I was so excited Lori said she’d help me with this blog when we visited Mack’s Fish House for our second time. What was even more exciting was how great the experience was! Here’s the breakdown:
ATMOSPHERE
Mack’s Fish House is located behind my all-time favorite Chester’s Fried Chicken, found in the Road Runner gas station on Hwy 25. It is technically on Hwy 110, but can be easily seen at the intersection of these two highways.
The inside is large and open, with some nautical themed decor. The looks of the inside are not what will get you in the door, but the free “bean bar”, pretty decent salad bar, and pie display help you realize quite quickly that you made a good choice for your meal….more on that later.
THE IMPORTANT STUFF
When Lori agreed to help me write this blog, she quickly wrote up her own take the place, and there really isn’t anything I can add to it! I completely agree with her, so here’s her take:
Lori:
This is our second visit here, but I am definitely more impressed this most recent time than I was my first trip. First of all, our waitress was amazing, so sweet and attentive but not annoying at all…even though we asked her several times what dishes came with the bean bar, because we were determined to eat the beans! I’m not a food expert, by any means, I mostly just like to eat! I think they called the beans “brown beans” so I have no clue what kind of beans they actually are, what I do know is, they’re delicious! They are cooked perfectly and have big chunks of ham and onion, and I like to add just a little pepper and they’re perfect.
Then our server brings out the free FREE basket of hush puppies. I could eat those beans and hush puppies everyday, they’re that good! The hush puppies come out so fresh, you can tell they’re constantly putting those in the fryer. Between the three of us, we polished off the pretty large basket in less than ten minutes (judgement free zone right?!). She politely asks, “Would you like another basket?” We all try to keep our manners and say, “Yes, please.” While inside we are thinking, “Are you mad, woman? Of course we do!”
By this time, we have zero room left for our entrees, but alas, they’ve already been ordered. So we solider on, I had the catfish at my last time, this time I opted for the fried shrimp po boy. ($8.99 with regular fries.) It came out on this delicious fresh toasted hogie bun with mayo, lettuce, onion and tomato. The shrimp were the baby variety, perfectly fried and the sandwhich was loaded with them. I cut the po boy in half, knowing even that was ambitious. The shrimp was flavorful and the bread didn’t overwhelm everything else, the way I’ve seen some po boys served on a huge bun and with just a tiny amount of meat. The fries were good, very fresh and seasoned nicely, but nothing too special.
We were way too full to consider dessert, but I wouldn’t mind trying some of the delicious looking pies or cakes on a visit soon.
I would come here just for those beans and hush puppies, everything else is icing on top. Both times I’ve been here, I left full and happy and ready to return. The place itself is no frills, has a small town and extremely friendly atmosphere, where anyone will feel comfortable. I look forward to returning before summers end and I hope some of you make the trip while enjoying the lake and river nearby!
Amy:
The only thing left to mention is the food Drew and I got, plus a little extra service we got from our waitress. I ordered a two-piece catfish with grilled veggies instead of fries. ($8.99 with regular fries, but $1 more for a different side). Drew ordered a three-piece catfish with sweet potato waffle fries instead of regular fries. ($10.99 but also a $1 more for the sweet potato fries.) Here’s where the service went above and beyond!
When we received our dishes, we both got a three-piece catfish, thank you for the extra piece! Though, there were regular fries on our plates.
The waitress realized immediately the mistake, apologized for messing up, and said she would bring out of ordered sides momentarily.
So, how was this dish? The fish is okay, and pales in comparison to everything else we had this trip…hushpuppies, beans, the sides, etc. It is cooked well, not greasy, it just lacks a little seasoning. Though the tartar sauce it comes with is delish!
The sides we ordered came quickly, and they were both more than we expected. The waffle fries were in a huge basket, came with some honey, and were delectable. By this time, we were so full on everything else that we couldn’t eat but a couple of them each, so they came home with us.
My grilled veggie side was truly tasty. These veggies were fresh and were just seared enough on a grill to give them a good char without losing their textures. They needed no extra salt or pepper, they were perfectly seasoned. I finished those.
When it was all said and done, the waitress did not charge us the $1 extra for each of these sides, which the menu makes clear: any other side besides the regular fries costs $1 more. So, we not only got more food than we could ever possibly eat, we weren’t charged since our waitress didn’t get the order perfect on her first go-round. Wow! I haven’t had service that good in a while.
Oh! Don’t let me forget another important aspect of the bean bar…Drew’s favorite part! The bean bar also comes with cole slaw, nothing special, didn’t tasty homemade. Finally, it comes with pickled green tomatoes, which are very tasty. I had never tried these before because they sound gross. Drew convinced both Lori and I to try them, and they were surprisingly good. They have a little tart kick but a refreshing aspect to go along with all of the heavier items on our table.
OVERALL
Overall, we love the food here, even if we have to leave with half of it in to-go boxes. The hush puppies and beans, though, are what will keep calling us back. Plus, great service and nice people really top it all off. Thanks, Mack’s Fish House, we will be back!