I have been visiting Fatty's for years and I'm never disappointed by their food or the relaxed atmosphere. Â
You have to order the pretzel nuggets appetizer, it comes with two dipping sauces, hot cheese and honey mustard. Â I tend to skip the cheese sauce since it's generally flavorless but the honey mustard is great! Â I had a salad with a fat-free strawberry vinaigrette on my latest visit, the dressing was great! Â It was sweet and tasted almost like a jam. Â (As a side note, I dipped some pretzel nuggets into the vinaigrette and it was a good combo). Â They make most side items fresh and on-site so they tend to taste better than sore purchased sides and are fresh. Â I usually get the a chicken sandwich on a pretzel roll or some kind of chicken wrap; all sandwiches and wraps have been good and I haven't regretted an order yet. Â
The service however leaves something to be desired. Â I've been here many times over the years and it is very hit or miss. Â I try to remember that I'm in a college town and that most servers are kids who don't want to be there but it still bothers me. Â I mean how hard would it be to ask a customer if they would like a refill of soda or check on them after the meal is delivered... drives me crazy!
I would recommend Fatty's for the unique and homemade food. Â Just don't expect the service to be equally good.
Once every other month or so my friends and I take the hour and a half round trip to visit Fatty's. Why? Two words: POTATO SALAD.
My review could end here because that is all you need to know. I drive 80 miles (round trip) for potato salad. Life. Changing. Potato. Salad.
Other awesome shit:
in the summer, they have this special BBQ Parfait, it's layers upon layers of pulled pork, baked beans, corn bread and coleslaw in a HUGE jar. - this is not something I would ever normally order but after seeing my fiancé's reaction to this dish - I ordered it the next time we went there. And IT. WAS. EPIC.
I really REALLY love the chicken sandwich called "the heat" and my friends all seem to be fond of the burgers.
The service is perfectly mediocre. Nothing outstanding and nothing terrible.
The outdoor seating is GREAT - because every table has a huge umbrella.
The restrooms are clean and the drinks are average. The selection of craft beers could be better - it's worth mentioning that they have Angry Orchard on tap here.
That's all. Bye bye now.
I will always have fond memories of this place!
Many times me and a group of guys would end up here after or in between classes at NIU, or the week before fall semester would start, or the best would be to celebrate after finals the second week of May or thru our summer sessions. Â I remember a few of these times just kicking back with a few beers and lunch and then cranking the music on the long drive home after my last final - playing loud rock n' roll in my car. Â Okay back to the main subject!
The place always had good food, in my opinion. I didn't try everything on the menu, but the burgers and fries were always excellent. Â Id recommend that if nothing more.
Sometimes there would be 'old man can days' where you could get cans of cold beer for $1.00. Â This was several years back now so I don't know if they still do this, but it was just nostalgic and cool to be sipping a cold 'Old Style' or 'Busch' beer in a can with our food.
As I said, we ended up here a lot. Sometimes the service was slow, but we didn't mind. Â The early 20's waitresses were always pretty cute (most were probably NIU students) and we would engage in conversation with them when possible!
There was a backroom with pool tables and that was cool too, sometimes we would play a few rounds of pool. Â
The only downside that I remember vividly were the men's washrooms (especially the one by the main entrance right by the bar) were not the best, and smelled awful. Â The kinda dirty smell with a lot of "old lead water" stench. Â The restroom in the back area by the pool tables is a BIT better, but not by much!
Other than though, it was a cool little place to hang out and get a quick lunch after or between classes. Â I miss Fatty's a LOT.
Easilly 4 out of 5 stars, at least for my experiences!
Oh Fatty's the food is so good, but the service is always a disappointment.
Throughout college I came here numerous of times just because of the food. The prices are reasonable and the fried potato salad just makes me weak in the knees thinking of about it! Fatty's has the biggest chicken strips I've ever seen too. The chicken strips are the size of a baby's arm.
