Oven Fried Catfish Sandwich

It must be June, as I am in the mood for sandwiches and outdoor dining. Last night we made our way to Harry's Country Club (one of my all-time favorite spots for outdoor meals) and my pan-fried catfish entree (with hominy! yum!) reminded me of these lovely sandwiches, which will pass muster if you'd rather do your al fresco dining in your own outdoor area. They make a great meal with broccoli slaw or roasted sweet potato wedges and a glass of limeade.

Oven-Fried Catfish Sandwiches
from Cooking Light

for the sauce:
1/4 c light mayo
1 T sweet pickle relish
2 tsp capers, chopped
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)

for the catfish:
2 T all-purpose flour
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp garlic powder, divided
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
2/3 c yellow cornmeal
4 (4-ounce) catfish fillets
cooking spray
4 hoagie rolls, toasted
1 c shredded romaine lettuce
4 slices red onion
8 slices tomato

Preheat oven to 450°. Place baking sheet in oven.

Combine mayonnaise, relish, capers, 1/8 tsp salt, and pepper sauce in a small bowl, stirring well. Set aside.

Combine flour, paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Place egg whites in a shallow bowl. Combine cornmeal, remaining 1/8 tsp salt, and remaining 1/4 tsp garlic powder in a shallow dish. Working with 1 fillet at a time, dredge in flour. Dip in egg whites; dredge in cornmeal mixture. Place fillet on a plate; repeat procedure with remaining fillets, flour, egg whites, and cornmeal mixture.

Transfer fillets to preheated baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat fillets with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 6 min. Turn fillets and coat with cooking spray; bake an additional 6 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork

Place 1 bottom half of roll on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with lettuce, 1 fillet, tomato slices, and onion. Spread mayonnaise mixture on cut side of each roll top. Serve immediately.

Note: We were generous with the Tabasco, as the sauce wasn't quite zippy enough for us as is. And while I was a bit weirded out at the prospect of coating the filets in cooking spray, it did make them very crispy and didn't seem to mar the flavor.

Quick Bite: Grinders

One of my favorite sandwiches in Kansas City is the Philly Cheesesteak at Grinders. I've never been to Philadelphia, so real live cheesesteaks are not something I'm well aquainted with - but when a restaurant goes to the trouble of getting the fresh bread for their cheesesteaks direct from Philly, then I'm led to believe that something pretty special is happening. My stomach totally agrees.

I get the turkey Philly (sacrilege!) with grilled onions, mushrooms, banana peppers and cheese whiz. An order of their perfectly crisp tots will help you mop up the dripping yellow cheese mess, and help you remember how much you love tater tots. I've eaten just about everything on their menu, but I just keep coming back to this deliciously messy sandwich.

Grinders
417 E 18th St in Kansas City
816*472*5454

Columbus Park

If I didn't live in Pendleton Heights, I would be a resident of Columbus Park. It has a distinct feel that I don't get anywhere else in this city - the vibe of the neighborhood feels both progressive and nostalgic at the same time. You're just a minute away from the City Market and the highway, and yet there is a cozy insulated urban air that is unique and refreshing. We like to head down for the Third Friday art openings, maybe catch a bite to eat at Garozzo's, and just walk around, choosing which house we'd like to live in next, taking photographs, and enjoying the atmosphere. When the new Happy Gillis Cafe & Hangout opens in the old SORedux space, we'll have another Columbus Park spot to frequent. And lots of delicious soup to eat, thanks to the Happy Soup Eater.

The other great offerings in Columbus Park include La Sala's deli and Kim Long Restaurant & Market. My husband grew up on La Sala's Poor Boy sandwich; served on a huge loaf of Roma bread, it's piled high with the "poorer" deli meats, cheese, mustard, lettuce and tomato. One sandwich can easily feed four hungry people and is less than $10. If you're feeling flush, try the Rich Boy instead, with more high-end meats. You can wash any of their sandwiches down with my favorite, Vess's orange soda, called Whistle.

Kim Long is one of the best asian markets in the city - clean and spacious. It's easy to find what you're looking for and quite a few things you didn't know you needed. And it's a great place to stop for a delicious and inexpensive lunch or dinner. Eat there or grab something to go - our favorites include the Lemongrass Chicken (which is a little heavy on the onions...so don't forget your breathmints), Spring Rolls, and the Tomato and Crab Noodles. While you're there, you might as well grab a tea or a slush to go. The taro slush (complete with chewy tapioca pearls) is vibrantly colored, delicious, and refreshing.

(Click on the photo below to see more pics from our lunch at Kim Long.)



