Wigwam Tavern - Eau Claire, WI

The Deal: The Wigwam Tavern in downtown Eau Claire offers a fried cod dinner on Friday nights for $7.25. Dinner includes three pieces of cod, french fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce. There's also a shrimp basket with the same sides for $6.95.

The Food: The Wigwam has won some awards for best fish fry in the Eau Claire area, so my expectations were high. Unfortunately, those expectations were dashed almost as soon as our friendly waitress told us that she'd have to thaw our fish out first since it was "late" (8 pm) and she hadn't been sure they'd have more fish fry customers. I appreciated the info, but felt obliged to try the fish anyway.

After about 10 minutes, our fish was sufficiently "unthawed" (heh) and we got heaping baskets of mostly brown food. The fish was actually tastier than I expected. The batter was perfect and had a nice beery flavor. The fish itself wasn't quite as good and had a meaty, rather than flaky, texture. It definitely needed some lemon, which was sadly lacking from our baskets.

The fries were exactly like middle school cafeteria fries, which isn't to say that they weren't good and that I couldn't stop eating them. They were good, they just weren't anything special.

The flavor: When we walked into the Wigwam, people were either engrossed in the Brewers game or playing beer pong. There were plenty of NASCAR posters on the wall and the beer list started with Miller & Bud. Luckily, said list ended with Fat Tire & Spotted Cow.

The Wigwam is definitely a western Wisconsin bar, from the torn green vinyl booth seats to the video poker machines to the cheap beer. Although the food was simply okay, it was a nice change of pace from fish and chips and upscale supper clubs. Welcome home.

Second opinions:
Drinking Through Town
Volume One

German Hot Dog Co. - Minneapolis, MN

The deal: The German Hot Dog Co. (which I affectionately refer to as "Jose Germasians" due to its bizarre combination of Asian, Mexican and German cuisine) in Minneapolis' Skyway offers a walleye filet sandwich for $7.99. There are no sides included, but you can get some tartar sauce in a ketchup packet.

The food: Jose Germasians describes the sandwich as a "lightly breaded walleye filet on a steamed hoagie with scallop butter and toasted almonds". I describe the sandwich as a fishy mess that literally made me feel like I was going to throw up almost immediately after eating two bites. The fish was flaky and appeared decently cooked, but the flavor from the scallop butter was nauseating.

The flavor: Okay kids, this time I took one for the team. Although I could literally watch the Jose Germasians staff grill my fish, I knew this wasn't going to be very good. You can't expect good fish from a place named either Jose Germasians or the German Hot Dog Co. Not going to happen.

I think the scallop butter was used in an attempt to overpower the smell of years worth of brats, chicken satay and burritos on the grill. Mission accomplished.

Anyway, Jose Germasians is literally a hole in the wall in the Skyway. The staff are nice and since they cook to order it'll take a bit longer than a typical fast food joint. You can spend that time reading the newspaper and people watching and playing hipster bingo. It's not a bad place as long as you stay far, far, far away from the fish.

Second opinions

None...yet (and seriously, I hope there's never a second opinion - no one else should have to try this fish).

The Local - Minneapolis, MN

The deal: Sometimes you can't make it to a fish fry. While that's a tragedy, it doesn't mean you can't get your fish on. A good fish & chips is an acceptable substitute. The Local in downtown Minneapolis offers a fish & chips or walleye sandwich for $11.99.

The food: I opted for the fish & chips and got two nice-sized pieces of fish (sadly, not shaped like Ireland) and a heaping plate of fries. The fries were either tiny & crispy or big and full of an almost creamy potato texture. Both ways were simply delicious. The fish, however, was a disappointment. The batter was tasteless, even after squeezing a lemon on top. One piece of fish was nicely flakey, but the other piece was a bit mealy. I have no idea what kind of fish it was. I assume cod, but the menu didn't specify, so that's a little sketchy, right?

The flavor: The Local is a huge & busy Irish pub right on the Nicolet Mall. It's full of fun little nooks & crannies (include a "kissing room"). It'd be a fun place to get some fish and then settle in for a night of drinking. The beer menu includes a nice selection of English & Irish beers as well as classic hot toddies.

Second opinions:

Gayot
Thrifty Hipster
Yelp

Red Stag Supperclub - Minneapolis, MN

The deal: The Red Stag Supperclub in Northeast Minneapolis, in keeping with the fine supperclub tradition, offers a Friday night fish fry. For between $11 and $13 you can get a single fried fish basket of cod, some Alaskan fish or walleye (note that the fish shown on the menu online are not what's currently on the menu). Baskets include sweet onion tartar sauce, chips and a bit of coleslaw. A basket of bread is served with the meals. The fish fry menu also includes more exotic options like calamari, smelt fries, fried oysters and seared scallops.


The food: Although I appreciated the bread basket, I was a little sad that the rolls weren't hot and that the "butter" was some bean spread concoction that had almost no flavor. For fish, I went for the walleye and within 5 minutes (yep, it was really that fast) I had a basket of four small pieces of fish and about four large, thin chips. The fish was nearly perfectly flaky and flavorful while the batter was light and crispy without being too crunchy or dry. The chips were wonderful and for I didn't feel cheated by a lack of fries or hash browns. They had a bit of garlicky flavor, but not so much as to overwhelm the fish. As an extra little treat, each basket was served with a tiny spray bottle of malt vinegar. I didn't take advantage of it, but I appreciated the touch.

After the fish, our party split a special ginger creme brulee dessert. I loved the chocolate bottom, but when I have ginger in a dessert, I really want to taste the ginger. It should be the hero and here it wasn't.


