#fish fries

Joseph “Joe” Thibodeau’s confectionary store. We aren’t sure who is in the picture with him but it could be my great-grandma Ida and one of his brothers.

Joseph “Joe” Thibodeau’s confectionary store, 1910 in Ashland, Wisconsin. His little brother, William and little sister, Gertie are behind the counter.

When his daughter Lorraine (my granny) and her sister Therese were growing up in the apartment above the shop, great-grandpa changed his business from a candy store to an ice cream parlor.

But on Friday nights? They operated a massive fish fry. Until 1966 the Catholic Church required its congregation to abstain from meat on all Fridays, not just during Lent. And great-grandpa’s neighbors, like himself, were French-Canadian Roman Catholics. Joseph was born in 1883 in St. Maurice, Quebec. The family immigrated when he was two.

Wisconsin to this day is known for their fish fries—nowadays especially during Lent. Easy access to fish and a large population of Roman Catholic immigrants including Germans, Poles, and Québécois started it and the yummy food kept it going.

The time period my granny recounted to me was during the Great Depression and great-grandpa Joe was trying to figure out ways to make an extra buck.

Ashland is a port on Lake Superior, near the head of Chequamegon Bay—fish was plentiful and affordable. “A typical Wisconsin fish fry consists of beer batter fried cod, perch, bluegill, walleye, smelt*, or in areas along the Mississippi River, catfish. The meal usually comes with tartar sauce, French fries or German-style potato pancakes, coleslaw, and rye bread. The number of lakes in the state means that eating fish became a popular alternative.” Source

* Smelt are sometimes called "salvation fish" or "cucumber fish" because they are the first fish to return to streams in the spring after winter (smelt runs), and they smell like cucumber.

Some smelt species are common in the North American Great Lakes. Some species of smelts are among the few fish that sportsmen have been allowed to net, using hand-held dip nets, either along the coastline or in streams. Some sportsmen also ice fish for smelt. They are often fried and eaten whole (bones and all as Gran and mom always gleefully told us when recounting smelt dipping and the massive fish fry that ensued in the Marlow household of 14 hungry souls).

Wikipedia tells it pretty much the same as Gran and Mom:

In the Canadian provinces and U.S. states around the Great Lakes, "smelt dipping" is a common group sport in the early spring and when stream waters reach around 4 °C (39 °F). Fish are spotted using a flashlight or headlamp and scooped out of the water using a dip net made of nylon or metal mesh. The smelt are cleaned by removing the head and the entrails. Fins, scales, and bones of all but the largest of smelts are cooked without removal.

Creative Commons Source

Gran and mom said the family pretty much formed an assembly line catching, gutting and cooking the little fishies that they had netted in Lake Michigan and the tributary streams (Grandpa met Granny when he was working on the boats on the Lakes, but eventually they moved south to Mishicot near his family’s farm in Stiles).

Of course, mom’s family didn’t do it for sport but from need. Feeding a family of 14 on a school janitor’s salary was no joke!

Mom out at the lake

Grandpa John Marlow getting his feet wet after mass, I’m guessing!

Gramps and Granny at the lake.

Great Grandpa John again with my Uncle John and Aunts Vicki and Mary.

It’s already messing with us. One of our favorite fish meals is walleye, preferably fried. Because walleyes prefer colder waters, they’ve been “migrating” north, to the extent that we’ve been experiencing price hikes here in Illinois as the population of Wisconsin/Minnesota walls drops. Now I suspect most of the walleyes are coming to us from Canada.

Excerpt from this Grist story:

On any given Friday night in Wisconsin, you’re probably eating fish.

A weekly offering of fried fish stands out as a cultural institution in a state known for its beer, football, and cheese. The Wisconsin fish fry— a regional dish consisting of battered and fried fish, generally served with fries or potato pancakes, cabbage or coleslaw, rye bread or a dinner roll, and topped off with a lemon slice —has been a hearty Friday night staple of local bars, village halls, and supper clubs.

This dish is more than just a line on a menu, it’s how people have defined their Friday nights for decades.

Now, fish frys will have to adapt to a changing climate. From the Hatch green chiles in New Mexico to gumbo in Louisiana, climate change is altering regional food traditions across the country.

Wisconsin lakes are warming and becoming more hospitable to invasive species and extreme weather conditions thanks to a global rise in temperature, challenging the future of this statewide ritual. Commonly fried fish species like perch, lake trout, and whitefish have declined, causing Wisconsin restaurants to look beyond their own lakes for certain fish, or abandon some altogether.

Two Great Lakes — Michigan and Superior — touch Wisconsin’s shores and have experienced a steady rise in temperature since 1995. Even the deepest depths of the lake system are starting to warm up and the average maximum ice cover on the Great Lakes has dropped over 20 percent in the last 50 years.

Fish dinner from last night. © Robert C. Trube, 2024. We went to the fish fry at the nearby Catholic parish for us in Columbus. Typical of life in Columbus, we were talking with the couple in front of us and happened to mention being from Youngstown, and we hear a voice asking, “who’s from Youngstown?” Turns out he was Ursuline ’65 and when I mentioned Chaney, he knew we had great football teams…

While I don’t recommend that anyone open a small restaurant in the current economy, if you know someone who wants a midwestern themed eatery or food truck I highly recommend this as a menu item. Cornmeal breaded and fried carp, homemade pickles, good rye bread, and the traditional cornmeal fritters known as “hushpuppies.” (Note: there is a much more interesting, but apparently unverified, history of the name. I’ve heard it said that they were tossed out to the dogs by conductors on the “underground railroad” for the same silencing purpose.) 

Despite all that was going on around us at the time of this posting, I am afraid that The Show Must Go On! Actually, it was encouraged to wash our hands, get out there, spread some BuffaLOVE (from a distance), avoid any unnecessary contact and EAT! Support your local community! These restaurants and their employees depend on us as consumers to make a livelihood and it was our duty to support them if we possessed the means to do so safely. 

Price - $12.95

$13 seems to be the standard from what we have seen so far. I believe if you catch this fish before 2PM it is only $8.95 as a lunch special (but don’t quote me on that). My picture does not do this fish justice, it was a bad angle, but that piece of fish was as big as the plate! Overall, for the number of sides that were included and the size of the fish I would say this was worth the money. A+

Presentation

I like that the sides came out on there own plate, the salads in cute little scoops and the coleslaw separated in its own container for all you coleslaw haters out there... You know who you are. Now, the portions may seem small, but it was just enough of what you needed I promise! The huge filet of fish was crisp, steam exteriorating from the golden crust, and there was no aroma of fishiness which tells you that this was a fresh catch.

Taste

Fish

Another great looking fish! This time I opted for the breaded, just to change it up a bit, as I have done beer battered the past 2 weeks now. Some may scoff at the idea and say it is not fair to compare apples to oranges, or in this case, battered to breaded... but let’s be real, it is the same fish underneath the crust. Now, despite the look, I felt like the overall taste left a bit to be desired. The seasoning a little weak on the outside, but still good. I just think as fresh and moist as the actual fish was, that taste was just not there. It was almost as if I was just eating a texture, if that makes any sense, kind of like eating a plain piece of tofu I guess. Maybe if I had an extra lemon wedge or added ketchup, I could have done it a little justice, but overall it was just a little under par compared to what I have had thus far. Good Fish, not Great Fish.

Sides

The Salads: The mac and potato salads were both equally as great. I felt no need to add any extra salt or pepper to either, which is a win in my book. Both had an obvious taste of being homemade just from the first bite. I love a good onion in my salad, and these had this little after-bite of that, which just takes you to a different place, a summer picnic if you will.

The Coleslaw: This was actually my least favourite coleslaw... at least out of the fish fries I have had so far this year. It was just a little too dry, and felt like I was just eating straight shredded cabbage. Now don’t get me wrong, some people might like that, but I am pretty sure the cabbage part, is why most people hate coleslaw in the first place!

The Potato: Now, I think this is the first fish fry we seen (this year) where potato salad was already included, and you got an extra potato on top of that without adding it on. So, the theme of this year seems to be trying out everybody’s German Potato Salad, when it is available. At first bite, it was pretty good, nice vinegary touch, not too sour. But, as I kept eating, the better it got, and I can solidly say, it was one of the better Germans I have had, it might even put up a fight with that of the Happy Swallow, but I would have to give both a try again.

