Fox and Hounds Restaurant - Hubertus, WI

The Deal: Fox and Hounds Restaurant in Milwaukee's western suburbs offers a variety of Friday fish fry options, including $9.99 all-you-can-eat cod or all-you-can-eat shrimp and cod, $14.99 for perch and $17.99 for pan fried walleye. Dinners include fries (you can opt for a baked potato for a dollar more), a slice of marble rye and coleslaw and tartar sauce. The fish is served with lemon and, in a nice touch, instead of asking if you want more of your all-you-can-eat option, the waitstaff just brings a small plateful about midway through the meal. You could also add a cup of soup to your meal, but if you wanted anything green, you'd have to spend $3.99 for the cheapest garden salad. The beer list was good, but not great. There were several different Sprechers on tap, but nothing else that was too exciting.


The food: Most of my table went for the perch and we got 5-6 pieces of flaky fish. The fish was good, but not great, mostly due to the lack of beer flavor in the batter and the fact that all of us had at least one bone in our fish, but, it was crispy without a hint of mushiness. The cod was actually a little bit more flavorful, while the shrimp was crispy, but tasteless. I'm a big fan of marble rye, but I'd always prefer hot, crusty bread instead. To me, the highlight of the meal were the fries, which were a tad soft, but had an awesome, creamy, sweet-potato like texture on the inside. Delicious.

The flavor: Fox and Hounds is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and we only found it after a few wrong turns. But, that's our fault as the road to the restaurant is clearly marked with several large signs. The restaurant itself is like an enormous hunting cabin and was packed to the gills with everyone from families to bikers. It's a hopping place. Unfortunately, the food didn't quite live up to the promise of the premise and our waitress was something of a crusty old dame, and not in a good way - she provided what I like to call "service with a sneer."

Second opinions

None...yet

Wild Horse Saloon - Kellner, WI

The deal: The Wild Horse Saloon, just past the outskirts of Wisconsin Rapids, offers a two or three-piece cod fish fry for around $7 or fancier fish like grilled rainbow trout for about $12. All entrees include rolls, a choice of fries, red potatoes or hash browns and coleslaw. For an extra $2, add a trip to the salad bar or soup.

The food: Everyone in our group was disappointed in the "home fries". Expecting thick cut or cross cut fries, instead they received what just looked like normal, somewhat greasy fries. Ho hum. The hash browns, on the other hand, had a nice and crispy crust and were buttery without being greasy.

The cod was also crispy, but the batter lacked flavor. Some in our party had flaky fish. I didn't. While my fish didn't taste bad, it was almost more chunky than crispy. The rainbow trout had decent flavor, but the filet was too thin and therefore it was overcooked.

The rolls were obviously store bought and were not served warm, which is a big no-no in my book. The salad bar was good - a wide variety of vegetables, a few prepared salads and a nice addition of crustinis with various cheese spreads. What a good idea!

The flavor: Since Wisconsin isn't yet completely smoke free, you have to navigate your way through a smoky bar to the back dining room at the Wild Horse Saloon. It's a no frills kind of place. That's not a bad thing at all, you just can't go in expecting anything fancy. What you're going to get is decent food, decent drinks (as a beer snob, I have to say that I almost cried at the terrible tap beer list - lots of Miller & Bud products) and salty, but helpful, service.

Second opinions:

None...yet