My sister called one day to ask if I was familiar with the term “catfish.” I must confess that the only catfish I know about are the bottom feeders you fry up and eat with tartar sauce. Furthermore, my one and only experience with catfish happened while I was living in a small southern town many years ago.
A restaurant on the outskirts of town offered a Friday night “all the catfish you could eat for next to nothing plus sweet tea” special. You needed to get there early if you wanted catfish. Otherwise, you had to order something else.
One Friday night, I was invited to have dinner at this particular restaurant to partake in the catfish ritual. Not knowing the “proper” way to eat catfish, I found myself with a mouth full of tiny bones. Apparetnly, there is an art to stripping the fish off the bone, but I never quite mastered the craft.
Thank goodness for the fries, slaw, biscuits, and sweet tea. I seem to recall that was what I had for dinner once I deboned my mouth. Vanilla pudding might have been offered for dessert.
Back to my sister’s call. She watches the Dr. Phil Show, and she wanted to know if I had watched the episode about catfish … online dating predators. Nope! I’m not a Dr. Phil fan so I missed it.
As for fish, I recommend the broiled grouper or halibut at the Red Lobster.
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