Fat Shack Denver is the brainchild of Tom Armenti, who opened the first Fat Shack in 2010 in Ewing, New Jersey just after he graduated college. The fact that this establishment was created by a guy straight out of his university days is not surprising, as the menu consists of food that sounds like someone pulled random fast food out of his fridge and threw it all together between some bread.
Take, for example, the staple that I sampled, the Fat Bronco ($8.65-12.50 depending on size, there are 8” and 12” options), which is made of chicken fingers, french fries, mozzarella sticks and marinara. Another popular option is the Fat Doobie ($8.65-$12.50 for 8” and 12”, respectively), which consists of chicken fingers, french fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks and honey mustard. The Fat Pioneer ($8.65-$12.50 for 8” and 12”, respectively), named for Fat Shack’s newest Denver edition, which opened in early 2015, has mac and cheese, cheese steak, french fries and BBQ sauce.
I have a feeling that this place may be polarizing. Some who read the previous paragraph are probably disgusted that such food was ever concocted in the mind of man, others are probably thinking about driving down to Fat Shack right now.
I also have a feeling that Fat Shack, being open until 4 a.m., is probably anticipating an intoxicated clientele, which I am sure would improve the experience of this haven of salt, fat and guilt. Strategically placed between two popular bars near campus (Merchant’s Mile High Saloon, also known as “The Border,” and the Crimson and Gold Tavern), it certainly would be a nice place to sit down and grab some food on your way home.
The restaurant itself is small and inviting, staffed by pleasant individuals who were very helpful and polite. The food, however, was not so agreeable. At first bite, the Fat Bronco was actually pretty good in a guilty pleasure sort of way—the ingredients stacked so that each individual flavor was highlighted. However, after the first few bites, the flavors melded together and began to taste like chewing on a fried salt lick that was also very stale. I can’t say that I enjoyed it very much at all.
Fat Shack, however, does sell all of these ingredients separately as appetizers. French fries ($1.99-$3.75 for small and large, respectively), cheese fries ($5.95), mozzarella sticks ($6.47), chicken fingers ($7.55), onion rings ($6.47) and more are all offered as standalones. The shop also offers buffalo wings ($6.47 for six, $12.41 for 12 and $18.35 for 18) and fingers ($8.63 for six, $16.73 for 12 and $24.29 for 18), as well as burgers ($6.96 for a single, $9.71 for a double), making it a true haven of everything fried that people crave late at night.
Their dessert menu is quite creative. Deep fried Oreos ($3.99 for 3 and $5.49 for 5), chocolate chip cookies ($3.99 for 3 and $5.39 for 5), Twinkies ($2 for one and $4.96 for 3), funnel cake bites ($5.39) and more fried treats are all offered, in case you didn’t have diabetes by the end of your sandwich. Milkshakes ($4.85) are also on the menu.
The bottom line about Fat Shack is that, unless you’re intoxicated or just really love fried, salty foods, I wouldn’t recommend a trip there. That being said, heading over when a craving for appetizers or creative desserts takes hold would probably really hit the spot.
A full menu and more information can be found at FatShack.com, and you can order online for delivery at MileHighMenus.com.
