Twitter user lvallana posted a picture last week from an establishment in Pittsburgh selling whole fresh catfish, but not to Preds fans. I guess they are just not amused by the ritual of Preds fans of smuggling whole catfish into games and tossing them onto the ice.
Bless their hearts.
Are we supposed to be offended? We don’t want their yankee catfish anyway. A real fan would carry a cooler of catfish as far as necessary (and he did). Keep your catfish, Pittsburgh. Though one has to wonder if they even know what to do with it ...
Anyway, here in Nashville, we're happy to sell catfish to anyone and everyone, regardless of provenance. But the best thing to do is buy it already cornmeal battered and fried from a local restaurant. Here are a few to try for anyone visiting Nashville, whether it’s for The Stanley Cup, CMA Music Fest, or Bonnaroo.
Hot Catfish
Knock out two musts on your Nashville experience by getting Nashville hot catfish.
Bolton’s isn’t just a good stop for hot chicken; they have hot fish, too. Though diners typically choose whiting for hot-style, you can get hot catfish on a sandwich or a platter. The ultimate hot-Nashville-meets-hockey dining experience.
The Sutler in Melrose offers hot catfish with a twist: hot catfish tacos served with comeback sauce, which could be Mississippi’s greatest contribution to the culinary world.
Tourist-Friendly
Get your fill of catfish at these restaurants that are walking distance around downtown or in the greater Shopryland/airport area.
Arnold’s Country Kitchen — like any good meat and three — offers a catfish platter, but only on Wednesdays and Fridays. You can also get catfish at two other popular meat-and-threes: Dandgure’s (Wednesdays) and Silver Sands.
Puckett’s, Acme Feed & Seed and Martin’s Bar-B-Que are all great spots to have a catfish platter downtown. Martin’s also has catfish tacos.
If you’re staying out near the Opryland Hotel or near the airport, you can get catfish at longtime Nashville favorite Uncle Bud’s, as well as Caney Fork River Valley Grille and Cock of the Walk.
Old School
If you want the real deal, catfish that’s cornmeal-breaded and made the way folks have been cooking it at backyard fish fries for generations, you’ve got to head north of downtown.
Nashville’s own Carla Hall is partial to the catfish at TJ’s BarBQ and Fish on Ed Temple Boulevard. Others to try are Ed’s Fish and Pizza on Dr. D. B. Todd Boulevard and Big Al’s Deli on Fourth Avenue just north of Germantown, which serves catfish on Fridays.
So if seeing a catfish hurled onto the ice (whether it's here or in Pittsburgh) makes you hungry, any of these restaurants will satisfy your craving for this Southern specialty (even if you're from Pittsburgh).
