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Big Fatty's BBQ
Another 'Q lover's review
Reviewed by rob mongeon on July 20, 2007
Funny thing about that site you referenced. It seems they have their own version of a BBQ review. In fact, you are in there as well. It seems they stopped by your Hartford place in 07/06 and came to this conclusion: "Overall, I'd say they were good but nothing special. The pulled pork was super tender, with lots of finely pulled strings and hardly any bark. It had a strong pork flavor, without any spice or smoke. ...... The bottom line: It's not what I'd call authentic barbecue, but for what it is, it's OK, albeit a little expensive (and cash only). If I lived close by, I'd visit every once in a while, but it's not destination barbecue." It's all right here: http://www.pigtrip.net/review-BigFatty.htm I and many others tend to agree with their assessment and I seriously dought those KCBS judges were being truthful when approached by you. The thing is about serious competitions is BLIND JUDGING. That is, when they are calculating the score they don't actually know the person made the food. This keeps it honest. Of course, they would give you high scores when you are in their face. You are a big guy. I have actually met you before at your place and I do have high hopes for your establishment. B-town needs a good old NC BBQ. However, this has not been delivered yet. I just hope that you will keep on improvising until you get it right. As far as opening up a place and competing with you on that level -- It's too much work! I do this as a hobby. I couldn't maintain my lifestyle as a chef so I do admire you though in that respect. You have a very tough job and as far as I am concerned you have the best BBQ in B-town but there's not many choices. Maybe someday after I retire I'll get a little cart on Church Street and vend stuff that I smoked on my homemade double barrel smoker. We'll see. BTW, this is my last posting at your place on this site. I no longer feel that I am posting a comment card but rather a response to you and that is not the purpose of this site. As I stated before, this site is about CUSTOMERS experiences about B-town eateries and although you may find the material comical, it's the place I send my foodie friends to when they are asking about where to go for food in b-town. It's also indexed by Google :-} -rob
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Big Fatty's BBQ
You were taught wrong! Back to remeadial brisket school for you!
Reviewed by rob mongeon on July 12, 2007
Ok, I felt I should remind everyone that THIS SITE IS ABOUT COMMENTS not about discussions between two parties. Seeing how this is being ignored I might as well chime in on this laughable discussion on how to cut brisket. First off, what Skeleton Dance was saying is that she thought the price was too high for her plate of meat. well, it IS. Raw brisket at Bessery's is $1.99 a pound. Is whatever process you are doing to prepare it worth the extra $9.00? She doesn't think so RESPECT that decision. Secondly, about the cutting of the meat -- You were just taught wrong! Plain and simple. If you were to serve such a dish at a KCBS sanctioned event you would more then likely be at the bottom of the scorecard. Texture in food is just as important as taste. Brisket should be cut against the grain like this: http://bp1.blogger.com/_g1HNEFoPC3Q/RowlC304xwI/AAAAAAAAAB8/uRAUfSsKVHM/s1600-h/brisket.jpg It's great that your repeating customer base is growing but I'm willing to bet they wouldn't even know what a smoke ring is. That's fine, most people I know don't either. However, I DO and most people who have posted negatively about your place seem to as well. I'm not a KCBS judge but I do know BBQ and will be competing at the Vermont State BBQ Championships in Windsor at the end of this month. I'll put my pork and brisket against yours anytime big guy. For those of you who want to taste REAL championship BBQ I would suggest you take the trip: http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/index.cfm?pid=28568
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Big Fatty's BBQ
once again, lets take it offline!
