Lassis Inn is a restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States, founded in 1905. It was a meeting place for local civil rights leaders in the 1950s and 60s. In 2017 it was one of three inaugural inductees into the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame and in 2020 was named an America's Classic by the James Beard Foundation.

History

The restaurant was founded by Joe and Molassis Watson around 1905.[1][2] The couple started the business by selling sandwiches from their home. As the business grew, they added fried catfish and built a separate structure for the carryout business.[1] In 1931 the Watsons moved the building and business to East 27th Street and in the 1960s moved again slightly due to freeway construction;[1] the restaurant is just below the Interstate 30 abutment south of the downtown area.[3]

The restaurant was a meeting place for civil rights leaders in the 1950s and 60s, including Daisy Bates, while they were planning efforts such as the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School.[1][2][4][5][6]

It is one of the oldest restaurants in Arkansas[4] and was considered a "safe haven" for activists during the planned desegregation of the Little Rock schools.[3]

The restaurant specializes in catfish, including fried catfish and catfish steaks, "fish ribs" (made from local specialty buffalo fish) and hushpuppies.[1][7][2][8]

Southern Living calls out the fish ribs, saying "it's actually a type of bony, white-fleshed, freshwater fish. The buffalo fish's larger bones are butchered with enough flesh on each side of the bone to resemble spareribs. The result is a crunchy, hot, and meaty rib".[9] The buffalo fish is not a preferred fish due to its many small bones; the only part of the fish that is free of these is the rib.[10]

Recognition

In 2017 it was among the three inaugural inductees into the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame, along with Rhoda's Famous Hot Tamales and Jones Bar-B-Q Diner.[1][11] In 2020, it was named an America's Classic by the James Beard Foundation.[1][12] Arkansas Online called the restaurant's catfish and buffalo "some of the state's best fried fish".[11] Kelley Bass in Heaping Spoonful called it "a truly legendary restaurant".[13] Southern Living named the restaurant in 2022 to their compilation of the South's Best Soul Food.[9]

Ownership

The restaurant was purchased by Elihue Washington Jr. and Maria Washington in 1989.[1][5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Encyclopedia of Arkansas". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Announcing the 2020 America's Classics Winners". James Beard Foundation. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Douglas, Deborah D. (2021). Moon U.S. Civil Rights Trail: A Traveler's Guide to the People, Places, and Events that Made the Movement. Berkeley, California: Avalon Travel. pp. 253, 272. ISBN 978-1-64049-915-7. OCLC 1153664052.
  4. 1 2 "Lassis Inn". Arkansas.com. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Kraft, Chris (February 26, 2020). "What an 'America's Classic' Award Can Do". Garden & Gun. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  6. ↑ "The Sites in this Guide Are a Key Part of Understanding America's Story". NPR. July 30, 2022.
  7. ↑ York, Joe (July 31, 2013). "Fish Ribs in Little Rock". Southern Foodways Alliance. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  8. ↑ Silver, Kate (May 30, 2021). "New travel guide to civil rights sites charts a road map of history". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  9. 1 2 "The South's Best Soul Food". Southern Living. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Lassis Inn: A Southern Classic". Somewhere In Arkansas. January 5, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Nelson, Rex (March 15, 2017). "Rhoda's Big Night". Arkansas Online. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  12. ↑ "James Beard Foundation Names 6 Restaurants 'American Classics'". Food & Wine. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  13. ↑ Bass, Kelley (December 1, 2020). "Elihue Washington Jr. of Lassis Inn". Heaping Spoonful. Retrieved February 28, 2023 – via Audible.

Further reading

34°43′22″N 92°16′06″W / 34.7228°N 92.2684°W / 34.7228; -92.2684

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