, Laurie’s burger came out perfectly as requested! She said that it was a very good Patty Melt!! 

I ordered the Calabash Combo…FATZ Calabash Chicken and popcorn shrimp served with honey mustard, cocktail sauce, a lemon wedge and a signature side dish. ($10.99) I went with the steamed broccoli as my side in a passing effort for some healthy dietary input…

YIKES!  Can you believe the amount of food on my plate?  There were 5 chicken tenders and a heap of fried popcorn shrimp!  I was really glad that I didn’t order potatoes for my side… The broccoli was properly steamed and both the chicken and shrimp were OK, but I thought the latter items lacked any pizzazz.  I guess that it’s food for the masses but I prefer more spice/flavor or heat in my food.  The honey mustard sauce and cocktail sauce were really a necessity from my viewpoint…

OK…FATZ provides lots of food at a good price.  In our opinion, the food ranged from OK to very good.  Service and housekeeping standards were solid.  We would stop at another FATZ Café for a food break when traveling…

The FATZ Café in Greeneville Tennessee is located at 3140 East Andrew Johnson Highway.  Phone: 423-787-9090.  Website: http://www.fatz.com/.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave