So many fish fries, so little time
Local and traditional top lists of favorites
By DENNIS R. GETTO
Journal Sentinel restaurant critic
Last Updated: Oct. 16, 2003

When I was invited to my first Milwaukee fish fry, I was a graduate student at Marquette University making $266 a month. It was 1970.

Fish Fries








Photo/David Joles

Readers have given us the dish on their favorite fish fries.


Favorites


Classic
Fancy
All-You-Can-Eat
Not on a Friday
Ethnic Adaptation
Baked or Broiled
Family with Kids
Lunchtime
View
Non-fish Lover
Coleslaw
Potato Pancakes
Tartar
Overall


Related Coverage


Fish Fries: Local and traditional top lists
Fish Fries: How we cooked up this tradition
Fish Fries: Religion and lake created an institution
Fish Fries: True lake perch is missing in action









Photo/Jack Orton

The fish fry at American Serb Hall, 5101 W. Oklahoma Ave., won best classic fish fry and placed first in three other categories in a readers' survey.








Photo/Jack Orton

The coleslaw at American Serb Hall was voted best by readers.








Photo/Rick Wood

The popular potato pancake is prepared at JD's Fieldhouse. The chef said the secret is getting the right spices and consistency of the potato. The restaruant won for best potato pancakes.








Photo/Rick Wood

Tracy Ramig, a waitress at JD's Fieldhouse in Caledonia, serves up several orders of the Friday fish fry to the Hornak family from the Town of Raymond. From left are Jacob Hornak, 8, (yellow shirt); Ramig; Jean Hornak; Tom Hornak (not in picture); and Samantha Hornak, 6. The restaurant won first place in several categories, including best overall fish fry.








Photo/Rick Wood

Cayden Carlson, 2, of Oak Creek, tries to eat his fresh fish with a spoon at JD's Fieldhouse. The restaurant was chosen by readers as best place for a family with kids.








Photo/Michael Sears

Anne Gnat whisks a tray of fish fries to waiting customers at the Golden Mast Inn, W349-N5253 Lacy's Lane, Okauchee. The restaurant was voted best fancy fish fry and best fish fry with a view.








Photo/Michael Sears

Customers enjoy the fish fry and a terrific view of Okauchee Lake while they dine at the Golden Mast Inn.








Photo/Jack Orton

Whitney Gulbronson heads to a table with another order of fish and fries at American Serb Hall. Serb Hall won or placed high in numerous fish fry categories, including best ethnic adaptation.








Photo/Rick Wood

A cook dips fresh haddock fillets in batter and into the deep fryer at JD's Fieldhouse in Caledonia.








Photo/David Joles

Cod, both broiled (front) and deep fried with special spices, Puerto Rican rice and salad are among the reasons Cafe el Sol in the United Community Center won second place for best ethnic adaptation of the Wisconsin fish fry. Live music on Fridays is the norm, with Trio Los Tres of San Antonio, Texas, playing for diners on a recent night.








Photo/Rick Wood

"This is very good," says Jon Sutton, from Caledonia, as he tries the potato pancake for the first time at JD's Fieldhouse in Caledonia, which was serving their Friday fish fry. The restaurant won in numerous categories, including best potato pancake.

I expected I would be going to a church. Growing up in Elmhurst, Ill., I used to join my parents once a month to work the fish fries at Mary, Queen of Heaven Church. I waited tables and Mary, Queen of Heaven raised money.

Imagine my shock when my friends took me to a tavern, not a church, for the familiar meal of crisp fried fish with coleslaw, fries and rye bread. The tab was about $5. This was an outing I could afford. And it was a fun way to transition from the work week to the weekend.

In the 33 years that have followed, I've eaten fish fries in smoky bars, where I waited an hour and a half for a table, and at elegant buffets, where fried fish was served alongside huge smoked lake trout and more boiled shrimp than I've seen outside a seafood case.

