Fat Alley Foods

I was going to New Orleans for the first time, and my foodie boyfriend charged me with the mission to find and try the best gumbo possible. "But I've never even had gumbo. What am I going to do if I have no basis for comparison?"

Enter Yelp. Enter Jason B.'s review of Fat Alley Foods. WHAT, THEY DELIVER IN SF?? Holy hell, a beautiful love affair in the making. Bookmarked, done.

But I'm a procrastinator. And 48 hours before my flight to the Big Easy (they require 24 hour notice), I was scrambling to make an order. And their site was down. Panicked, I called the number on Yelp and ended up calling Erik himself on his cell. (I take my missions very seriously.)

Erik was so nice, he explained that he was making updates to his site, hence, no Web orders. But he took mine over the phone anyway when I insisted I MUST HAVE YOUR GUMBO TOMORROW NIGHT! He even enlisted his girlfriend to drive over to my apartment in B.F.E. (aka Twin Peaks) to deliver the gumbo because he was busy that evening. He even threw in some rice for me.

And it was heavenly. Thick stew, big chunks of chicken and sausage, flavorful... a perfect choice for a chilly evening, and a wonderful introduction to gumbo.

But dammit, I was spoiled from there on. I went off to N.O. eager to try more gumbo and was disappointed. Granted, maybe Erik's gumbo isn't "traditional", but if traditional means soupy and nowhere near as flavorful as what Erik makes, well then call me sacrilegious any day.

Dear Boyfriend: Best Gumbo I.M.O = Fat Alley Foods of SF.

Erik is infectious. The dude loves his gumbo. He practically forces samples on you (not a bad thing).

Fried chicken and sausage gumbo is his specialty, but you know the Healthy Yelper isn't going for that. Fortunately, a vegan version has just been introduced, where the meats are swapped for okra.

You can debate whether the gumbo/rice balance could have been more in favor of gumbo (I think it should have), but you can't debate the taste.

Erik too the time to make sure my takeout container was secure, and shared that he delivers in case I'm in need of a gumbo fix. Enjoyed my Fat Alley vegan variation so much, I might take him up on that.

I had Fat Alley's gumbo at a holiday party given by a friend/colleague. I wasn't even hungry and I found myself heaping my plate with seconds. Delicious and unusual. As soon as I have an occasion, I know who will be catering it. A rare find.

His Gumbo is the best I have ever had---thick and flavorful---the chunks of chicken were tender and juicy, thick slices of Andouille sausage...mmm...I will try the vegetarian version the next time I am there, and add to this review...I can't wait!!!

I found Erik at his Gumbo Stand at the Saturday Stonestown Farmer's Market.

The fried chicken and Andouille sausage gumbo is simply the best gumbo I've ever tasted. Both the chicken and sausage were flavorful, and the base had just the right amount of spice to it. Over a bit of white rice, it was simply delicious.

I ordered 1/2 gallon, which for the price was extremely reasonable. That it was delivered to my address was very nice.

Well done, Erik!

Let's see. I saw something about samples, but none were offered, but I thought I'd try it anyway. I should have walked away when I saw how little rice he put in the box, but I thought I'd give him a chance. I knew I should have looked to see how much I got because the way he was scooping, it was obvious he was trying to skimp, but I thought, well, I can't fit that much in my stomach anyway, so it's usually not a big deal. I get back to the car, and I see the portion and it's ridiculous. It's like a side dish. For $7?? There was maybe a 1/4 cup of rice in there, definitely less than half a cup. That's pathetic. Okay, well, maybe it's all about the gumbo? It was soooooo salty, the chicken was fried, but still dry, it was nothing to scream about unless it's an angry scream for wasting money on a teeny plate of salt like that.

I don't know about the other reviews maybe he was better before, maybe he was running out and all the salt was on the bottom, but I'll say this, if you are running out, you still don't skimp on the portions like that. I've never seen a portion so small, especially COMFORT FOOD. You're better off running out and closing early.

Fat Alley drops the best beer accompaniment in the world: dope-ass gumbo with those nibbly, nibbly fried chicken bits. The next day - after a day in the fridge - the gumbo gets even better as some kind of citrus flave starts showing up with just a hint of mouthfire at the end (what I call "good spicy").

Combine this gumbo with a Big Daddy IPA and you have the meal of the gods. Put some football on and...well, there you go.

I have to say, the Vegan Gumbo ROCKS!!!!

I must admit though, my only exposure of gumbo before that, was what I saw in the movies. I always knew that gumbo was a southern thing and that people in the bayou of Louisiana would put great effort into cooking it until it tasted just right. (As demonstrated in the Disney movie the Princess and the Frog, where it actually looked really appealing in animation!!)

And so I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to taste this vegan gumbo and was blown away! I loved it! It was a hearty stew with collards and onions and several other things (barley?) floating around, but it was the flavor I loved! It was smokey, spicy, savory and just downright delicious!

I called the Fat Alley number on the container right away and told him it'd be a hit in the stores ~ Right now you'll find him at street fairs and on-line for delivery =)

Thanks Fat Alley! It was lovely!!!

I come from a long line of amazing hostesses, and started learning the art of the party at an early age. I believe in hosting swanky gatherings. I believe in gourmet food. But I don't believe in killing yourself to get it all done.

Last year we hosted a gathering of orphans on Christmas Eve. All I had to do was make my stuffed mushrooms, a few other favorite hors d'oeuvres, steam the rice. (In the rice cooker, by the way), and set up the bar. Fat Alley Foods did the rest. Best of all, they delivered it to my door the day before.

I served both the meat and vegetarian gumbo. It all but disappeared, and even got two big thumbs up from my Bayou-born friend. Luckily we had ordered more than we thought we'd need and had a delicious hangover cure on hand the next day.

I've decided I'm going to make our Orphans' Christmas Eve a tradition, and you can be sure that Erik's gumbo will be starring on the menu every time.

Best gumbo ever! Seriously!

We needed one extra dish for our dinner party, and had some gumbo that I'd bought a few weeks earlier -- I pulled it out and served it with the other foods, and it was the hit of the dinner party.

I can't recommend Fat Alley Foods highly enough!