Clean Plate Club (March 3, 2010)
These Two-Fisters Will Make You Back That Azz Up
by Nicole RupersburgArticle Tools
These Two-Fisters Will Make You Back That Azz Up
If you ask proprietor Jeff McArthur why he named his newest restaurant Phat Sammich, he’ll give you a simple answer: “Because the sandwiches are so good they’re sammiches, and because they’re phat!”
The sandwiches at Phat Sammich are so big they topple over. To properly eat them, you have to crush them down. Goodbye, polite nibbling: I dove right in, my hands and face a mess of sauce as Jeff and I talked shop. Jeff is the kind of guy who grins ear-to-ear when he starts talking about food. This exuberance is reflected in the youth-influenced menu: ingredients include Doritos, Funyuns and grilled cheese. Yeah, the Heart Attack, which is an eight-ounce burger loaded up with bacon, Funyuns, lettuce and tomato, is smushed between two Grilled Cheese Sammiches. Believe it.
Birmingham’s Phat Sammich opened in August and is McArthur’s third venture; he also owns Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup in Farmington Hills and Mt. Chalet in Royal Oak. He has worked in some of the top restaurants in metro-Detroit, including the Lark and the Townsend. After all that high-falutin’ fine dining, Jeff wanted to open a place that was laid-back, but still had really good food.
Enter Phat Sammich, the kind of place with bright colors, painted peace signs and stoner rock playing over the speakers. And Phat Sammich does a bangin’ lunch business. People line up without complaint because they know it's all made from scratch. Demure business types on lunch break will devour a Phat Sammich (choice of meat with coleslaw, Swiss, Russian dressing and French fries in the sandwich — on grilled Italian bread). Men will risk soiling their expensive suits with hands greasy from a good old-fashioned Monte Cristo. Jeff hopes to expand the business in the warmer months with a 60-seat outdoor patio, and may even try out some late-night hours for the bar crowd.
At $8, the sandwiches are big enough to split. Add two cups of homemade soup and you’ve got a cheap, hearty meal for two. During my binge I sampled the Mexican Chicken Sammich, which features pulled chicken with chipotle mayo, pepper jack cheese, avocado and Doritos on a grilled Sesame bun … as well as the Heart Attack, the Phat Sammich with pastrami, pulled pork cheese fries and a root beer float made with local Ray’s ice cream. It’s hard to pick a favorite because everything is piled high with artery-clogging goodness, but the pulled meats are ridiculous. The meat is braised for eight hours, which makes it exceptionally tender, then accentuated with classic accoutrements like BBQ sauce and good ol' Cheez Whiz.
It’s clear from the time I spent stuffing my face with the staff that this place rocks. The low-key vibe, when paired with the decidedly un-self-serious menu, proves that a discriminating palate does not have to mean hoity-toity. Sometimes the very best meals are borne of items you can find at the convenience store. | RDW
© Copyright by RealDetroitWeekly.com
Clean Plate Club: Phat Sammich from Specs Howard TV on Vimeo.
© 2010
Real Detroit Weekly, LLC | 615 S. Washington Ave (2nd Floor), Royal Oak, MI 48067
| 
Comments (0)