What I've come to appreciate most seems to be the same kind of experience our readers chose in this year's restaurant balloting: a neighborhood place where the fish is hand breaded, fried fresh and served hot. French fries, rye bread and good coleslaw are important, but nothing beats potato pancakes.

New and different restaurants seem to open each week in Milwaukee, offering all ranges of cuisines. Trends are constantly introduced, and the familiar is forever being reinterpreted. But if there's one dining habit where tradition rules, it's the Friday fish fry.

We like it local

In our readers' survey of favorite fish fries, you won't find chain restaurants among the top vote-getters. Nor many high-end places. And my friends at Mary, Queen of Heaven would be happy to know that church fish fries made a showing, too.

The survey, compiled from ballots printed in the Journal Sentinel and posted on its Web site, offered 15 fish fry categories, and it's telling to note that one category got too few replies to tally: Most Adventurous Fish Fry. Apparently, we don't appreciate restaurants that mess with a good thing.

It's telling, too, that so many places were mentioned: the 905 people who filled out ballots listed 518 restaurants - some receiving one vote apiece, others dozens. With our affections spread so wide, the winners didn't net large numbers.There might not be a lot of consensus about who fries, bakes and broils the best fish, but you could fill a lot of Fridays trying to make up your mind.

American Serb Hall, which serves more than a ton of fish every Friday and is perhaps most often associated with Milwaukee's fish fry culture, was prominently mentioned. It placed first in the Best Classic Fish Fry and in three other categories, with 265 votes overall. It placed second in the Best Fish Fry Not on a Friday category, despite the fact that its only other fish-fry night is a Wednesday drive-through.

A smaller neighborhood establishment, JD's Fieldhouse in Caledonia, was first in six categories, including Overall Favorite and landed in the top three in another two categories. Like most of the other spots listed in the returns, JD's is a bar and restaurant where TVs are tuned to sports events in the busy front bar and whose casual dining room caters to a mostly local crowd.

JD's would have done even better, but for one sticking point: sourdough bread. That disqualified JD's from the Best Classic category, which requires rye. (Sorry, rules are rules.)

A social cause

In the comments readers wrote, many mentioned that JD's offers non-fish menu items on Fridays. That's important, and here's why. Above all, fish fries are about socializing. And when you want to bring along friends who don't like fish, you want a place that has something they'll enjoy.

Plain and simple emerged as a major theme. Only 323 people cast votes for Best Fancy Fish Fry, compared with 732 votes for Best Classic Fish Fry.

Nick Beitz of Eagle, who picked Eagle Springs Pub as his favorite spot, was typical. "The fish fry is served on paper plates, but it is excellent," he wrote on his ballot. "It feels a little like a lake cabin," Beitz added when I called him for a chat. He usually has a fish fry at the Pub twice a month.

But there's a contingent of people who like nicer restaurants. The Open Hearth in Wauwatosa, a full-service restaurant that attracts a well-dressed crowd, ranked among the top three vote getters in six categories - and came in second place as Overall Favorite. The Golden Mast, River Lane Inn, Weissgerber's Seven Seas and The Cottonpicker Restaurant and Lounge, similar spots where diners tend to dress up a little, all earned places on our list as well.

A winning combination

I was surprised by the popularity of Bya Wi Se Nek, the buffet restaurant in the Potawatomi Bingo Casino on Friday nights. Apparently, casinos and fish fries are a winning combination.

One of our voters who regularly visits the buffet, Pam Matthews of West Allis, said she likes its variety. Bya Wi Se Nek came in second in the best-for-non-fish-lovers category. "I love to start my weekend out at Bya Wi Se Nek Friday Fish Fry," she wrote on her ballot. "The all-you-can-eat fish fry combined with buffet along with the atmosphere of the casino create a very exciting dining experience."

Fish fries held asfund-raisers at local churches also have their following, even though they might be held only once a month. Although St. Joseph Church in Wauwatosa was the only one to make our winners' list, as Best Place for a Family with Kids, other voters mentioned St. Helen's in Milwaukee and St. Mary's in Port Washington.

