Who would think Fat Man´s could be a form of nutritional therapy? For members of the low-carb cult, this is the place for huge unrepentant slabs, slices and chunks of meat. This meat isn´t cut out of chemical-filled plastic bags. This is real protein, drenched in a 35-year tradition of smoke and grills. If you can stay away from the buttery mashed potatoes, the ¨take me home now, Lord¨ gravy, church-style potato salad, baked beans a spoon can stand up in, and generous, golden, radiant, fresh garlic bread, you can reach the pearly gates of Atkins. Step past the desserts to the homey collard greens and slow-cooked, hand-snapped green beans, and you may find your way to ketosis deliverance. Lunch buffet costs $7.48; dinner is $8.59.
Lupton´s Original Fat Man´s Bar-B-Que, 5299 E. Busch Blvd., Temple Terrace, 813-985-4423.
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2004.