Cuisine Review

Nostalgia got the best of me. If you ever wonder how I select places to eat, there is no formula. I get bored, stumped and jaded. Oftentimes this leads me to the yellow pages, playing roulette.

I either come across someplace I have no clue about that has an interesting name, or one I have not been to in years. The later was the case a couple of weekends ago, combined with nostalgia, when I chose Catalina Seafood on Azalea Road just north and across the street from Davidson High School.

I have a faint memory of Catalina as a child. I remember crowds, bright lights and waits. I do not recall much else, but the food must have been good – and all fried. We made last minute plans with another family and convinced them it would at the very least be an adventure. The bright lights were gone, replaced by incandescent bulbs. Faux grayish wood paneling adorned the walls with some western style posts that held red pleather booths aloft.

The nautical theme was in full swing. We decided it was like a seafood Dew Drop, but with more comfortable booths. Other than an extremely large party in the back room, there were few other diners. Nine of us spread out across three booths.

Everyone was hungry so we dove into ordering appetizers. Shrimp cocktail, oyster cocktail, seafood gumbo ($4.50 cup, $6.25, bowl) onion rings, stuffed peppers, West Indies ($12.95, $17.95) filled up this area. We chose three orders of onion rings ($3.95), small stuffed peppers ($4.95, $6.95 for large) and a half pound of fried crab claws ($15.50 half, $23.50 full pound).

Our food came quickly and was hot out of the fryer. The onion rings had been fried to a hard crunch, with steaming ribbons of thick onion inside. The crab claws were plentiful, not greasy and of medium size. The stuffed peppers were the best, in fact the high point of the evening. Fresh crabmeat dressing had been stuffed by the kitchen staff into jalapeno peppers, battered and fried.

The menu consists of sandwiches, po-boys, seafood dinners and family boxes. The only real sandwiches of interest would be the fish, oyster, shrimp or crab burger ($4.25). Po-boys are shrimp, oyster, catfish filet or chicken ($6.95, chicken $5.95). Two of the young ladies with us ordered the shrimp po-boy, which was plenty for two petite appetites. The shrimp on this po-boy were plentiful, of nice size and not limply fried. My daughter chose the grilled cheese, which she reported was not good. My son and his friend selected a cheeseburger that I heard no comments on and the kid’s popcorn shrimp ($4.50). The popcorn shrimp were said to be quite good.

The list of platters is lengthy. All dinners are served with a choice of baked potato, French fries or potato salad, and served with cole slaw. At this point, Catalina was beginning to remind me of Korbet’s. I liked Korbet’s very much, the older, friendly waitresses and ‘50s food. The dinners range from the seafood platter ($15.95), flounder plates ($12.95, $9.95 small), oysters ($12.95, $10.95 small), shrimp ($11.95, $9.95 small), crab omelet ($12.95) half and half ($12.95), stuffed crab (1 – $8.95, 2 – $10.95), crab claw ($14.25) or catfish ($11.95). All fried.

The flounder was my immediate choice, as it is rarely found on menus anymore. I have eaten enough grouper – why our seafood restaurants rarely venture from this baffles me. My wife and friend both selected the half and half – shrimp and oyster. Friend’s wife, also a friend, got the fried shrimp. Plus I ordered some hush puppies ($1.75).

They have “steaks” listed on the menu, but it is a hamburger (?). Family boxes have all of the above selections, and seem to come with nothing. There is the addition of boiled shrimp ($17.50 large, $12.50 small). I neglected to ask just how large a family these boxes feed.

It seemed to take a while but we were enjoying ourselves, plus the appetizers had come out fairly quickly. We really did not notice the time until our waitress came up and informed us they were out of flounder, that the party in the back ate it all. Strange. It appeared this group had not just shown up, although that is plausible.

How could you just run out of flounder on a Saturday night? I am not a catfish fan, but the waitress promised it was very good. Our food arrived and immediately we were disappointed. My catfish had either been cut up into fingers or pre-cut. While the shrimp and oysters were ample in size, all of our food was a bit limp and soggily fried. There is nothing worse, and what a let down after those great appetizers. Our mood shifted. The baked potatoes were good, but come on, it is hard to screw that up if you can get them flaky, and then add a lot of butter and sour cream.

The hushpuppies had good flavor and had been fried perfectly – so why not our main items? Limp fries as well.

Plus, as you have read above, the prices are up there. The portions were what you might expect for the money, but I did not even finish my catfish. And it was not because I was full. We did order a great deal of food, but the price tag was hefty for the sad quality of the main items. It was sad that a pleasant memory from the past was erased quickly. We had a good time, but that was due to the company – I won’t return.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

Archives