The Fries: So, from the picture, you can see that my plate did not contain fries, but don’t worry... they were there! Just off camera, stage right. Since the theme of this year has been getting that Bonus Potato Salad, the common practice has been to try fries from someone else’s plate. I see no harm or foul in that! And I can say, I wish I had gotten my own order of these fries, as they were delicious! They were golden brown and crisp, just as the fish. They reminded me a lot of what Wellington’s fries wanted to be, but they were not soggy. WIN!

The Rye: Last but not least, which is ironic, because this was the first thing that came to our table, was the rye bread and butter. The bread was a lovely shade of brown, nice and soft and the butter it came with was whipped, both better for application and taste. Great way to start or end your meal!

The Final Verdict - 6

For $13 I do not think you can go wrong with this Fish Fry. The amount of great tasting sides alone may make this worth the trip. Despite the fish itself being a little lacking this time around, I can definitely say this would be a place I would take friends or family to give it a second try. 

*Side Note

Price - $12.99

Not much to say on this. $13 is pretty standard for a Fry in WNY. I can say that we all left full and satisfied. A+

Presentation

The fish had a great colour, same with the coleslaw. The “potato salad” was a bit sloppy, but at least everything was separated, aside from the lemon wedge that is... wedged in between the salads (hahaha). Traditionally, a Fish Fry here in Buffalo is everything piled high on top of each other, just thrown into a styrofoam box. I am sure however, that there are a lot of people that would appreciate the separation. 

Taste

Fish

The problem with beer battered fish is that sometimes it is too “airy” and bland. But this fish was far from that. This fish was sweet and juicy. The way it flaked apart was almost picturesque (sorry for the lack of picture). The addition of that little squeeze of lemon gave it that little push it needed to send it from “great fish territory” to “amazing fish territory”.

Sides

The coleslaw was rich and creamy, and it did not taste like it came from a plastic container.

For the potato, you had to choose between your choice of potato salad or french fries. Sucks they did not offer both, however, I did try the fries from someone else’s plate and they were nothing special. The “potato salad” if you could call it that, was definitely something I would recommend. It was more like a loaded mashed potato, so yes, it did contain bacon, which defeats the purpose of a Lenten fish fry, but this is more of a British “fish and chips” vibe. It is something they offer all year round, so we cannot count against them for the bacon! I also want to say “points!” to our server for mentioning that the salad contained bacon before we ordered it.

Rye bread is a staple of any true Lenten Fish Fry in Buffalo. You can see by the picture, that there was not any included with our plating. I believe this is because it is not something they traditionally include on an ordinary day, however, they did bring rye bread and additional rolls to the table immediately after. I thought this was a really great touch.

The Final Verdict - 7.5

You may be wondering right now, “was there an error loading the picture on this page? I don’t see anything!” But you would be correct in thinking that, because THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE!

We thought we would start the 2020 Season of Lent on a high note by knocking out 2 birds with 1 stone on Ash Wednesday. We were going to get a fish fry, and engage in some trivia activities at the World of Beer.

This is the 5th year that we have embarked on this several week long adventure, and in the past there were spots that we have repeated because they were just that good! However, this year we wanted to try something a little bit different. We wanted to give some of the spots on the bottom of our list a chance at redemption. World of Beer being at the very bottom of our list since year one, we were told by a few sources that our judgement was “far from accurate”.

Excited for second chances and trivia, we arrived to our destination before the rush. The restaurant was pretty dead for an Ash Wednesday in Western New York, but that is because the crowds were likely flocking to many of the popular places (such as those on our current list). Gooood! Gooood! This was all a part of our plan, but that is the thing with plans, they do not always go accordingly. And that is exactly what happened. Plan fail!

I do not want to knock the service because that is not the purpose of this blog, (that’s what Yelp is for). However, I will say, it was one piece of bad news after another. We missed the happy hour pricing on our beers by a few minutes due to waiting to put our orders in. After another 20 or so minutes of patiently waiting we found that our appetizers were given to another table. And finally, the pièce de résistance, the icing on our cake of bad news, the finishing blow to our good start of the 2020 Season of Lent... THEY WERE OUT OF FISH!!!! I just want to ask, how have you been open in Western New York for several years, and you are not prepared for this situation? You know the drill! 

I do also want to note, to add insult to injury, they sprinkled in “Ash Wednesday tidbits” into the trivia... oooof!

The Final Verdict - 0