waderoberts's Profile
Mourning the humble fish sandwich
There was a time when a decent fried fish sandwich, drive-through or carry-out, wasn't that hard to come by. Even some of the fast-food notables (Whataburger's What-A-Catch, Sonic, Burger King's BK Big Fish, Wendy's, MacDonald's, Jack-in-the-Box) had fairly decent renditions. Those days, alas, seem to be gone, and, I fear, inescapably behind us. I was moved the write this after discovering recently that Jack-in-the-Box had discontinued it's Moby Jack (sad if only for the loss of the name) and finding out that Sonic had reintroduced (looks as if it's one of those "limited time"menu items) its fish sandwich.
By "decent," I mean: fairly substantial, a nice (and real) filet (not "constituted from minced," lightly breaded and fried correctly so the fish is crispy, moist, flaky and relatively grease-less. These days, it seems as if the poor fish sandwich is a second or third thought, forsaken for chicken, wraps and salads. They're no longer substantial, no longer real filets, and rarely properly fried.
Before moving back home to Houston from Chicago a couple of years ago, what I have argued was the city's best fish sandwich was not far from my house, at Hagen's, a Swedish family-owned market/take-out operation that dated back to the 1950s. Their fish sandwich consisted of a nice-sized filet (that also LOOKED like a real filet, not a square of finely textured marine by-product) of cold-water fish (I believe it was Alaskan pollock), perfectly fried, and with a gargantuan bun overhang. (Hagen's also had incredibly toothsome smoked fish [chubs, salmon, whitefish, pike, sable, sturgeon and catfish; for a modest fee, they'd smoke your own Lake Michigan catch).
I actually had a dream last night about Hagen's fish sandwich.
I'd be greatly indebted for any suggestions about worthy fried fish sandwiches in the Houston area (I'm casting my net wide enough to encompass catfish, flounder, etc,, but I'd be particularly grateful for sightings/tastings of the classic-style cold-water fish version (pollack, cod, haddock, etc). And especially indebted for recommendations to the city's southeast (Hobby Airport to Galveston, Galveston Bay south of the Ship Channel to, say, Pearland), although no drive is out of the question.
(On a side note, I've pretty much abandoned by search for smoked fish in the Houston area; my dedicated fish smoker should arrive this Friday. But more about that later . . . . )
BBQ Fritos?
Yep. I have found them on-line, and have come dangerously close several times to ordering a case. After years of living all over the country and having Texas, Southern, and Cajun foodstuffs shipped to me, I finally adopted this pre-order test: If the shipping cost is as much or more than the cost of the item, my hankering may not be THAT bad. Of course, though, sometimes it is . . . .
Boudin in Houston - for you Jaymes
One of the best on-line boudin references (with ratings) I've found is boudinlink, a work in progress by a professor at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette:
http://www.boudinlink.com/
Like all ratings, as texasredtop mentions, they're relative and depend on a lot of personal subjectivities, but I have generally agreed pretty much the gradings.
Another terrific source is Boudin Trail, a work by the Southern Foodways Alliance at Ol' Miss:
http://www.southernboudintrail.com/
By the way, texasredtop is correct: the migrating Acadians didn't stop at the Sabine River and the TX/LA border during their migration following their expulsion by the British from Canada. Quite a few settled in southern East Texas.
O.K. A few personal local sources I like:
Perry & Sons Market and Grill (at least the Friendswood location) has excellent in-house-made frozen boudin:
http://www.perryandsonsmarketandgrille.com/
Burt's Meat Market in the Fifth Ward is top-notch:
http://www.burtsmeatanddeli.com/
and Pierson & Co. BBQ in Acres Homes, 5110 W. T.C. Jester, has great smoked boudin.
BBQ Fritos?
That's pretty much the one automated-like response I got from Frito-Lay. But why not BBQ Fritos in Texas, of all places?
BBQ Fritos?
Haven't tried Billie's or Nick's. I'm fond of the Abe's in Lake Charles, and I hit the Clear Lake City outpost often (I live close by). I don't recollect them making their own, but I recall decent frozen boudin (pork or shrimp or crawfish), either Savoie's or Poche's. I was happy with a few visits to Best Stop. I must say, though, that I've found the boudin at a lot of the small markets to vary in consistency, much like BBQ; there's the occasional off-day/off-batch.
Posting now to texasredtop's new Boudin in Houston thread.
BBQ Fritos?
For boudin, I like Cormier's and Boudin King in Jennings, Hebert's in Maurice, Floyd's and Ray's in Opelousas, Redlich's in Basile, Charlie's and T-Boy's in Mamou, Jennings and Opelousas have nice little airfields. I can fly in, pick up an ice chest full of boudin, and be back in Houston in under four hours. By car, they're all right off I-10.
BBQ Fritos?
Has anyone seen BBQ Fritos? I use the original for Frito Pie, but I love these for munching and bean dip.
Frito-Lay still makes them, but doesn't widely distribute them. It's sad: the Frito-Lay empire was largely built on Fritos, but they neglect them for dozens of horrible-tasting Lays potato chips and nightmarish Doritos blends. I find Chili-Cheese Fritos passable; can't abide the Honey BBQ Fritos (ugh, and they don't even look like Fritos).
I e-mailed Frito-Lay, and they basically told me to look around. (BTW: I loved the short-lived Tabasco Fritos. Easy enough the duplicate at home: Buy original Fritos, place in plastic bag, douse with Tabasco sauce, shake, spread on baking sheet, heat in 200-degree oven until crisp again.)
You can find BBQ Fritos on-line, but the shipping is a killer.
I'm in Friendswood, so I'm interested in any BBQ Fritos sightings in that neck of the woods. But I'll drive further if necessary. I'll even fly, if I need to; I fly my Cessna for boudin, Hill Country BBQ, and Mississippi Delta tamales.
Thanks kindly.
Wade
kefir in NASA (HOU) area
I'm dividing my time these days between Chicago and Houston (where I was born and raised and where I inherited a place in Friendswood when my mom passed away in 2007). I'm surprised not to find kefir (a wonderfully tangy cultured sour milk popular in Russia and Europe; it's all over Chicago, and I brew my own there with kefir seeds); it has proven digestive health benefits [more than yogurt] from active bacteria and uses in a lot of recipes [like cold beet soup, which is an ideal repast for the summer heat]. I figure that Whole Foods stocks it, but there's not one nearby. Any kefir sightings in the NASA/Clear Lake area?
