What better moniker for a pair of food-loving influencers than @A_Couple_Fatties? You’ve probably seen this dynamic duo, Jayme Sweeney and Greg Simone, between Boston and NYC eating all the pizza, sandwiches and pasta that they can find. By day, one is owner and founder of one of the best auto body repair shops in Revere and the other is a paralegal but once the clock strikes 6:00pm these two transform into food and drink aficionados. Here they share their Boston food bucket list, their favorite fellow food-lovers to follow on the ‘gram, and their go-to pandemic take-out spots.
Tell us a little about yourself. How’d you end up in Boston, and what inspired you to create your Instagram account?
We are a couple, Jayme and Greg hence (a couple fatties 😉). We grew up on the outskirts of Boston, living in Everett and Revere, until we moved in together and now we both reside in Revere just minutes away from Boston. Both of us share the same love for food so it’s great to experience and do this together. For day jobs he owns an Auto Body shop Action Custom Collision in his hometown and she is a paralegal working right in the heart of downtown Boston and then as soon as work is out we would turn into complete foodies. Being so close to Boston we spent lots of time dining and exploring Boston. We have a passion for food, fine dining, and traveling everywhere for the most outrageous eats.
Since we both love food so much we found ourselves traveling around to try new restaurants and dishes. Jayme began posting a lot of food on her personal Instagram and one day she was like, ‘my personal page is starting to look like a food account’. That day we decided we should just make a food account for fun and have somewhere to post and share all the amazing food we were eating. Greg came up with the perfect name for us @acouplefatties and that was it!
Name the top five dishes on your Boston food bucket list.
It’s so hard to narrow it down to just 5 dishes, there’s so many options from traditional landmarks to brand new must try dishes, but here we go with a mix:
Gloucester lobster roll from Saltie Girl Boston. This lobster roll is perfect. We like it served warm, and it comes with the freshest claw and knuckle lobster meat making it extremely tender. With a fresh toasted-in-house Brioche roll. Then drizzled with warm butter that you can taste the fresh lemon zest in. Paired perfectly with their Saltie Girl Salt & Vinegar chips to complete the dish.
Spicy beef tenderloin from Zuma Boston. This dish is amazing. The steak always seared and cooked perfectly, and so tender it melts in your mouth. It comes sliced and drizzled with this extremely addicting red chili, sweet soy sauce and sesame seeds. Topped with a piece of asparagus.
Pizza from Santarpio’s Pizza. This pizza shop is a Boston staple and a must have when visiting. We think the cornmeal on the bottom of the crust is what really makes this pizza so amazing. They are always cooked well done so they have the perfect crisp and they are dressed in reverse, so all the toppings are under the cheese.
Pastrami Sandwich from Sam LaGrassa’s. This sandwich shop in the heart of Downtown Boston has the most amazing sandwiches but the pastrami is a must. Very limited hours, but the pastrami literally melts in your mouth. We get it on a fresh roll with cheese and spicy mustard, served with pickle spears.
Butter cake from Mastro’s Ocean Club. We have had a bunch of amazing desserts but one that we crave over and over again is this butter cake. It is so moist and has such great flavors.
What do you think the next big trend is for restaurants?
With such unsure times nowadays, we think fancy and creative pandemic safety precautions such as heated igloos will be huge this winter. This will help prolong the outdoor seating season and who doesn’t want to dine in an igloo! We even saw some really cool small green houses too for individual tables which is a great concept.
Which chefs are your favorite to follow on Instagram and why?
Gordon Ramsey – I mean it doesn’t get much better than Gordon. Awarded 16 Michelin stars, he’s the real-deal-chef. From television personality, writer, to being one of the most influential chefs, he makes some absolutely beautiful and creative dishes that we would love to try. We’ve watched and created his recipes multiple times and they all come out incredible. He also makes a lot of dishes with truffles, which is our absolute favorite!
Jan Hartwig (Atelier) – We’ve been dying to visit Germany and Jan makes the most colorful, beautiful dishes that are truly pieces of art.
