Merick's in Sikeston offers delicious 'Best catfish in town'

This week, I went back to Sikeston, Missouri, to test a lofty claim that I noticed on a previous visit to the town: "Best catfish in town." Merick's Sandwich Shop still had their logo on the sign out front when I pulled up, and I was excited to see if it could be true. I'm not going to claim to have tried all of the catfish available in Sikeston, and I do dislike making absolute statements, like "best" or "most" when it comes to food, because I never know when I may have missed something or when a better dish may come along. But let's talk about Merick's.

I ate there, in those quiet hours of the "late lunch," between 1 and 3 p.m., which I often do. I love going to places at this time, because there is rarely ever crowding, and I get the chance to really peruse the menu and maybe ask the waitress too many questions. At Merick's, the menu is on the wall next to the register. Of course I was after the fish, so I ordered the catfish basket.

My basket arrived with three fish filets, waffle fries (at my request, because you get to pick your side), two hush puppies, ketchup and tartar sauce. I've mentioned this before, but I feel like I'm something of a fried catfish expert because I worked for five and a half years at a local fish place during and after high school, and I cut, breaded, fried, seasoned and ate a ton of catfish. Merrick's filets were longer than my hand and filled up the to-go container they were served in. Not a wimpy piece in the bunch, all three filets were thick, with a solid coating of cornmeal that had a delightful crunch and snap when I broke them to dip in the sauce. I found the fish well seasoned, salty enough with a hint of seasoning in the breading that hit me as right. The fish inside was white, flaky and steamy, with meat that it still had plenty of moisture and wasn't dried out. The fish was obviously fried fresh.

Merick's Angus Burger, dressed with a wonderfully smoky chipotle mayo.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

I also, in my storied youth, made tartar sauce and hush puppy mix by the 10-gallon-steel-bowl-load, so I tend to be critical of these things as well. The hush puppies were reminiscent of the ones served at my old employer, except Merick's had visible kernels of corn inside. Tasty, with that homemade recipe look, the hush puppies were everything you expect out of the humble side dish. When I tasted the tartar sauce, I tried to deconstruct it in my mind and break it down into its base ingredients. Not an expert at this, I am still pretty sure that Merick's uses sweet relish in the sauce, which leads to an overall sweeter tartar sauce. This sounds weird to me even as I type it, but the taste was not weird. It was well balanced with the spices in the cornmeal breading and complemented the fish without obliterating its delicate flavor. I swiped every last drop of sauce out of the cup and thought about asking for more.

Merick's Catfish Sandwich: look at that filet fill a whole hoagie.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

My husband also wanted to try the fish, so he ordered a catfish sandwich, and doubled down with a Merick's angus burger. The fish sandwich had the same filet as my basket, filling the entire hoagie, with a bed of tartar sauce and lettuce. Delicious. The burger was a lovely beef patty that also filled its bun, but the thing that makes a Merick's burger different is the chipotle mayo that dressed it. Smoky and rich, the bite that I had was full of succulent ground beef, ripe red tomato, sauteed and browned onions and that awesome mayo mix. This was a good burger, and I'd like to order my own next time.

So I don't want to sell Merrick's short by making you think that it's a fish place. It is, like it says in its name, a sandwich shop. On the menu were reubens, Philly cheese steaks, French dips, even the humble chicken salad sandwich.

And although I didn't treat myself this time, there was a small baked goods display with homemade treats. You can visit Merick's at 901 E. Malone Ave. in Sikeston and maybe decide for yourself if they have the best catfish in town. I suspect you won't be disappointed.