With the success of his namesake restaurant, Sbraga, on the Avenue of the Arts, “Top Chef” winner Kevin Sbraga is taking a more laidback approach with his newest Philadelphia eatery, The Fat Ham, 3131 Walnut St. — with equally impressive results.
Occupying the space that used to be home to Tria Wine Bar, The Fat Ham’s homey atmosphere seems right at home with mismatched place settings and serving dishes made to look like they were carved out of tree trunks. There is also house- made hot sauce on each table made fresh every two days. We are told they have a problem with people stealing the bottles of hot sauce and they will soon be selling the bottles, and they should. Their hot sauce has bold flavor that kicks you in the chest like an angry donkey.
The setting is perfect for the restaurant’s Southern-inspired menu, featuring family-style small plates with some interesting twists of familiar flavors.
The Southern Hummus ($6) is garnished and flavored with crushed boiled peanuts, which give it a fresh perspective. The roasted root vegetables ($6) were warm and comforting, cooked with hearty pieces of bacon.
Some of the more decadent dishes were the oyster sliders ($5 each), which are made with plump, perfectly fried oysters with coleslaw on a yeast roll. The shrimp and grits ($14) were irresistibly silky and buttery.
Other dishes boasted strong Southern roots with explosive flavors. The collard greens ($7) were excellently flavored with meaty pieces of pork shank. The charred cabbage ($9) was delightfully bright and tasty, served with a savory tomato pie and topped with pork rinds. The pulled pork ($11) was exceptional. Your average version of this dish lets a sauce do all the work, but this pork was juicy and marinated to perfection by itself.
You get a warning with the hot chicken ($13) that it is very spicy, and they were not kidding. If you have even the faintest aversion to spicy food, approach with caution. While the chicken itself, fried good and crispy, has a lot going on in the spice department, the surprise hits you when you dig into the bed of white bread, ranch dressing and pickles underneath the chicken. The sauce, along with the spiciest parts of the oils used on the chicken, seeps down into the bread and dressing, so when you go there looking for a counterbalance to the spice from the chicken, you end up giving the spice some aggressive but pleasantly fiery reinforcements. Keep the sweet tea close by just in case.
Speaking of sweet, our dessert, banana pudding ($5), thankfully didn’t try to blow off our doors with sweetness like Southern treats tend to try to do. The pudding let the natural flavor of the bananas shine without the added punch of extra sugar.
Judging from the number of patrons wanting to get their picture taken with the star chef, Sbraga isn’t going to have too much trouble getting people to visit his new restaurant. But it’s the food that is going to keep them coming back.