Today I revisited Blue Mountain Catering on Main St., and the verdict is in: it’s my favorite lunch in Durham. I love Wimpy’s and Toast and la Vaquita, but Blue Mountain Catering really tops them all.

Although their chicken and waffles (obviously the greatest meal ever devised — see previous post here) wasn’t available, and won’t be available until October (I’ll update when they’re serving it again), this second visit confirmed BMC’s awesomeness. CDB got the fried catfish platter with homemade tartar sauce, coleslaw, potato salad, and a baked sweet potato. I got a catfish po-boy with baked beans (meant to get the BBQ pork, but I wasn’t about to complain).

One of the many reasons that BMC does Southern food so well is that they know how to distribute their attention: the amazing tartar sauce was clearly a labor of love, but the baked sweet potato was just that — a baked sweet potato, wrapped in aluminum foil, served with a small dish of brown sugar. Perfect.

The catfish was almost as good as the fish at Leo’s, and the potato salad had chunks of cucumber, which lightened it up considerably.  The baked beans were delicious and unlike any I’ve ever had before — more like the pinto beans you’d get from most soul food restaurants, but slightly smoky and sweet (thanks to the bacon and molasses). Thankfully, I called dibs on the last piece of red velvet cake right before they ran out.

This was one of the best slices of cake I’ve had in a restaurant in a long, long time. Unlike most red velvet cake (which is basically chocolate cake with red food coloring), this was clearly a yellow cake with cream cheese icing.  Lots of people try to emulate the light, moist crumb of box cakes at home, and the people at BMC absolutely nailed it.

Maybe best of all, they offer anything on their menu for pick-up after hours, for individuals and families. After going back today, I’m determined to try everything on the menu (I can only imagine their take on shrimp and grits), and the most expensive item is about $8. Inexplicably, their Tuesday - Friday lunch menu can’t be found anywhere on their website, but I’ll try to post it soon.

Blue Mountain Catering (map)
Tuesday - Friday: 11.45 am - 2.30 pm