So why not the five stars if I love the food so much? The service is just horrible. Carryout takes 30 minutes for one sandwich with a bartender who makes you walk to the end of the counter just for takeout. Why walk all the way to the end? Because the bartender was too lazy...keep in mind there were only 3 people sitting at the bar. The food just takes forever here along with  the refills.
In my opinion this is the best food in DeKalb. Ive never eaten anything there that I haven't liked besides the homeplate nachos. I LOVE the Italian nachos and tex mex. Even their pulled pork is delicious. The service is terrible though. I have one friend that works there who is honestly a great server but she is the only one! Every other waitress I have is always talking to her other coworkers instead of checking on her tables or putting in orders. The delicious food is worth the bad service!
Review Source:best food in college town! anytime i am indecisive on where to eat, fattys is always an option. anyone can attempt to recreate their cajun potato salad, but nothing will compare to having the real thing on the side of a burger. you can probably never go wrong with any sandwich or burger, but my go to burger is the tex-mex. if you are there for just an appetizer, the italian nachos are so freakin good. i feel it is very overlooked, but no one will really know what theyre missing until they try it.
although everything about the food is on point, this place NEVER fails to give horrible service (hence the 3 star rating). the girls may be super nice, but they would probably get better tips if they knew how to actually attend to their customers aka do their job. nevertheless, this place will definitely be missed once graduation passes, but will obviously be where i stop if a dekalb visit ever happens.
I miss Fatty's. I went there 2-3 times a year, and I never had a problem with it. The service is dreadful, but the waitresses are very attractive and the food is solid.
I will say one thing, though. Don't order the tuxedo cake. I might have been the only one to ever order this thing, because it probably had been sitting in the fridge in case some idiot asked for dessert. I did not feel great after that.
Potato salad is really good! Burgers are yummy, and so are the chicken fingers. It's the best sports bar in Dekalb, by a mile!
I went to NIU for 3.5 years and Fattys became my go to bar.
Now, I went there all the time before and after I turned 21. Â There are some great qualities about it and some not so great qualities.
The food.  Don't come here to expect some top of the line gourmet food.  It's a bar, in  a college town.  Of course the food is going to be a bit greasy and not so healthy for you, but it is delicious.  I swear by the Wayne Pretsky & the Iowa Reuben.  The Cajun potato salad is awesome, spicy, deep fried potatoes in a Cajun mayo sauce.  However, not everyone likes this, so if you like cold mustard potato salad, I wouldn't order this unless you are okay w/ some heat and your potato salad being warm.
Their beer selection is amazing and they have decent specials. Â (It is in a college town) Â This is a great place to go and watch the any game, they have plenty of T.V.'s and get most NIU games, if not all. Â Cool thing about the bar is that it used to be an old bank and a lot of the original woodwork is still there. Â So that's pretty cool.
I would always suggest sitting at the bar because the service here has never been very good. Â Ever. Â In 3.5 years, countless servers I have never had great service here, besides the bartenders when you sit at the bar. Â
But, I recommend many people to this place because I really have never been disappointed from the food or the drinks. Â Service sucks, but nothing you can do about it.
I'd give it a 0/5 if I could. We've walked out twice after sitting at a table for over 10 minutes without even a 'hello' from the wait staff. Needless to say, after the second time we haven't been back and never will.
The times we did have service, beer refills were few and far between. The food is great, which makes it really unfortunate that they can't manage to train a waiter or waitress.
So the place is in a college town. Â I get it. Â It has some good and some bad points...where to start?
The good:
Domestic Beer specials. Â Who doesn't love that most nights there are specials and after all if it nothing special, I would like to save money on what I am drinking. Â
They have a grilled chicken sandwich with roasted peppers on a tomato ciabbata bun. Â Wow. Â Seriously, it is so delicious. Â It is not on the healthy menu but you do not feel gross for eating this. Â It is filling and delicious. Â I loved it.
