Well, I think I can honestly say that today’s Foodie Friday lunch was the most fun we’ve had so far. We shared great food with some of our favorite clients and were able to meet the awesome owners of Fat Cow BBQ off Valley Ridge Blvd in Lewisville who took incredible care of us and gave us a great tour of their restaurant.
In conversations with friends and people in the area, we’ve heard a lot about Fat Cow BBQ (and their “Fat Japs”) so we knew that this place HAD to make it somewhere in our Foodie Friday rounds. And those excellent reviews are totally justified after our lunch today. Simply put, this place is “udderly delicious.”
From the moment you walk in the door you’re treated like family here. Co-owners Allen Lockett and Henry Wall were at the registers taking orders and greeted us even though we showed up right at their lunchtime rush.
The back story of Fat Cow is really pretty neat. Al and Henry actually used to work together in a different industry and somewhat stumbled upon the catering/restaurant business. One day when Al saw a competitor’s food catering a luncheon, he decided he could do a better job than they did and brought in some brisket for people to enjoy at the next luncheon. When it all disappeared with the blink of an eye, Henry got the idea for Al to try and cater BBQ full time. So, Al set up shop in his garage (which his wife, Pam, wasn’t too pleased about) and started doing just that. After three years, his wife forced him into a storefront so that her garage didn’t smell like smoked meats any more.
Now, almost four years later, both Al and Henry work at the restaurant full-time along with their wives, Pam and Kathy and 40% of their business still comes from catering events. Their great relationships with each other and the rest of their staff is manifested in how they treat their customers and their food – it’s all FULL of love and hospitality, just the way a good BBQ place should be.
So, how about some details about what we ate, huh?
We got a mix of meat plates and slider plates to cover our bases. I got the three-meat plate loaded up with what Al recommended I try out, including their ribs, brisket, sausage and macaroni & cheese. Kari tried the meat plate with roasted chicken. And one of our clients got the slider plate with both a chicken and beef slider on their homemade yeast rolls and a side of their housemade potato salad.
The meat is all so incredibly tender without having any fat on the plate! Al talked us through his process and it’s thought out very deliberately to give you the most tender and flavorful meat without all the fat and grease.
And we obviously can’t leave out the “Fat Japs” which are jalapenos stuffed with pulled pork, cheese and wrapped in bacon. If that doesn’t sound like heaven on Earth – I don’t know what does. There’s definitely a reason EVERYONE talks about these things. They smoke the whole thing for about 30 minutes and then throw it in the oven, so when it comes out you get the creaminess of the cheese, the smoke and heat of the pepper and the crispiness of the bacon all in one bite. They’re awesome.
And… oh my goodness… I don’t even know if my diet can handle talking about dessert again. I’m going to have literal “sweet dreams” tonight about what we had. And tomorrow night. And the night after. And forever. All the desserts are handmade by Al’s wife, Pam and are an assortment of family and personal recipes.
Today they brought us some of their most famous and popular selections – peach cobbler, banana pudding and pecan pie. I just – YOU HAVE TO GO TRY ALL OF THESE. When I took a bite of the peach cobbler, I think my eyes rolled back into my head. And one of our clients wouldn’t even let the rest of us share the slice of pecan pie it was apparently so good. These desserts are definitely made with love. And I love them.
Now, I just have to point out something else cool about these guys. Can you think of any other restaurant that would allow us back into their kitchen immediately after the noon lunch rush? But they had no problem with us walking through their kitchen, taking a tour of how they prepare all the food and finally taking us behind the building to check out the smoker. We still smell like smoke, but seeing how perfectly they smoke all their meats was such a cool thing for us.
This place is a great modern BBQ joint and now I understand why everyone loves coming here – including other restaurant owners in the area! If you want some awesome BBQ this weekend (and some incredible desserts too), you HAVE TO head to Fat Cow BBQ in Lewisville this weekend. But they’re closed Sundays and Mondays so be sure to check it out tonight or tomorrow! And when you go in, be sure to tell Al and Henry you heard about them from Jay Marks!
I can’t wait to hear about the awesome experiences you all have! And check back next week for another Foodie Friday restaurant review! Have a great weekend, Foodies!
Click here more for photos and restaurant reviews from Jay Marks.
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