James J.
Yelp
Why's a vegetarian reviewing a sausage shop? Why would they go out of their way to discover such a place hidden right under downtown's nose? All these questions and more will be answered but since my reviews are generally lengthy let the TL;DR be that Fehb's is well worth a lunch or Saturday evening bite if you wanna find the latest and greatest upcoming meat eats that's fit to host a veggie too.
The Space
Installed in the growing 4th St. food scene, Fehb's sits within a plaza of other notable eats and drinks of Gainesville. We walked to the shop from downtown but I'd imagine it would be easy to find a parking spot coming from afar. The interior is clean and open, allowing full view of the kitchen and goods as they're being prepared. While relatively large in terms of physical space, a large portion of the indoor area is the service counter and kitchen. A few stools are around for eating onsite as well as some dedicated tables and chairs out back in the biergarten, however on a sweltering Florida afternoon you might be best to grab and go.
The biergarten area is where we plopped ourselves down to chow and, with pleasant evening breezes, it was a very comfy atmosphere. Ample trees to help you forget you're downtown and at sunset strings of lights to liven things up. Made me feel like I was at a friend's place for a BBQ or tailgate which was super inviting.
The Service
Staffing I imagine never rises above maybe 4 - 5 people at once in a given day simply due to size, and when I went I believe maybe 3 folks were handling the prep, sales, and other miscellaneous tasks. I honestly had no expectation that we would get table service because of that leanness of staff and am happy to say I was wrong. The guy who rang up our bill and poured our beers (yes they have a small but solid offering of craft drafts ) also checked in on us multiple times and brought out our grub when ready. Stressful, I imagine, to be keeping tabs on everything but he handled it with stride and was friendly to boot! Even the fella cooking everything up was courteous and stopped to chat for a minute, as I had questions about the place and really my options in general.
Which brings me to my one, unfortunate sour note for the experience. I know, and recognize, I can only be so critical going to a meat-centric place about their vegetarian options, and I was prepared for that. I asked about the tempeh burger, which was not on the menu but they were willing to make. Awesome. I also knew they had cheese boards that could at least hold us over if all else failed. Perfect. I even asked the cook, as mentioned, about these things. So you can imagine my disappointment when I get the cheese board, which includes boiled peanuts, and after eating a few, get an odd feeling about them. Going back to ask how they were made I was told the trick was chicken stock. If I was being oblivious and failing to check these things myself, I'd have no room to be upset. I literally asked and discussed my dietary restriction, but was not prompted at any point about the nuts having animal stock, nor offered a substitution when ordering. It won't hold me back from coming again when friends are interested but I'll be very explicit next time I suppose.
The Food
Obviously my experience will be limited to the veggie side of things, but my gf and I split the tempeh burger along with a pimento cheese platter. The platter came first and included a healthy assortment of fresh and vibrant vegetables including olives, garlic, pickled onions, arugula, and toasty crostini slices (and the nuts...). I absolutely loved the pimento cheese -- a pop of vinegar and a smooth, spreadable texture that made it meld so well with the assortment of other toppings while also cutting down on the rich, fatty profile many southern cheese dips inherent. Superb start to things!
The tempeh burger, even made spontaneously at my request, satisfied my appetite and then some. Hearty, moist, and well-seasoned I found it to be the best attempt at a tempeh burger patty I've ever had (and a welcomed change of pace from the go-to black bean option many spots offer). Fresh greens and tomato slices, some cheddar, and my own creative spread of leftover pimento (could not let myself waste it!) and I was in food coma bliss. Even the marbled bread, a pivot from the buns they'd normally use, fit great -- all around awesome flavor and portion.
Final Thoughts
The area they're setting up in could really use a small, savvy set of places like this to feed the area and so far I'm happy to say Fehb's is doing it and doing it well. I love the comfortable and welcoming Gainesville foliage, the affordable and tasty eats, and the interest in keeping all diets in mind (despite their money-maker being the artisan sausage). I look forward to updating this review with even more great experiences down the road.