Huck Finn's Catfish

We've been going to Huck Finn's since our kids were little, and honestly, it's one of those places that just gets it right. The all-you-can-eat catfish is pond-raised from Mississippi — they go through 50 tons a year, which tells you something about how fresh the turnover is. What really gets me is the vittles that come with every meal: scratch-made hushpuppies, coleslaw, white beans with turkey ham, pickles, and sweet onion slices, all unlimited.

The thing is, you can't just order sides here. It's all-you-can-eat or nothing, which works great if you're hungry but might annoy you if you just want a light bite.

Park across the street at Patriot Park instead of fighting for a Parkway spot — learned that one the hard way after circling for 20 minutes on a busy Saturday. The restaurant's right between traffic lights 6 and 7, so it gets slammed during peak hours. We usually hit it around 2 or 3pm on weekdays when the dinner rush hasn't started yet.

Oh and the whole catfish thing. They used to have it regularly, but now it's hit or miss because of labor shortages at their supplier. Call ahead and ask for a manager if that's what you're after — don't just show up expecting it. The gift shop has decent prices on T-shirts and they sell their hushpuppy mix to take home, which our neighbors always ask us to grab when we go.

One heads up though — some folks have mentioned the staff can be a bit dismissive, especially if you're not obviously a tourist. We've never had issues, but it's worth knowing they get so much Parkway traffic that repeat local business isn't really their focus.