Saturday, October 16, 2010

Flying Fish in Dallas, TX, Don't Miss Out On The Fresh Catch


On our journey to find the best eateries Texas offers, Livin Tejas decided to get the lowdown on something Texas does right, fried catfish. We found it at the Flying Fish in Dallas, TX. This was only after an exhausting journey that included several failed attempts to find a parking spot at two other well known catfish haunts. We will let them go unmentioned but just say to these places, you don't have to change a single thing in your restaurant (we like holes in the wall and all that) but if you have a popular spot, spend some money to enlarge your already small parking areas or find a way to accommodate for your customers if it overfills and this doesn't include having valet. That way, your customers don't have to do battle before they even get to the ordering counter. With our rant aside, we have to tell that if you're looking for great catfish and exhaustive selection of tasty seafood and you don't want to hassle with the parking, we found your place, as it has plenty of parking in front and a free parking garage right across the way.

Preston Center is a premier shopping and eating destination in Dallas
Flying Fish also happens to located in very established shopping center in Dallas called Preston Center with plenty of shops for you to browse around once your done with your meal or as we like to say, if you make yourself hungry while your shopping then fried seafood will surely satisfy that. 


As you can see, we weren't joking when we said that Flying Fish has an exhaustive selection of fried and not to mention grilled seafood goodness on their menu. We aren't complaining in the least though, as  we love variety and we're pretty sure that most of this menu is sure to satisfy your seafood fix. Just to give you a brief summary of what they have, theres hamburgers, boiled shrimp, snow crab legs, fish tacos, and even a big breakfast menu until 10:30am. You might be asking, how did Livin Tejas ever decide what to get? Easy, we just went for what Texas is known for in the seafood department and catfish would be at the top. 


As you can see, we happened to make the right choice in getting this catfish and butterfly shrimp combo basket that includes fries and hushpuppies as a bonus. We were also very surprised at the size and quality of the butterfly shrimp because unless you live near the Gulf Coast in Texas, then good quality shrimp is hard to come by. Not to say that it can't be found, just a little more difficult. Thankfully, we were very pleased to have found great shrimp here and again, that was very unexpected. It definitely took this place up a notch on the list of best catfish holes in Dallas. Ok, we'll get to our opinion of the quality of the fries because we know that is very important to some people but let's focus on what we came here for in the first place and that would be first rate catfish.


We said focus didn't we? Livin Tejas has visited plenty of catfish eateries in Texas and to be honest with our readers, we have to say... this is some of the very best catfish on this side of the Red River (for those that don't know, the Red River is the border of Texas and Oklahoma). As you might be able to tell, and from our honest opinion, this fish of whiskers was quality in being as fresh as it was. It was also exceptional in the meatiness and tenderness of the fish without any fatty meat which can be common if the cut is not done right. These two factors, freshness and the meatiness quality are very important if you want to experience the best catfish. In other words, the picture doesn't lie, it is as good as it looks. The other most important tip in finding great fried catfish is how they fry and bread it. We found the batter at Flying Fish to be very light and not overwhelming as to be able to taste the fish itself. Also, they fried it to perfection as it was not overdone but just right for our taste buds. A lot of catfish joints don't get that frying part right so needless to say, we were very impressed.


We couldn't leave without ordering up a catfish po'boy as they call it down south. A po'boy (or poorboy as it is also called) is simply a sandwich filled with your choice of seafood. That's if you're from other parts and are not aware of the name. At the Flying Fish, it happens to be called a poorboy loaf (interesting because we've never seen it called a loaf before). All naming issues aside, this poorboy loaf was good but not as good as we've experienced at other seafood restaurants in Dallas, Ft Worth, and Houston. This left our only regret because when we were driving home, we told ourselves that we of should tested some of the desserts. The desserts include banana pudding, key lime pie, bread pudding, and cobbler. All of those sound really good to us. That is ok though, this only gives us an excuse to go back and update this post for you at a later date. You probably know that is only a excuse to go back and eat this delicious fried seafood again. Ok we admit it, we have a sweet tooth too and that's why we were so hard on ourselves for not satisfying it.


The Famous Wall of Billy (talking) Bass can be found here
We just can't end without a silly but entertaining note because not only does Flying Fish have wonderful seafood, they have more personality to boot than most restaurants combined. We noticed this the minute we in the walked in door and decided it was too interesting to pass up by not including it in this post. 

Everywhere we looked, we saw fish and not in our baskets,  but on the walls and even on the ceiling. There happens to be an interesting story to this and it goes as follows...



As you might be able to read in the sign (click to enlarge if you need to) the Billy Bass collection is not only pretty to look at but it will get you free catfish if you participate. All you need to do, is give your Billy Bass up (that's not too much to ask for as you probably won't miss him, poor Billy though). No wonder we saw so many of those Billy fish, people are crazy about getting something for free. Not only is that fun, but what a way to entertain your kids when you take them here.

The Liars Wall is also very amusing as it contains countless bragging rights of people and their catch

We are definitely a fan of the humor that fills this stand out eatery but that would be all for nothing if the food wasn't up to par. Livin Tejas knew it would be though, because when a restaurant has a good vibe you can feel it the minute you walk in the door. The vibes were buzzing at the Flying Fish and there is no doubt that Livin Tejas found a new favorite in a State known for many a great catfish hangout. We have to say in the end, we are glad that we had parking issues at those other catfish joints because then we wouldn't of been able to experience the goodness of the catch and the personality of the atmosphere at the Flying Fish. If you want to find yourself at the Flying Fish and park yourself here with no hassle, then please visit Flying Fish

And...




2 comments:

  1. What a fun post. Love that menu! And the Billy bass, liars wall and the food - yummy. It's not even 8 am here and i am craving catfish :) I am new to you blog and happy I found it - I will be back! Often :)
    - Butter
    (from Running On Butter)

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  2. Thanks again Butter for visiting and your great feedback. It really makes me happy that you found us! Again, stop in every week and I'll have something new for you that will make you hungry for it at 8am or whatever time it is. I joined your awesome Butter blog and I will too be back often. Glad we found each others blogs!
    Best Regards,
    Matt from Livin Tejas

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