Quivey's Grove Paddock - Madison, WI

The deal: In addition to a lovely setting in the great outdoors, Quivey's Grove's Paddock Fish Fry offers diners a choice of fish (beer battered cod, pretzel crusted perch or baked cod), potato (either parmesan potatoes or fries), cole slaw & tartar sauce. Again, I must lament the lack of salad. The cod is $11.95 while perch is $13.50. One nice option at Quivey's is that you can turn your fish into all-you-can-eat for an extra $1.50 and you don't have to decide until after you're into your plate. No more eyes bigger than the stomach!

The food: I opted for the perch and parmesan potatoes. My fish didn't have a ton of flavor, but I did enjoy the crispy crust. The potatoes were creamy and delicious. All in all, I would have labeled it a great meal. But then, I tasted my friend's beer battered cod. Oh, the cod. It was simply perfect: light, beery batter and flavorful, but not fishy. The fries were also just excellent. At that point, I forgot all about the perch and could only lament that I didn't order the cod. Oh regret, the saddest of all emotions.

Quivey's has a magnificent beer list inside, but you only have one or two options outside. Happily, it's decent beer like Spotted Cow.

The flavor: The paddock fish fry is served up in a tent on Quivey's vast lawn. There are plenty of yard games for the kids and, unfortunately, plenty of mosquitos for the entire family. That said, it's still a picturesque and enjoyable evening full of good friends, good beer and great fish.

Second opinions:
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77 Square

Madison Mallards - Madison, WI

The Deal: Like any savvy Wisconsin business, on Friday nights the Madison Mallards baseball team offers a fish fry. For $7 you get some unidentified fish, fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce. You'll find the fish fry in the concession stand right behind home plate. The stand is run by Chef David Boyer of Stoddard's Country Grove Market and Catering in Cottage Grove. As an aside, although I love Bravo's "Top Chef", I'm troubled by the use the "Chef" as an honorary title like "Judge", "Doctor" or "Professor". Have chefs really hit that status?

The Food: So here's the shocker - this is a fantastic fish fry. The fish was perfectly flaky, the batter was crispy and my whole plate had a nice hint of beer. The fries were nothing to write home about, but they weren't bad. All in all, for $7 this felt like a steal. And, to top it all off, it was served with a spork. Frankly, the only thing better than food with a spork is food on a stick. Is that the next evolution in fish fries? Only time will tell, my friends.

The Flavor: In addition to a delicious fish fry, my night at the Duck Pond featured cute ginger children, excellent Great Dane beer, old and new friends, a couple of young (and attractive) Catholic priests out for a night on the town, Johnny Cash's old band, the Tennessee Three, and a Ron Dayne sighting. You can't beat that.

Second Opinions:

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Azzalino's Speakeasy - Madison, WI

The Deal: Azzalino's Speakeasy replaced the beloved Bennett's Smut & Eggs on Park Street, just south of the UW-Madison campus. Billed as a Prohibition era Speakeasy, Azzalino's is filled with cute touches like tables with built in Lazy Susans and a table reserved for Bonnie & Clyde. Although the menu claims that you can get walleye on Friday nights, the real fish fry options are on the board behind the bar. Basically, you've got your cod, your perch your catfish and fries. That's it. Yet another fish fry without a salad included. I hate that trend.

The Food: You know it's a bad sign when you're the only people in the bar eating. After waiting for what seemed like hours (and ominously hearing the deep fryer stop), we got our food. Predictably, by this time, the fish was lukewarm and not a bit crispy. Both the fish and the batter were completely tasteless. Because it was served in smaller pieces, the perch was slightly better than the cod, but not by much. The highlight of the meal (the only highlight) was the sweet potato fries, which were smooth, creamy and really tasty. Where did they come from?

The Flavor: I hate giving this place such a bad review because the staff was so nice. The atmosphere is chill and the jukebox plays David Allen Coe. And did I mention the built in Lazy Susans? I would definitely go back to Azzalino's for drinks, but I can't recommend the fish. Sorry.

Second Opinions:
Eating in Madison A to Z
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Decider

Culver's - Black River Falls, WI

The Deal: Black River Falls is nicely located halfway between Minneapolis and Madison. As such, the Black River Falls Culver's makes for a nice Interstate-side fish fry. Culver's offers a few options for weary travelers, including cod, walleye and crispy shrimp. These "dinner" options include two sides, tartar sauce and a drink for between $7 and $9. You can always upgrade you drink to a shake for a slightly higher price.

