Find great BBQ, small-town feel at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack
By Gray Chapman
Have you ever been driving down the road with your windows down, when all of a sudden the smoky scent of barbeque fills your car? Being from a small southern town, I’m quite familiar with this experience—it was not unusual to be driving home from school and stumbling upon a few men and their tank-sized grill setting up shop in a gas station parking lot, selling ribs for $10 a slab.
But imagine my surprise the day I was driving down Piedmont Road in Buckhead, passing the Range Rover dealership and trendy one-word restaurants, when the sweet peppery scent once again filled my car. There it was, in all its glory — a tiny, ramshackle wooden barbeque shack, with a packed parking lot,
a line of people out the door and a big sign reading “Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.” Incidentally, I had stumbled upon the best barbeque restaurant in Atlanta.
Nestled in the heart of Buckhead, Fat Matt’s looks like it would be more at home somewhere in the south Georgia backcountry than in the the shadows of the Buckhead skyline. Though Fat Matt’s obviously lacks the sleek décor and uppity ambience of its nearby restaurant neighbors, it is almost always packed to the brim (and often brimming over with a line into the parking lot) with devoted fans of great barbeque and the “make you feel right at home” atmosphere. Step inside and you’ll forget you’re in a big city as soon as you see the blues band performing on the small stage, the men in the kitchen bent over the hot grill, and most of all, the prices.
A dream come true for a student budget, the menu at Fat Matt’s boasts a chopped pork sandwich for $3.95, a barbequed chicken “half bird” for $5.75, and a half-slab of finger-licking good ribs for less than $10.
And boy, are those ribs worth every penny. Slathered in Fat Matt’s tangy, homemade signature sauce and full of smokehouse flavor, the meat falls right off the bone. You may want to go the extra mile and get the full slab for $18.95, because it won’t take you long to finish these off. Personally, I think the chopped pork sandwich is the best deal in town, with a heap of steaming, saucy barbequed pork on two white buns. The rum baked beans and the Brunswick Stew (a slow-cooked hearty tomoto-based stew with vegetables and pork) both make great sides for any dishes.
Once you make it through the line and get your table, be sure to check out who’s playing on the tiny stage at the end of the restaurant. Fat Matt’s features live blues nearly every day of the month, with special guests like Chicago Joe Jones, the Jumpin’ Jukes, Uncle Sugar, and Seminole Jackson and the Dixie Blues Band. Sit at the long communal tables in the center of the restaurant and you might make a new friend — OutKast’s Andre 3000 has been known to frequent Fat Matt’s on the weekend to take in the hot barbeque, cold beer and live blues.
Located about a mile from the closest MARTA station (Lindbergh Station), Fat Matt’s is relatively easy to access from SCAD. Parking can be a bit of a difficulty, but just think of it as a barbeque pilgrimage that will definitely pay off when you taste those ribs. You can find Fat Matt’s at 1811 Piedmont Road, near the
intersection of Piedmont and Rock Springs.
For more information, including hours, menu, band schedule and directions, visit Fat Matt’s on
the Web at www.fatmattsribshack.com.
