Lango sandwich
On a recent weekday around lunchtime, FatBelly Pretzel Bakery and Deli’s new location on Gallatin Avenue is buzzing with customers as reggae music plays. The walls are painted black and yellow, complete with a muffuletta mural on one side and pretzels and playful cartoon faces painted on the other. The staff is friendly and patient, and the atmosphere — not to mention the food — elevates what could be a typical lunch break into an unexpectedly enjoyable lunchtime hang. This isn’t by accident.
“FatBelly is about making people smile, making people feel special and connected,” says co-owner Levon Wallace. “We strive to do so by (hopefully) making the best possible version of that comforting classic that you came here for. Be it a classic FatBelly pretzel, a crispy-cheesy StuffedBelly, a chocolatey PretzelCrunch Cookie or a piled-high FatBelly Sando worthy of your lunch break.”
Though this location is relatively new — it opened in late October — you might have heard of FatBelly before. Since 2020, Wallace and his wife Kim have been slinging their savory offerings around town via farmers markets, pop-ups and online orders. Before that, Wallace worked as a culinary director for Strategic Hospitality and opened a Cochon Butcher outpost. The Wallaces pivoted to pretzel-making during the pandemic. (Read more about the birth of FatBelly in Levon Wallace’s August 2020 interview with Chris Chamberlain for the Scene’s food and drink blog, Bites.)
These days, the case at FatBelly Pretzel overflows with gorgeous delectables. You’d be remiss not to try a pretzel, obviously — but even then, you have options. The salted, everything and cinnamon sugar pretzels are all vegan, and all awesome. Their somewhat irregular shapes make for a range of textures. In his chat with Chamberlain, Wallace described them as a “hybrid Bavarian-style pretzel, with crispy arms and a nice chewy fat belly.” You can choose from an array of house-made dipping sauces, ranging from cream cheese and horseradish mustard to whipped pimiento cheese. I went one morning and ordered a coffee and an everything pretzel with the jalapeño buttermilk cream cheese — a delightful alternative to a breakfast bagel. The stuffed pretzels are something else entirely. Think of a boat-shaped, pretzicular vessel that carries a rotating lineup of fillings like caramelized onions and Swiss cheese, pesto and provolone, and jalapeño and cheddar, among others.
Jalapeño and cheddar stuffed pretzel
The Wallaces have made it clear that they make a damn good pretzel, but they have plenty more to offer. You’ll see items like pretzel danishes and pretzel cookies, plus other daily specials. And then there’s the deli, which is no afterthought.
“When the deli part of the program was born, we thought, ‘If you’re gonna make a sandwich, you’re gonna need some bread, so let’s start there,’ ” says Wallace. “And so we committed to making sandwiches on fresh-baked bread daily.”
The menu features staples like sandwiches, salads and sides, though the daily specials are worth indulging in. There’s FatBelly’s award-winning muffuletta and their breakfast sandwich, but I like to order the Lango — loaded with roast beef, Swiss and American cheeses, coleslaw, banana-pepper mayo and pickles, all loaded into a Dutch crunch bun. Like all of FatBelly’s sandwiches, it’s monstrous — I usually have to devise a game plan for how to tackle it. Bite off a corner and work my way inward? Dive head-first into the middle for what will surely be a messy albeit satisfying bite? I usually go for a sort of hybrid approach, taking the biggest bite I can from the side to ensure optimal flavor. I am successful, and I quickly find my groove, inhaling the rest. Despite the size of the sandwich, it’s lighter than I expected. The Dutch-crunch bread is a bit chewy, not too dense, and it’s crackly on top. The roast beef is perfectly cooked, and the flavors complement each other well.
There’s so much to love at FatBelly. What strikes me most is the creativity that goes into its every aspect — from the space itself to the sandwiches and pretzel-centric treats, to the takeaway meals that are ready to be reheated at home. Each offering is exciting and approachable.
“That connection is what drives us as chefs and owners,” says Wallace. “We find it really hard not to be inspired when someone lights up after you’ve handed them something we’ve poured our hearts into for the last two-plus years.”
So far, the Wallaces are successful in their mission to “spread love like mustard.”
