Adam & Eats: Pat’s Place

Editor’s note: Adam Brandt is a graduate from the Cobra Kai School of Culinary Callousness, where he received their highest award, the Red Apron of Merciless Eating. Aside from eating and talking about eating, he makes pots, paintings, prints, books, photographs, and generally, a big mess. He has been the studio assistant at Mudpuppy Pottery for almost nine years and is attending a local university in a desperate attempt to earn a biology degree.

I liked the adventure of last week’s eating experience, so I thought I’d follow it up with yet another hidden treasure of a restaurant. This time around we will visit a brand spanking new place, rather than one that has been around for decades.

Located on Kelley Highway, where the Bean Joint used to be, is the new home of Pat’s Place. Owner and proprietor, Pat Newton, is always hard at work in the kitchen. That is, when she is not at her other jobs. What Miss Pat brings to the area is straightforward, simple, southern food.

Sure the building is a little worn, but it has plenty of charm. It has the feel of a 50’s lunch counter. Maybe it is because the building hasn’t really changed for a long time. There is just something cool about sitting at a counter, on a hard metal stool, and eating lunch. Then there are the bathrooms; original tile work and plumbing fixtures give the place a pretty authentic feel and are somehow not creepy.

Unfortunately, that is where the cool old stuff ends. For the most part, the rest of the décor is nonexistent. The subdued walls seem to be crying out for a mural or something. I guess the interior fails to match the energy and excitement that is coming from the kitchen. Give it time. She has had the restaurant open for a little under a month, so please overlook the folding tables and chairs. Wait a minute. I take that back. Don’t overlook them. They add something to the place. They give it a feel of eating at a family reunion or something. And given how well Pat takes care of you, you’ll feel like your sitting at the kid’s table again for sure.

Ah, yes, the food. Pat serves fried fish and the fixins’ associated with fried fish. She offers both catfish and whiting, hushpuppies, potato salad, coleslaw, french fries, green beans, and fried okra. All of which are good, but not mind blowing. It is simple food. Most of it comes from a freezer bag, but that is not unheard of in the restaurant industry these days.

Right about now, you are probably wondering how a restaurant that serves frozen food on folding tables, got such high marks. The reason for this is as simple as Pat’s menu. She loves to fry up some fish and serve it to other people. It makes her genuinely happy. If a woman who works (at least one other) full-time job wants to spend the time, energy, and money to open a restaurant to make herself happy and attempt to make others happy in the process, then God bless her. It just so happens that her food tastes good, too. I think it is about time that we stop poo-pooing on hard-working people’s attempts at happiness, don’t you?

If you feel the same, or are in need of a little happiness yourself, go see Miss Pat. She’s sure to lighten your spirits and fill up your belly in the process.

Until next week, good eating to you and yours.

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When he’s not beating his eggs, Adam makes time to respond to e-mails that get past his hard-ass spam filter. You can try to reach him at [email protected]