Photos courtesy of Trey Echols.
Trey Echols, the Fedneck
Trey Echols, the Fedneck, has posted about 60 burger reviews to social media.
Trey Echols — or as he’s known online, the Well-Fed Redneck or Fedneck — has loved burgers for as long as he can remember.
“If you asked me my favorite food, I’d undoubtedly say a burger since I was a kid,” Echols said.
When the Mountain Brook native isn’t working at Canvasback Capital, a real estate investment and development firm, he can be found filming himself eating burgers and sharing his reviews.
His first burger review was in 2024 at Handy Andy BBQ in Oxford, Miss., following a text chain with friends about finding the best burger. After he posted the video to Instagram, it ultimately caught the attention of his son and his son’s fraternity brothers.
“If I can impress some college kids, that was the ultimate egging on that I needed,” Echols said with a laugh.
Now, Echols has posted about 60 burger reviews from both local and national joints. Though he’s yet to give out a perfect score, he said the best burgers start with freshly ground beef from a high-quality chuck roll.
For the bun, he prefers a toasted Martin’s potato roll, which he said stands up to a well-cooked burger. The gold standard of cheese is Kraft Deli Deluxe American cheese, and the burger should also include condiments like mayonnaise, ketchup or a burger sauce, Echols said. But one thing he will immediately take off is a tomato — something he’s comically known to do in his videos.
Photo courtesy of Trey Echols.
Director of the documentary Hamburger America, George Motz, left, and Echols
Director of the documentary Hamburger America, George Motz, left, and Echols eat burgers at Chez Fonfon.
“It all needs to deliver a balance of flavors that comes together for a great burger,” he said.
One burger that checked those boxes for Echols was the one at Chez Fonfon in the heart of Five Points South. He gave their burger a 9 and said they freshly ground their meat and made their own buns. It’s his top-ranked restaurant burger to date — and also his most-viewed video review.
He currently has a list of about 325 restaurants people have recommended he visit, including a few in Birmingham like Rougaroux. He especially enjoys rustic burger joints with unrefined environments. Not only are the burgers at these spots typically tasty, but Echols said it’s about much more than the food.
“One thing I’ve really learned is the nostalgia and the role these longstanding places play with people and their families. It’s not just the food or the restaurants themselves: It’s the people involved with them,” Echols said. “Go try something and support these guys. We’re really blessed with a lot of talented restaurants, chefs and service people in town.”
In addition to encouraging residents to support local restaurants, he also hopes they can take away some “actual intelligence” from his posts — as opposed to the artificial intelligence all around these days.
“I wouldn’t mind if I emerged as a sanity check,” he said. “I know everyone has challenges out there, but let’s have some fun and take a more grounded view of what’s going on in the world.”
Echols’ videos are available on Instagram, @the_fedneck, and TikTok, @the_fedneck.
