Frankie's Market Cafe

Helena, AL
$5-$8 Entrees

I have always loved fried catfish. When I was an undersized eight-year-old with bony knees, I went to a family restaurant with my mother. The waitress took our order, and I chose a whole catfish with sides. She looked at my mother as if to say, "Shouldn't this child be ordering from the kid's menu?" My indulgent mother only shrugged and let me have my way, curious to see if I could actually finish the meal. (You could make any number of assumptions about my possible character deficiencies and the causes thereof from this sentence.)

I ate the whole baked potato with sour cream and butter, all of my broccoli, and the entire fried catfish (except the bones, of course). Then I ate a slice of French silk pie. The meal probably weighed more than me. The children I knew who could eat as much as me could only be found in Laura Ingalls Wilder books and had generally suffered a long-term, snow-laden famine in South Dakota in 1880. But no matter how much I ate as a child, I always remained scrawny.

Frankie's Market Cafe is a delightful stop in the middle of nowhere. My friend, James recommended it. He has a nose for restaurants that serve fantastic catfish, whether they are crowded, vacant, in decent repair, falling down, or converted from gas stations, and all have been in the middle of nowhere.

Not only does Frankie's serve the best catfish I've ever had (and I've had a lot of catfish), but they also have a market attached to their meat-and-three cafe. The market serves fresh, local produce, which is also served to guests in the restaurant. It is buffet-style: just tell the cook which meat you would like and chooses two or three sides. The meats include the aforementioned fantastic catfish, which is locally raised, and usually fried chicken, along with two or three other choices. The sides may include macaroni and cheese (which is considered a vegetable around here), fried okra (which is considered healthy around here), squash casserole, baked beans, and (best of all) fried green tomatoes. Yes, to all you yankees, just like the movie! Green tomatoes are, in the words of the infamous Mr. Collins of Pride and Prejudice, an exemplary vegetable.

Although I can no longer eat whatever I want and still remain scrawny, I would recommend Frankie's to anyone who does not mind driving a little off the beaten path. Their prices for lunch are easy on the wallet, and their portion sizes are generous. Frankie's is open on Saturdays from 7:30 to 10:30 and 11:00 to 3:00, Sundays through Tuesdays from 11:00 to 3:00, and Wednesdays through Fridays from 11:00 to 8:00. The produce market opens Mondays through Fridays at 8:30.

3 Kudzu