By Brooke A. Brown

Last weekend, I was having a leisurely lunch over at the Bluegrass Kitchen when I overheard some talk about John and Keeley Steele’s other restaurant venture, the Tricky Fish. From what I was hearing, it sounded as if the place was finally open for business. With fond memories of overstuffed oyster po’ boys from Hyman’s Seafood in the other Charleston (South Carolina, y’all) forced immediately to the front of my mind, I asked our server if what I was hearing was true. It was!

Fast forward to Monday of this week and I’m standing inside the laid-back, beach-weathered and work-in-progress environs of Tricky Fish, searching the menu board for that fried oyster phenomenon. With a simple menu (click on image to the right) featuring hot dogs, pulled-pork bar-b-que, chicken wings and fried things, it was easy to spot. I quickly ordered one up, along with a side of onion rings, while my Lovely Miss S chose the fried catfish sandwich and a side of hush puppies.

While waiting for our number to be called, we noticed a nifty bar in the back of the comfortably eclectic space. It is currently non-functional as typical bars go, but I hope the future holds a cooler and a tap or two. And maybe even a jukebox. One deserves a refreshing brew and a Jimmy Buffett tune whilst chowing down fried seafood.

I suddenly hear our number and like a Bingo champion jump from my seat in excitement. I quickly gather our tray of food and immediately search out the hot sauce. There’s ketchup, mustard (both yellow and Dijon), salt and pepper, but no hot sauce? I’m supposed to eat fried oysters without hot sauce!? OK, settle down. The place just opened. Maybe the hot sauce hasn’t come in yet.

First things first, I dive into the tray of homemade onion rings. The coating is crunchy and the onions are sweet. We’re off to a great start. Next, I devote my attention to the po’ boy. The oysters are a-plenty and the pain de mie bun (fresh from the Charleston Bread Company) is light and tender. The one thing throwing me for a loop is the red cabbage. The Hyman’s version, which is my personal gold standard for oyster po’ boys, opts for simple shredded iceberg. But I’m not at Hyman’s, so I go with the flow (this is a casual place, after all). The bread is delicious and the oysters are perfectly tender. The fresh tartar sauce is bright and tangy. But the raw red cabbage is a distraction, both in color and taste. The bold hue of the cabbage mound hides the oyster prize from sight, and the bitter taste masks their salty sweetness.

Before I know it, my po’ boy is no mo’, so I turn my attention to Miss S and her fried catfish sandwich. Offering her the not-so-subtle look that says, ‘Can I try a bite?,’ she responds with an extension of the sandwich to my side of the table. The catfish was truly awesome. It is breaded in organic corn meal and well seasoned with Cajun spices. The crunch and the spice is exactly what you look for in a fried fish sandwich, that and tender, flaky fish… which is exactly what we got. Tres magnifique!

With nothing left to try except for the hush puppies, which are better than golf ball sized, I snagged one out of the tray and took a big bite. I was — and I hate to say it — truly disappointed. They were incrediblly heavy – doughy, even – and not at all flavorful. It’s what I would think eating a piece of deep-fried Tempur-Pedic would be like. Any hush puppy I’ve ever had has been crispy and light with a corn/onion/sugar trifecta of sweetness. Based on the success of the Bluegrass Kitchen, I’m confident that future Tricky Fish hush puppy batter will be better.

All in all, the biggest thing I took away from this first taste of Tricky Fish is the thought of its potential. The space itself is warm and inviting. The menu is simple and will be easy for them to perfect (see hot sauce; shredded lettuce instead of cabbage; and hush puppy remarks).

It’s also important to note that John and Keeley are being great stewards of the environment, using biodegradable food service trays and utensils, recycling soda cans and building a menu from as many all natural, organic and locally produced items as possible. Now that’s a tricky fish to fry, especially when you’re the only ones in the Kanawha Valley attempting such a feat.

My guess is they can pull it off. It’s just encouraging to see such capable and friendly folks doing their best to “keep the planet clean and fed.”

IF YOU GO: Tricky Fish, 1611 Washington Street, East (next to Subway with parking in the rear), Charleston, W.Va.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 1:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.