Basa Nova

Professor Doug Marshall at MSU sure opened a can of worms (sometimes I crack myself up). His study showed that MSU students preferred Vietnamese Basa three to one over Mississippi farm raised blue channel catfish. Now we don't know who these 58 students are but let's assume they are 58 Pikes at a Beer Bash. First of all they don't know what they're eating, secondly they don't care what they're eating and thirdly if you furnish the beer and catfish, they'll tell you anything. Hardly a scientific study unless you count the burps and other bodily emissions.

At any rate in an attempt to put out the outrage from the entire freeworld catfish industry, MSU declared the study as "preliminary" and only meant to encourage academic debate. The only debate I see is how long will Prof. Marshall remain at MSU, I'm sure the moving van has already showed up at his house.

Prof. Marshall may be a smart man in books, but I really am concerned about his mental stability of releasing a study in the "catfish belt" that praises a foreign fish from all places, Vietnam, especially since the local farmers had already fought that battle once.

Now Red Dog doesn't have any scientific genes in his body when it comes to catfish. I have eaten some really bad catfish and some really good catfish, always fried. I probably couldn't tell you the difference between Basa and Cat, but I know what I like, and the best place in the whole world to eat catfish is Mr. B's in Heber Springs, Arkansas and I have eaten at a lot of catfish places. I don't know whether it's basa or the real thing but it sure is good. (Really, I think there is a statement on their menu that they only serve U.S. pond raised catfish). Now, Red Dog isn't getting any commission from Mr. B's so you know it's the truth. That's my disclaimer.

Anyhow, the whole thing is equivalent of Vincente Fox saying he prefers Taco Bell burritos over his mother's. Some things are best left unsaid.