Category Archives: Friends

In an effort to not be too entirely downcast, dour, and depressing with some of the things finding their ways through my fingertips to your screen, I present to you THINGS I’M GRATEFUL FOR, henceforth to be known as TIGF, not to be confused with TGIF (which I am, in fact, thankful for, even though mine is actually TGITh, but that sounds like I have a lisp, which I don’t… not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Anywaysth. Onward.

TIGF #1 : Catfish Tuesdays
(Note: The ranking is not by priority, it’s by date recorded, and as this is the first TIGF, it gets to be #1. However, if ranked by priority, it’d probably be in the top ten.)

Catfish Tuesdays began as a mild addiction to a warm, friendly, delightful, and delicious place known as Catfish Parlour. When a co-worker and myself started finding ourselves there on a weekly basis, it became an institution. As a recent observer of Catfish Tuesday, I noted how my salivary glands started to sweat as soon as the thought of Catfish Tuesday entered my mind, an irrepressible Pavlovian response.

What’s so great about Catfish Tuesday? Oh, where to begin…

• The food, of course.
• The express line at lunch, wherein myself and my cohort-in-catfish-consumption will readily sneak by (and possibly make fun of) any rookies who can’t figure out the complexities of the express line.
• The buffet-style nature of the side dishes
• The service
• The old country ambiance
• The leglamp. Yes, the leglamp. Even though I’m not allowed to sit facing the leglamp (for fear of “temptation”), we still always sit in its vicinity. If you don’t know what the leglamp is, that’s probably all for the better. That way, you won’t be “tempted.”
• The corn fritters, what we’ve affectionately dubbed “critters.” This is actually the reason that Catfish Tuesdays are on Tuesday. It’s the only day the corn fritters are offered at lunch. Surprisingly, it took us a good few months to figure this out, despite the fact that it’s noted on their menu.
• The bad jokes printed on their receipts, to which we devote entirely too much brain power to. For example, today’s was “Why are circles so smart?” I thought I had the answer (and I still think it’s a good answer): Because they’ve been around forever. However, that was wrong. The correct answer is: Because they have 360 degrees. Butt, every now and then a good one rears its head: “What happened when the butcher backed into his meat grinder?” Answer: “He got a little behind in his work.”

These are the things that make Catfish Tuesdays great. What makes them awesome is the time I get to spend with a good friend, talking about life and work and faith. Feel free to join us any Tuesday; just know that we’ll probably make fun of you if you don’t know about the express line.

So, do you have a weekly dining obsession? If so, do share. And while you don’t have to be as detailed, you do have to relate why it’s a weekly haunt for you.