I went out to Joe Mamas with my Ultimate Frisbee team last night. This was the first time I had been to this joint. I have avoided (rightly or wrongly) this stretch of King st. However, Joe Mamas has made me curious to explore some of the other restaurants on this strip, even if they are touristy.
Joe Mamas is a pretty cool place. Bathed in red and having a really cool in house blues band gives it a hip vibe that is good for drinks or casual dinner with friends. The food is primarily 'continental' with a southern/creole spin. Instead of white bread, the servers bring warm cornbread muffins and you can order dishes like cornmeal crusted catfish, which is exactly what I did.
The cornmeal crusted catfish is a nice take on the battered and fried white fish (aka fish and chips). I wouldn't say that this dish would be near the top of my fish and chips list. But it is definitely a nice dish and the cornmeal batter is different from the typical flour batter. There is a nice crispness to the cornmeal and the catfish stays nice and moist. Cornmeal is certainly not a light airy batter, but it manages not to be overly heavy. I got the seasonal vegetables and mashed potatoes for my 2 sides. These were pretty good. Although, something makes me think that the seasonal vegetables don't change with the season given that they were peppers, broccoli, beans.
All and all I would say that this is a decent restaurant. The food is alright and the service was pretty good. But what really makes this place worth checking out is the band and the overall vibe of the restaurant. We were there on a Wednesday night at about about 8pm and there was a pretty good crowd.