Entry No. 103 — the New Orleans file — filed under: thin-fried-catfish
Middendorf's (Manchac)
Josie Middendorf started slicing catfish paper-thin in 1934, in a cafe she and her husband Louis opened in a Manchac fishing village on a $500 loan co-signed by a former New Orleans mayor; the cut is now a registered trademark, World-Famous Original Thin Fried Catfish. The fillets come out translucent and brittle, closer to a chip than a fish, and the dinner lands at $18.25 with fries, slaw and hush puppies. Since 2007 it's been run by Horst Pfeifer, a European Master Chef who decamped here after Katrina killed his French Quarter restaurant, and who spent a decade lifting the original building onto stilts in a campaign the staff call Operation: High & Dry. You eat on a covered waterfront deck between Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas, with a sand pit full of buckets and shovels for other people's children and a chicken coop out past the parking lot.
→ Three more weird eats & drinks in New Orleans — never the same twice
The story
Louis and Josie Middendorf opened a cafe in Manchac in the summer of 1934, on a $500 loan co-signed by T. Semmes Walmsley, who served as mayor of New Orleans. Manchac was a fishing settlement on the narrow strip of land between Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas, and the Middendorfs ran the local post office alongside the restaurant — Louis behind the bar, Josie cooking from her own recipes. One of those recipes was catfish sliced so thin the fillet all but disappears into its cornmeal crust: translucent, brittle, closer to a potato chip than to a piece of fish. It is now trademarked as the Original Thin Fried Catfish.
The place has changed hands repeatedly without changing the fish. After Louis died, a local businesswoman, Pat Mydland, ran it briefly. In 1967 Josie's son Richard "Dick" Smith and his wife Helen took over, modernized the kitchen, expanded the dining room, and in 1972 built a second building two lots down — good timing, since I-10 had opened in 1970 and put Manchac within easy reach of two cities. Their daughter Susie and her husband Joey Lamonte ran it for more than forty years. On April 2, 2007, Horst and Karen Pfeifer bought it; Horst is a European Master Chef whose French Quarter fine-dining restaurant, Bella Luna, did not survive Katrina.
Pfeifer's own contribution has mostly been vertical. A new kitchen went up six feet after Hurricane Ike in 2008–09, storage went to ten feet after Isaac in 2012, and in 2016 the original 1934 section itself was raised, completing what the staff call Operation: High & Dry. In 2019, on the restaurant's 85th anniversary — July 4 — the Pfeifers opened a near-identical second Middendorf's in Slidell and installed a time capsule to be opened in 2084. What is physically on the ground at Manchac: lots sized for RVs and buses, a covered deck with an insulated roof, misters and fans, boat docking off Lake Maurepas, a sand play area with palm trees and a Fishing Wishing Well, a pen of chickens and geese, and a G-scale model train that runs indoors year-round.
What it's like
No reservations — first-come, first-served, and on a fine weekend afternoon that means a wait. Park in one of the lots (they are sized for RVs and buses, which tells you the volume), walk past the sand pit and the Fishing Wishing Well where other people's children are already busy, and put your name in. Dress code is casual to the point of indifference. Inside, a G-scale train runs year-round past tables of families who have been coming for generations. The Deck over the water opens in the warm months and mostly on weekends, so don't drive out in February expecting it. Order less fish than you think: one thin fried catfish dinner, $18.25 with fries, slaw and hush puppies, comfortably feeds two people who also want the banana bread pudding. Leashed dogs are fine on the Porch and the Deck. Parties of seven or more get an automatic 18% gratuity, and no outside food or drink.
The move: Leave town mid-afternoon on I-10 to I-55, ask for a table on the covered deck over the water, and split one thin fried catfish dinner and a bowl of crab-and-shrimp gumbo — one order of the thin fish is plenty of fish for two people who also want dessert. Stay for the banana bread pudding and drive back with the light going off the swamp.
📍 Before you go Manchac is open Wednesday–Sunday, 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday. There's a second Middendorf's in Slidell with the same menu and a near-identical building, so check your GPS is aimed at 30160 Hwy 51 S in Akers, not Oak Harbor Blvd. Budget 45–55 minutes each way from downtown New Orleans; there is no transit option, this is a car trip. Cards and Apple Pay accepted, no personal checks, 18% gratuity on parties of seven or more, no outside food or drink. September is Fettuccine Frenzy and October–November brings an Oktoberfest menu if you want a reason to go twice. (985) 386-6666.
- 📍 Akers (Manchac), LA
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 30160 Hwy 51 S, Akers (Manchac), LA 70421
Hours: Added 2026-08-26 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Cajun Pride Swamp Tours (Manchac Swamp) — Same swamp, about fifteen minutes south down I-55 at Frenier Road in LaPlace — take the flat-bottom boat through the moss and drowned ghost towns first, then eat the catfish on the way home.
- Global Wildlife Center — Head northeast to Folsom and let a giraffe eat out of your hand on a 900-acre Louisiana pasture; two very different ways to be surprised by what's living out past the interstate.
- Abita Mystery House (UCM Museum) — A north-shore contrast in roadside institutions: one has spent ninety years perfecting a single fish, the other is 50,000 pieces of junk arranged with a straight face.
More weird in New Orleans
Good to know
How do I get there, and how do I avoid the wrong Middendorf's?
It's at 30160 Hwy 51 S, Akers (Manchac), right off I-55 at Exit 15 — roughly 45–55 minutes from downtown New Orleans, and a car trip only, with no transit option. The second Middendorf's is at 1951 Oak Harbor Blvd in Slidell with the same menu and a similar building, so check your GPS is aimed at Hwy 51, not Oak Harbor. Manchac's number is (985) 386-6666.
Can I book a table?
No. Manchac does not take reservations and runs first-come, first-served; groups of 20 or more can call ahead so the restaurant knows you're coming. There are several parking lots, including space for RVs and buses, and boat docking if you're arriving by water (N 30° 17.337', W 90° 24.087').
What does dinner actually cost?
The thin fried catfish dinner is $18.25 and includes french fries, coleslaw and hush puppies; thick fried is the same price, broiled and whole fried are $18.95. Gumbo is $6.50 a cup, $9.50 a bowl (crab, shrimp, crab-and-shrimp, or turtle soup). Banana bread pudding is $6.50, kids' plates $8.95. Cards and Apple Pay are accepted, no personal checks.
Can we sit outside over the water?
Sometimes. The Deck runs in the warmer months, typically spring through early fall and mainly on weekends, and it has an insulated roof, misters and fans rather than open sun. Outside that window you'll be seated indoors, which still looks out on the water.
Are there seasonal quirks worth planning around?
Yes: Manchac is closed Monday and Tuesday, open Wednesday through Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. September brings the Fettuccine Frenzy menu and October–November brings an Oktoberfest menu with themed food and entertainment — both decent excuses to make the drive twice.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site
last checked: 2026-08-26