Massimo Bottura – Famous award winning Italian chef and book author. Born and raised in Modena Italy, he really shows some real modern Italian recipes. Awarded with 3 Michelin stars and the world’s best restaurant twice. He is somebody you should definitely be following, he’s amazing.
Chris Coombs – Chef and owner of Deuxave, Boston Chops, and dbar. His plates are stunning, his presentation is immaculate, and we know it’s delicious.
Beyond chefs, what are your top three favorite food Instagram accounts to follow?
@bostonfoodjournal – We love her page’s aesthetic. She takes beautiful photos and is so creative with her posts.
@thenaughtyfork – We love the style of her photos and her page. She also does the most amazing recipes at home and always shares how she makes it with an awesome video to go along with it. Have you seen the amazing food boards she makes? She is a must follow.
@devourpower – They really inspire us. We are always amazed with everything they are posting. They really know how to interact with their audience through videos and are always showcasing amazing eats.
When we had a long day we check out @nailthecocktail for the best new and hottest cocktail recipes and spots in Boston.
Describe Boston’s food scene in three words.
Evolving and Diverse
Which restaurants haven’t you been to but you’re eager to try?
What’s your food photography philosophy, and can you share your top tips for taking awesome food photos?
So I’m sure you’ve heard this before but, NATURAL LIGHTING is everything! Also on top of that definitely get up close and personal. We’ve learned that people want to see the different colors and textures combined. When I’m taking the photos I like to ask myself how would I want to see this dish? What would make me want to stop what I’m doing to go get it?
Few Of Your Favorite Things:
Favorite brunch spot: North Street Grille is such a great brunch spot with so many options to choose from including an extensive list of Eggs Benedict’s. Some of our favorite dishes are the Lobster Benedict, Chicken and Waffle Sliders and the Banana Bourbon French Toast.
Favorite place for outdoor dining: Mastro’s Ocean Club in the Seaport has one of the most breathtaking views in Boston with seats right on the water. A must try is the Alaska King Crab Black Truffle Gnocchi it’s incredible and they have excellent cuts of steak and delicious warm butter cake for dessert.
Favorite BBQ joint: Rusty Can in Byfield – About 40 min North of Boston but worth the trip. It is doing nothing but slow smoked BBQ with a great rugged smokehouse atmosphere. All of their meats are so juicy and tender and the Brisket Nachos are some of the best we’ve ever had!
Favorite late-night: Wait is late-night still a thing? This one we have been going to since we were teenagers and it’s pretty much a late night tradition. Mike’s Roast Beef is still open until 2:ooam even during a pandemic. There’s nothing like a traditional North Shore 3-way-beef on an onion roll with a side of seasoned fries and a Philly cheesesteak roll after a long night out. Located on the same street as Encore Casino this spot will surely not disappoint.
Favorite neighborhood for food: The North End. Growing up having Italian every Sunday then left overs the rest of the week, there’s no place that makes us feel more at home than the North End. Some of the most authentic Italian anywhere to be found besides Ma’s kitchen.
Favorite new restaurant: We haven’t had a chance to check out any new restaurants since the pandemic began but before the pandemic our favorite new restaurant was Bar ’Cino in Brookline. Everything that we had there was phenomenal. They are doing very thin crust grilled pizzas that come out with scissors to cut your own slices which we think is a great concept.
Favorite pandemic take-out/meal kit/ cocktail-to-go: hop + grind in Peabody, MA. They make it so easy. You order right online, park in the marked spots in the parking lot, and just call when you arrive. They bring it right out to your car. It’s extremely safe, they even put it in the back seat or trunk so there’s no close interactions. They offer some amazing grind burger creations, mac bowls and beers available to go. Our favorite is definitely the Hog Marley. During the pandemic they also made their grind burger kits with all the fixings for you to grill yourself at home! We liked it so much we even gave one kit away to our followers on Instagram.
