Mama's Kitchen

By Zach Middleton

611 Main St., Vancouver, Wash., 360-597-3260. Breakfast, lunch

and dinner daily.

The man in the kitchen bussing tables and serving customers at Mama's Kitchen—the 'Couv's blues-infused soul food room—is owner Joseph Richburg, a New Orleans native who came to the Pacific Northwest in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Now, after almost a decade of saving catering paychecks working in Portland, he's the owner of a restaurant you really should visit if for no other reason than to see how great catfish can be. With a flawless carapace of creole-spiced cornmeal and stunningly pearlescent white meat, it's just the best damn fried fish you'll find anywhere. But don't come in a hurry. Bring a few bottles of Bud over from the sports bar next door, kick back at the red checkered tablecloths, and watch the muted TV hanging over the flat-top. Patience is a virtue.

Check out Willamette Week's 2016 Cheap Eats guide here.

Willamette Week

Explore more on:

american comfortce2016ce2016-directoryCheap EatsCheap Eats 2016Mama’s Kitchensoul food

Zach Middleton

Zach Middleton

Culture Writer Zach Middleton writes about food and drinks, books, movies, and oddities. Originally from Central Oregon, he now writes out of the University Park neighborhood in North Portland.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office.

Help us dig deeper.

Support