The place doesn’t open until 11:30 a.m., but a good 10 minutes before then, there’s a long line at the cash register at Larry’s Fish House. Folks are hungry, and they’re eager to hand over $15 for the all-you-can-eat buffet.
Regardless of whether it’s the fish-heavy Lenten season, which starts March 1, the restaurant is busy every Friday. That’s the one day a week Larry Kelly serves lunch. The parking lot quickly overflows with cars and pickup trucks, and it seems as if everybody in Itta Bena (population 2,000) has arrived at the same time.
The big draw is Kelly’s catfish, which he serves both baked and fried. The fish is a year-round favorite here in the Mississippi Delta — not surprising since catfish farming is the lifeblood of this economically depressed region in the northwest part of the state.
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Visitors drive past hundreds of artificial ponds dotting the flat landscape where cotton was once king. Roughly 30 miles away in Belzoni, dozens of colorful catfish sculptures sit along the streets, a tribute to the whiskered fish that Mark Twain once described as “a plenty good enough fish for anyone.”
No one in these parts is disputing that, especially not Kelly.
“My catfish are the best in the world,” Kelly boldly stated about the food served at his eatery, which he described as “a family restaurant with no alcohol.”
As customers open Kelly’s front door, they spot a Bible-quoting sticker in opposition to same-sex marriage.
“That’s my personal belief,” Kelly said. “If it offends someone, they don’t have to eat here. But I won’t turn them away because of their lifestyle.”
Patrons pay first and then grab their trays. The buffet’s first pan, full of fried fillets, speaks to their popularity. Beside it is a pan containing whole catfish (also fried) plus barbecue and lemon-pepper varieties that Kelly cooks in the oven “for the health-conscious.”
Among the other options, some are healthier than others. The french fries, hush puppies and chicken wings sit near veggies such as green beans, okra and turnip greens.
“I use top-of-the-line catfish,” Kelly said. “I’d rather feed more people and make a little bit less per person than cut the grade of my fish.
“I cook the catfish in separate cookers from anything else,” he added. “I don’t cook french fries with them. I don’t cook chicken with them, (so) you’re just picking up the taste of the catfish.”
For the finest flavor, Kelly urges people to try the whole fish.
“Only the head is cut off,” he explained. The bones remain, but they’re apparently a nuisance only to the uninitiated.
“A person that knows how to eat that can eat it as fast as they eat fillets,” Kelly said. “You take a fork and run up them bones, and it peels off. That meat coming from the bone has got a different taste.”
The catfish come from a processor, America’s Catch, just a few miles down the road. That, Kelly said, assures freshness.
“What my customers ate last night was swimming yesterday morning,” he proudly pointed out.
As diners work their way through piled-high plates, waitresses make regular passes carrying trays heaped with fish, and pitchers filled with sweet tea. A wall hanging describes the ubiquitous beverage as the “house wine of the South.”
While many menus offer fried catfish, some restaurants get more creative with their preparations.
In Greenwood, a town famous for the blues, Giardina’s serves Delta catfish cakes with “comeback sauce,” the Mississippi version of Louisiana’s remoulade (www.giardinas.com).
At Fat Baby’s Catfish House in Cleveland, catfish bread is the signature dish. Folks rave about the crunchy French bread that’s smeared with a creamy blend containing cheese, olives and, of course, catfish (www.fatbabyscatfishhouse.com).
The Crown in Indianola features Catfish Allison, fillets cooked in a sauce of butter, green onions and Parmesan cheese (www.thecrownrestaurant.com). The restaurant, not so coincidentally, is just a few streets away from the headquarters of the Catfish Farmers of America.
All of the eateries make a point of serving only U.S. farm-raised catfish. That’s not only a source of pride, but a boon for the local economy, where supermarkets sell frozen fillets from Asia for considerably less.
“We are pushing for good, clean, wholesome fish grown in the U.S.,” said Turner Arant, who has been farming catfish near Sunflower, Miss., since 1962. He — and others — would like the government to level the economic playing field between imports and locally raised fish.
At the USDA’s Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit in Stoneville, Miss., scientists are taking a different approach. They’re developing fast-spawning, disease-resistant catfish in 350 ponds.
Research leader Craig Tucker, who loves talking with visitors, said sustainability is “the dream and the hope” of aquaculture.
“Catfish was always a favored, local food,” he said, “but the rivers couldn’t provide a predictable supply. Our overall goal here is to increase the competitiveness of U.S. catfish.”
Jay Jones is a freelance writer.
If you go
Larry’s Fish House: 4238 Highway 7 S., Itta Bena, Miss. Open for lunch 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, and for dinner 5-9 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 662-254-6001, www.larrysfishhouse.com.
Belzoni: Home to 42 oversize, cleverly painted fish sculptures, the town will host the 42nd World Catfish Festival (www.belzonims.com/catfishfest.htm) 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 1. Events include a catfish-eating contest and a Miss Catfish pageant.
Warmwater Aquaculture Research Unit: Visitors are welcome to drop by for a chat with Craig Tucker and to see the myriad fish ponds. Email (craig.tucker@ars.usda.gov), or call (662-686-3597) to arrange an appointment.
Fish Fridays
The Chicago-based food delivery service GrubHub says fish orders spike during Lent, the six-week period leading up to Easter. During Lent, many Catholics forgo meat for fish on Fridays. According to GrubHub, haddock was the front-running fish for Lent in 2016, with orders up 41 percent compared with the rest of the year. Requests for cod and for tilapia climbed 19 percent, while catfish consumption went up 11 percent.
Care to cook catfish at home? You’ll find recipes for everything from bacon potato catfish casserole to catfish pizza at The Catfish Institute’s website, www.uscatfish.com/recipes.
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