Small eatery Fat Cow big on burgers, ingredients
Even though it costs only a dollar less, you may want to order the petite-size burger at Fat Cow Burgers and Salads. Their gourmet burgers are so delicious you may not be able to stop eating the regular-size sandwich even when you’re full.
This sleek, small restaurant tucked in a shopping center at the south gates of LSU features wonderful combinations of ingredients topping their juicy, hand-ground, grilled Angus patties. The menu also offers grilled balsamic chicken breast, grilled salmon and grilled portobello mushrooms, but we stuck with the beef.
We selected the 120 burger ($8.75) with apple-smoked bacon, gruyere cheese, caramelized onion, fresh arugula, sliced tomatoes and horseradish mayo. The mayonnaise and peppery lettuce had just enough kick to it to offset the sweetness of the bacon and onions and the combination was terrific.
The smoke stack burger ($8.75), another regular size, was topped with smoked cheddar, apple-smoked bacon, onion straws, lettuce and tomato and was drizzled with sweet and tangy barbecue sauce. A big step up from a normal cheeseburger, biting into the crunchy thin fried onions, beef, bacon and sauce was a wonderful barbecue taste sensation.
The Baja burger ($8.75), also regular size, featured pepper jack cheese, tomato salsa, avocado, banana peppers, green leaf lettuce and smoked pablano sour cream. The sour cream and the slight spiciness of the crunchy peppers were a really good combination on this fresh-tasting burger, but the eatery must have been low on avocados because the two tiny slices weren’t nearly enough.
The Wentworth ($7.75), a petit, was piled high with black forest ham, green leaf lettuce, fresh apple slices, brie and red onion marmalade. Our guest proclaimed brie a wonderful idea for a burger and really enjoyed the crisp bite of the apple and the sweet/tartness of the marmalade, but found the ham being cold did not work so well and wish it had been heated. This burger was ordered well done and was still very juicy.
The petit burgers are served on a regular bun and the regular-sized sandwiches are served on a larger, square roll which some suggested was a little too sweet.
We also tried the parmesan and duck-fat fries ($4.99) and the onion straws ($3.50) and highly recommend both. The giant order of fries offered wonderful golden brown potatoes with soft centers that did not taste like duck but were richer than regular fries. The sprinkling of Parmesan added a creamy saltiness. One order of either the fries or the incredibly thin onion straws, which were fried crispy and more like curls, was plenty for a group of four.
We tested a pralines and cream shake ($4.75), which combined homemade pralines with vanilla bean ice cream; and a chocolate and peanut butter malt ($4.75), and both were deliciously rich and creamy and just thin enough to easily drink through the straw,
If you’re watching your weight you may want to try one of the creative salads on the menu. We tried the baby bleu ($7.99) and loved the blending of dried cherries, generous portions of candied pecans and sharp Maytag bleu cheese with just enough champagne vinaigrette. The salad was huge and almost filled up the cafeteria-style metal serving tray.
Customers pick up their orders from the counter on paper-lined metal trays that match the silver metal chairs, exposed pipes along the ceiling and metal covered hanging lights. The shiny butcher-block counter tops and the darker exposed wood running alongside the bar, which is adjacent to the kitchen area, contrasted nicely, The outside dining area felt secluded and cozy.
Like the burgers, the décor showed creativity and thoughtfulness and even the take-out boxes (and ours only contained salad) were cool.