Good Hot Fish

Good Hot Fish is a counter-service fish camp in South Slope, and it plays it straight: fried catfish, trout, oysters, whatever's running seasonal, served with beer cold enough to matter. The mural out front promises hot fish and cold beer. The kitchen delivers on both.

The real argument is in the frying. Order it cornmeal-breaded and peppery, or go with the yeast batter that shatters on contact — either way the fish underneath stays flaky and never greasy, which is the whole test this kind of cooking has to pass and most places fail. The menu doesn't stop at the expected, either. The trout bologna sandwich, built from cured and smoked trout rounds with cheese seared onto it, is its own reason to visit. The sweet potato and cabbage pancake, finished with sorghum hot sauce and pickled collard stems, is doing more technique than a counter-service spot has any obligation to attempt.

None of this reads like a shack playing dress-up. It reads like someone who understands coastal fish camps well enough to update one without losing what made the format work. A James Beard semifinalist nod, a Michelin selection, and a spot on a national list confirm what the fryer already proves.