Kim Long Market & Restaurant
511 Cherry St.
816*221*8892

La Sala's Deli
910 E 5th Street
816*421*2189
open Mon-Fri 8:30am - 3pm

Longboards

On the second half of the Food Critics today, they talked about all of our great eating choices North of the river. Since I'm in old Northeast KC, the Northland beckons from my back yard and operates as my 'burbs of choice. So I tuned in to see if there were any recommendations for places we haven't tried. Lo and behold, I think we've missed a place or two.
Longboards was the perfect stop for a late lunch this afternoon as we found ourselves driving along North Oak. They serve "California-style Wraps and Bowls" in a funky little storefront hidden in one of the many ubiquitous strip malls lining the trafficway. We've driven past it a couple hundred times, but I can guarantee you we won't be missing it again.
They have cold wraps, hot panini-style wraps, cool bowls, and hot noodle salads (cold noodles with hot toppings). They have the ginger beer I fell in love with in Jamaica and really excellent garlic potato salad. We tried the Kung Pao panini wrap and the Baja Club. The hot wrap was crispy on the outside and perfect on the inside - the spicy kung pao chicken had a good dose of Sriracha sauce along with rice and crisp veggies. The cool Baja Club combined turkey and bacon with the creaminess of guacamole. It was the way a wrap sandwich should be done - never dry, fresh and crisp veggies in every bite, with not too much tortilla gumming up the works.
They've got great choices for vegetarians and lovers of krab as well as the musclebound protein seeker. We ate for less than $15 and surfed on out of the strip mall, fully satisfied.

Longboards
California Style Wraps & Bowls
6269 North Oak Trafficway
816*454*0008

mon-fri 11am - 8pm
sat 11am - 7pm
closed sundays

Antonio's

Sandwiches named after famous people crack me up. Sometimes it fits, sometimes it doesn't, but it takes a bit of imagination to pair a famous person with a food item. And not only do you have to decide if that particular sandwich is what you want, but you have to decide if you feel comfortable ordering that particular sandwich. It's not about what you chose, but whom. Are you truly an "Ally McBeal" kind of guy?

We had really excellent sandwiches named after the famous today at Antonio's down in the River Market. I may not be Barbara Streisand's biggest fan (how many times can someone retire??), but I do enjoy her sandwich: a soft hoagie bun filled with avocado, turkey, lettuce, cheddar and sliced green apples. Despite having no idea who shot him, or why, my husband ordered the J.R. Ewing wrap: a sun-dried tomato tortilla stuffed with turkey, bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato and salsa ranch dressing.

I know, they're most known for their pizza (it's the "Original Antonio's Pizza" from the corner of 43rd and Main), and their pizzas have their share of clever monikers as well. But I'm always a fan of a well-built sandwich with a little thought behind it, be it in the name or the ingredients.

Antonio's Pizzeria & Deli
527 Walnut
816*283*8045
Monday-Friday 11am to 10pm
Saturday 11am to 3pm

Tarantino's

eggplant sandwich
Originally uploaded by noodletown.

We've been eating at Tarantino's and telling other people to eat at Tarantino's and I haven't gotten around to posting about it here because I can't seem to take a picture that is as good as the food in the picture. I've finally just given up on the artistic end of it because, well, the food is good and you should go eat there and see for yourself just how good it is.

The hand-rolled calzones are my absolute favorite. The crust is chewy, slightly doughy, and golden brown. It almost makes the interior irrelevant, except that the ingredients inside are good, too. And the little cup of sugo on the side is just exactly what you wanted to dip your bits of crust in. You'll be licking your fingers.

Of the sandwiches, the "New Yorker," one of their signatures, has been the cause of repeat visits to Tarantino's in the same week. Served on a toasted onion bun, the Capicola, salami, and pepperoni are layered with roasted peppers, pepperoncinis, and melted provolone cheese. The Eggplant sandwich is another hit - lightly breaded, crisp, and smothered in sugo and provolone.

I've already programmed their number into my phone. It's located right above my Mom's.

Tarantino's
Gourmet Pizzas and Subs
601 McGee St
816*421*0043
hours:
Mon-Thurs: 6am - midnight
Fri-Sat: 6am - 3am
Sun: 3pm - 10pm

Cupini's

I love on Saturdays where you have enough stuff to do that you can just skip breakfast and go straight to lunch. I know it's the most important meal of the day, but to me, a really enjoyable breakfast always seems like a meal for a lazy Sunday morning - with the newspaper and lots of refills of my coffee cup - but Saturday seems the perfect day of the week for lunch.
We avoided the grocery store all week long, so on Saturday we called ahead to Cupini's and ordered some sandwiches for carryout. I love having a Cupini's downtown. The location on Westport Road is great, but I like having a Cupini's within a 5 minute drive of my front door (I do hate the downtown traffic situation, but I'm trying to look at the big picture and not be one of those people who is indignant at the smallest inconvenience). I like knowing that there will be bags of frozen Pumpkin Ravioli that close for when I'm feeling like melting a little butter and sage and indulging in someone else's pasta handiwork. Cupini's has excellent everything, but my favorite is the fresh turkey panini, which gets a little added zest from the artichoke spread. The gangster also gets rave reviews for the creaminess of the garlic aioli and the roasted eggplant mixed in against the thin slices of prosciutto and salami. The thing that makes any sandwich memorable, however, is the bread - and Cupini's baguettes are crisp and chewy. They're good on their own, but they make the sandwiches just that much better.

Cupini's
25 East 12th Street or
1809 Westport Road