Food Freaks Hidden Gems - Salisbury, NC

10/06/2026

Tuesday with the Freaks!!! Come see us as we will continue with our classic treats today 11-9!!

Tuesday with the Freaks!!! Come see us as we will continue with our classic treats today 11-9!!

Would not be the Freaks if we didn’t start adding little fun treats until out for our one year fair theme celebration!!

Meet the Drunk’n Braut! A loaded pretzel bun with b**r vodka marinated bratwurst, grilled peppers and crispy onions our w**e cheese and honey chili mustard ….This thing is a mess and I’m perfectly fine with that 🤷‍♂️🤣

Fair Week is still going at Food Freaks Hidden Gems, and apparently I’m still adding food 😂 Come hungry and grab some extra napkins! Or buy a new towel bib you just might need it for something soon!!

10/03/2026

Little Saturday thought from the guy behind the grill…

Anybody else tired of the constant competition for attention on here?

I watched and read many a local talented musician who is exhausted from having to keep posting, keep creating content, keep being consistent… and wondering if anybody was even listening.

Man, I felt that.

Scroll through your feed. Food post. Flyer. Video. Another special. Another “you don’t want to miss this.” Everybody trying to get seen before the next swipe.

And yes, I’m part of it. I post our food. I use ChatGPT on occasions to organize my brain thoughts to help with words and flyers. I understand why businesses do it. We’re trying to make a living doing something we care about.

But I’m tired of how much space it takes up in our heads. What do we post next? How many views did it get? Why is their place getting attention? What are we doing wrong?

I opened Food Freaks because I love cooking and feeding people. Somewhere along the way, keeping up with social media became another job attached to that dream.

I appreciate every person who follows us, shares a post, tells a friend, or walks through our doors. You help us keep this thing going. My frustration is with the pressure to constantly turn what we do into something people will stop scrolling for.

And yes, I realize the irony of posting this on social media. 😂 Where else do you say it when this is where everybody is?

I don’t have the answer this morning. I just miss being able to enjoy what we’re building without constantly comparing it to what somebody else is posting or if I grabbed a bad review or missed a comment that hurts my businesses ..or helps it I get both sides…

Anyway… time to cook. That part still makes sense to me. Rant over sorry not sorry…. 😞

—Chef Brandon

10/01/2026

any one able and willing tomorrow for lunch we have a camera crew coming in we need people for the shoot so if available tomorrow 12:30-2 anytime between come see us!!

10/01/2026

10/01/2026

Just a reminder we open Friday this week 11-9 for 10 days!

09/30/2026

09/30/2026

So the last trivia question was The Dirty South burger!! Wouldn’t be a fair menu without it nor would it be food freaks without our annual best known burger we only do during the fair started doing this one back in 2015… it’s matured a lot and now we use our own doughnut as the bun … trivia question today… name our most popular fair burger now using our doughnut as the bun?!!!!
******sneak peak at some of the foodie items on our list for these 10 days..😳😳😳😳🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪

FAIR FAVORITES & CHEF FEATURES

THE ORIGINAL PICKLE DOG
Dill pickle wrapped in pastrami and house mustard-cheese spread | chili tempura batter | honey-chili mustard

THE FRENCH TICKLER
Dill pickle wrapped in roast beef and house horseradish-cheese spread | garlic-black pepper tempura batter | au jus aioli

DIRTY SOUTH BURGER
House southern collard greens | bacon jam | Alabama white sauce

OKLAHOMA SMASH BURGER
Onion-smashed beef patty | melted Velveeta | Housemade DRILL Sauce (dill-honey mustard)

FAIRWHEEL DONUT BURGER
6 oz beef patty | homemade Amish-style doughnut bun | sriracha-maple bacon jam | house-made apple rings | cheddar |
house-made maple-sriracha sauce

DANIEL BOONE BURGER
Open-face on house spoon bread | honey-pepper butter | 6 oz beef patty | house street corn | roasted jalapeño | queso blanco |
house sriracha-maple finish

MUNCHIE WAGON TRIBUTE (iykyk) from fair days loved them!!!
Fried pork chop tenderloin sandwich | house chili | onions | white slaw | inspired by the Munchie Wagon fair favorite

DANIEL BOONE COLLARD BOWL
House collard greens with Alabama white vinegar sauce | slice of house spoon bread | honey-pepper butter | bacon jam

BLUE RIBBON CORN DOG
Quarter-pound Certified Angus Beef hot dog on a skewer | dipped in our house-made corn dog batter | deep-fried | house-made
honey-chili mustard

S'MORES ON A STICK
Jumbo marshmallow on a stick | house graham-cracker batter | deep-fried | house chocolate ganache | fresh cream on the side

09/28/2026

Trivia question for today!!! This is an easy one … what’s the burger we do every year during fair season with collards , bacon jam, Alabama white sauce on our certified angus beef patty?!?! What’s the name of it ..” The ________ ________”

09/27/2026

09/26/2026

Food Freaks trivia, round two before anniversary week! October 2-11 open everyday 11-9!

Before Hidden Gems, before all these seasonal creations, we took five burgers to the fair in Winston-Salem. Those were the first five burgers we served there, and they became part of our OG menu.

Can you name all five?

I’m curious who remembers the whole lineup. Drop your guesses in the comments and if you ate one back then, tell me which was your favorite!! 😋 I’ll reveal the answers soon! 👀