Since July of 2009, PYT has been making burgers that veer a bit off the beaten path. While you can always sink your teeth into a standard PYT Burger (beef patty, cheddar, bacon, PYT sauce, lettuce, tomato, and onions), the Philly restaurant’s burger of the week and other random offerings are where things get fun in a meaty Willy Wonka-esque way. Burgers like The Pickleback (made with Jameson and fried pickles) and the Deep-Fried Elio’s Burger (deep-fried Elio’s pizzas act as the bun) are just a couple of the options you can feast on with a pint of beer. We stopped by PYT to watch one of their delicious monstrosities get made. Here’s how they craft The Fat Boy Monster.
The Fat Boy Monster is composed of two beef patties, two slices of cheddar cheese, a few pieces of bacon, lettuce, onion, tomato, three insanely large beer-battered onion rings, and a bit of PYT’s special sauce. It requires you to unhinge your jaw to eat it.
It starts with thickly slicing an onion and coating each piece in a beer mixture before they get tossed in the deep-fryer. Executive Chef Kim Malcolm says they’ve tried just about every kind of beer you could imagine before settling on Rolling Rock for the perfect taste and texture. The onions then get fried until golden and airy. On their own, the onion rings happen to be the prized side dish at the restaurant, here they’re just a crispy and sweet topping for your burger.
The two patties get a dusting of PYT’s secret seasoning before being tossed onto the flat top. The brioche bun, which has been generously coated in butter, joins the burgers for a quick toasting. After a solid crust has formed on each burger, a couple slices of cheese get placed on top to melt around each patty before they’re removed them from the heat.
Assembling The Fat Boy Monster is when you finally see the insanity of the burger come to life. First, the two patties get put on top of the bottom half of the bun. After that comes the standard lettuce, tomato, and onion that any good, classic burger would have. Next, some crispy pieces of bacon are tossed on the pile, followed by the careful balancing of the three onion rings on top until the burger resembles the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Before it’s finished, the top half of the brioche bun gets a thick coating of PYT’s special onion and mayo-based sauce.
Once the burger is complete, you’re faced with the task of actually eating it. The standard method is to remove an onion ring or two and eat them separately. Some brave folks have actually tried to squish the whole thing down and attempt to eat it intact. Either way, you might want to pick up a box of napkins from Sam’s Club before hand.
The Fat Boy Monster is so rich and creamy that a crisp beer is ideal by its side. The PYT special sauce is the star of the show, and the onion rings are among the best you’ll have. It’s so rich and greasy that you’ll need a second after you finish it before getting up and go … and that’s a compliment. If you’re in Philly and are looking for something other than your standard cheesesteak (they have a burger version of one anyway), make sure you hit up PYT.
