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| - I really hoped I could give Fat Cats more than two stars, but unfortunately, it's not in the cards.
PROS: Great, cozy atmosphere in a converted old house in a quiet corner of Tremont. Walking in, the vibe was great and the hostess and waitstaff were nothing but pleasant and attentive. Things started off well enough and I thought this could be a repeat visit type of place. However...
CONS: The food. Ultimately, one still frequents a restaurant for its culinary output (one would assume, at least!), and Fat Cats kitchen offerings didn't complement what had been built up so far. The olive tapenade they bring out to go with bread, stingily given one slice at a time I might add, is tasty enough, but the bread itself is cold and had probably been baked quite a while earlier. I ordered the Ohio City burger and found it to be problematic. The beef was dry, along with the stale-tasting bun. Speaking of dry, what's with those pieces of pork belly thrown on top of the burger? I had hoped maybe they were made to order, but it was pretty obvious the kitchen must make a number of them when prepping earlier in the day and just ration them out from a container like they would pickles and other condiments. Way too chewy and not adding anything good flavor-wise. The blue cheese slaw tasted off, and the pickles were of the slightly sweet variety, which I can't get down with. Topping it off, the 'tomato jam' they serve with this is chunky enough that their pommes frites (aka shoestring potatoes) easily bend when you attempt to dip. I ended up having to pour the jam over the frites and use a fork, which didn't feel right, nor taste especially good.
On the bright side, my wife enjoyed her goat cheese appetizer and house salad, which leads me to believe Fat Cats strength is maybe in a quiet evening nursing a cocktail and sharing an appetizer. Too bad, really, but there are still plenty of better options in the city.
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