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Cochran’s Catfish Crusade

While we consider ourselves the de facto congressional lunch monitor , it’s tough to sneak anything by eagle-eyed seafood champ Sen. Thad Cochran.  

The Mississippi Republican spotted a catfish special Wednesday that immediately sparked a bit of Southern pride.  

 

   

When we quizzed Cochran about the availability of his home state’s main catch here in the Capitol, the seasoned pol gave D.C. high marks. “Catfish is on the menu a lot … it’s everywhere,” Cochran gushed, stressing that he’s seen the top-selling bottom feeder on Senate menus before.  

Provocative tweet aside, Cochran assured HOH that he tries to stay out of the day-to-day dining around Congress.  

“I don’t try to influence the decisions of the Senate caterer,” he stated. “They do a good job up here.”  

A Cochran aide consulted with the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and was told that Restaurant Associates uses “farm raised, locally sustainable” fish. Local to where remains unclear; Restaurant Associates did not respond to email inquiries seeking clarification about the company’s seafood supply.  

The real question is: Were the sliders even any good? We, sadly, must plead ignorance.  

Even though the American Grill was still advertising the sandwiches when we stopped by, lunch was not in the cards that day.  

(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)
(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

“The special is, uhh … out,” an AG chef stammered when we popped in for a bite around 1:15 p.m.  

Guess we’ll have to move a little faster next time if we want to get to the bottom of this mystery dish.

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