By Rachel Galvin
Sometimes, you don’t need all the flair… you just want things simple. Phat Boy Sushi & Kitchen lives by that philosophy. Much like a Ying & Yang symbol, the aesthetics of their newest restaurant located in Deerfield Beach is based on black and white, with large scale muted geisha paintings adding a sense of harmony and authenticity.
Phat Boy Sushi & Kitchen works to be as genuine as possible in its Japanese selections as it offers up a large variety of not only sushi and sashimi, but plenty of choices straight from the kitchen as well. For a perfect beginning, try their delicious Banging Shrimp which is jumbo shrimp battered in tempura and served covered in a mildly spicy mayo topped with scallions.
One of their more popular dishes is their Mushroom Tobanyaki, which is a pretty big size for an appetizer. It consists of three different type of mushrooms sauteed in a rich soy sake sauce with a touch of butter, although the buttery flavor is obvious throughout.
Always popular is their ramens. They have several types. This reporter tried the Tonkotsu Ramen and it was huge. (They definitely allow for sharing and will separate dishes into bowls ahead of time). The large bowl was filled with a salty and creamy pork broth. Inside was a six minute egg, shitake mushrooms, caramelized and tender slices of marinated pork belly, scallions, bean sprouts, seaweed and onions. Digging into the bottom unveiled the egg noodles just waiting to be discovered.
They have yakitori, seafood selections, salads, rice, stir fry and more. If you don’t like raw fish, you can order a California Roll, for example, which has cooked crab. For $3.50 more, you can upcharge to real (not imitation) King Crab, which is delicious and sweet. On the menu are the desserts — with traditional selections like mochi ice cream and more unconventional ones too. Their most popular is fried oreo.
“We cater to those who eat sushi and kitchen food. We serve our food tapas style, geared toward sharing,” said manager Breyden Haessig.
They also have a bar with beer, wine and sake. There is a “reverse happy hour” from 10:30 p.m. until close. They offer draft beer for $2.50 and bottomless hot sake for $10.
The restaurant is open seven days a week 11:30 a.m. to midnight.
Owner John Maser said he has wanted to create food since he was young.
“I enjoy people’s smiles because they like my food,” said Maser. “I have always wanted to do this since I was a kid. Sushi can be much more artistic. I can make it more beautiful.”
“This is our third location,” said Haessig. “The first one was in Oakland Park for three years. We also have a location in downtown Ft. Lauderdale which has been open for a year. We opened here before the first of the year.”
He said the restaurant caters to people’s needs.
“A lot of places say no substitutes [We will customize for you]. Tell us what you want. We want people to come and leave happy,” he said.
Phat Boy Sushi & Kitchen is located at 949 S. Federal Hwy. For more information, call 754-227-5489 or visit www.phatboysushi.com.