If there is one other thing that our voters expressed passion about, it was potato pancakes. Karl Wegerbauer was among the pancake loyalists. He routinely makes the drive from his home in Oak Creek to Muskego, where "Country Squire has the best potato pancakes I've ever eaten," he wrote. "And I'm 73 years old!"

The best of everything, for every taste

BEST CLASSIC FISH FRY
(732 votes)

For this competition, classic is defined as breaded or battered cod or haddock, deep-fried, with the following served alongside: French fries or potato pancakes, coleslaw, rye bread, tartar sauce.

Readers' top choice
American Serb Memorial Hall (47)
5101 W. Oklahoma Ave.
(414) 545-6030

First runner-up
The Open Hearth Restaurant (26)
2930 N. 117th St., Wauwatosa
(414) 475-0839

Second runner-up
Clifford's Supper Club (23)
10418 W. Forest Home Ave., Hales Corners
(414) 425-6226

Getto's top choice
Wegner's St. Martin's Inn
11318 W. St. Martin's Road, Franklin
(414) 425-9971

Great fish, great crowd, great potato pancakes.

BEST FANCY ($10 OR MORE) FISH FRY
(323 votes)

For those times when your wallet can handle something a little more (forgive the pun) upscale.

Readers' top choice
Golden Mast Inn (29)
W349-N5253 Lacy's Lane, Okauchee
(262) 567-7047

First runner-up (three-way tie)

Bya Wi Se Nek (19)
At Potawatomi Bingo Casino, 1721 W. Canal St.
(414) 847-7881

The Open Hearth Restaurant (19)

River Lane Inn (19)
4313 W. River Lane, Brown Deer
(414) 354-1995

Getto's top choice
North Shore Bistro
8649 N. Port Washington Road, Fox Point
(414) 351-6100

Delicate walleye, waffle fries and cole slaw made from red cabbage.

BEST ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT FISH FRY
(501 votes)

'nuf said.

Readers' top choice
American Serb Memorial Hall (49)

First runner-up
JD's Fieldhouse (35)
7641 Highway 38, Caledonia
(262) 835-4474

Second runner-up
Clifford's Supper Club (28)

Getto's top choice
Legacy Fine Dining
14955 W. National Ave., New Berlin
(262) 786-3720

The fish keeps on coming until you've had your fill.

BEST FISH FRY NOT ON A FRIDAY
(292)

Where once a week is not enough.

Readers' top choice
Tracks Bar & Grille (17)
1020 E. Locust St.
(414) 562-2020

First runner-up
American Serb Memorial Hall (15)

Second runner-up
Nite Cap Inn (14)
227 S. Third St., Palmyra
(262) 495-2659

Getto's top choice
Red Rock Cafe
4022 N. Oakland Ave, Shorewood
(414) 962-4545

The basic fish fry is very good, and alternative fish dishes and appetizers add fun to the meal.

BEST ETHNIC ADAPTATION
(231)

We haven't seen a cuisine yet that can't jump on this bandwagon. Anything's fair game, er, fishing.

Readers' top choice
American Serb Memorial Hall (38)

First runner-up
Cafe El Sol (30)
At the United Community Center
1028 S. 9th St.
(414) 384-3100

Second runner-up
Albanese's Roadhouse (11)
2301 W. Blue Mound Road, Waukesha
(262) 785-1930

Getto's top choice
Cempazuchi
1205 E. Brady St.
(414) 291-5233

Tacos de Tio Israel are filled with shredded, fried perch and garnished with radish and chipotle mayonnaise.

BEST BAKED OR BROILED FISH
(442)

So, your date is swearing off carbs and can't do the batter thing? Baked or broiled alternatives are yummy here.

Readers' top choice
JD's Fieldhouse (28)

First runner-up
American Serb Memorial Hall (21)

Second runner-up
The Open Hearth Restaurant (18)

Getto's top choice
River Lane Inn
4313 W. River Lane, Brown Deer
(414) 354-1995

Fish is the specialty here, and it shows. The River Lane Inn serves some of the best in town.

