Welcome to my first of many food reviews for Fat Guy Approved.  We are just getting things going here and look forward to bringing you plenty of pithy, honest, and possibly verbose reviews in the future.

We had been wanting to try Federal Hill for lunch since they opened recently.  As a fan of smoked meats I am always up for a new BBQ joint.  Link to their site:

Welcome to Federal Hill Smokehouse

Recommend you get there early for full selection.  As with a lot of BBQ places making it fresh every day, they can sell out of things as the day goes on.  We had been delayed leaving the office for lunch and did not arrive until almost 1 PM.  They had run out of ribs, but all other delectable meats remained.  We each opted for the pulled pork and brisket.  For all of us the brisket was not a couple of thin slices as you would expect, but rather a large, thick slab!  Went with the recommended fatty brisket and it was marvelous!  The beef fat practically melted in my mouth.  Probably the best brisket I have ever had.  Pulled pork was excellent as well.  Smokey, tender, and plentiful.  Three sauces at the table are Sweet, Spicy, and Yellow (mustard based). Each was good and did not overpower the meat.  As for sides, I opted for double macaroni.  Had a little heat to it and plenty of cheese; very good.  I did not get the coleslaw but it was well received by my co-workers.  They reported it was not mayonaisy (that’s a word, right?) and the cabbage was very crisp.  I am a hard sell on slaw, but will try it myself next time.

Pardon the less than awesome photo.  It does not do the food justice.  I just didn’t want to wait a second longer to eat it.  Hindsight I should have put the meat in front.  D’oh!  You can click the photo for the most high-res image my 4 year old smartphone can muster.

It was a lot of food for the money.  Two meats with two sides will run you $11, which is very competitive for top quality BBQ around here.  You can do one meat for $9, but for another 2 bucks it seems silly not to get two.  I couldn’t afford not to!  I actually had to take some of my meat home in a box for later, as I just could not finish it (*sad trombone*).  Theoretically could have done it, but I still had a full afternoon of work ahead of me.  I could feel the meat sweats coming on and wanted to prevent a food coma at my desk.  They happen.

Hope you have enjoyed this review, and will be back for more.

Reviewer:  Scott

Rating:  5/5, would eat again!