Angler’s Has The Line On Catfish

March 24, 2011

(Contributor Photo: Rachel Birdsell) The Angler's Grill at 14581 U.S. 62 W in Eureka Springs is the latest stop on the Quest for the Holy Catfish.

Quest uncovers bacon-infused hushpuppies

By Rachel Birdsell
TFW Contributing Writer

Preamble Ramble

It’s time for our next stop on the Quest for the Holy Catfish. This restaurant was suggested by one of Eat It’s online readers.
You guys are really making things easier for me by suggesting restaurants, so a great big “thank you!” You’re awesome, and I probably don’t deserve you.

Food For Thought

I went out to Angler’s one weekend for lunch. They were having a catfish basket special: two fillets of catfish, hand-cut French fries and hushpuppies for $7.95. It was like a sign from the catfish gods that I was meant to be at this particular restaurant at this particular time on the Catfish Quest.

My food arrived amazingly fast and my first bite was of a French fry — a hand-cut French fry — and it was sublime. It was seasoned with what tasted like maybe a little bit of seasoning salt and just a hint of cumin. I could be imagining the cumin — it was that faint. Fantastico!
I was worried that with the fries being that good, the fish would disappoint me. I was so wrong. It was light and crispy on the outside and soft and flaky on the inside. And not one single piece of it tasted like I was eating the bottom of a river. The only thing that could have made it better was if Johnny Depp hand fed it to me while Leonard Cohen serenaded me.

With the fries and fish being darn near perfect, I took my first bite of hushpuppy with trepidation. When I bit into the hushpuppy, my first thought was … HOLY CRAP SOMEONE PUT BACON IN THE HUSHPUPPIES! I don’t know who thought of chopping up bacon and putting it in a hushpuppy, but they are a genius and I bow down to their greatness. They really deserve some type of bacon genius award. I’m not exactly sure what that trophy would look like, though. The hush puppies were exceptional.

The Sporkcast

(1-5 sporks)

Atmosphere: 3.8 fiberglass sporks with a casting reel on the handle
Angler’s is decorated much as you’d expect, like a fishing cabin. I thought I was going to have to complain about dead animals being on the wall, but I found out that they weren’t using the pelts (with the heads attached) as décor. The pelts were in their section of antiques and collectibles that were for sale. So, if you need a pelt with the head attached you know where to get one.
Food: 4.9 sporks that were hand-carved from the wood from a magic tree
Everything was fantastic. This means that until further notice, Angler’s is most definitely way out in front of the pack in our Holy Catfish adventure. It’s going to take a lot to knock them out of the lead.
Staff: 4.8 unobtrusive sporks
My waitress was great. She made sure I was taken care of but didn’t make me feel like I was being stalked.
Dollars spent: My lunch was around $10, which included some mighty fine sweet tea.
Chance of returning: There’s a 100 percent chance I’ll be back at Angler’s for my fill of great catfish, fries and hushpuppies loaded with pure bacon goodness. Mmmmm … bacon.