Not the bad:
The sides. Â I do not like their potato salad. Â It is some sort of grilled version of the usual fare. Â It seems dry. Â I find that either people love or hate it. Â This is not what annoys me the most. Â I have the option of french fries instead of this potato salad. Â The other side that comes with your meal is cole slaw or baked beans. Â As I am not a fan of either one, I get no third option. Â I just lose out. Â
Fatty's packs you in tight, almost too tight. Â I have been to trivia there. Â It is fun, but very disorganized. Â
Overall, the menu is hit or miss but it is a decent option in a town of not so decent.
The potato salad is the most interesting and one of the best tasting I have ever had... Burger was phenomenal, was able to try the steak and ribs which were amazing... I would seriously say this is one of the best bar and Grill places I have been to... got advice to come here from a local, best decision Ive made staying here!
Review Source:The Food at Fatty's is amazing however the service is eh. They have so many great food items but the service is my one draw back. Even if you order take out , the service is still iffy. Once I had ordered take out, arrived around on time, but still waited 10 minutes to get my food! Five minutes waiting and trying to get someone to help me and five minutes for someone to look for my food! And there were waitresses standing around doing absolutely nothing! What the heck! Anyway, I love the food but the service lowers this rating!
Review Source:the atmosphere is great but the food could use less grease lol. Â I got the fried pickles and had to return them because they were sitting in grease and were soggy. Â If youre the type of person who loves a greasy burger and fries and a pint to wash it down then this is the place for you.
Review Source:This place has absolutely phenomenal bar food! Â Definitely five steps above other bars. Â Their soft pretzel nuggets as an appetizer, their cajun potato salad, the Wayne Pretzkey- grilled chicken sandwich with cheese and bacon on a big soft pretzel- absolutely amazing! This place makes me drool just thinking about their food. Â You will be missing out if you do not try this place at least once!
Review Source:I can see why this would appeal to college students in such a college town, but I can't see myself eating here again when/if I'm back in DeKalb (not that I get out that way all that often.)
As many have said already, the cajun potato "salad" was pretty good, but the burger I ordered was about as boring as it could possibly be. It was literally a bun with two pickles slices and a piece of lettuce. I guess you are supposed to add ketchup and/or mustard on your own.
On the upside, it does look like a great place to just have a few beers and watch a game. The prices were good, and the wait staff was pretty nice.
A solid local pub for hanging out with friends, watching "the game," or having a laid-back meal.
This is a place that caters to different populations at different times (business/university staff at lunch, a variety of people during NIU and Chicago sports games, and college students during late nights), which is what makes it a great local place.
The different seating areas (main bar, private party area, and outdoor patio) offer a variety of options, as does the menu. There are plenty of unhealthy bar foods, but there are also light options as well.
Fatty's is the official bar of Northern Illinois University, so it is often the only place you can get some of the more obscure ESPN 3 or Comcast Sports Net options.
I'm a big fan of the chicken wrap, the Wayne Pretzky, and the Soprano Italian Beef--all large portions for decent prices.
But of course what makes Fatty's famous is their Cajun potato salad. This beauty, slathered in chipotle mayo and bacon is a major heart attack on a plate--but in a good way. It's rich, so might I recommend ordering like a local and getting the "half and half" with your sandwich; the tasty home style fries will balance out the potato salad's caloric explosion.
They don't call it Fatty's for nothin!
Fatty's, what else can I say except you are one of the only reasons I come back to visit NIU after graduating three years ago. I was sitting around on Sunday and decided I NEEDED the cajan patato salad from fatty's, so we got in the car and came for a visit.
The restaurant was not crowded so we just found a table and waited for our waitress to bring our menus and order drinks. Our waitress came right away and got our order, which was nice. I ordered the grilled chicken with buffalo sauce on the side and cajan patato sald(of course). when my food came out it was wrong...bummer...it was grilled chicken with BBQ sauce ON it. when I brought this to my waitresses attention, very nicely, she said she was sorry and took it back.....o but her being nice did not last....she brought the SAME sandwich back out and told me I was wrong that it was the buffalo sauce on the sandwich...excuse me....I'm pretty sure I knkow the difference. When she STILL did not believe me she brought out a little dish of both to let me see that they were right.....WOW!!! We will just say that I won and got a new plate with the right sauce!!
