our taste: RESTAURANT REVIEW
The River’s Edge
Brazos River Catfish Café
— Revisited
BY THE WEATHERFORD FOODIE
I
ing Millsap and Brock High Schools in
Austin’s name that is partially funded by
dessert sales.
Rather than sitting around missing Austin,
they both dove back into the restaurant
industry taking back the restaurant at the
end of the lease in June of 2015.
The philosophy of hiring good people,
then letting them do good work, has led
to numerous long-time employees. James
and Sandra enjoy visiting with the regular
and new customers both as well as seeing
a lot of old friends coming in to eat good
food.
Brazos River Catfish Cafe can be a
bit difficult to find. From IH-20 take exit
#394 and go west 1.5 miles on the south
service road.
The restaurant is located on the East
end of the Brazos River Bridge.
If you have the opportunity to go
there you will not be disappointed. You
will find the are a beautiful and the people
to be good folks. It is definitely worth the
drive, especially if you have some dessert.
Brazos river catfish cafe is open
Thursday, Friday and Saturday 4:00pm
until 9:00pm and Sunday 11:00am
until 3:00pm. Located at 10771 IH-20
in Millsap, Texas. They can be reached
at 817-596-2994, on Facebook and at
www.brazosrivercatfishcafe.com. The
hours change some in the winter.
PA R K E R C O U N T Y T O D AY
distinctive classic perfect peppery Texastaste, with perhaps a hint of pecan. The
Memphis is all about the spicy cornmeal,
with a hint of garlic and a texture that’s
perfectly satisfying combo of crunch on
the outside, moist, tender and flaky on
the inside. I ordered French fries because
they are famous for their hand-cut richness, served at the perfect temperature
by our excellent, efficient but friendly
server. My companion ordered the baked
potato, which was cooked to perfection.
How can you mess up a baked potato
you might ask? Believe me, as a food
reviewer, it can be done.
We ended our meal by splitting a
slice of homemade chocolate meringue
pie. The crust was handmade, flaky and
melt-in-your mouth wonderfulness as
if the folks at the Café had kidnapped
somebody’s Southern grandma for their
pie operation. The meringue was a
luscious cloud about a mile-high, perfectly balancing the lush, chocolaty filling.
Shortly before opening Brazos River
Catfish Cafe in 1999 Sandra gave birth to
their son, Austin.
In June of 2010, after they had signed
a five-year lease to enable someone
else to operate the restaurant, which
would allow them to spend more time
raising their son and at Soda Springs
Baptist Church.
Tragically, Austin died July 18, 2013,
leaving James and Sandra devastated.
They set up a scholarship fund benefit-
JUNE 2016
ventured out to the far west edge of
Parker County to re-visit the Brazos
River Catfish Cafe after I heard that the
original owners were back.
The building constructed in the 1940s
predates the 1966 opening of IH-20 and
is situated on old highway 80. Halloween
night of 1996 James and Sandra Griffin
were in the area, spotted an old building with a great location and decided
to investigate. In the night it looked like
an old worn-out building with tall grass
growing around it.
Driving around the building, their
truck got stuck in a hole around back.
James was glad the truck had four-wheel
drive, removed the truck from the hole,
and Sandra said, “Bring me back in the
daylight.”
Happy with what they saw and with great
vision, the Griffins purchased the building in 1997. After many renovations, it
opened as the Brazos River Catfish Cafe
in 1999.
You enter to see many bright and classic
decorations that transport you back to a
different time, Elvis memorabilia, newspaper clippings and pictures from an earlier
time are all around.
The menu then and now includes a
variety of items such as catfish, frog legs,
shrimp, hamburgers and steak with many
different types of preparation that will suit
any craving.
I ordered a combination plate with two
pieces of fried catfish and grilled shrimp.
My dinner companion ordered the grilled
catfish, which comes in a choice of either
lemon pepper or blackened or one of
each. Both were delicious and grilled to
perfection.
Dinner came with a basket of goodies
that included tartar sauce, butter, crackers, hushpuppies and other treats. We
were both pleased with our selections
and we both enjoyed them. The grilled
shrimp was especially tasty and had a
wood-fired flavor.
The fried catfish is available in three
varieties: Regular, Cajun and Memphis.
You can order one of each, which is what
I recommend. The regular flavor has a
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