What I Ate: May 1, 2010 (Cherry Creek Catfish Company)

We got a late start today, so we ended eating just one formal meal. That was at Cherry Creek Catfish Company (5712 Manchaca Road, Austin, TX‎ - (512) 440-8810‎) where we ordered several different menu items to try out. The best thing there was the fried green tomatoes and they are so good we can't stop thinking about having them again. the rest of the food is decent, but not some of the best examples of each type of food.

Fried Green Tomatoes - crunchy, slightly salty, sour (but pleasantly so), and tomatoey (in a way that only green tomatoes can be). Delicious with and without ranch dressing. (A half order is pictured.)

Shrimp and Crawfish Gumbo - Not a great gumbo, but tasty nonetheless.

Side Salad - nothing special

Seafood Feast - I ordered this to try several different fried seafood items at once. The fried oysters were pretty good (but three is about all I wanted to eat, so it was good that only three were provided). The shrimp were sweet and tender. The fried catfish was juicy. Over all, I wasn't a fan of the breading which seemed to be heavily based on cornmeal and was more crunchy than crispy.

Country Fried Okra - We really enjoyed the fried okra… but we like fried okra to begin with. As long as the oil doesn't impart a strong taste and it's not over or under cooked, then it's good. And, today at Cherry Creek, it was good.

Blackened Catfish - This was served over a bed of rice pilaf along with some hush puppies. The catfish tasted pretty mild when compared to other places that prepare a blacked-style fish. The seasoning was too light for this style of cooking and also too mild for catfish (the strong natural flavors need to be balanced with strong seasoning when pan fried like this).

I should also mention that our ice teas came in giant cups. Here's the cup placed next to a standard sized tabletop sugar dispenser.