[Matt’s in the Market](http://www.mattsinthemarket.com/) is a cult restaurant. You’re unlikely to stumble into it, because it’s on the second floor of a building at Pike Place Market. And when you do get there, you’ll probably have to wait. In fact, if you get there now, you’ll have to wait weeks, because it’s currently closed for remodeling. Matt’s is known for:

* Doing all of their cooking on hot plates. (Well, individual burners.)

* A controversial reservation policy. Not controversial in the sense that anyone disagrees with the policy, but controversial in that people argue over whether they take reservations at all. They tried to settle this a couple years ago by writing things like WE DO TAKE RESERVATIONS on their web site. This didn’t settle anything, and people kept on arguing about whether they take reservations. (We have successfully made reservations. Not that this will settle anything.)

* The fried catfish sandwich with spicy mayo. One time I went to Matt’s and got something other than this sandwich, some fish of the day with bacon. It was excellent. Then I went back to the catfish sandwich.

Matt’s has been closed for a couple months. When they reopen, probably in July, they’ll have doubled in size and grown a real kitchen. The same people who discuss the reservation policy are presumably now discussing whether the food will still be good when cooked on a real stove. The food is Cajun-inspired, by the way. Here are the new menus. Brunch is a brand-new offering, and the duck confit tacos might convince me to come for brunch, even though it will be a zoo.

Laurie and I hadn’t had a fried catfish sandwich in far too long. So I made some tonight, and they were, honestly, pretty close to what you get at Matt’s. Here’s the recipe.

**SPICY CATFISH SANDWICHES**
Adapted in freewheeling style from Matt’s in the Market
Chipotle mayo from Nancy Silverton’s A Twist of the Wrist

*How many sandwiches does this make? Depends on the size of your bread and whether you consider a half-sandwich a sandwich. This is probably enough to serve three.*

For the mayo:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons pureed or minced canned chipotles (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the catfish:
2 catfish fillets, quartered into strips
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
1 cup frying oil of choice (you will be shocked to hear that I used lard, albeit mixed 50-50 canola oil because I didn’t want to use up all my lard)

Thin-sliced sandwich bread (see note)
Butter lettuce, torn into bread-sized pieces

1. Stir the mayo ingredients together in a bowl.

2. Salt and pepper the catfish on both sides. Let sit at room temperature for five minutes. Mix the cornmeal and flour together in a pie plate. Dredge in the catfish in the cornmeal mixture, shaking off excess, and remove to a plate.

3. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high until the oil shimmers and a chunk of bread bubbles vigorously when you toss it in. Add half the catfish strips and fry 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and repeat with the other batch.

4. Assemble the sandwiches. I am not going to explain this part, except to say that you should put the mayo on both slices.

**Note:** At Matt’s they use some kind of potato bread. You want something not very rustic–not Wonder bread, but closer to that than to anything crusty. I used Trader Joe’s Cracked Wheat Sourdough Bread of the Northwest (actual name).