Roughly 30 miles west of downtown Nashville, on U.S. Freeway 70 within the small city of White Bluff, sits one of many finest roadside eating places within the South.
Within the three years because it opened, Fats Tiger KBBQ & Extra, an genuine Korean restaurant that makes all its meals from scratch, has established itself as one in all Center Tennessee’s distinctive eateries.
If you arrive on the rustic roadside location — within the former residence of a sorghum mill — chances are you’ll be greeted by a rooster known as Ricky Bobby, named for one in all Will Ferrell’s most iconic roles.If Ricky’s not round, front-of-house supervisor Jody Bradley will nearly actually be there with a heat welcome. After I talked about that I used to be excited to strive the meals, Bradley’s response was, “Good, you ought to be.”
Korean fried rooster
Inside you’ll discover partitions adorned with cat-related artwork and thrift-store trinkets. You’ll additionally discover the co-owners, wife-and-husband duo Starrlite DeCook and David Mullins. Mullins lived in Lebanon, Tenn., earlier than transferring to Dickson as a youngster, whereas DeCook spent 20 years in South Korea previous to transferring to the USA. In 2017, DeCook started touring to Dickson County from Chicago for work, which is how the 2 met.
“Each time I might go to, I might be like, ‘a Korean restaurant would accomplish that properly right here,’” DeCook tells the Scene on a latest Friday afternoon.
A Korean restaurant was one thing that had been brewing in DeCook’s mind for fairly a while — she even wrote a marketing strategy for one in faculty. Mullins had a protracted historical past within the restaurant enterprise, working at varied institutions in Dickson County and as a grill cook dinner throughout his stint within the Marines.
It appeared like an ideal combo. However a restaurant serving conventional Korean delicacies isn’t a assured slam-dunk in a rural Tennessee city.
“One of many ‘advantages’ of a smaller city is that everyone’s inquisitive about what you’re doing, particularly new eating places,” DeCook says. “So the problem of getting folks within the door was not as massive of a difficulty for us as a result of it’s one thing new.”
One of many largest challenges the duo did face was remodeling the sorghum mill-turned-antique retailer right into a restaurant house. It took them 10 months.
Candy potato tempura
“We have been right here day by day doing one thing,” says DeCook, who nonetheless has a day job as an IT director for an insurance coverage firm. Mullins runs the kitchen, which incorporates hand-picking recent produce, whereas DeCook handles lots of the logistical duties, like having particular Korean elements shipped to White Bluff.
One other problem was upscaling the recipes, most of which have been handed down from DeCook’s Korean grandmother, from at-home parts to restaurant ranges.
“[Nashville] doesn’t have as a lot selection [in ingredients] as different metropolitan areas,” says DeCook. “There’s extra Asian locations and Asian folks within the Nashville space now, however nonetheless not as a lot as like Chicago or Washington, D.C.”
DeCook and Mullins additionally wished their menu to face out amid the high quality Korean choices within the space. That’s what the “& Extra” within the restaurant’s identify signifies. (The couple credit the “Fats Tiger” portion to DeCook’s sister.)
“The ‘& Extra’ is us not pigeonholing ourselves into simply Korean meals,” DeCook says. “We serve genuine, conventional meals, however we additionally serve trendy Korean meals that’s not essentially conventional, however it’s one thing that Korean folks eat on a regular basis. … We not solely wished to serve the old-school stuff, but additionally the meals that Korean folks really eat day by day. It’s trendy Korean delicacies. It’s not essentially fusion, however meals evolves over time.
“Lots of people assume, in terms of ethnic delicacies, it’s a really slim factor,” she continues. “It’s a must to have a sure type of ambiance and solely serve a sure type of meals and have sure kinds of staff, however that’s actually not the case.”
Bulgogi loaded fries
The Fats Tiger menu presents conventional Korean staples like bulgogi (thinly sliced, garlic-marinated beef filet), tonkatsu (an enormous, panko-crusted pork cutlet) and bibimbap (a hearty rice bowl). However DeCook and Mullins get playful with dishes just like the Fats Tiger Loaded Fries, that are topped with mozzarella, provolone, kimchi and pork stew, an egg and aioli sauce. It’s “taste heaven in a bowl,” in line with the menu’s description.
The couple’s exhausting work and distinctive imaginative and prescient have paid off, with folks making the journey to White Bluff from everywhere in the space.
“I by no means thought I might’ve performed this,” Mullins says. “Opening a restaurant round right here can be actually exhausting in itself. After which to be a delicacies that isn’t acquainted for folks round right here, it was a bit of greater than a toss-up that the idea would work.
“After we began the idea, we have been right here in search of meals ourselves,” Mullins continues. “We have been wanting one thing apart from burgers and fries. This provides you a complete completely different palate. Even in the best way Koreans eat their meals, each chunk is a special taste publicity.”
Co-owners David Mullins and Starrlite DeCook
It’s tough, after all, for DeCook and Mullins to advocate only one dish. However of the various gadgets I sampled, the Bulgogi Loaded Fries have been a standout.
Says DeCook: “When folks are available and they’re trying on the menu they usually’re like, ‘What do you advocate?’ I’m like, ‘Don’t ask me. I wrote it. It’s all my favorites.’”
“When you don’t know if you wish to strive it, and if you happen to’re apprehensive since you don’t comprehend it, come right here. We’ll train you.”
