Judy, that is one thing I miss so much!!!! I used to live in IL – and we would go fairly often (never often enough) down to the river and eat at the Barefoot Inn – eat all the catfish you can!!!! I KNOW they lost money on me since I could eat catfish until the cows come home (and we didn’t have any cows!!!!)
Around here – I can’t even locate ONE catfish place! Just a couple of places that serve fried fish which is good, btw, but just not the same!
Another thing my family used to do when I was little (eons ago – and I think they have long since gone from that location!) was to head down to Hardin IL (cross the bridge one way – and go back on the ferry! on the way home!) There was a little fried chicken place – which would bring out platters of fried chicken, with big bowls of mashed potatoes and greens on the side and homemade biscuits that I swear would melt in your mouth! Again – all you could eat! And they DID lose money on us…. I was just a scrawny little thing – but a veritable bottomless pit!!! Our family of 4 would go through 4 – 6 BIG platters of fried chicken, 2 bowls of mashed potatoes, 2 gravy boats of milk chicken gravy and 1 bowl of greens! EVERY week!!!! Sorry – can’t say that my sister ate a lot! Neither did my mom!!! But man! that chicken was GOOOD!!!!!