The flavor: The Red Stag is really more of a faux supperclub. No real supperclub would be as pretty or have charming touches like the coasters shown here. You use one side of the coaster to show the waitstaff you want regular water or flip it over for sparkling water.

While our food was served incredibly quickly, once the place got crowded things slowed down and it took awhile to order dessert and get our bill. That's not a big deal, but it's something to be aware of if the Red Stag is just your first stop of the evening.

The drink menu was extensive and included lots of wine, an excellent and thoughtfully chosen selection of beer and lots of hot toddies. There's nothing better on a cold night than a hot toddy. I ordered a hot buttered rum and it was easily the best I've ever had. I'd highly recommend the Red Stag for a contemporary take on classic superclubs, whether you go on Friday or not.

Second opinions:

Chowhound
City Pages
Gayot
Hungry For Wine
Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Minnesota Monthly
Twin Cities Eats
Urbanspoon
Yelp

Anchor Fish and Chips - Minneapolis, MN

The Deal: The Anchor Fish & Chips offers, you guessed it, fish & chips for $8.50. Although it's not a real fish fry, sometimes when you're out of state, a good fish & chips is close enough, right?

The Food: As you can see, the cod at The Anchor is huge. Huge! While the fish itself was perfectly flaky, the breading was just a little too mushy for my taste. The ends of the fish were done a little bit more and they were delicious and I was a little bitter that the rest of my fish didn't taste like that.

The chips, on the other hand, were absolutely perfect. They're cut from Minnesota potatoes and you can certainly taste the love, or at least the skin. Crisp on the outside, they were thick and almost meaty on the inside. More please.

Of course I didn't touch the tartar sauce, but my dining companion loved it and used it as a dipping sauce for both the fish & the fries.

The Flavor: The Anchor is still a hot, new local joint, so it can be a bit crowded. Luckily, it has a friendly, rather than trendy, vibe and if you have to wait for a table, at least you'll be able to take in the view of a truly lovely restaurant space. And, if you just want to get your fish fry on far from the madding crowds, The Anchor does offer a takeout option.


Second Opinions
Twin Cities Metro
City Pages
Heavy Table
TC Foodies
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Minnesota Monthly
Twin Cities Metromix
Yelp
Urbanspoon
Vita.mn
Twin Cities Eats
The Onion AV Club

Babes - Madison, WI

The deal: Babes has a variety of fish fry options, including beer battered cod, lake perch and walleye. Prices are around $12 and include bread, the choice of soup or salad and a "potato" choice (baked potato, regular fries, curly fries, fruit, cottage cheese or veggies). It was so nice to be at a restaurant that realizes that a good fish fry needs to include soup or salad.

The food: Babes' delicious lemon chicken soup wasn't on the menu, so everyone in my group opted for cod & salad. Despite the season, the salad was big and fresh and served with a deliciously, crusty piece of hot bread. Mmmm. Hot bread.



The fish was less successful. The batter wasn't crispy enough and the fish itself was solid rather than flaky. The french fries were way too salty. Nothing had any real flavor, unless you count "deep fryer" as a flavor.



Babes redeemed itself, however, with dessert. A chocolate brownie sundae looked exactly as decadent as it sounds and the chocolate & peanut butter cake was light & creamy and the perfect way to end the meal on a high note.

The Flavor: We went to Babes on a frigid New Year's Day night, so it was pretty empty. That meant that we had fantastic service. I'm sure our waitress is always friendly, but she just had extra time to spend on our party and we appreciated it. Our timing also meant that we didn't really explore Babes' beer list at all as most of us were still hungover and recovering. Someone did sample a Bloody Mary though. Bloody Marys aren't my thing, but even I have to admit that this looked and smelled delicious. Apparently it was, so be sure to add Babes to your "best Bloody" list.



Second Opinions
Eating in Madison A to Z
Ultimate Madison Bar Tour
Yelp
Madison Fish Fry

Sideroads - Wisconsin Rapids, WI

The Deal: Sideroads' fish fry has staggered pricing between $6.95 and $8.95 depending on whether you want one, two or three pieces of haddock. You can get your haddock deep fried or grilled. For sides, you can choose from a baked potato, fries, onion rings or garlicky rice. Meals are served with a small container of coleslaw (which, of course, I didn't touch) and a thick-cut, heavily buttered slice of bread.

There's no salad option, although the menu does have cheap cheese curds that your table can share. By the way, you can tell I'm from Wisconsin because I've somehow just managed to equate cheese curds with salad. Heh.

The Food: My deep fried haddock was perfectly cooked, tender and flaky. However, the breading was tasteless and added nothing more to the flavor. I opted for the garlicky rice, which was served on my plate in an unappetizing scooped shape. Blech. All I can say about it was that, yep, it was garlicky. My friends were nice enough to share their fries, which were dark, crispy & delicious.

I also sampled the grilled haddock and I thought it had a nice, spicy flavor. It's served with butter for dipping, but I'd skip the butter and savor that flavor.

True to our Wisconsin form, our table shared some cheese curds which were, of course, a delicious Badger treat. Yum!

The flavor: Sideroads is described as a "rustic bar and grill serving seafood, sandwiches, subs, pizza, and a full alcoholic bar." That about covers it. Although, for a rustic place, it has a lot of flair, like Paul Bunyonesque saws on the wall and more beer tchotchkes than you can imagine. The whole place kind of reminded me of a dive bar version of Madison's Ella's Deli. The kids sure loved it.

Second opinions:

None...yet