This new Mississippi Coast restaurant might have been my best meal of the year. Here’s why
The Woolmarket area isn’t devoid of fixins and good bites.
But the community boxed in by Mill and Parker creeks needed something to fill the gap of a good, local sit-down restaurant. In stepped Flatheads and Bottomfeeders Catfish and Steaks.
The new seafood-based restaurant opened earlier this summer at 8161 Woolmarket Road and has stayed busy thanks to strong early reviews. So we decided to pop in and give it a try for ourselves.
The dining room here is an open space that reminds you a lot of the foyer at your aunt’s megachurch. But instead of donuts and coffee, you’re greeted by asparagus, pepper and jam preserves and a display case full of cheesecake slices.
The floors are a white-foamed ocean blue and the walls decorated with pelicans, sea turtles and swamp scenery. There are three TVs on the back wall. On this Wednesday night they displayed SportsCenter, comical videos and DJ Khaled playing golf.
The wife and I started our meal like any civilized Mississippians would: with a 52 oz. fish bowl.
The Bottom Feeder Punch is comprised of Captain Morgan, Malibu, Smirnoff vodka, peach, pineapple, orange juice, sprite and blue caracao all swirled into a green concoction and topped with an orange slice.
It was phenomenally refreshing and not too far off from a Sex on the Beach.
And because we’re diverse people of culture, we also got a caramel apple tini. It may have been better than the fish bowl and is the perfect drink for the upcoming fall season.
Then the food came. First up was the choot’em bites — fried gator — with some of the best remoulade you’ll have on the Coast. Then the main courses arrived.
On one side of the table was the catfish and shrimp combo plate and on the other Alfredo pasta topped with scallops and served with bread.
The plate was “an A++ meal,” according to wife. From the same source, the pasta was “divine.”
I agree on the pasta. The scallops were well-seasoned and cooked perfectly, as were the shrimp on the combo platter. The catfish is a homemade recipe and got the mark of approval from my live-in catfish expert.
All in all, it was a filling meal and one of the more impressive all-around meals I’ve had during my review travels this year.
Unfortunately for my wallet, it is only a 10 minute drive from my place of residence. And the menu has plenty of meals designed to entice me back.
The dinner menu features po’boys and seafood plates with shrimp, oysters and catfish as your options. There are steak fillets and ribeyes sourced from the nearby Black Jack Ranch in Stone County.
And, of course, various cheesecakes and pies. The lunch menu is simple. You can get a seafood basket or chicken tenders and there’s a rotating lunch special ranging from all-you-can eat catfish on Tuesdays to crawfish etouffe on Thursdays.
Folks of age can also enjoy the bar around back with live music and a full menu.
Flatheads and Bottomfeeders is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The bar stays open until midnight and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
