Neighborhood Fish and More

Ate at Neighborhood Fish and More tonight. I had the pan fried catfish, with Mac n cheese, blackeyed peas, baked beans, collared greens and yams. We ordered the sides for the table and got six in total because each entrée came with three.

I can’t wait to try the banana pudding (sells out quick!) because Vee (the owner) insists on putting real bananas that are at the peak of ripeness in her banana pudding. I respect that! I promised to call every day and rush over for a bowl when they had some, so watch this space for that! I think that will become their signature side, folks flock from all over just for the banana pudding.

The catfish was cooked perfectly, with a light dusting of cornmeal and pepper, fried to a light crust. (I know, I should eat catfish battered and deep-fried, but that gives me heartburn… I miss it, though, if that is any small comfort) Maybe one of these days, I will do a deep dive and eat the catfish as it should be; deep-fried….

The sides, in order of my favorites:

Baked beans: yummy, umami brown sugar goodness. If you threw me in a tub full of these baked beans, that would be heaven on this earth, they were that good. They were cooked enough to be soft, but still had structure. Just really good.

Blackeyed peas: again, cooked down just enough to develop “gravy” but still has structure. Not mushy like many… there was a bit of cayenne giving the dish a bit of kick, so if you don’t like it hot, might want to steer clear.

Mac n cheese: soft noodles, baked, almost like a casserole. Mac had a good chew, though. A little kick, might have been Franks hot sauce. Good flavor… I like a bit more cheese, but not bad.

Collared greens: greens retained structure, flavored with pork chunks. There was a bit of a kick to them which was a bit stronger than it needed to be, but I like the flavor of the greens to shine more than the meat fat and hot sauce. Again, if you like some kick to your greens, you’ll love these.

Yams: my least favorite as the nutmeg tasted a bit “raw,” like it wasn’t allowed to cook into the yams slowly enough. I’m not sure if they started off with whole, raw yams and slow roasted them or if the yams were canned and the spice added, but they could stand to use a slow roast with the spices to allow each to amalgamate.

I finished off with a slice of lemon cake. It was a consolation prize as I was too late for the banana pudding, so it’s probably unfair of me to comment. It’s not lemon cake’s fault banana pudding was popular!

The place was only in its fourth day of service, so it has some growing pains, but they’ll work them all out. We were there for a little over an hour and there was steady to-go traffic. Sit-down was not as robust but if the walk-in order pickup is any indication, they are off to a healthy start.

Vee, sat with us for a spell (because she looked exhausted and was, so we pulled up a chair for her!) This seems like a place that lots of folks will make their second home in no time. I hope they get some live music from local bands…. they got the room for a stage!

Anyway, Vee could use some servers and cooks, so if anyone is looking for a job that feels like family, I’d get in there now before everyone in the neighborhood wants to work there! Just tell her the goofy white dude who dropped cake crumbs all over her carpet sent you!

I have a feeling about this place. I hope it becomes a Clayton cornerstone.

DDN article: https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/just-new-seafood-restaurant-market-the-works-clayton/hhjAK2XR9EPG1yfPLAkoJK/

Address: 6556 N. Union Rd, Clayton, OH 45315

Phone: 937–771–0084