Lots of Laughs but Very Little Food at Fake Austin Restaurant

Running a fake restaurant takes an awful lot of work.

ByABC News
February 4, 2015, 5:15 PM
A fake restaurant in Texas pokes fun at foodie culture.
A fake restaurant in Texas pokes fun at foodie culture.
Danny Palumbo

— -- Foodies. Chances are you know and love at least one. But the thing about foodies is that they can be sort of ... pretentious. Also insufferable. With their nom-noms, and their mouth feel, and artisanal this and locally sourced that. Just go eat a burger already.

One chef-turned comedian, Danny Palumbo, has married his two loves. It's child is Abbrev's, a fake restaurant with a very real website. The Austin-based "restaurant" concept is to have very, very tiny food. Think steak and mashed potatoes servings so small they fit on the blade of a butter knife. Abbrev's is short for abbreviated, and the restaurant's menu items also have short names. A ravioli and meatball dish half the size of the head of a fork is "rav'n ball." Pea soup is just a few drops in a bowl and called "p sup."

PHOTO: A fake restaurant in Texas pokes fun at foodie culture.
A fake restaurant in Texas pokes fun at foodie culture.

But the funniest dish may be "Mostly Garnish (for observation only)."

PHOTO: A fake restaurant in Texas pokes fun at foodie culture.
A fake restaurant in Texas pokes fun at foodie culture.

This isn't the first time Palumbo has launched a fake restaurant. Lil Buco is a fake fine dining restaurant for kids that was so convincing, "people were Googling the address," he said.

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Poking fun at fine dining was an idea that came from a conversation between Palumbo and his brother, Anthony (who is a real chef), after seeing a chef post on Facebook a photo of what was labeled a "deconstructed BLT." Palumbo said.

"It was pork belly, romaine lettuce and grilled heirloom tomato on a plate -- separately," Palumbo said. I was like, 'Well, this is ridiculous and contrived,' so we started talking about doing awful, pretentious things with food."

Palumbo takes his fake restaurant seriously.

"First of all, I spent like $300 on fake tattoos, head shots, Web design and the food, in general. I made foie gras tacos. And maybe we could have used something that looked like foie, but I was like, 'No it's gotta be foie. Commit to the idea.' Somebody was like, 'You could just Photoshop the tattoos.' No, it's gotta be real."

PHOTO: A fake restaurant in Texas pokes fun at foodie culture.
A fake restaurant in Texas pokes fun at foodie culture.

"I think that's why people respond to it so well," he said. "It looks like we put a lot of work into it, and it makes absolutely no sense that we would do that. I hope people see the tiny ravioli and just say, 'Why?'"