The food is amazing and I will continue to visit Fatty's for thier amazing cajan patato salad and buffalo chicken....but maybe the waitresses shouldnt be arguing with the customers!!! She is the reason I am giving 3 stars instead of 5!!
...It's bar food. It's bar food...in Dekalb. It's actually not bad! I had a chicken sandwich called " The Heat" which consisted of wing sauce, bleu cheese dressing (in a separate container), and swizz cheese. I got their famous fried potato salad which was super good, but not good for your body!
Sadly I don't have anything else to rave about this place. It is just your typical college town bar with checkerboard floors and paneled walls. The bathroom is decent and small, but it just wreaks of what you wouldn't want a public bathroom to smell like.
They have decent pricing, and you surely will get full here.
A great bar for fun and great place to eat. Its a pretty nice bar for after hours partying and also a great one to hang out at and watch sports. The food is also great, and the fried potato salad is amazing. I usually get some form of sandwich, and the pretzel buns they offer are yummy.
Review Source:Ooooooh, Fatty's. I've been gone from DeKalb for a solid 6 years, but Fatty's still has the stuff that I love. I was there last weekend for my yearly DeKalb trip (which is NEVER complete without a stop at Fatty's), and Fatty's, you still have the ability to make me drool.
The cajun potato salad is still amazing, the kettle chips with jalapeno ketchup are still my favorite, and your beers are still so, so cheap. When I walk into your doors I feel like I'm 21 again (though, after looking around at all the girls wearing Bump-It's in their hair, I realize I'm definitely not).
I don't know if Fatty's 40-cent beer night still exists in reality, but it will forever in my heart.
I just moved to sycamore and was looking for a decent bar but Fattys was not it. I had terrible service and honestly just disgusting food.
I ordered the veggie burger, it was so cold i decided not to eat it. So far i wasn't having a good experience, but i decided to give them another chance when going to eat the cajun potato salad and after eating it i just felt sick. So if your looking for slow service and bad bar food Fattys is the place for you.
Fatty's simply has the best bar food in Dekalb County hands down. I should probably just end my review here because it's just as simple as that.
However, I will leave you with one piece of local lore.
Allegedly when Larry the Cable Guy played a show here, he ate at Fatty's and loved there potato salad so much that he ordered 5 pounds, to go.
Fatty's potato salad is unique. They fry their potatoes and then blend them in with the mayo and other ingredients. I wasn't so sure about it when I saw it delivered to my table, but after trying a bite I now crave them all the time.
A great restaurant by day, and a crowded college bar by night. No matter who you are, there is a reason to go.
Across the windswept fields of corn arises towers in the mist...keep driving those are dorms. Â The journey is perilous (except if you live in DeKalb) but in the end, good knight, you shall be rewarded:
With CAJUN POTATO SALAD!! Â Seriously folks this is made from the best stuff on Earth (way better than Snapple). Â This is a warm potato salad that is spicy from peppers and a Cajun sauce. Â I start with a pound for an appetizer and then get them as the side with my sandwich/burger. Â You can't get enough.
The sandwich's are huge, "overstuffed" as it were. Â They are a Cubs bar (-1) but the Cajun Potato Salad (+2) will tempt even the most die hard Sox supporter. Â Plus the took away the "Hammy Sosa" and replaced it with the steroid-free "Da Coach" I'm talkin' sandwiches now, so keep up.
They are great bar in a fun (occasionally) college town. Â I rarely make it back to NIU but whenever I'm within 20 miles, I make sure to stop at Fatty's!
I came here for lunch with a large group of people after a long, partially unmemorable, night out. We were placed in the back, which was accommodating. Nice and dark. Helped with the headache.
I was STARVING. I already knew what I wanted to order two days prior to being in DeKalb - the chicken strips. I ordered them breaded with a honey garlic dipping sauce, a side of their Cajun potato salad and cole slaw.
