Category: 0 Tennessee

Catfish Parlour in Austin, TX

5/19/2019

Finally!

Today, Don and I finally turned off of TX 71 and pulled in the lot, of Catfish Parlor!
We've driven by this awesome sign for nearly 20 years, on our drives from Houston to Austin. I've always been curious about this roadside eatin' place.

Neither of us are huge catfish fans, but we heard the place was family owned, since the 1970's. We also heard the catfish was Texas raised and never frozen.

Mostly though, I was lured by the sign!

Early on Sunday

There was only one car when we pulled in at 11:10 am. The church crowd was still at church, but we headed in.

Love a Parlour

I kind of love any place that calls itself a parlour. It brings me back to my childhood visits to Silver Dollar City in Branson, where everything was a saloon or parlour.

Orange and Green Booths

Only one table was taken, so we had quite a choice for seating. There were some slick cushioned booths in retro green, down the center. The Howard Johnson's orange booths were along the sides.

Oyster Shucking Bar

We also could have sat at the rounded bar, where a friendly fellow soon arrived, in a black apron and plastic gloves. He said the place would be busy with a church crowd by 1.

Hushpuppies

We chose an orange booth and our young server arrived promptly, with a bowl of complimentary hushpuppies. The jalapeno sauce was yummy. We asked Fernanda about the age of the restaurant. She thought it had been here 30 years... which meant the Parlour is a lot older than her.

Catfish Plate

Don got the "light" catfish plate with 3 sides. The creamy cole slaw, mashed potatoes and green beans (with bacon) were all good. The catfish was surprisingly good. We did not sample any sturgeon... but we liked the sign behind Don.

Salmon Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette

I went healthy, because we were on day one of a 3+ week road trip. The salmon was fresh off the grill and the greens were a nice crispy mix. Don made sure to capture those fine checkered floors, along with my food.

This was a quick dining adventure, but a nice one. The staff was friendly and the food and decor was down-home-cozy-good.

Yay! I finally checked this place off my list, after all these years!

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Blues City Cafe

2/20/2015

2 Comments

Looking For Memphis BBQ!

A neon sign with flashing forks is pretty irresistible! Especially when that sign is connected to a hopping cafe on the corner of Beale Street, in Memphis!

Highly Recommended

Don and I were squeezing in as much as we could in less than a 24 hour period. A quick view of Graceland through the gates and a peek at the Peabody Hotel ducks marching on the red carpet, were a couple of highlights. It was a carriage driver named Bubba, who raved about Blues City and got our mouths watering.

Perfect Interior

It was late on a Monday night, so we got a table fast. I sat down and absorbed the surrounding walls, trying to identify all the original features. I'm actually not sure what this was before it was Blues City Cafe.

Being a long time connoisseur of restaurant restrooms, I took special note of the curious restroom entrance. As a child I would have given an A+ rating for that playful, roof covered walkway to the bathroom!

Atmosphere

I love it when you can see the cooking and hear the sizzle. I even like seeing the stacks of white plates, waiting to be covered in Memphis BBQ! And I do appreciate lots of entertaining signs for my reading pleasure!

"Put Some South In Your Mouth!" Now that's a good one.

Other Diners

I love visiting a touristy location when it seems to be free of tourists. The servers chatted with diners as if they were friends. No one seemed like a first-timer, reading all the signs, like me. There was one booth with a family, that I couldn't figure out. I recognized the little boy with his parents. A few hours earlier, the young tot had been a little VIP of sorts, wearing a 3 piece suit and assisting the "Duck Master" at the Peabody Hotel. I'm still curious about the boy and his parents.

Pork Ribs

I wasn't ashamed to act touristy, when I asked our waiter to snap our photo. His face and stance reminded me of Elvis, minus the good looks and charisma. Maybe it was his mumbling speech or the way he responded to my photo request... as if he'd been asked one too many times for an autograph. We may have had a dull waiter, but our full slab of pork ribs, beans, coleslaw and steak fries couldn't have been better! Don hasn't stopped talking about those ribs.

Turnip Greens

When I'm in a new world, I like to embrace the "When in Rome..." thing. So I ordered greens to have a sample of an authentic southern dish. I was amazed at their buttery goodness. Never would I have guessed this would delight me like a comfort food.

I ate more than a sample. I ate every bit!

Big Ole Slab

This blurry pic barely gives you an idea of that slab of pork! If Don had taken the photo a few minutes earlier, he might have caught a few more giggling faces, seated behind me. For a short while, the table was taken over by staff, having a good old time while rolling up silverware in paper napkins. I wish I could have pulled my chair over to join them. They seemed to be laughing at some pretty good stories!

A Good Night on Beale Street

We walked off our dinner on Beale Street and made a few stops at a couple juke joints to enjoy some Memphis Blues! This photo of the nearly empty brick street might seem downright dull to some. But I was pretty happy to enjoy a more peaceful evening... especially after learning we missed the weekly "Bikes on Beale" night, when the street is packed with motorcycles!

Lucked out in Memphis!

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Catfish Parlour in Austin, TX

Blues City Cafe

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