These days, it seems the best restaurant names are one-part adjective, one-part animal. Like the Sybarite Pig in Boca Raton. The Tipsy Boar in Hollywood. Or The Gluttonous Goat near Mizner Park. Just pick a farm animal, give it twist, and you're done.
That theme continues next month with the opening of South Florida restauranteur Gary Rack's latest concept, Fat Rooster, the new Southern Comfort-style restaurant located in the heart of downtown Delray Beach.
The restaurant will soon be offering Southern-style fare and American comfort classics morning, noon, and late night in a nostalgic, diner-like setting.
See also: Ten Best New Restaurants in Delray Beach
This won't be the place you go to watch your figure, or stick to a diet. This is where you'll go to indulge.
The Fat Rooster menu -- developed in conjunction with Rack and Rack Restaurant Management Group culinary director Matthew Danaher -- will present a series of menus that focus on rich, hearty, old-fashioned meals. Every item on the menu has a history, says Rack, with the idea to trigger childhood memories in the form of your favorite comfort foods.
The restaurant will be serving all these "rebuilt" classics for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and -- of course -- weekend brunch on both Saturday and Sunday.
Start with a hearty morning meal that centers on house made biscuits, scratch cooked Southern-style and topped with gravy, fried green tomatoes, or fried chicken. There's also three types of potato hash: the loaded with ham, cheddar, mushrooms, and onions; a meatloaf take with a Tabasco Hollandaise; and a vegetable version. Of course you can still get your favorite morning treats, but with a Southern-twist. Think sweet potato pancakes and bourbon French toast.
Come lunch, the menu rotates to greens (salads); hand-wiches (sandwiches like chicken and pork butt, as well as a burger); nibbles (small plates like deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, and cola-glazed ribs); and lunch plates (chicken fried steak or shrimp and grits). Or check out the Frito Pie, a dish served in a steel pan with layers of corn chips beneath a chunky homemade chili, and topped with cheddar cheese, red onions, and pickled jalapeños.
For dinner, the menu offers the same format as lunch -- but with a few new additions prepared as dinner plates during the evening hours that deliver hefty helpings with dishes like smothered pork chops, pork shank, and a beef and chicken meatloaf.
The main focus, however, is also guaranteed to be a menu favorite day or night: the Bird section, where you'll find the restaurant's signature chicken 'n waffles. The recipe took months to perfect, a Southern-style fried chicken atop fresh buttermilk waffles, and drenched in a whiskey honey syrup.
The restaurant will also have a wide selection of American bourbon, and will make it easy to enjoy them during a daily happy hour set from 4-7 p.m. when you can order half-priced appetizers and drinks at the bar. The cocktail menu features more than a dozen selections, but there are also the standard beers and wines by the glass.
If you're more of a night owl than an early bird, the late-night special on Wednesdays dubbed "Bourbon & Brunch" could be just what you've been looking for. It will highlight a specialty menu designed to offer guests a different type of brunch experience from 5 p.m. to close.
Fat Rooster will open Monday, March 2, and hours of operation will be Sunday through Tuesday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Wednesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. The restaurant is located at 204 E Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Call 561-266-3642.
Nicole Danna is a food blogger covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on Clean Plate's Instagram.
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