Catfish

BamaProud · May 29, 2015

Is there a country style no frills "catfish house" anywhere close to the Memphis area?

TAFKAP · May 29, 2015

BamaProud":3enkf0tr said:
Is there a country style no frills "catfish house" anywhere close to the Memphis area?

The problem I've found is that they're all the same. Every. Single. One. They tend to serve the same frozen fillets from a Sysco bag, and the only difference will be the price and/or the sides they serve with them. Some stand out better than others, but Memphis doesn't really have a go-to fish place anymore. I'm not sure if the Catfish Cabin is even still open by the airport, but I don't remember it being just wonderful to begin with.

1) Cajun Catfish Co: (two locations) Sycamore View & Collierville. I've never been, but they're reported as being so-so to REALLY GOOD, depending on who you ask.
2) Soul Fish Cafe: (multiple locations) Germantown, East Memphis, & Cooper-Young.Food is actually pretty good, but extremely overpriced for what you get. Their 3-piece is $13.99, and it's not (3) fillets, but (3) halves of a fillet
3) Leonards BBQ: Fox Ridge area. they have good catfish (call for availability), but have recently changed their hours to Lunch Only. Full buffet of lots of veggies, bbq, and other soul food specialties.
4) Flying Fish (downtown): this place has always been a solid 7 out of 10. It has more a coastal fish-camp feel to it, and they serve more than just fried potatoes, fish, and hush puppies. Park at the Peabody Place garage (entrance off of Peabody Place, between 2nd and Main), and the Flying Saucer will validate your parking pass if you just ate at the Flying Fish. I haven't been in over 3 years, but it used to be our standard "go-to" for lazy nights when we didn't feel like cooking.
5) Tugs (Mud Island) actually has a pretty good "crispy" fried catfish platter. It's been a few months since I've eaten there, but I would place their catfish as the best all around balance of good quality with good value. It's a little fancier in a way, but not so high brow as to draw scowls if you dragged your kids in after an afternoon at the Pyramid.
6) Alcenia's Soul Food (Pinch District) has EXCELLENT food, a great atmosphere, and one of the friendliest owners in Memphis (you can expect a big hug, and likely a kiss on the cheek when you walk in). Catfish is OK, but everything else is excellent. You can plan on at least an hour to sit down & eat.

BamaProud · May 29, 2015

Thanks for the in depth reply.

memfuzz · Jun 10, 2015

Taylor Grocery in Taylor MS. If you go and use GPS, just navigate to the post office in Taylor, it's just across the street. http://www.taylorgrocery.com

TAFKAP · Jun 10, 2015

Poser":t8xycfv7 said:
What TAFKAP said -they are all the same. With rare exception, I pretty much won't eat Catfish out. When I was a kid in rural West TN, almost all places were serving commercially fished catfish, much of which came out of the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers. Farm raised catfish tastes about as interesting as cardboard to me.

We had a lunch yesterday at Tugs on Mud Island, and I ordered the "thin" catfish lunch again. (FYI, don't ever eat the gumbo....it always tastes like they burned the roux)

The fish wasn't "thin" like I remember it, and the fillet wasn't whole, but cut in two halves (as opposed to split down the seam). At $12 for the plate, it's not the greatest deal on earth, but it actually tasted like catfish. I don't think the cornmeal is salted or seasoned at all (quite bland, actually), but the fish was cooked just the way it should've been. They advertise EITHER/OR on the tartar sauce & remoulade, so go with the tartar sauce. It tastes homemade and is pretty good. Their "remoulade" might as well have been jarred mayo.