Dining Review: Mister B's

Big steaks, flavorful fish, gumbo keep crowds coming

Mister B's opened in 1975 in a small strip center on Winchester at Perkins. It was dark inside, a bit gloomy even, but that didn't stop folks from flocking from all over town to eat huge steaks, gumbo and redfish.

In 1995, the Baker family moved to an almost-hidden location with a Poplar Avenue address but no street presence. It's in Carrefour, the shopping center at Poplar and Kirby that houses Swanky's and Penzeys, where Borders used to be. The restaurant faces Park, but you have to enter the parking lot from Kirby or Poplar and wend your way around to actually get to it.

You'll be rewarded when you arrive.

The homemade onion rings and fried green tomatoes on the evening appetizer menu are themselves worth the trip. Admittedly, fried appetizers are not the healthiest way to start a meal, but you can pick one or the other and split it to avoid the pang of regret.

The onion rings — why can't more places prepare fresh-cut onion rings? — are huge, thick-cut pieces of white onion, dipped in batter and fried crisp. Eat them the way a good onion ring was meant to be eaten, with a sprinkle of extra salt and a quick dip in ketchup. They're delicious.

The fried green tomatoes are topped with Mister B's rémoulade sauce and each garnished with a small shrimp, a touch that provides only a bit of flavor and wouldn't be missed. If you're allergic to shellfish or are a vegetarian, ask about an order of these without the shrimp.

For dinner, we decided to stay away from the enormous steaks that are popular at the restaurant because we'd just eaten steaks a few nights before. We selected the redfish almondine as it was what my mother used to order all the time, and a selection of crawfish étouffée, gumbo and red beans and rice. All were good.

The gumbo was dark brown and full of flavor, but I was disappointed that it wasn't a filé gumbo. Others prefer gumbo without filé, as they don't like the distinct flavor of the ground sassafras root. If you're one of them, this is a good choice for you. Whatever your preference, this is still mighty tasty.

The red beans and rice had a good flavor, but only a touch of creaminess typically achieved by smashing or puréeing a portion of the beans. Still, I'd order this again, though not with the cheese and onions you can get with it. Red beans and rice isn't chili, and I'm not sure where this tradition of topping it as such started. Our server asked if we wanted the additions instead of just putting them on the order, which was a good thing. I asked for them on the side, though, and tried the combination once again (they were served that way when I ate at Mortimer's last year). It's not for me; I'll take mine plain, with hot sauce.

The étouffée was the best of the three, with a good balance of spice and creaminess, full of small crawfish tails (what other kind are there?) and aromatic vegetables.

The redfish was enormous; I wouldn't be surprised if the fillet weighed more than a pound. It wasn't what I expected, though.

I had in mind a preparation like trout amandine, with some sort of butter sauce. Instead, the fried fillet was served with almonds scattered on the top, tartar sauce on the side. For simple fried fish, it was very good.

At lunch, we went for the steak, a laughably large "lunch size" (16 ounces). I dined with a hearty eater who put away the rib-eye with no problem, and it was excellent. It was cooked medium-rare as requested, tender and well seasoned.

The Celestial Chicken was plain, just a fried cutlet sprinkled with sesame seeds and served with a cream sauce and rice on the side.

All the vegetable sides, at lunch and at dinner, were seasoned by the hand of a good cook. Nothing needed salt or was oversalted; the lima beans, greens and mashed potatoes were particularly good. A vegetable plate at $5.99 is a bargain; add a meat selection, and the lunch prices jump several dollars, all the way to $11.99 and $12.99 for some dishes and $19.99 for the steak.

There are oyster specials during the week, and a full bar. Saturday night diners were a mix of large, multigenerational families, young couples with kids and even a double date or two. The jukebox plays old music, including a lot of Elvis on the night we were there.

Our server — they're friendly and will tell you what's best if you ask — said we were in the presence of a "minor celebrity" when we were at dinner. We asked who, and she pointed with her head to a nearby booth.

"Red West," she said. "He had something to do with Elvis."


Mister B's




Address: 6555 Poplar

Telephone: 901-751-5262

Hours: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 5-10 p.m.

Reviewer's choice: Vegetable plate ($5.99 for three vegetables, $6.99 for four); rib-eye at lunch ($19.99); redfish almondine ($21.99); crawfish étouffée ($6.99 for a cup, $8.99 for a bowl).

Alcohol: Full bar