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

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).

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