Fatboy’s is a must-try for relaxed comfort food

Have you seen that “Penn and Teller: Fool Us” show? The two superstar magicians sit onstage and watch as, one by one, a variety of amateur or mid-level professional prestidigitators, tricksters, sleightof-hand maestros and old-school rabbit-out-of-a-hat conjurers demonstrate their finest routines. If one of them succeeds in puzzling P&T as to how a specific feat of wizardry was performed, he or she wins a trip to Vegas to serve as the opening act for the famous duo’s five-star performances.

Most of the time, Penn & Teller immediately know how these gambits are pulled off. They’re that good.

However, I’ve got a bit of sorcery they’ll never figure out.

There’s a chef named Ron Dutes who co-owns a place called Fatboy’s Kitchen and Bar in New London. He has a Braised Short Rib entrée ($22) that is a stunning bit of culinary diabolism. The combo of ingredients is devilishly clever — fork-flakingly tender and flavor-infused pork, toothsome cavatelli in a velveteen white cheddar sauce with parmesan crumbles, and a sensual smoked cherry barbecue sauce. But it’s the delicious mystery of how Dutes pulls it all together — in defiance of the laws of culinary reality and perception — that’s simply a beautiful thing of wonder. OMG. Yes, then, if you haven’t yet visited Fatboy’s — on Bank Street in a small space previously occupied by a Jamaican place — the Braised Short Rib is numero uno on the priority chart. But that’s hardly all. Fatboy’s is a wonderful destination where the menu is concise but inspired and deftly pulled off, and the charm of the place — an eight-stool, up-front bar; the small but welcoming dining room; and a back deck o’erlooking the Thames — transforms a floor plan that could easily be cramped into something intimate and welcoming.

This is also in part due to the staff, which is a group of friendly and casually efficient folks who, by the end of a meal, seem to have become your instant pals without ever being intrusive or brazenly solicitous.

While the Braised Short Rib is a genuine highlight from the dinner menu — along with such things as fried chicken, burgers, steak and Stonington Scallops with crab stuffing — maybe the best way to approach eating at Fatboy’s is to blur the line between appetizers, rawbar offerings, soups and salads, main dishes and sides.

Throw caution to the wind and just pick out a few of everything. It works. For example, on one visit I eschewed an entrée and went with starters Tuna Tartare Tacos ($12) and Candied Thick Cut Bacon ($12). The former, with four tortilla husks housing strips of silken fish atop a layer of fresh guacamole, and drizzled with soy-honey ginger and wasabi aioli, was a luxuriant construct. Ultimately, I thought the guac underpinning wasn’t as much of a contrast with the tuna as I’d liked, but it was certainly a rich and pleasant dish.

There’s indeed a confectioner’s sweetness to the crisp slabs of maple-teased bacon. Along with a tart mustard sauce and a bed of delicious sweet corn relish, the textures and flavors were a delight.

My wife, Eileen, and I also shared an order of Spicy Guacamole with Beer Queso ($10). The heaped dish appeared in front of us almost instantly (more magic?) and warm tortilla chips were sturdy vessels upon which to pile the thick guac — house crafted with diced tomato and red onion — and the oozing, sneakily-spiced queso. Great fun.

It’s true we were a little worried that Fatboy’s menu might not offer much for vegetarians, and possibilities are indeed limited, but Eileen enjoyed her choices. A Chopped Salad ($9) was of very high quality and boasted an amazing gorgonzola presence along with cubes of cucumber and Granny Smith apples, a tart apple cider vinaigrette and flakes of playful red pepper.

Not all of the sides are vegetarian, but you can get a plate of any three for $13 — and the portions are huge. E had roasted asparagus, mac and cheese (hold the bacon topping) and garlicky green beans. The green veggies were cooked with a gorgeous touch, and the mac and cheese was an opulent, creamy dish of glory.

A lunchtime stop gave me the opportunity to try a shrimp po’boy ($14). While the New Orleans model I’m used to would feature tomato and lettuce on top of a chewy French loaf from the Leidenheimer Bakery, the Fatboy model is simplified and recalibrated. The bread is more of a buttery Texas toast, with a coating of mayo and laden with delicate leaves of designer lettuce. Crammed therein was a generous handful of medium sized shrimp, flash-fried in a pepper-infused thin batter. I did add some salt and hot sauce, after which I was properly fortified.

There are daily Happy Hour specials and, at all times, there’s a blackboard selection of revolving craft beers as well as a nice array of designer cocktails. Eileen enjoyed a Raspberry Lemon Drop Martini ($9), and I was pleased by a new keg of UFO white with its subtle coriander presence ($5 pint).

I would expect at some point that Chef Dutes will expand or perhaps seasonally alter his menu — though there’s certainly nothing remotely wrong as it stands. But it is small and his skill and creativity are such that it makes me smile to imagine what he and his staff might come up with next. Service: Atmosphere: Hours: Prices: Credit cards: Reservations: