Minocqua Brewing Company - Minocqua, WI

My friend Jamie valiantly steps in with a guest review of her recent Northwoods dining experience. Thanks Jamie!

I had lovely Fish 'N' Chips on the patio of the Mincoqua Brewing Company last Sunday. My cousin and I dined with her English granny (who's been here forever) and her friend (who was visiting from England). I wanted to mention that since I find it entertaining that it was my cousin and I who ordered the fish and chips while they opted for other dishes! Perhaps that's a testament to how strong the Wisconsin appetite for fried fish is!

The fish had an excellent light, crisp breading. For a side, rather than the traditional fries, I opted for the sweet potato fries and received a generous helping. My cousin Ali ordered a side of garlic mashed potatoes. We enjoyed that we had three sides to choose from. As I've probably stated in earlier guest reviews for this site, I do not care for mayo or tarter sauce. One of our dining companions was happy to sample the coleslaw for me. It agreed with her so she finished it all! She liked how fine the cabbage and carrots were chopped and enjoyed the sweetness of the dressing.

The meal was a good value at $10 and the only place the Minocqua Brewing Company faltered was the service. When a cute elderly English lady asks two questions before ordering, it's probably best to answer them politely. My cousin joked to this member of the waitstaff, "Good luck with her!" To which this server replied under their breath so only my cousin could hear "If she wants to eat, she'll need to order." Um, okay. Over-the-top and completely ungenuine niceness followed. My cousin has been there many times over the years as her Grandparents used to live in Mincoqua. She said service has otherwise been pleasant. Perhaps it was just a bad day. I'd hate to think this server hates their job this much everyday. The host was very friendly though.

Wilson's Bar & Grill - Madison, WI

The Deal: Wilson's Bar & Grill, on Madison's Near East side, offers a basic fish fry of Icelandic cod,fries, dinner roll, tartar sauce & coleslaw. Three pieces of fish will set you back $7.50, five for slightly more.

The Food: My fish was served piping hot, and until it cooled a bit, it had an unpleasant rubbery texture. After a few moments, the good flakiness came through. I think the exact flavor is best described as "50 years of fish in the deep fryer". This isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The fries were good, but nothing special. The dinner roll was surprisingly tasty. Wilson's earned extra points from me by serving the roll with warm packets of butter. Too many restaurants give you rolls with ice cold butter that's impossible to spread. It's the little things, you know?

The Flavor: Get within about 30 feet of Wilson's on a Friday night and you're suddenly hit with an overwhelming and unmistakable fish fry smell. People talk about Wisconsin's "dairy air", but to me the iconic scents of Wisconsin are fish in the deep fryer, brats parboiling in beer & onions and paper mills (sorry, but that's the Central Wisconsin in me talking). Once inside, you quickly realize that Wilson's is sports bar heaven, particularly on a night with both a Packers & a Brewers game. TV screens line the bar and some tables even have individual TVs. As an added bonus, Wilson's features the most eclectic karaoke this side of Minneapolis' Vegas Lounge. Nice!

There was only one waiter handling the room when I was there and he worked his ass off. On the plus side, I think he at least had an easy time taking orders since the only thing coming out of the kitchen all night was fish fry after fish fry. Clearly, Wilson's has a reputation. I've had better dive bar fish frys, but Wilson's is fast and in the neighborhood and you can get your fish fry on without slacking in your support of The Crew!

Second Opinions:


Cool Dadio
Madison Fish Fry
Yelp

Green Owl Cafe - Madison, WI

The Deal: The Green Owl Cafe on Madison's Near East side may be a vegetarian restaurant, but it's a vegetarian restaurant in Wisconsin, so therefore, like any good Wisconsin joint, they offer a Friday night fish fry. The mere idea of a faux fish fry caused some controversy on our Facebook page, but I'm glad the vegetarians and vegans among us have this option. Just because you don't eat meat, doesn't mean you're not a Sconnie.

So anyway, the Green Owl's fish fry is $12.95 and includes two faux fish fillets, rosemary potatoes, coleslaw and tartar sauce and a choice of soup or salad.

The Food: My salad, while small, was light & delicious with a good balsamic dressing. My dining companion enjoyed a coconut corn chowder. The coconut was basically for texture, so the corn flavor was able to shine through.

Now for the moment of truth. I actually thought the "fish" was great. It was some soy product, so, no, you're not going to get a nice, flaky fish texture. Instead, I'd say the texture was more like a Chicken McNugget. The key was that the breading pretty much perfectly replicated the flavor of a traditional fish fry. The potatoes were excellent, with a nice rosemary flavor, they were soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Neither me nor my dining companion opted for the coleslaw or tartar sauce. Our waitress explained that both are made with a "vegannaise". That's cool, but my problem with mayo isn't that there might be animals products in it, it's that it tastes disgusting. Sorry mayo lovers, that's just how I roll.

The Flavor: I think the Green Owl must have been a house in some distant past. It's a bright and quirky little building with funky tables and veggie art. The waitstaff was friendly and efficient and, beyond the fish fry, the menu looked interesting. I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm willing to have the occasional meat-free meals. The stuffed red pepper entree sounds great and the haloumi cheese appetizer I had was delicious (although really, since haloumi cheese is pretty much the greatest thing on earth, you really can't screw it up).

The beer list was small, but interesting, as was the choice of cocktails, including a lavender/gin concoction and a nice summertime mango & passion fruit vodka drink. Refreshing!

Second Opinions:
77 Square
Eating in Madison A to Z
Happy Cow
Isthmus
Madison Fish Fry
Urbanspoon
Yelp

The Longhouse at North Star Mohican Casino - Bowler, WI

My friend Jamie went up North and re-reviewed the new fish fry at The Longhouse, now featuring a buffett!

In summer, the far-flung members of my family usually spend some time in their native Shawano County and this almost always includes a meal or two (or three+ in the case of my Auntie & Grandma) at The Longhouse. I made it there in time for Friday Fish Fry! The Friday Fish Fry at the Longhouse is a bit different than when I reviewed it last summer.

It is now a buffet, featuring both beer-battered and baked haddock. This also includes a salad bar with a non-iceberg lettuce mix and assortment of toppings and dressing. Looked great but I passed right on by the salad and started my meal both a corn muffin & a piece of marble rye bread. I always love the option to have both baked and fried fish. The side was perfectly crispy wedges of red potatoes. The fish was perfectly battered and flavorful (I also had the good fortune of arriving just as they were refilling the tray with a fresh batch). Should one be so inclined (as I am not) there is a Lemon & Dill Remoulade sauce & coleslaw to accompany your fish.

Flannery's Wilhem Tell - New Glarus, WI

The Deal: Flannery's is in Wisconsin's "Little Switzerland", beautiful New Glarus, located about 45 minutes southwest of Madison. As befitting a traditional Wisconsin supper club, Flannery's offers an $11 fish fry on Friday nights. Meals include dinner rolls, coleslaw or applesauce, choice of potato and baked or fried cod. You can get salad for (I believe) $1.50 extra.

The Food: My table kicked off the evening with some cheese curds. Flannery's cheese curds were among the best any of us have ever had this side of a state fair or the World Dairy Expo. They were just lightly breaded so you got the full flavor of the cheese instead of the deep fryer.

None of us opted for salad, but the coleslaw appeared to be homemade and was allegedly very fresh (I don't touch the stuff). The applesauce was excellent and had a nice hint of vanilla. Flannery's dinner rolls, were actually rolls instead of glorified bread slices, which was nice. They would have been perfect if they were still warm and a little crusty, but alas, you can't have everything.

Both the baked and fried fish was simply excellent. The baked cod was firm and flaky and frankly didn't need the butter it was served with because the fish itself actually had enough flavor. The fried version was equally good, with a thin batter that didn't overwhelm the tasty fish inside.

On the potato front, Flannery's, unlike most places in Madison, offers potato pancakes served with applesauce. I was quick to snap these up and couldn't have been more pleased with the result: lots of onion and potato goodness. Mmmmm. One of my dining companions opted for the famous roesti potatoes (basically, a swiss dish of hash browns and swiss cheese) and frankly, while they were delicious, the potato pancakes were so good that they trumped cheesy potatoes. Yep, I know, that's shocking!

The Flavor: One great thing about Wisconsin supper clubs is that they'll make you feel young. The average age of the diners at Flannery's Friday night was pushing 60. That's not a bad thing though, as the older generations certainly know their fish. They also know their classic cocktails, so we were able to take advantage of some perfect Old Fashioneds and Grasshoppers.

