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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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