BEST PLACE FOR A FAMILY WITH KIDS
(321)

Highchairs? Kids' portions? Picky eaters? Good prices? No problem!

Readers' top choice
St. Joseph Congregation (28)
12130 W. Center St., Wauwatosa
(414) 771-4626

First runner-up
JD's Fieldhouse (26)

Second runner-up
Clifford's Supper Club (17)

Getto's top choice
Highland House
12741 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon
(262) 243-5844

Give the kids some quarters and let them play video games while you linger over coffee.

BEST LUNCHTIME FISH FRY
(314)

When you just can't wait until dinner.

Readers' top choice
JD's Fieldhouse (25)

First runner-up (tie)

American Serb Memorial Hall (14)

The Open Hearth Restaurant (14)

Getto's top choice
Erv's Mug
130 W. Ryan Road, Oak Creek
(414) 762-5010

These folks know how to serve hot, fresh fish all through a busy lunch hour.

BEST FISH FRY WITH A VIEW
(230)

Why not have it all?

Readers' top choice
Golden Mast Inn (44)

First runner-up
Weissgerber's Seven Seas (19)
1807 Nagawicka Road, Hartland
(262) 367-3903

Second runner-up
Pieces of Eight on the Lake (16)
(Also known as The Breakwater)
550 N. Harbor Drive
(414) 271-0597

Getto's top choice
Weissgerber's Seven Seas
1807 Nagawicka Road, Hartland
(262) 367-3903

I agree with the ballots on this one. A lovely view of Lake Nagawicka can calm your nerves after a hectic week.

BEST FISH FRY FOR A NON-FISH LOVER
(349)

The fish fries are fabulous, but there's enough on the menu that your picky friends will be happy, too.

Readers' top choice
JD's Fieldhouse (22)

First runner-up
Bya Wi Se Nek (21)
At the Potawatomi Bingo Casino

Second runner-up
The Open Hearth Restaurant (16)

Getto's top choice
Jake's
21445 W. Capitol Drive, Brookfield
(262) 781-7995

Let those other folks eat fish while you deserve a good steak or some excellent roast duck.

BEST COLESLAW
(314)

Readers' top choice
American Serb Memorial Hall (22)

First runner-up
The Cottonpicker Restaurant and Lounge (14)
210 S. Brown's Lake Drive
(Highway 36 and County Highway W), Burlington
(262) 534-5151

Second runner-up
JD's Fieldhouse (12)

Getto's top choice
The Pub
114 Main St., Oconomowoc
(262) 567-8850

I can't figure out what's in the secret dressing. But whatever it is, it's good.

BEST POTATO PANCAKES
(351)

Readers' top choice
JD's Fieldhouse (24)

First runner-up
The Cottonpicker Restaurant and Lounge (22)

Second runner-up
Nite Cap Inn (16)

Getto's top choice
Nite Cap Inn
227 S. 3rd St., Palmyra
(262) 495-2659

Crunchy and deep golden, these are the best I've found in southeastern Wisconsin.

BEST TARTAR SAUCE
(245)

Readers' top choice
JD's Fieldhouse (15)

First runner-up
American Serb Memorial Hall (11)

Second runner-up (tie)

The Cottonpicker Restaurant and Lounge (10)

Tracks Bar & Grille (10)

Getto's top choice
Red Rock Cafe

Not your ordinary tartar taste - it's different enough to put a twist on your fish.

OVERALL FAVORITE
(637)

Ta-da! Whatever the reason, this is the place that's got you hooked.

Readers' top choice
JD's Fieldhouse (34)

Frist runner-up
The Open Hearth Restaurant (24)

Second runner-up
American Serb Memorial Hall (23)

Getto's top choice
The Country Squire Supper Club
S72-W16373 Janesville Road, Muskego
(414) 422-0140

that's a big boy in that third photo from the top!

for molly!

got some of this at my house- good on fish!