Review: Wallace Station

Even though I try to eat healthy every day, even I fall off the wagon and crave some less healthy things from time to time.  We generally reserve these "treats" for the weekend, which makes the weekends that much sweeter!

Every year when Lent begins, we start craving fried fish because of the numerous Fish Fry signs we see throughout our town.  Since we're not Catholic, we would feel a little awkward showing up to consume their food.  Wallace Station takes care of that for us.  Spring ushers in their Friday night Fish Frys and Monday night Fried Chicken Dinners.  Both are good but I prefer the fish and of course Wes prefers the chicken - typical that we couldn't possibly agree.

Last weekend we both had a hankering for fish and the weather was so lovely that I though Wallace Station would be perfect because we could enjoy the beautiful drive down the scenic Old Frankfort Pike and then we could eat outside once at the restaurant.  The drive didn't disappoint but we found out that flies are present no matter what time of year it is.  They were swarming and quickly kicked us out of their territory and we were forced back inside.

The inside is very rustic and what you would expect of an old country store.  No frills, just good country cookin'.  During the week Wallace Station serves ginormous specialty sandwiches that you would never expect to find in a place with such character.  They are only open for dinner on Mondays and Fridays for their special dinners.  On this particular Friday, the handful of tables had already begun to fill up by 5:30 and were completely full by the time we left at 6:15ish.

On to the good stuff, the food.  The fish choices are catfish, bass, or oysters - all of which are served fried with a side of hushpuppies and fries.  It's worth mentioning that when I called earlier in the day to see what the sides would be for the evening, I was told that tartar sauce was one of the sides.  Hmm, I didn't realize condiments were now considered sides.  It is so darn good tarter sauce but mayo with pickles just doesn't cut it in the vegetable category.  I digress.  We both opted for the bass and we each got a generous portion of 3 pieces each.  The filets were very thin and perfectly fried, surprisingly not overly greasy.  The batter is lightly dusted on the filets and tastes like the typical flour/cornmeal batter.  The fries and hushpuppies were standard fare, actually a little disappointing considering the quality of the other items I've had there.  Overall, we were pleased and the fish hit the spot.  I believe the price is $10.99 per person, which I think is a little high all things considered but it sure beat randomly showing up at someone's fish fry.

Part of the explanation for the crowd, besides the obvious Lenten season, could have something to do with this guy.

Yes, apparently Guy Fieri was in town the day before we were there, filming a future episode of Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives.  He had one of their burgers and declared it one of his "Top 5" of all time.  He also had their fried chicken and a ham and pimento cheese panini (I told you their sandwiches were unique and somewhat gourmet).  The show is set to air sometime in the next 2-5 months, but before September.