The One That Got Away

Can you believe that Val FORGOT TO SNAP A PICTURE OF HER FEAST before eating it??? What in the Not-Heaven is wrong with me? On our special night out (okay, 3:53 p.m culinary expedition) to celebrate The Pony's "promotion," I let a fantastic photo op get away from me. I blame gluttony.

 

We went to a local catfish house. Haven't been there in a few years. Last time it was lacking, compared to previous visits. Then we didn't feel like strapping on the old feedbag over our mandated masks. But a visit to this place has been simmering on the back burner, just waiting for a special occasion.

We chose the all-you-can-eat option. Seriously. Did you really think we'd just order a dinner? There are three meats to choose from, and we chose them all: catfish, shrimp, chicken. We were also allowed three sides. Those were SLAW (my choice), baked beans (Hick), and potato wedges (The Pony). The dishes are served family style. You can ask for more if you run out of something. The catch is... you can only take home the leftovers in a box if you DON'T ask for more. Otherwise, they charge you to take your leftovers, which THEORETICALLY (and probably legally) they can't re-serve anyway. But I guess it cuts down on grifters who pay $16.99 for all-you-can-eat, and then want to take home what they can't eat.

Anyhoo... when that platter arrived, it was a thing of beauty! Potato wedges, hush puppies, catfish, shrimp, and chicken piled high. Leaned inward like outer logs on a just-built campfire. All our mouths were gaping. I'm pretty sure a gasp escaped my pie-hole.

Sadly, by the time I remembered to take a picture, this is all that was left:

 

Yes, I AM embarrassed that our feeding frenzy robbed you of your rightful vicarious feast. All that's left on the platter are potato wedges and hush puppies. There's a bowl of fish that we got extra. Don't worry, we polished them off. Nothing left behind except one hush puppy, and a couple potato wedges. I didn't have room to eat a hush puppy. They used to provide ramekins of honey butter, but not any more. The Pony loved slathering that on his hush puppies.

Here is my plate at the time I remembered to take pictures:

 

I didn't eat MORE than Hick and The Pony. I just ate slower. There's a piece of catfish I broke in half. Potato wedges. And CHICKEN! I love the chicken. It's my favorite. It might look burned, but it wasn't. Just right. So moist inside. Boneless white meat chicken. I made the mistake of honestly answering The Pony's question about its boniness. HE HAD A PIECE! "All this time, I thought there were bones in the chicken!" Oh, well. That cat is out of the bag. I still had TWO pieces of chicken for myself. There's the sweet and sour sauce for the chicken on the right. You have to ask for it special, because they keep it in the fridge, not on the table. Also, there's about my third serving of SLAW, and some tartar sauce, and some ketchup.

Here's a picture of Hick's belly, the baked beans and slaw, our icy jars of water (The Pony had Sprite), and the fish bowl, cocktail sauce for shrimp, and tartar sauce bowl:

 

Oh my gosh! I'm full all over again, just looking at the aftermath! I devoted myself to the chicken and fish. Hick had the fish and shrimp. And The Pony had shrimp, fish, and chicken. Plus most of the hush puppies, because Hick and I can't be bothered with that filler! If only I could have brought home the rest of that slaw. It's my favorite, a close tie with Captain D's slaw. I'm pretty sure that dumping the bowl into a baggy in my purse would have been frowned upon.

Dang it! I truly regret forgetting the picture of that towering platter of fried goodness. We may have to go back, just so I can capture the meal in pictures for you. I'm selfless like that.