Reviewed by rob mongeon on April 29, 2007
Hey Big Fatty, I would like this forum to be about ratings and not a communication between 2 people. If you want to discuss further contact me @ rmongeon@excite_NO_SPAM.com That said, when it comes down to it, there is no smoke flavor in your meat! Period, and that's what it's all about!! I can give you some slack in that you are very new to B-town but it only goes so far. Your staff were most excellent and I apologize if I offended them. I had my sandwich in about 5 minutes and I did ask the little lady behind the counter about your pit and she said it was "out back". I didn't inquire further. In any event I REALLY DO hope you succeed in bringing REAL BBQ to B-TOWN because B-Town needs it and I'm sick of going to Barre or Montreal to find the real deal! oh, you really should check out the Vermont State BBQ championships this year at the Harpoon Brewery in Windsor, VT!! -rob
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Big Fatty's BBQ
Comment cards on Big Fatty's
Reviewed by rob mongeon on April 28, 2007
Wow, imagine me in the gym reading last week's 7Days. A full page on the comment that I wrote about Big Fatty's. Fair enough! I have reviewed many places in this area and have posted many comments to this site. They were all about how the customer felt about the food. In his post the OWNER responded to me with not a comment but a response to me. We can take this offline using his catering company address. I truly hope that this site becomes an UNBIASED opinion about the eateries in the area. I am not your typical Vermonter when it comes to food. I compete in national food contests and will be representing Vermont this week in the National Chicken Cooking Contest in Birmingham AL for a cash prize of 100K. I was in Build a better burger contest in 2005 and consider myself a BBQ fanatic. I study the way food is made and I truly adore BBQ! In my back yard I made a double barrel smoker which took me about 6 weeks to build and can smoke a whole hog! If Daddy wants to go against me in a BBQ competition then I'm all game! Whatever contraption he has made in B-town doesn't leave enough smoke on the meat to qualify it as smoked meat. If you want REAL pulled pork go down to Windsor, VT where the state BBQ championships are held or Finkerman's in Barre. I based my opinion on not only myself but about 5 other people who have been to Big Fatty's and they all said the same thing -- where's the smoke? These are all people who have the same pallets of me. Fact is, that you can't fool people that love BBQ! Anyone that I know that has the appropriate taste buds can tell what is real and what is not. If you've never experienced the south then you will never know it. -rob
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Big Fatty's BBQ
Not real BBQ - No smoke, no pit!
Reviewed by rob mongeon on April 20, 2007
I'm a real big fan of BBQ so I was excited to hear that there was a southern style BBQ in town. I went down there and ordered the pulled pork sandwich to go and walked up to City Hall Park to enjoy lunch. I opened the container and there was a huge amount of pulled pork on a hamburger bun. They win points for portions anyway. Taste however, is a different story. With real BBQ you rarely need sauce as the slow smoking process flavors the meat. In fact, their pulled pork is pretty much flavorless without the sauce. You see, in REAL BBQ, pork shoulder is slow cooked over smoldering wood chips at about 225 degrees for close to 10 to 14 hours. This process creates a "smoke ring" on the outer parts of the meat. Any good BBQ lover can spot it. I searched and I searched through my ample amounts of meat but could not find it. In fact, I have a hard time believing the meat was smoked at all. When I visit BBQ joints in NC there's always smoke wafting out of the joint or a shack attached to it. Big Fatty's -- where's the smoke??? No smoke, no pit, no "Southern BBQ". You should have saved Souza's old rotisserie so you'd at least have a real flame to cook with. I'm afraid if you want real smoked meat you either have to smoke it yourself (my favorite) or go 70 miles north to Schwartz's or Smoked Meat Pete's in Montreal.
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Green Room, The
Best in Burlington for many reasons
Reviewed by rob mongeon on December 23, 2006
This is now my most favorite place in Burlington. We went 6:00 on a Friday, before the live show got there. The layout was very well conceived with a wavy open wall separating the two dining rooms. We sat by a window facing the Street. It's rare that you can actually talk to waitstaff that know how the dish is prepared but that was the case at the Green room. The waiter knew exactly how the dish was executed down to the drizzle and could explain even where the food came from. The menu is separated by "big" and "small" items and you are encouraged to go tapas style which we did. The smalls are about $7 and the large about $14. We had 3 smalls and 2 martinis. They start you out with bread service with compound (herbed) butter, a real nice touch. The crab stuffed calamari was executed beautifully. It was not rubbery and there was plenty of blue crab in the morsel. Presentation was excellent with a swirvey drizzle of balsamic redux decorating the plate. The smoked trout quisadilla had just enough chipotle sauce to give it a nice smoky flavor without too much heat. I'm pretty sure the trout was steelhead as the flavor was much more like salmon than rainbow trout caught locally. AND... this has got to be THE BEST martini bar in the city! We had the double chocolate infused martini which must of had dutch processed coco along with something a little sweeter and plenty of liquor. While a little pricey at $10, it was sure worth it. I will be back with lots of friends for more tapas style sharing of food. Be sure to call ahead of time to ask about the entertainment. At night it takes on a more club feel and early on they play contemporary jazz which is the mood we were looking for. I live in Burlington all my life and I think this dining experience is probably the best I've ever had anywhere except Arnaud's Sunday brunch in New Orleans.
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