Friday’s Fast Food Fishtacular! — Whataburger Whatacatch Fish Sandwich

Choices are getting pretty lean here in San Diego for unreviewed fast-food restaurants that offer fish sandwiches. I’ve pretty much written about everything this side of Burger King and McDonald’s. I even browbeat a half-dozen KFCs because they aren’t carrying their “Fish Snacker,” even though it’s on the corporate website.* Desperate for another new experience, last weekend I caught a flight to Texas to try the fish sandwich from Whataburger. I know I could have just flown to Phoenix — the closest Whataburger location to San Diego — but I wanted the miles.

So Darlene and I touched down in Austin and before you can say “Alamo” (our rental car; I know the Alamo is in San Antonio), we were off to the nearest Whataburger.

The Whatacatch is fried to order and brought out to you after about 5-7 minutes. The fish itself — Alaskan pollock — is pressed thin into a cornmeal-covered rectangle. The sandwich is made complete with a plain toasted bun, chopped iceberg lettuce and tartar sauce.

The cornmeal was a nice touch and it assisted in making the fish stand apart from many other fast-food entries. The rest of the sandwich was fine, but the flavors weren’t overly memorable except for the fish itself. (Maybe the addition of their limited-edition jalapeño-infused ketchup would’ve made it stand out?) For $2.99 I was expecting a bit more fish for my buck (see Arby’s). I saw no indication — either at the restaurant or online — that the Whatacatch is a limited-time menu item, so it might be here to stay.

You’re looking at 450 calories and 24 grams of fat for the Whatacatch sandwich.

Read other Friday Fast Food Fishtucular posts here.

*EDIT: Not any more! They took it off their website sometime within the past month… no doubt spurred by my incessant inquiries!