Although I've never been to a quaint Swiss mountain restaurant, I imagine that it would look something like Flannery's, minus the convenient access to delicious New Glarus Brewing Company beer: wood paneling and tsotchkes, although I'm disappointed I didn't notice any alpenhorns. I guess you can't have everything, although Flannery's comes close with this excellent fish fry.

Second Opinions:

Yahoo! Travel
Yelp

Stanley's Northeast Bar Room - Minneapolis, MN

The Deal: Stanley's, in Northeast Minneapolis, offers fish & chips, featuring beer battered cod, for a little over $10 and a walleye sandwich for about $8. The fish & chips come with fries and a huge vat of tartar sauce. The walleye sandwich is served with kettle chips.



The Food: while the cod itself was decently tasty and flaky, the batter wasn't crispy enough. It wasn't mushy, but it wasn't standing up to the fish either. I got two nice sized pieces of fish with my meal, but it wasn't worth eating more than half of a piece. The fries, on the other hand, were excellent and gives me faith that Stanley's really does know how to use their deep fryer. My dining companion had the walleye sandwich and reported back that the batter was crispy, so perhaps my cod was an outlier.

The Flavor: Stanley's is on the nice end of blue collar bars. You won't find many skinny-jean wearing hipsters here. Instead, the crowd's a bit older and a bit more likely to wear Carhartt. The bar has a lot of fun events like team trivia and bar bingo.

There's a huge beer list, heavy on local beers, local as in Minnesota though, not Wisconsin. On the downside, someone decided that the dinner rush was the perfect time to get a huge ladder and put a clock on the wall. Weirdos. :)

Second Opinions:

Examiner
Thrifty Hipster
Vita.mn
Yelp

Kollman's Korner - Leroy, WI

Special thanks to Tim from our Facebook page for providing this rare review of an actual Eastern Wisconsin fish fry. I don't get around to those parts very much! Tim says:

Last night we went to Kollman's Korner in Leroy (eastern Dodge county, near the Horicon Marsh). I remember going there a few times as a kid. It probably looks the same inside as it did 35 years ago. It’s very nice, a step back in time and with all the same old people. The weather was very warm, but they had on sweaters and long pants and jackets. It was nursing home warm! Remember this for winter!

The food was really good though. Zoe had the haddock with potato pancakes. I had the walleye with german potato salad. They also brought bread and cole slaw. The cole slaw was really good, and the potato pancakes were very homemade, nice browned edges, tasty. The german potato salad was okay, ours is better. The beer batter on the fish was so good, as good as at The Pub but a lot lighter. Best walleye I've had. They looked like viking long boats made of batterered fish (editor's note - please forgive Tim the "Viking" reference).

On the board when you come in they have the menu listed and we also notice hickory nut pie. so we put in our dessert order when they brought the fish. It was the best pie I've EVER had; perfect crust, drizzled with caramel, a scoop of ice cream, real whipped cream. I want it every day. It was the heroin of desserts. Oh man...

I guess we have to go there again because on Saturday nights they have steak and prime rib specials and I think maybe the salad bar then? They didn't have it for fish. And... on Saturday nights they have $1.00 grasshoppers (editor's note: Woohoo!).

Green Lantern - McFarland, WI

The Deal: McFarland's Green Lantern Restaurant, perched on the shores of lovely Lake Waubesa, evokes old time Wisconsin while being just minutes away from downtown Madison. On Fridays, they have a variety of fish specials, including cod starting at $9.95, perch for $11.95 and walleye (battered or steamed) for $14.95. Dinners include soup or salad (thank God), rolls and a full choice of potato options: french fries, ranch fries, hash browns, baked potato or rice or broccoli. I really do appreciate restaurants who understand the fish fry experience and strive to make it more than just a variation of fish & chips.



The Food: Unfortunately, most of the food at the Green Lantern was disappointing. The salads were fresh and fine, but nothing special. The rolls were served cold with cold butter. That's a big pet peeve of mine - if you're not going to heat the rolls at least have soft butter, you know?

Worst of all, was the fish. My table opted for walleye and cod, but in both cases, the fish could have been just a little bit more done. The texture was okay, but neither the walleye nor the cod had any flavor. Combined with the completely tasteless batter, it meant that the eating the fish was just slightly better than eating cardboard.

The only highlight of the meal were the hash browns, which were simply amazing. They achieved the minor miracle of being both crispy & creamy. Their excellence makes me think that while I'd skip the Green Lantern for a fish fry, I'd be smart to come back for breakfast sometime.

The Flavor: The Green Lantern has a split level dining room. The upper level has full windows looking out on Lake Waubesa. The lower level, without the view, feels more like a typical Wisconsin dive bar. That in and of itself isn't a bad thing, but you do kind of feel like you're in steerage or something when compared to the room with a view.

Second Opinions
Daily Dadio
Eating in Madison A to Z
Madison Fish Fry
Yelp

Rainbow Grille - Nekoosa, WI

The Deal: The Rainbow Grille at the Ho-Chunk Casino in Nekoosa offers a cod, shrimp or perch fish fry for between $7.95 - $10.95. Your fish comes with tartar sauce, a mustard sauce, dinner rolls and a choice of potato. While I was disappointed that it didn't come with salad, I was pleasantly surprised with the potato choices: fries, sweet potato fries, baked potato, rice pilaf and a delicious-sounding mixture of hash browns and cheese.

The Food: I opted for the perch and sweet potato fries. I got three nice sized pieces served with a lemon wedge (bonus points!). The breading was nice, thin & crispy and the fish was perfectly cooked. Unfortunately, the fish didn't really have a lot of flavor minus the lemon. I enjoyed the texture, but just a little bit of seasoning might have added a lot to the meal. The fries, on the other hand, were delightful. I adore the creaminess of good sweet potato fries and these delivered. The dinner rolls were okay. My dining companion got some cranberry butter with her meal. I borrowed some for my dinner roll and it made the roll a nice sweet, but light, contrast to the rest of the meal. I don't think it's typically served with the dinner rolls, so be sure to ask for it.

The beer list was pretty weak - Miller and some Leinies on tap with Blue Moon and Spotted Cow (although they ran out of it) in bottles. I think with better than decent food, the Rainbow Grille could certainly stand to upgrade the beers. C'mon, it's Wisconsin. I don't even think they had Point Beer?!?

The Flavor: The Rainbow Grille is an oasis of calm within the madness of the casino. I guess it's a good place to take a break from losing money or to celebrate big wins. I actually think it's one of the better places to eat in central Wisconsin. It's certainly one of the most interesting, what with the cross-section of Wisconsin just outside the entrance.

Second Opinions:

Uptake

The Longhouse at North Star Mohican Casino - Bowler, WI

More thanks to Jamie for yet another review. Someone has to pick up my slack!

Wow, this is the best fish fry I’ve had in some time. To my delight the server told us that The Longhouse’s fish fry included four pieces of fish: one walleye, two cod and one tilapia. I love that you don’t have to choose one variety – you get them all! While my family and I hungrily awaited the arrival of our entrées we received baskets of frybread (yum!) and a lovely cornbread that was made with pieces wild rice as well. It was hard to save room for fish!

My Aunt ordered the dandelion green salad with acorn squash, pomegranate and acorn seeds. Yep, dandelion. It was delish but then again when I’m not eating fish fries, I’m a pretty healthy eater so I realize this won’t be to everyone’s taste. I love the cultural touches in the menu, definitely a huge step up from North Star’s previous fast-food style offerings. The restaurant itself is gorgeous. Excellent graphic design too, as seen on the signage and menus which were made of some sort of natural fiber exterior.

Now, back to the main course: the walleye was by far my favorite, with a flavor of its own while the cod and tilapia were more of a neutral base to the flavor of the batter. All the fish had great texture, not at all chewy. The batter was perfectly crisp with flecks of cornmeal throughout it, another traditional touch! The fries were crisp and delicious as well. And again with the rye bread, two pieces this time! I have heard that rye was traditionally included I can’t recall ever receiving it in my recent history. Not that I needed it, what with the fry bread and all, but I still ate it! All this for $9.99!

Mo's Irish Pub - Milwaukee, WI

My friend Jamie was in Milwaukee last week and checked out the fish at Mo's Irish Pub:

Mo's Irish Pub is just down the street from The Riverside which makes it an ideal location for a bite to eat before a show, as was the case when I dined there this past week.

I ordered the Harp Beer-Battered Cod. The three pieces of fish were just okay: a bit chewy with less-than-crisp batter as if our plates sat around before being delivered to our table. The fries were billed as "seasoned" but I couldn't identify any seasoning aside from the standard salt. I enjoyed the slice of marble rye that arrived with the meal as most fish fries I've received lately do not include that.

For $11.99 I must admit I was disappointed. Also service was on the slow side. A dining companion received the wrong salad dressing and has finished his meal by the time the correct dressing arrived. The salad ended up being his dessert. And as you all know, you don't win friends with salad.

Second Opinions

Citysearch
Insider Pages
Trip Advisor
Yelp

R.P. Adlers - Madison, WI

The Deal: One of the frustrating things about the Friday Night Fish Fry is the wait time. After facing 1-2 hour waits at our first choices, we headed out to Madison's west side to check out R.P. Adlers. R.P. Adlers offers a fish special on Friday nights with two or three pieces of fish, fries and coleslaw for about $10. Because were we dying of hunger by the time we got there, no one could verify what kind of fish it was. My guess is perch, but again, I can't be sure.

The Food: Maybe it was the hunger talking, but the fish was surprisingly delicious. It had a nicely crisp batter with a Lawry's Seasoned Salt flavor and firm, flaky fish inside. Note: I'm crazy about Lawry's Seasoned Salt. The fries were similarly seasoned. They were tasty, but nothing special. The one coleslaw eater at the table enjoyed her little cup of the nasty stuff.

The Flavor: R.P. Adlers is just your basic "normal" restaurant. Since it's on the West Side, the local cougars start to roll into the bar around 9:30. Perhaps the best thing about it (other than the fish) was the fact that you could order pitchers of good beer. If there's something that goes better with a summer fish fry than Spotted Cow, I haven't found it.

Second Opinions:
Geeky Steve
Madison Fish Fry
Yelp

Gruenke's - Bayfield, WI

The Deal: Gruenke's in beautiful Bayfield, WI is best known for its summer fish boil, which gets you whitefish, potatoes & onions, breads and dessert for $15.50. The restaurant also offers a traditional fish fry of whitefish & fries for $15.50. Yep, that's right, they charge the exact same price for the fish fry but don't include any of the sides. Nice. Actually, what would be nice is if they printed the fish fry price anywhere (the sign outside of the restaurant lists the fish fry lunch price which was $7.95 and included the exact same items). So basically, the fish fry is a rip off compared to the fish boil, but since the fish boil is only served at 6 pm, you may be stuck with the fish fry.

The Food: I wouldn't quibble so much about the price if anything Gruenke's served was at all inspiring. But it's not. You get bland, tasteless and somewhat soggy fish that falls off of the skin accompanied by some Sysco fries. Basically, it's cruddy bar food at supper club prices.

The Flavor: While Gruenke's fish boil is held outside in a charming, christmas-light filled garden, the inside of the restaurant is filled with kitschy movie & music memorabilia. It's a bit cramped and beware that you'll hear all of the other diners' conversations. So hey, be interesting!

Second Opinions:

I Go U Go
Yelp

The Beach Club - La Pointe, WI

The Deal: The Beach Club in La Pointe on Lake Superior's beautiful Madeline Island offers a variety of fishy delights including a whitefish fish fry, fish tacos & sandwiches, whitefish livers and, apparently, even a sushi bar during summer weekends. Prices are in the $8-$12 range and sandwiches are served with fries.

The Food: As our group was there for lunch, we opted for fish tacos and a fish sandwich.



The tacos were quite light and delightful, but the real star was the fish sandwich.



It was the perfect combination of crispy batter & flaky fish. The lemons it was served with were almost completely unnecessary as the fish had so much flavor on its own. The accompanying fries were just of the humble shoestring variety, but were nonetheless tasty.

The Flavor: The Beach Club is located right on the water and you can choose to eat in the large indoor dining room & bar, on the front porch facing the main drag in quaint La Pointe or on the smaller outdoor patio right on the lake. You place your order with a friendly counter person and then find a seat. Or, if you're like us, find the bar.

