Get good food for a good cause at Starfish Cafe

The Starfish Café has been around for a while, but starting three years ago things really started to change.

It’s still a great place to dine when you are in Bay St Louis, it’s still about as funky, in a bright and colorful sort of way, as you will ever find. You have to walk through a vegetable garden to get inside, and the stepping stones are brightly painted. So, from the outside, its still just the Starfish Café.

The hours have changed, the menu has changed, it is now farm-to-table, and the pricing, well its about as interesting an idea as I have ever encountered.

The Starfish is a teaching restaurant, so at-risk kids, people in professional crisis, and even seniors that are looking for a different direction can be trained and retrained in a career that just might take them places.

Diana Fillhart runs the place, and runs it will an amazing smile and sparking eyes, but with set rules and a tight schedule for advancement.

I love the idea of eating at a place that is doing so much good, but you just can’t get away from the fact that the food is remarkable. Zachary Fillhart, Diana’s son, is the chef and he learned the trade from the ground up, what he calls the “school of hard knocks,” so the standards are high, and you won’t be served any new cook's mistakes.

While I was there, I was served blackened catfish tacos with homemade salsa that were as good as I have had anywhere. There was also a homemade blueberry tart, served with ice cream that was just perfect for a hot summer’s day. I saw a BLT that looked tempting, with thick-cut smoked bacon, Vietnamese-style spring rolls and a Thai beef salad that made my mouth water.

You will note the lack of prices besides each item I mentioned, a practice we have followed in this column for quite some time, but it is just not possible at the Starfish. There are no prices on the menu and, in fact, when you call for your bill you won’t get one. Amazingly, this place is what they call “pay what you want.” No kidding, if all you have in your pocket is $10, then that’s your bill, but your purse is full and you want to support a worthy cause, leave $50.

The Starfish is as farm to table as it can be, serving fresh and exciting food in a fun environment, and you are helping people who have had a rough go of it at the same time. I can’t think of a more worthy place to dine!

If you go

Starfish Cafe

Where: 211 Main St., Bay St Louis

Hours: 5-7:30 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. and 5-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, closed Saturday-Sunday

Call: 228-229-3503

This story was originally published July 6, 2018 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Get good food for a good cause at Starfish Cafe."