To continue with a theme that I am pondering this season, here is another example that the food world is in the process of turning ass over teakettle in a hurry. I visited Fatty ‘Cue in Williamsburg, Zak Pelaccio’s newest restaurant, last week and had a remarkable meal. Having said that, I have to agree with SAM SIFTON who said that although the food is extraordinary, be prepared for maximum discomfort while you’re eating there. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration – you are inside, under cover after all, and everyone who works there is so nice that the inauspicious setting is ameliorated by other factors.

Even though Sifton’s review encapsulates the experience aptly, I found the best line in one of the NYT reader’s comments: “The three T's meet at Fatty ‘Cue, Trendy, Tasty and TINY!” The space is so small, and the signage so dark, that you are almost guaranteed to walk past the door the first time you arrive at Fatty ‘Cue. Inside is a very raw space, on three levels, filled with the enticing aroma of barbecue.

Linda Pelaccio, Zak’s mom, is a member of an organization I belong to called Les Dames d’Escoffier – a group of elite women in the food profession. (One of Linda’s vocations is to prepare chefs and foodies to appear on television without making fools of themselves.) When the tom-toms started beating for Fatty ‘Cue, a year before its opening, I kept in mind that Linda might help me petition for a Les Dames group meal there. Linda is a nice person, so she did just that.