Speaking of the bar, it looked to have the usual tap beers (Leinie's, etc.) and some specials, like the "Island Breeze" we enjoyed, which was basically vanilla rum with a small dash of fruit juices.

Second Opinions:

Urbanspoon

Harvest Restaurant & Bakery - Wittenberg, WI

Thanks to my friend Jamie for this review of the Harvest Restaurant & Bakery.

Harvest is located just off Hwy 29 and shares a building with a gas station. The décor is all Northwoods and large windows allow lots of natural light into the dining room. I dined here with my parents and grandmother on a Saturday afternoon.

Grandma and I opted for the fish fry. Our choices were Cod, Blue Gill or Walleye. I chose the Walleye, served with a potato and choice of two sides. I like how the potato is a category of its own before you even pick the sides. I chose fries, of course. I usually eat pretty healthy but when I’m out for a fish fry I put the emphasis on fry! I did, however, choose a salad as one of my sides. The iceberg lettuce was wilted but I still ate it all. The breading on my walleye was light and crisp and the fish was the perfect texture. For my other side I chose rice which turned out to be a serviceable wild rice pilaf. I couldn't finish that so my Dad helped me out by eating the rest.

My grandmother enjoyed her order of Cod. She received five pieces with a golden, crispy batter. It was more than she could eat so she took a doggy bag. Her sides were Chicken Dumpling Soup and Coleslaw. Her soup featured a dumpling that took up most of the cup it was served in and she claimed it was why she couldn’t finish her fish. The coleslaw was of the traditional mayo-drenched variety.

We had no room for dessert but we had some time so we bought some lottery tickets at the gas station next door. We didn't win a thing - not even a dollar. Should have spent my money on a candy necklace instead, or as I like to call it "dessert at my leisure." Ring pops also suffice!

Henkels Town Pump - Rhinelander, WI

Thanks to my sister Cherie, for contributing this review of one of her favorite local joints.

The Deal: Rhinelander's Henkels Town Pump offers a fish fry, pan fried or broiled fish for less than $10. Although there is not a salad bar, each order comes with a choice of french fries or potato salad, cole slaw and fry bread. Our bill came to $51.00 for five with two extra pieces of fish thrown in.

The Food: The two pieces of pan fried cod were excellent. The batter is light with a hint of nutmeg. It was fried to a deep brown. The fish was light and flaky. In this fish fry the fish really is the "star". The potato salad was flavorful and not dry, but creamy. The cole slaw was also very tasty. The only flaw was that one of my dinner companions requested a 1/2 order of fries and the other 1/2 to be potato salad. This was a request they would not grant.

The Flavor: The Town Pump is a local tavern that over the years has added a couple dining rooms. No need to dress up here. The dining rooms are decorated like deer hunting camps (without the odor). The walls are pine, and I could swear my Grandpa wore the black and white wool hunting jacket on the wall. The tables are an assortment of picnic tables. The food is served on paper plates. They have the usual Miller products on tap with some specialty beers in bottles. I give the Town Pump five stars, cause I can't stop thinking about that fish!

Second Opinions:
Fish Frys & Bar Flys

8th Street Grill - Minneapolis, MN

The Deal: Downtown Minneapolis' 8th Street Grill offers three styles of Minnesota walleye: a walleye sandwich for $11.99, pan fried walleye for $12.99 or walleye fish and chips for $11.99. The entrees come with a variety of sides including fries, rice pilaf and veggies.

The Food: As is my custom, I opted for the fish and chips. My three pieces of fish, which were breaded with a batter made from delicious Summit beer, had a nice hint of that beer and a good texture but were completely ruined by numerous bones. I don't ask that much from a fish fry, but I do enjoy not choking. So, I couldn't eat most of my fish, but I did enjoy the thick, hearty steak fries. The apple coleslaw was a huge hit at my table, but with my aversion to mayo, I'll have to take my dining companions word.

The Flavor: Given its downtown location, the 8th Street Grill is a popular place for lunch and happy hour. It's spacious enough to be a nice sit down option when you're sick of brown bagging it at your desk. As a particularly nice happy hour treat, the Grill has several varieties of delicious Point Beer on tap. Ah Point, what a wonderful taste of home!

Second Opinions:
Associated Content
Beer Advocate
Lazy Lightning
Thrifty Hipster
Trip Advisor
Urbanspoon
Yelp

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