This review is a two-fer. Because we were both astounded that this has been in our area (the mid-cities, Hurst) since 1987 and we just discovered it, we both have a lot to say about it.
Bonus Fun Stuff:Coffee Shop in Grapevine Not Good Enough To Be Great.
Renee: Catfish is a required food group for a country Texas gal like me. The first food that I actually remember eating is fried catfish from David Beards in Mt. Pleasant. Sadly, there is not a DB around the Metroplex (is there?). It’s important to me that I know where I can find quality catfish around the DFW Metro area.
Catfish & Company
When I first discovered that there was a catfish place close to (my) home, I couldn’t get ready to go fast enough, and it’s a noon on Saturday. I felt like a kid getting ready for a trip to Disney World.
Andi: It’s right next to the Hurst Convention Center – you can come in from Harwood at Campus Drive (across from TCC) or take 183 and exit Precinct Line. I’ve never been a big catfish fan – too muddy-tasting – and I was hoping for a 2015 taste transformation! Woo! Could this be it??
Start your engines: Hushpuppies and gumbo
This photo represents where 12 hushpuppies started out in life.
Renee: Speaking of hush puppies, these are a sacred food to me. A good hush puppy experience is critical to any catfish outing and these guys did not disappoint. We had hush puppies on our table within moments of sitting down. These hush puppies were tasty, but a bit salty.
Andi: I ate way too many hushpuppies, first of all. And for only $4.99, I spooned EIGHT shrimp and countless slices of sausage out of their cup of gumbo. A thin, dark roux, it knocked my socks off but with flavor, not heat. A basket of pups and a bowl of this gumbo with an iced tea would have made a filling, delicious nawlins lunch for less than $10.
Besides, the sides: Pintos, green tomato relish, green beans
Green Tomato Relish. Of the gods.
Andi: Okra = No. Not ever. Just no. But the Green Tomato Relish was a lovely sweet-heat to break up the bold garlic and pepper flavors. One of my issues with some restaurant green beans (the kind made with bacon) is too much grease. Theirs had all the flavor but less fat than what I’m used to seeing. Nice.
Renee: When I was a kid I put pinto beans high on my list of things that should never be in my belly. Now that I am a wee bit older, I understand why the adults in my life would bicker over who made the best pinto beans. I wanted to ask for an extra serving to go but I resisted.
Renee’s Fried Catfish
Don’t let the cafeteria-style plating fool you.
The catfish came out as two long strips and was lightly breaded. The flavor was truly wonderful and I did not even taste a hint of mud in the fish; the waiter confirmed it to be farm-raised. There was so much food that we had super nice to-go bags for dinner.
Andi’s Atchafalaya
Don’t let the cafeteria plating fool you.
This dish brings the heat after the first 10 seconds of OMG-where-have-you-been-all-my-life enjoyment. Where my gumbo was a nice spice, this Atchafalaya drops me in the heat and rolled me around in it. Granted, I’m a giant wuss when it comes to food heat. Damn tasty, and ~drumroll~ I didn’t taste mud. Could be because their c-fish is corn-fed or because my tastebuds had been singed off. The big mystery to me is how this dish is $14.99 for blackened catfish and four shrimp when my cup of gumbo had EIGHT shrimp (five of them this size) and it was only $4.99. Just sayin’.
The restaurant itself was tidy and blissfully quiet, but this place ain’t hip or trendy. Don’t go to be seen, cuz ain’t nobody watchin’. Our waiter treated us like friends instead of newbies, and he knew what he liked most on the menu, so he was eating their food (seems like a good sign). He said that some customers had been coming so long that staff would meet them in the parking lot to give them to-go orders. On Wednesdays they have $5.00 off a pound of crab, and at the time of this writing, that will make for $16.99/lb for Alaskan Snow. [Note: we went back for this on the following Wednesday. It was ok. Not Truluck’s but eh, it’s still crab. ~Andi]
The website URL redirects to their facebook page and their menu looks straight out of the 80s, not kidding. It’s clear they invest in their food over their marketing, and it made for an outstanding seafood meal. A little pricey for lunches with just iced tea, but we picked high-dollar entrees. Monday through Friday, the lunch menu has under-$10 options M-F.
LOCATION
900 W Airport Fwy Ste 110
Hurst, TX | Route Map
TURF: Mid-Cities
WHAT MAKES IT FUN?
Finding a variety of top notch seafood recipes without paying Pappadeaux prices or having to eat Red Lobster (again).
Categories: Fun Food
