Catfish Joint Redux

K and I used to go with his parents to a fun little catfish joint at the Lake of the Ozarks called Camp Bagnell.  It was a homey little honky-tonk place where they had cold beer on tap, tasty fried catfish and tender brisket and frog legs that Keith's dad enjoyed. Camp Bagnell sadly burned down and we hadn't been anywhere similar until fellow Posse members Carl and Charlotte tuned us into The Fish Market off old 210.

The Fish Market is indeed a little joint, but clearly popular judging by the people pouring in an out as we arrived to meet for a Posse dinner last weekend. We were ushered into a cozy corner and soon were working on deef-fried cinch fritters and a frosty glass of Tallgrass 8-Bit Hop-Rocketed Pale Ale...which by the way, is apparently the "official beer of retro gamers". So, while this tasty pale ale paired great with fried fish and remoulade sauce, it also brings up fond memories of long,wasted hours of Ms. Pac-Man, Centipede and Galaga once upon a time.  So hoist this fine ale we did and we also toasted Easter weekend which was even further evident by the Ten Commandments flickering on the flatscreen TV behind my dinner companion's heads.

Most of us went for the Fish Market's noted fried catfish and indeed they were deep-fried deliciousness. The sides were some were some fluffy hush puppies and some of the best cole slaw I'd ever had. Creamy and spicy, that slaw ranked right up there with the slaw from Oklahoma Joe's. I have to say I tried a fried gizzard as well...and thankfully, it was spicy and good and not chewy as I feared.  Oh, as for that aforementioned remoulade sauce, there's a big-ass bottle of it on the tables and The Fish Market gets big points for that as well.  In fact, The Fish Market has it all over Camp Bagnell because of their obvious love of both New Orleans and Key West, two of my all-time favorite locales.  Po-boys are a specialty here and they are killer from most reports and the shark out from is named Roux.

As for the latest Posse dinner, we were short a few members, but the laughter was ever-present as the subjects of conversation ranged from dog poop to Mary Poppins. Always a good time.