The Fat Shallot, which serves what some call the best sandwiches in Chicago, are bringing their food truck to Spoonfest this year.
The food truck-turned-restaurant was born almost 13 years ago out of a love story, a backpacking trip and perfect timing. Co-owners Sarah Weitz and Sam Barron — a registered dietitian and classically trained chef, respectively — fell in love over a shared obsession with food. After traveling the world and eating their way through street vendors, they returned to Chicago just as the city changed its laws to allow cooking onboard food trucks.
“Every other major city had been doing it but Chicago, so I convinced him to open a food truck with me,” Weitz said. “That’s how The Fat Shallot began.”
And Barron had the resume to back it up. The co-owner had previously cooked at Everest, one of Chicago’s most acclaimed fine-dining restaurants, interned at a three-star Michelin restaurant in Spain and helped open the The Pump Room when Jean Georges relaunched it — but the couple’s vision for The Fat Shallot was never about upscale, haute cuisine. It was about taking classic sandwiches people already loved and making the best possible version of them — a “good, memorable version of a recognizable sandwich,” as Barron puts it, “with a little different twist to make it memorable and distinctive.”
That philosophy paid off fast. On their very first day in business, parked at the University of Chicago, they sold out in an hour.
“It was just insane,” Weitz said. “We just had lines every day and we kept selling out. The company just exploded, and we’ve been running ever since, trying to keep up with it.”
The Fat Shallot has now grown to seven locations: two food trucks, outposts in the Merchandise Mart and Sterling Food Hall and three brick-and-mortar stores in Lincoln Park, Wilmette and Evanston.
At Spoonfest, they’ll be selling their typical food truck menu, featuring their turkey, truffle BLT, buffalo chicken and grilled cheese sandwiches. Barron recommends the buffalo chicken for a “big, hearty food truck fest option” but also said the truffle BLT is one of the best representations of what The Fat Shallot is all about. Vegetarians can also get the BLT loaded with double the veggies. And whatever you order, Weitz advises not skipping the fries, offered in three signature flavors: house, spicy sesame and truffle.
Despite having a location just two miles away from Northwestern’s campus, Weitz said The Fat Shallot has always felt out of reach from the university’s student body. She’s excited for Spoonfest’s chance to close that gap.
“We’re so close to Northwestern and so far away at the same time,” Weitz said. “We really want to feed more Northwestern students, so we’re just excited that we can come to you guys.”