The Food: Culver's is usually a notch above regular fast food. So, not surprisingly, the fish was actually nice and crispy on the outside, and flaky on the inside - just like I like it. I got fries, which were just plain fries and absolutely nothing special. Tragically, however, I chose green beans as my other side. Ugh. They were a mushy, mealy, inedible mess. Culver's should have been embarrassed to serve them to their customers. I added a pineapple shake to my meal and it was easily the best thing at the table. That's not meant as a knock on the fish either, the shakes are that good!

The Flavor: Culver's is Culver's. It's filled with a variety of retirees, screaming children, surly teenagers and harried parents. And, in Black River Falls, you also get folks just off of the Interstate. So really, what you get is some great people watching. It's not a cool supper club, but it does have its charms.

Second Opinions

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The Liffey - St. Paul, MN

The Deal: While not actually a fish fry, The Liffey does offer Fish & Chips for $11.99. For this Wisconsin girl, that's close enough. Unlike a real fish fry, there's no soup, salad or bread, but there's also malt vinegar, if you swing that way.

The Food: The Liffey serves up three pieces of unidentified fried fish and french fries. I think it was perch, but I couldn't be sure. Overall, the fish had decent flavor after I squirted some lemon juice on it, but wasn't as crispy as I would have liked. The fries were good, but nothing special. Compared to other fish & chips I've reviewed, I'd have to say The Liffey was below average.

The Flavor: What The Liffey lacks in food, it makes up in atmosphere. Like most Americanized Irish pubs, it's full of full little nooks & crannies. It's a little cheesy, but again, I'm a Wisconsin girl, so I like cheese ;-). The beer list was good, filled with the usual suspects like Guinness and Harps as well as some delightful surprises like Ireland's own Magners cider.

Second Opinions

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Judy's Book
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10 Best

Branding Iron - Wisconsin Rapids, WI

The Deal: The Branding Iron Supper Club just south of Wisconsin Rapids offers haddock, walleye and lake perch for between $9.50 and $11.50 for its fish fry. Meals include baked beans, coleslaw and choice of potato (fries, baked potato or garlic mashed potatoes). You can add a salad bar for $3.50. A word of caution - the food is served family style, even if you don't all order the same thing. That's right - you get a plate of a mixed fish and another plate of mixed potatoes. It's weird.

The Food: Well, to put in bluntly, the Branding Iron was branded "shitty" by our party. The "fried" fish looked like frozen fish from the grocery store simply baked in the oven. The baked haddock, on the other hand, looked like something whipped up by the lunch ladies of St. Vincent de Paul grade school on a day they decided that they just didn't like children anymore. It was gross - big, fleshy squares of fish. I had the walleye and it tasted okay, but was certainly nothing special and was certainly not actually made in the Branding Iron's kitchen.

The salad bar was okay. You'd enjoy it more if you're a big fan of prepared salads, which I'm not. We suspected that the french fries came from a bag in the freezer, but the garlic mashed potatoes were pretty tasty and not at all too garlicky.

The Flavor: In theory, the Branding Iron's shitty food would probably taste better if you had a few drinks in you. In reality, this will be a big problem since the waitstaff is incredibly slow and inattentive. Perhaps they know how bad the food is and they're dreading having to deal with irate and disappointed customers.

If you do manage to score a drink, there is a nice-sized beer list, a number of cheap, boozy cocktails and traditional ice cream drinks like Brandy Alexanders and grasshoppers. You may want to double fist and order two at a time. Just sayin'...

Second Opinions

WSAW.com

Alchemy - Madison, WI

Thanks to my friend Jamie for this review. It's hard to review Wisconsin fish fries when I don't live in Wisconsin anymore!

We arrived at the Alchemy at about 6:30pm last Friday and all the tables were filled. We didn't have to wait too long for a table though. Judging from the way the place was packed on a Friday I was tempted to order the fish fry. I decided to stick with my tried-and-true portabella sandwich instead. My dinner date went with the fish. She received 4 pieces with coleslaw, tarter sauce and half a plate full of some of Madison's best fries. I sampled one piece of the fish. The batter was golden, light and crispy - that's right it was just perfect. Unfortunately the fish inside was a bit chewy for our taste. I'm guessing from the quality of the rest of their menu it may just have been an off night. I must give them props for serving a coleslaw without mayo. I won't touch a coleslaw unless it's dressed in vinaigrette, which makes a better counterweight to a fried dinner. Fish can be difficult so I would definitely give their Fish Fry another try sometime.