CHEAP EATS Saucer-size crab cake a highlight at Fat Daddy’s

By Rosemary Boggs (Contact)

LITTLE ROCK — Catfish lovers in the Cabot area have a new place to troll for lunch and dinner with the opening of Fat Daddy’s Fish House at the corner of Southfork Drive and Arkansas 367.

The new building has a bright maroon-colored roof and a large, freshly paved and painted parking lot.

It was crowded on a recent Friday evening, but a party of 15 that had been waiting for about an hour decided to leave, and with others leaving as well we had only a 10-minute wait.

The brightly lighted interior is split into two dining areas. A “Mardi Gras” theme is evident in the brightly colored masks hanging on a wall in the large dining room alongside ornamental stuffed fish and ducks - and even a stuffed deer head - adorned in shiny purple, green, silver and gold beads.

Once our party of three wasseated, we perused the small menu of mainly catfish and shrimp dishes. We ordered sweet iced tea and appetizers that included fried dill pickles ($5.95), onion rings ($4.95) and coconut shrimp (six for $6.95), and all three dishes came outof the kitchen in record time. As for the tea, the first glass was a bit cloudy with a stale flavor, but subsequent refills were fine.

The fried pickles were made with thin dill slices coated with a rather nondescript breading. The coconut shrimp had just the right amount of coconut. It took a while for us to be able to eat the crisp onion rings, served very hot.

We decided to share Fat Daddy’s “Boatload” ($18.95), which included gumbo, catfish filets, fried shrimp, Bubba’s Famous Crab Cake, french fries, hushpuppies, slaw and homemade tartar sauce. We’d barely gotten through our appetizers before the huge meal arrived, spread out on what looked like a large metal baking sheet covered with yellow paper.

The menu says that the crab cake (also available as an appetizer for $6.95) is made with seasoned jumbo-lump bluecrab, then dredged in bread crumbs and sauteed. The one that came with our meal was about the size of a saucer, and it was rich and delicious, although we could have done without the spicy remoulade on top.

The gumbo, the menu says, is Fat Daddy’s “interpretation of the Cajun classic with chicken and andouille sausage slowly simmered in a dark seafood broth and served over rice.” It is a far cry from the okra-filled versions we’re used to, as it contained a mix of vegetables like lima beans, peas, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes.

The catfish was good if not quite crispy enough, and the fried shrimp was delicious. The tray was filled by a heap of fries and only a couple of hushpuppies. It wasn’t until we were almost through eating that we realized we never got any tartar sauce.

Fat Daddy’s small selectionof catfish, shrimp and combination dinners falls in the $6.95 to $13 range, and come with slaw, fries, hushpuppies and tartar sauce. Nonfried choices include grilled catfish ($10.95) and shrimp ($12.95) with salad, rice and vegetables.

Shrimp lovers might consider the Shrimp, Shrimp, Shrimp and More Shrimp ($16.95), a large platter of hand-breaded shrimp, coconut shrimp, grilled shrimp, and “Bada Bing Bang” shrimp (with a chipotle sauce).

As for “Food Without Fins,” Fat Daddy’s offers a signature burger ($5.29) with fries, a grilled chicken breast ($9.95), a chicken strip dinner ($8.95) and a hamburger steak topped with grilled onions ($9.95).

For dessert, there are fried pies ($1.75), fried biscuits with confectioner’s sugar ($2.75), fruit cobbler ($2.95), vanilla ice cream ($1.25) and Chocolate Volcano Cake ($4.95).

Fat Daddy’s Fish House Address: 2797 Southfork Drive, Cabot Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Sunday.

Cuisine: Catfish, shrimp Credit cards: AE, D, V, MC Alcoholic beverages: No Wheelchair accessible: Yes Carryout: Yes (501) 843-3200

Weekend, Pages 109 on 08/15/2008