If you get up around Batesville way and have a hankering for something really good to eat, let me recommend a visit to Fred’s Fish House. You will have to look far and wide to find a place with better food and service, and if you love fried catfish—U.S. farm-raised catfish—as much as I do, you’ll be especially glad you dropped in.
Fred Ward, the original owner, knew how to fry up some catfish. He ran a little café/grocery store in the Cord community in Independence County, and on Saturday nights, he offered a catfish special. His sons caught the fish from a family pond, and Fred would dredge them in seasoned cornmeal and fry them up golden delicious. His fish dinners were in high demand, and pretty soon entertainers like Jerry Clower and Jeannie C. Riley started dropping by to get a taste.
The fish house in Cord operated from 1979 to 1991 when Fred decided to move the restaurant to Batesville. It’s in the same location today, an old church building at 3777 Harrison Street known locally as Fred’s Catfish Cathedral. The last I heard, Randy Ward, Fred’s son, was still cooking catfish using his father’s recipe, a fact that brings hundreds of loyal customers to the restaurant again and again.
What makes Fred’s catfish so good is a light batter that lets the delicious mild flavor of the farm-raised catfish come through. They were serving both fried fillets and steaks when last I was there, as a good catfish restaurant should. And for those who want something different, there are grilled fillets, too, in Cajun, lemon-pepper, blackened and original flavors.
Fred’s hushpuppies have a fan club, and that’s understandable. They’re made from scratch every day—morsels of yummy cornmeal, onion and other ingredients that come in bottomless baskets the friendly waitresses keep full. Each catfish meal also comes with the usual fish-fry set-ups: fries or baked potato, bacony brown beans, green tomato relish, onion and pickles.
There’s lots of other great food on the menu, too, including steaks, prime rib, barbecue chicken, frog legs, shrimp, a variety of delicious sandwiches, salads and more. Click here for the complete menu and get on over there to fill your belly with some great vittles!
Check out another great catfish restaurant in this previous post.