About 10-15 minutes later, our food was out. I thought I was hungry, but I hardly put a dent in my food. Not because it didn't taste good, but because their portions are HUGE. I had more than enough leftovers to last me for the rest of the week. (I did, however, eat most of the Cajun potato salad. I can't get enough of it!) All of this for around $9!
Definitely coming back here the next time I'm in DeKalb. It's a good place to go for good bar food and it's easy on the wallet, especially if you spent most of your money on drinks the night before.
I do not drink, this is a sports bar, I go for the food. It is unhealthy and fits into the the sandwich/american genre but with a little flare. Chicken and burgers cooked to order and served in a variety of ways. Also do their own hot wings and sauces (have not tried). Â All their sides are delicious and portions are huge (baked beans, potato salad, real fries). Sandwich meals run about 7-8 bucks.
If you go here early Sunday there will be a brunch crowd, including families and other non alcoholics. Delicioso, especially  compared to other DeKalb food.
My favorite bar food in Dekalb. Â Try the cajun potato salad, it's amazing. Â Though I'm not in Dekalb as often as I used to be in the Mid 2000's, I still dream of that potato salad every once in a while.
I think the idea of a perfect weekend would be driving up to Dekalb, going to Fattys, riding the Old Man Can rail (I believe it is 6 or 8 beers) and having a Wayne Pretzky sandwich with the cajun potato salad, and passing out in the hotel next door. Â Simply fabulous.
If you want wonderful, fantastic, stick-to-your-ribs, fatty food, then you have come to the right place!
Fatty's is one of my favorite places to go and splurge on way un-healthy food.
a) you get  A LOT of food
b) sandwiches are pretty big
c) cajun-fried potato salad and cole slaw is to die for
Also, they have daily drink speciais, and not just on beer. Â It always make my blood fizzle when my boyfriend can get a drink special for a beer and I cannot on the weekend cause I like Rum. Â For example, my Bacardi and Diets on a Saturday were $2.... yes $2. Â :)
Great bar food, nice service, and great atmosphere.
Fatty's may not be Nat's on Maple but it does not promote it self to be a restaurant it is a pub and grill and as far as the grill side of it I am a fan.
I have had the Bayou Burger and Fatty Melt, but my favorite is the Ribs and Whisky Grille Steak Combo. It is tasty and filling. I love the homemade chips but quite often substitute them for the baked beans for healthier eating, YEAH I know head shaker since Fatty's and Health is an oxymoron but when you're a lover of unhealthy food and hate veggies you squeeze in those healthier options when you can. The bottom line on this entrée though is GOOD.
The burgers I have had are above average for bar burgers and I've eaten many a bar burgers at many a different bars over the years. If my taste buds are thinking burger Fatty's definitely comes to mind as an option
On my really healthy days, I have had the grilled chicken tenders. This is my wife's favorite dish at Fatty's (she eats much healthier then I do) and I personally find them must more enjoyable in taste and portion then the buffalo place.
As for service, again, it is not Nat's, it is a pub and I expect the service to be less then ideal. After all the staff of mostly girls are college age and I'd expect them to give more attention to the young athletic type guy then the beyond middle age overstuffed bear guy, who definitely should be eating Sweet Tomato type cuisine and not Fatty's type cuisine. On a more sincere note I've always been please with the service at Fatty's dining in and carry-out
The atmosphere is it is a pub, but there is no loud music playing, smokers are outside these days and they have numerous TV's. Though there mostly sports shows and I like news that's what I'd expect in a sports bar if I want news I can go find a news bar.
The Bottom Bear Belly on Fatty's is if you are looking for GOOD bar food type cuisine and can handle a wait-staff spending a few extra seconds talking to someone about something more interesting then your order go and enjoy Fatty's Pub and Grill
Not my thing. Â It's a decent bar with a bad restaurant built into it.
Extremely greasy, pretty generic bar foods. Â Lots of deep-fried stuff, heavy sandwiches. Â Have had a few different sandwiches, a reuben that was not particularly flavorful, and The Bavarian (the vegetarian sandwich for when they run out of Gardenburger patties).
