WELCOME TO FAT TUESDAY!
We have a desire to recognize our supportive guests. To us are guests in our home (Fat Tuesday) and then become friends!
The Des Moines Register made a request to have our customers give feedback on our restaurant and here is what Jon had to say: (If you have anything that you would like to say about Fat Tuesday, please feel free to email: fattuesdayfood@aol.com and we will send it to the Des Moines Register) Also, we want to support Jon, please see his business information at the end of his comments to help him out as well!
Jon's comments:
"Well, when I think of the food, my mouth waters. The thought of the hot sauce hitting my palate makes me crave this food each and every week. My wife told me about the place probably 4 weeks ago, but I had already eaten that night. She brought back a shrimp po’ boy, I had one bite, and I was hooked. I went the next day to get my own for lunch, told the guys cooking, “I will be back for the catfish and Cajun fries tonight”. I don’t think they believed me, until 5:30 when I showed up for dinner. The catfish, no matter if I have it with fries, or in a po’ boy, is definitely my favorite. The freshness of the fish is amazing. I have not tried the white meat alligator yet, but have tried everything else on the menu, with the exception of the desserts, as I am not much of a sweets fan.
What exactly is it that I like? Well, it’s different, authentic, at least what I think Cajun should be, as I have never been to Louisiana, and it’s just plain tasty. The flavors are bold. Many places try to play it safe to please the numbers, but this place has cooked their items they way they want and should be. Much respect from me for that. I have eaten there for lunch & dinner in the same day two different times, as I looked at the menu during lunch, and my curiosity got the best of me. I could not wait to try everything they had.
My mother-in-law is a first generation Italian from Scala Coeli, Italy, so I am used to having good, authentic food. My wife and I pride ourselves in eating good food, not what is popular, and we both eat there quite a bit. Myself, probably 2 times per week, and my wife once. I taste originality and freshness there, and that’s what I like.
I took my team of 4 people from work there a couple weeks ago, and they all loved it. I took one team member to the crawfish boil, as his roommate from college was from Louisiana, and he wanted to remember the past. He was very pleased with the boil, and the crawfish etouffee, from our earlier outing. Another team member made the comment of the short list of items on the menu, but all made well, as opposed to having 4 pages of average tasting food.
These guys are doing it correctly, so I just hope they make it, as it would be a shame for the community to not support them. Hopefully, this is what you were looking for. Please ask if you need anything further.
Jon St. Clair
Principal Global Investors, L.L.C.
Investment Operations Sr. Analyst
Phone: 515-283-5221
Fax: 866-759-5170
Team e-mail: DLGAMDERIVOPPS@EXCHANGE.PRINCIPAL.COM
We are very pleased and thankful to the Des Moines Register Datebook, Datebook Diner. They visited our small restaurant and delivered an overview on May 21st, 2009 about our little home away from home cooking. Here is what they had to say about Fat Tuesday. The author (D.V. Wagman) of this article has a fantasic way of describing us...we just fell in love with the entire piece! THANK YOU DATEBOOK!
"Nothing brings us home quite like the food we were reared on. There's an intimate bond between who we are and what we eat. And when we wish to share ourselves with others, the best way to do so may be by feeding them a big ol' bowl of our gastronomic heritage. That's exacly what they serve at Fat Tuesday.
The look: It's a humbe little venue (some might say picayune), with just enough tables to remind you the you're in a restaurant. The kitchen, staffed by a crew of two, is open, so the rich aromas waft straight. The spot is new and sparkly clean. Fresh air breezes through the front windows, making the place feel down-home and relaxed.
Service: Our server was good-natured and efficient, and although she had to juggle a juggernaut of takeout orders along with serving seated folks, she did so with humor and grace. Food came out of the kitchen quickly and efficiently.
Menu: The menu provides a truncated taste of Acadania Country and by my way of thinking, a seven-item "best of the best" of Cajun and Louisianan fare. The region's "bowl food" tradition is represented with jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice. The Crescent City's famous po-boy sandwiches come stuffed with your choice of fried oysters, shrimp, catfish or pork. Sides run the gamut from corn bread to coleslaw and Cajun-style fries.
A smart, and appreciated, offering is the "sampler," which, for only a buck, gives customers a taste of jambalaya, gumbo or red beans and rice and, in the process makes it easier to choose which to order.
Food: This is a generous place. Portions are as big as Southern hospitality is warm and each single menu item is really enough for two diners to share.
My bowl of red beans and rice was inundated with so much sliced sausage that I almost wished for less. Although its binding sauce was not as thick as I like, its flavors were of the inensely-flavored, slow-cooked variety.
The gumbo and jambalaya may be too incendiary for weenies, but perfect for Cajun food aficionados.
Best of all was fried catfish, whose clean-tasting flesh was a succulent treasure enclosed by a crisper-than-crisp, cruncy cornmeal-crust. Nestled in a full-dressed (that's N'awlins for "loaded") French roll, it became a gold standard of a fish sandwich.
Bottom line: A welcome change of pace.