The good, the bad and the ugly

I haven't gone to too many fish fries lately, due to work, but the last one I attended definitely fell into the not so good category.

I'm not going to name it, since they just had two during Lent. The people were nice, but it was just slow and the main dishes just weren't that good. This South County fry had frog legs, but my husband the connoiseur, stated they were just "marginal". The desserts were pretty good and the dine-in area was great, especially all the volunteers bussing the tables.

I'm working again this week, so it's up to you all out there, to pass along your favorites, whether churches, restaurants, VFW or other organizations.

Fish fry review 2009 - From the mailbag

Yes, we asked, and we received. One of our regular readers, Leanne weighs in on some of the fish fries she's attended recently.

Again, if you're so inclined, send them in to fishfry at (add the at sign here) stbonifaceonline.com

St. Cecelia, St. Louis (South City)

I went to the fish fry at St. Cecilia (http://stceciliaparish.com) on 3/6/09.

They had a wide variety of things to eat. Cod, Shrimp, Chile Rellano, Quesadilla, Flautas, Tacos. We tried the Cod, Shrimp, Chille Rellano, Quesadilla and Flautas. The cod wasn't good. It was one of those square pieces that was unremarkable. Everything else was top notch. The side selection was pretty good and all tasted pretty good.

The desserts we tried were fair - we had an oatmeal cookie and a piece of cake.

You could buy beer and chips and salsa. The chips and salsa was good.

The service was a little bit slow. You order and they give you a number. Then someone comes out with your food and looks for your number. We ordered and paid within 5 minutes of being there, but it took more than 30 minutes for our food to arrive to our table.

They have a fish fry every Friday of Lent except for Good Friday.

NOTE: St. Cecelia's fish fry was featured in the eat-drink-live section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today.

Holy Redeemer, Webster Groves

I also went to a Fish Fry at Holy Redeemer (http://www.holyr.org/) in Webster on 2/27/09. It was quite delicious. They have really good cod. Big pieces of fish, hand battered. Very good. They also have smoked salmon (but I don't like salmon). Their side selection is good. Desserts are delicious. This is a two thumbs up fish fry for me!! I don't have as much to say on this one - it's more of a typical fish fry, but it's very good.

Fish fry review 2009 - St. Luke's United Methodist, South County

We went down Telegraph Road in South County and found this fish fry at St. Luke's United Methodist, right next to the Royale Orleans banquet hall. You can't miss the blue and white fish sign outside.

The parking lot is below grade, so it's hard to tell that there's much there right away, but once you park, you know they're frying fish in the neighborhood as you smell the ubiquitous frying oil. We headed in (use the only door on the parking lot) and got in line.

At 5PM, there was a line with a menu posted outside the gym where the fish fry is held. There's a good selection of fish choices, including baked fish, catfish, jack salmon, hand-breaded cod and shrimp. Dinners range from $7 for any fish with two sides, $8 for a combo of two fish and two sides and $5 for a fish sandwich and one side. Sides are pretty standard--spaghetti, mac and cheese, slaw, French fries, applesauce, and hush puppies (which looked like they were homemade). Kids meals are $3 and they have lots of kid-friendly choices, such as mac and cheese, spaghetti and even a hot dog if Junior demands it. (Ours settled for three shrimp and spaghetti).

Desserts are $1 and there was quite a selection. We chose the homemade apple pie, which was outstanding. Other choices included brownies and some things you don't normally see at fish fries, including banana split pie. Drinks, such as iced tea, lemonade and coffee are included in your price.

Pros:

Very large portions of fish, some of it hand-battered (we had the catfish and it was great) before you as you wait in line. Our catfish was very, very hot!

When things ran low, they substitute liberally!

Cons:

The line was a little slow. The cooking (almost) as you wait works great if you have a place to sit down.

There were plenty of chairs set out, but not nearly enough tables to accommodate a really large crowd.

They ran out of baked fish before 5PM.

Overall, St. Luke's is a delicious buy in this neck of the woods. Don't miss it.

Atmosphere: A-
Food: B+
Price: B+