Taste
Location: St. Louis
Chef: Matt Daughaday
Dish: Daughaday introduced a new dish to his spring snack menu at Gerard Craft’s modern speakeasy cocktail concept, Taste. For his Catfish Croquettes, Daughaday smokes the catfish, creating an emulsion of the smoked fish with olive oil. He fries the fish balls in a cornmeal breading and serves the upscale snack with Tabasco aioli and creamy coleslaw.
Post & Beam
Location: Baldwin Hills, CA
Chef: Govind Armstrong
Dish: Inspired by flavors of the south and the seasonality of California, Armstrong incorporates black-eyed pea hummus and pickled tomato and avocado in the Fried Catfish Wrap to bring a bright flare.
Brennan's of Houston
Location: Houston
Chef: Danny Trace
Dish: Trace utilizes catfish to create dishes that embody Brennan’s of Houston’s signature “Texas Creole” cuisine, such as the Crispy Texas Catfish Salad with warm red bean and rice salad, Anahuac honey-glazed cornbread, pickled okra tartar sauce and charred tomato vinaigrette. Other favorites include Trace’s Texas Catfish Koo-Be-Yahn, a take on the Cajun-style Courtbouillon, made with Creole spiced shrimp, Acadian style Courtbouillon sauce and a side of toasted garlic Jazzmen rice.
Pakpao
Location: Dallas
Chef: Jet Tila
Dish: Pla Douk Pad Phet, or Crispy Catfish with Red Curry, is a gluten-free dish that includes crispy catfish, bamboo shoots, Thai eggplant, kaffir lime leaf, red curry and jasmine rice.
Rappahannock Restaurant
Location: Richmond, VA
Chef: Dylan Fultineer
Dish: Fultineer enjoys working with “Blue Cat,” or blue catfish, which is considered an invasive species in certain parts of the Chesapeake Bay. Some of Fultineer’s dishes that incorporate the fish include: Pan Fried Blue Cat with smoked egg puree, asparagus, pickled smelt salsa verde; Wood Grilled Blue Cat with arbequina olive aioli, fregola sarda, confit artichoke and pimento; Pan Fried Blue Cat with creamed corn, butter beans, Sungold tomatoes and tarragon.