The food truck hadn’t opened yet, and there was already a line forming outside on a Friday in May at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in Baton Rouge.
Customers knew to arrive early at , a food truck voted this year as Baton Rouge’s best Black-owned restaurant, food truck and catfish in the newspaper's Best of Baton Rouge awards.
It’s a family-owned business where every member has a role. On May 22, there was a crew of five, including Andrea Rankins, co-owner and mom, but customers know her as Ms. Anna or Sugar Mama. Working by her side was husband John Rankins, nicknamed Big John or Paw-Paw.
One plate of fried catfish, shrimp and fries and another of mac & cheese, collard greens, yams and baked chicken at Fat Elbows food truck on Friday, May 22, 2026. Staff photos by Javier Gallegos
Javier Gallegos
The couple has four adult children, including Angel Smith, who creates all the sauces and seasonings, such as their signature seasoning, called Angel Dust. Their son (and Smith’s brother) John “Junior” Rankins staffed the fryer, and being engine savvy means he helps fix the truck when it has issues.
“Let me tell you about our customers,” Andrea Rankins said. “We have the absolute best customers. Oh my goodness, you would not believe. That’s what we call them — the fatty family.”
Customer Tasha Bickham was the second customer in line that day at Mary Bird Cancer Center, waiting while the grease was still getting hot.
John Rankins puts fish in the frier immediately after battering it at Fat Elbows food truck on Friday, May 22, 2026. Staff photos by Javier Gallegos
Javier Gallegos
She ordered the fried pork chop and jambalaya, but her favorite dish is the award-winning catfish basket. There’s a different food truck in the parking lot of her workplace every Friday, and she said it’s a treat to have Fat Elbows there.
“They are very personable,” Bickham said. “They are very attentive and make sure you get exactly what you need, and they overpower the plates. You can’t ask for nothing more.”
Menu rundown
The menu rotation sticks to soul food and southern comfort classics. Think Louisiana catfish or jumbo shrimp baskets served with fries; jambalaya next to mac and cheese, yams and cabbage (a popular side) cooked with smoked pig tails; or fried pork chops on top of rice.
A fried catfish plate pictured at Fat Elbows food truck on Friday, May 22, 2026. Staff photos by Javier Gallegos
Javier Gallegos
Andrea Rankins's favorite dish on the menu rotation is a recipe by Smith, a seafood lasagna with cream sauce, white lump crabmeat, Louisiana crawfish tails and shrimp. On lasagna days, they also serve traditional beef lasagna for folks who have seafood allergies.
“We hate to give you one of those little skinny plates,” she said. “If you’re going to pay $20 for a plate, we want to make sure it’s enough.”
Their motto goes: “If the elbows not fat, send that plate back.”
Despite each plate’s big portions, you’ll simply have to find room for dessert. It’s that good. They offer cheesecake with caramel drizzle, peach cobbler and banana pudding (the most popular dessert). If you’re digging for something deeper, get the bread pudding deep-fried and drizzled with white chocolate rum sauce.
Destiny Smith drizzles strawberry sauce on a slice of cheesecake at Fat Elbows food truck on Friday, May 22, 2026. Staff photos by Javier Gallegos
Javier Gallegos
“With those cheesecakes, you can put so many different things on top of them,” Andrea Rankins said. “So today, I have fresh blackberries and strawberries, but you can have blueberries. Anything. We got caramel, chocolates, Snickers bars, Hershey bars. And sometimes people come to the truck, and they're like, ‘Make me one of everything.’”
Andrea Rankins learned how to cook from watching her mother and grandmother in the kitchen. They measured with their hearts, so with sugar or seasoning, they keep tasting it until it’s enough, she said.
And that practice still rings true today at the food truck.
“My grandmother was old school,” she said. “Never measured anything. You just had to watch.”
How it started
Before Fat Elbows, the family ran a daycare that operated for 30 years called Heaven Sent Childcare. They cooked for all the children, and when there was surplus, the children were sent home with plates for the family. Oftentimes, families were sent chicken alfredo, greens and red beans and rice.
“I knew everybody was crazy about red beans,” Andrea Rankins said. “I would just fix extra, because I knew when they’d pick (the children) up, they’d ask, ‘Ms. Anna, do you have anything extra today?’”
Customer Courtney Alexander waits for her food outside of Fat Elbows food truck on Friday, May 22, 2026. Staff photos by Javier Gallegos
Javier Gallegos
“The parents used to say that was the only daycare they knew their kids were eating real food,” John Rankins said.
Legacy is important to Andrea Rankins and her husband, and they wanted a business that their children could take over one day. One repurposed Frito-Lay truck later, Fat Elbows was born in 2022.
In 2026, the business won several awards in Best of Baton Rouge, a local contest where voters cast their pick across several categories. Fat Elbows was recognized as the best Black-owned restaurant, best food truck and best catfish. They placed in several more categories, including second-best chicken, second-best sandwich and third-best catering business.
“We pray before we get on that truck in the morning,” Andrea Rankins said. “I bless that food before I serve you any of it. We put God first before everything we do, every decision that we make.”
To find out where Fat Elbows is located on a certain day, customers can check their Instagram or Facebook accounts, which is where they post their weekly schedules and menus.
The dream
Andrea Rankins says she loves seeing people’s faces light up when they open their plates. Her dream is to open a small café where she knows the name of every customer.
Fat Elbows food truck parked outside of Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center pictured on Friday, May 22, 2026. Staff photos by Javier Gallegos
Javier Gallegos
“I would love a cafe,” she said. “A small cafe. Nothing too big. I’m thinking mom and pop. I’m not talking about Golden Corral. I still want to know my people by name.”
The family bonds over cooking. They’ll have omelet night with 10 dozen eggs, 20 different ingredients and all eyes on the stove skillets. There are taco nights, po-boy nights and salad nights, which Andrea Rankins swooned at the mention of.
“Oh, salad night,” she said. “You got steak, chicken, shrimp. Different lettuces and tomatoes. You name it, and it’s just all the way across the table.”
These occasions give everyone a chance to come together and enjoy themselves, Smith said. Sometimes there’s a movie in the background, but no one really watches it. They’re all talking, laughing, eating and having a good time.
“When we get in the kitchen,” Smith said, “and we just start experimenting with stuff, that’s like therapy.”