Slow service, waitstaff hasn't in my experience been exceptionally attentive. Â All around just not doing it for me.
It's not a bad bar, and definitely a hang-out kind of place. Â The restaurant feels like an afterthought that continues to hang on.
Maybe an okay place for gathering for drinks, not a good choice for eating as the primary activity.
The name don't lie. Â Anything you order from this place is guaranteed to bring you closer to a heart attack, one bite at a time. Â That said, they're pretty delectable bites. Â This is stick-to-your-ribs, beer-battered, excessively meaty food that will put a smile on your face. Â When I was there most recently I noticed a "healthy options" section to the menu. Â So, you know, there are healthier options. Â But let's be honest, you don't come to Fatty's to order a veggie burger (nothing against the veggie burger, mind you, but this is not that type of place). Â Fatty's has a great atmosphere, and I've passed many fun nights here with friends, running up a tab, ordering endless appetizers, and generally having a good time. Â As many of my friends are smokers, they appreciate the beer garden out back (with a sheltered deck protecting them from rain and snow), which also offers bag toss in the back. Â
The wait staff is always friendly (if occasionally a bit clueless), and usually convince me to get whatever mixed drink is on special. Â I typically order one of their burgers, and then a half order of fries, and a half order of potato salad. Â Their Cajun potato salad is a particular must-have :)
[Dialogue from an actual conversation between the waitress, my sister, and I]
HB: What beers do you have on tap?
Waitress: Um... everything. Â What do you want?
HB: Do you have Sam Adams?
Waitress: No.
Sister: Do you have Newcastle bottles?
Waitress: Yes.
HB: Do you have Sam Adams bottles?
Waitress: Â Yes. Â I'll be right back.
[...Time passes, during which I go look at the taps at the bar...]
Waitress (empty-handed): Â We only have Newcastle on tap.
Sister: OK, I'll take that.
HB: Â Actually, you also have Sam Adams on tap, so can I have that?
Perhaps it just wasn't her day, but service was very slow throughout our time at Fatty's. Â Beers came slowly and then the food came out at no greater speed.
We started with the spinach-artichoke dip. Â It may be a touch unfair as the B. sisters are spinach-artichoke connoisseurs, but this was... just OK. Â The main thing it had going for it was that it was very large and could have served more than two people.
I went with the chicken fingers, and when they arrived I wished I'd ordered them non-breaded. Â I did like that I could get baked beans as a side, though. Â
My sister had the Reuben and said it was very good. Â She's on a Reuben kick lately (whereas I've never even had one) so we'll have to take her word on this one.
My fiance and I have been here twice in the past 2 weeks! Â Once just for lunch and once we met a wedding vendor here. Â The food is delish -- try the fried potato salad! Â It's a bit spicy for my taste but I can't resist a few bites. Â Beer is cold. Â Service could be a little quicker :o) Â The outdoor patio is fun in the summer! Â Parking stinks, arrive early!
Review Source:I can't believe I'm doing one of these. Next time I'll find a way to make it rhyme...or something.
F-un as hell, if you can get in. Especially around game days this place is PACKED to the point where there MUST be some kind of safety hazard or something, because you can't even hardly get in the door to check it out.
A-nd they have bar food (pretty good). Why stumble around looking for Taco Bell when you can complete your experience inside?
T-otally a college bar. Travel out if you're passing through town and want to go someplace chill.
T-tremendously hard to find parking in the lot!!! But if you're even trying to find parking and avoid a tow from the apartments nearby you might want to err try to sneak your car here.
Y-es. The prices are reasonable.
S-adly a sports bar. Not exactly what I would have wanted to stop by into during my stay, but that's NIU for you.
I get to DeKalb a couple times a year for meetings at NIU. This is one of my groups "must eat" places. Think sports bar in a college town. Food is very good, just not good for you. Pretzel bites are a great starter and then my favorite is the Hammy Sosa. The local favorite is the potato salad, but since I'm not a big fan I haven't tried it, but several people got some to go so it must be good.
Great place to relax and watch some sports.
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