I'm not Catholic, but there is just something about the Lenten season that puts me in a happy place. I know that is probably a bit sacrilegious coming from a Christian. This is a season that is supposed to be reflective and reverent, but for some reason I pretty much always relate this time of season to fish fries.
I've heard that the fish fry is a largely midwestern thing. I have a feeling the folks down south frying up their catfish would likely argue that point, but the Lenten season across Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota is rife with a fair number of pescatarian palaces.
More of than not, you will find these fish fries held at Knights of Columbus Halls. Occasionally they are held at churches and then other times you will find them at moose lodges or other similar fraternal clubs.
Sadly, Covid dealt a devastating blow to the fish fry. Many locations that used to have thriving sales between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday are now closed down or have moved to take-out only options.
As I said, I'm not Catholic, so I have never held strictly to the "no meat on Friday" adage. In fact, being a Free Methodist, there has never been much of a moratorium on what you can an can't eat.
Despite that fact, my buddy @a4xjeeper and I have been trying to hit a different fish fry or more each "season".
I was sitting at work a week or so ago when my aforementioned friend texted me and asked me if I was interested in hitting a fish fry this coming weekend. I knew that it was probably going to be our only chance to hit one this year, so I reached out to @mrsbozz to see if it was okay.
It's not that I am whipped, but I respect the fact that my wife and I sometimes make plans without communicating it to the other person and I wanted to avoid any confusion from that.
Okay... I'm whipped, but you know what, it's so much easier that way. Women may say they want a guy that takes charge, but really, they like being in control. Just ask @raymondspeaks :)
So with my wife seal of approval, we headed off to the Knights of Columbus Hall in Saginaw, MI.
It's the first time we have ever visited this one, but I notice they had perch and whitefish on their menu, so I was intrigued.
It's kind of funny because each location has their own set of rules about how you need to proceed. If you aren't a regular, you aren't familiar with the process and it often takes a bit of time to get it sorted out what you need to do.
In this case, we needed to pay for our meal, then go sit at a table. Once we had our table squared away, we took our slip up to the window and put what table we were at on the slip along with our name. When our meal was ready, they would bring it to our table and call out our name.
I got the whitefish and @a4xjeeper got the perch. We both agreed it was really good and we would definitely come back to this place in the future. At just under $20 for each of our meals it was a good deal too. I notice that for $3 more you could get an extra helping of fish, but I was barely able to finish my original order, so I can't imagine getting $3 more worth.
With the meal you got the option of fries or a baked potato and then it came with bread and coleslaw. This is a little bit of a different spin compared to other places we have been to. Some places you get a full fledge buffet along with your fish meal.
Paired with a beer or a captain and coke there is a lot to love about fish fries. Some of them are even all you care to eat. Usually they stick to cod or pollack for those, but it's still quite tasty!
If you have never had the chance to visit a real midwestern fish fry I highly recommend it. It's a truly community experience. In smaller towns it isn't uncommon to see the whole town congregating on the fish fry come Friday night.
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