"Opening in 1958 as a small catfish restaurant, I only had one room and it was the only place around that served catfish. The reason I decided to open a catfish place was that my wife really loved them and I was driving down to Okeechobee every week or two to eat. So I decided it would be easier and cheaper if I simply brought them up from Lake Okeechobee and served them. The catfish out of that lake always have been the best you could find and it has long been one of Florida's favorite foods. I gradually began to expand my menu to include other foods grown in Florida, especially the unusual. Such foods as soft shell turtle, armadillo, native frog legs, rattlesnake - which we serve fried or in a stew, Florida oysters, rabbit, gator, shark, lake perch, mullet-fresh or smoked, fried dill pickles, fried green tomatoes, swamp cabbage ... all cooked the old cracker way". "We feel that we are one of the most unusual cafes any where and have been told that our food is out of this world, and of course we like to think so too!"

.....Carl Allen, 1990

Guest Check circa 1975

 1996 Independant Life Recipe Calendar

MENU FROM THE MID-1990's
Front Cover
Inside One
Inside Two
Back Cover