Tom was always a big fan of Barrow’s Shady Inn, the place on Mistletoe off Earhart back in the day, starting in 1943. Billy Barrow offered a simple plate of fried catfish with white bread and potato salad. And they came, despite the neighborhood, because the food was such a treat.
The founder of Barrow’s met an untimely demise a few years before Hurricane Katrina would have closed Barrow’s anyway. Billy Barrow was hit by a car in the neighborhood and killed. And then the hurricane devastated the neighborhood. The place remained closed for something like twenty years, with none of the family members coming forward to keep up the brand.
A few years ago they turned up on Earhart again, in the unique building a block west of Helm Paint off Carrollton. Soon after, a second location arrived on the Westbank. And not long ago a glamorous space opened on Poydras, though it is hard to notice because everything in the immediate area is dwarfed by a much-beloved neighbor. Barrow’s shares a wall with a walk-up location of Chick-fil-A, as that fast food empire expands its urban footprint.
Because of the cult status of Chick-fil-A, getting to Barrow’s is problematic. Cars are double parked with hazard lights flashing as patrons await their orders. We saw a spot right at the curb inside of this line of cars and got in. It wasn’t till we tried to get out that we realized the folly of this plan.
I never went to the original Barrow’s Shady Inn, so I can only imagine there is little to connect the Poydras spot to the original on Mistletoe. It is sleek and stylish and very modern, with a very nice bar in the front as soon as you walk in.
While waiting for our food, I got the scoop on all things Barrow’s from the bartender/manager/host. The reason the little spot on Earhart closed was to open in the former spot for Helm’s Paint. It will be a much larger restaurant than any previous location.
The family member who finally came forward is Billy’s daughter, who with her husband runs the operation.
We didn’t get much on this first visit because it was a big eating day. The menu has expanded dramatically from those early days on Mistletoe. For a starter, we got some crawfish bread, which surprised me with its presence on the menu. In fact, the entire menu surprised me with its size. My image of the original place was what Tom told me: fried catfish, potato salad, and white bread. I’m sure there were a few more things even then, but this menu offers a lot of choices beyond fried catfish.
On this first visit, which was brief, we kept it simple. We just got the crawfish bread and a plate of the signature fried catfish, white bread, and potato salad.
The crawfish bread was different than any I have had in that it is on French bread slices cut across the loaf and about an inch thick in diameter. The cream sauce includes lots of crawfish tails and even more cheese that is toasted to almost a crust. The cheese is a delicious blanket on top and the bread crust is nearly crunchy. This is a wonderful contrast of textures. The sauce oozes out when it is cut or bitten. There is a great balance of creaminess and spice level. This is very good and reminds me of something you could snack on at a wedding. (That’s a great compliment. Pass-arounds at a glamorous wedding is my fantasy meal.)
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But we came for the main course. The signature Barrow’s Catfish dish. Here is a pile of fish fillets of varying sizes, fried to perfection in crispy cornflour. That isn’t really the best way to describe this fish. The catfish fillets are soft and delicate with a flavor and texture that is outstanding. It is special. The flavor is pronounced and familiar but not at all overpowering.
French fries are served with the fish but the original side is the potato salad which is a signature item. I don’t eat a lot of potato salad, which has as many different variations as gumbo, depending on its maker. I favor a mayo-based chunky style of potato salad. This was exactly the opposite, so creamy as to be almost of mashed potato consistency.
The taste of this potato salad astonished me. It has bits of sweet pickles in it, throwing off a hint of sweetness. It is counterbalanced by a significant spice level. It is literally the very spiciest potato salad I have ever tasted. It was so spicy I almost had to eat some of that sliced white bread to quiet my mouth.
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Everyone we met in the place was nice and helpful, and the food was uniquely delicious. It must have been a great loss to the local culinary landscape when Barrow's closed, and it is a welcome development that it has returned after all these years. Billy Barrow would be proud of his legacy, and of the stewards who have come forward to preserve it for future generations.
