Fish fry review index

Here's a quick listing of the reviews we've posted here in the past couple of seasons. Please note: things can change, so check these out before you go!

If you have a review, send it in to fishfry at stbonifaceonline dot com!

2008 Fish fry reviews

St. Mark's Affton
http://stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com/2008/03/last-but-not-leastanother-fish-fry.html

St. Pius V, St. Louis City (South Grand)
http://stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com/2008/03/fish-fry-review-st-pius-v-south-city.html

Epiphany of our Lord, St. Louis
http://stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com/2008/03/tale-of-two-fish-fries.html

St. Joan of Arc, St. Louis
http://stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com/2008/03/tale-of-two-fish-fries.html

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Louis - South County
http://stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com/2008/03/fish-fry-review-st-margaret-mary.html

St. Matthias, St. Louis - Mehlville
http://stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com/2008/02/fish-fry-review-st-matthias-mehlville.html

Immaculate Conception, St. Louis - Maplewood
http://stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com/2008/02/fish-fry-review-2008-immaculate.html

2007 Fish Fry reviews

St. Andrew, St. Louis - Lemay
http://stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com/2007/03/fish-fry-review-st-andrew-lemay.html

Cathedral Parish, St. Louis - Central West End
http://stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com/2007/03/fish-fry-review-cathedral-parish-st.html

St. Mary Magdalen, St. Louis - Brentwood
http://stbonifaceonline.blogspot.com/2007/03/fish-fry-review-st-mary-magdalen.html

Fish fry update--don't forget!

If you're out and about eating at fish fries this Lenten season (yes, it's coming up Wednesday!), head on over to the Fish Fry section of www.stbonifaceonline.com and let our readers know which ones you like best.

NOTE: we predominately review fish fries in the St. Louis, MO metropolitan area, but if you're out of town, particularly in WI, MN or AZ, send them in. We get folks from all over checking out our pages all year long, particularly in these areas.

Whew! Happy New Year!

Yes, time flies when you're busy (or having fun).

2008 was a busy year for this webmaster, and I have to tell you, we're missing a lot of the folks who were around when St. Boniface closed, and that's a bit sad.

It is promising, however, that the St. Boniface group on Facebook (see this previous post) keeps growing and growing. Jenni Brandel Owens started this group last March and there are already over 40 members. If you are on Facebook, join this group. It's free and you'll run into a lot of people from St. Boniface from near and far. If you're not, go on over to http://www.facebook.com/ and join the St. Boniface in Carondelet group, and you won't miss a thing!

Also of note, we're getting closer to Lent and everyone knows what that means--the fish fries are back in abundance. If you haven't checked it out already, see the Ultimate Fish Fry Compendium on http://www.stbonifaceonline.com/.

If you like to go and eat at various fish fries around town, send your reviews in and we'll post them right here! Surprisingly, the fish fry page on the St. Boniface web site is the most popular--over 7000 unique visitors paid a visit in the last year. Lent is our most popular season, but we get hits year-round.

I wish all of you a great 2009. Share your memories (and fish fry reviews) because, on the internet, we never close!

A tale of two fish fries

I decided to visit two fish fries tonight. After I checked the St. Louis Review's fish fry listings, I hopped in the car and headed to southwest St. Louis City.


The first fish fry I visited was at Epiphany of our Lord parish at Ivanhoe and Smiley Streets. Epiphany is very, very close to Highway 44 at Arsenal St. I arrived about 5:15PM and the streets around the church and the parking lot was very packed.


The problem was, not a lot of people were walking in when I was, so due to lack of signage, I walked around for a bit before I figured out that you do have to go in by the bowling alley (something you can do when you're done eating). I finally made it in and heard the news that the dine-in line was long. The carryout line was much shorter, so I headed there.

Epiphany had lots of stuff going on in the parish center. Besides the bowling alley on the way into the building, the Girl Scouts were selling cookies, the Men's Club was selling raffle tickets, and another organization was selling candles around the periphery of the center. One family had won a primo spot at the fish fry, including reserved parking places on the lot, and a table decorated with roses, glasses and chairs with chair covers from the parish auction.

I noticed a different trend at Epiphany that I saw later at my second fish fry. Epiphany sells sides by the half pint, pint and by the quart. Epiphany does not sell any dinners (fish + 2 sides). Everything, including the bread, is sold a la carte and fish is sold by the piece. I didn't particularly like this, but since I was doing carryout, it was not a big deal. I got the cod filet sandwich, a piece of catfish, and macaroni and cheese and three bean salad as my sides (1/2 pint each). This cost $8.10.


The cod sandwich ($2.35) was okay and the catfish, outside of having too much breading, actually had a good taste and was a huge piece for $3.25 (approximately 9-10 inches long and 3 inches wide.) Jack salmon and shrimp (2 for $1.80) are also available. The mac and cheese was decent, and the three bean salad was sweet with just a little tart and was pretty darned good. It was nice to see a little something different in the sides category. Epiphany had nice spots to eat in the center, even going all out with purple Lenten tablecloths. Drinks and desserts are a la carte. Pie will cost you $1, with other desserts 50 cents.

A couple of criticisms: get friendlier servers on the carryout side. The folks who served my fish looked as if they were forced into it, and the girl who set me up did not even offer sauces to go with my fish. Another gripe: no utensils or napkins are available for carryout customers.

Next, I headed over to Hampton and Pernod to the fish fry at St. Joan of Arc parish. They were busy as well, but I quickly found a spot on the street not far from the parish center entrance. Signage was plentiful at SJA, so I quickly found my way to the fish fry. The Girl Scouts were out here, too, right at the front door, selling their cookies. The fish fry is in the basement of the school.

There are two lines here, too. and they moved reasonably quickly. I was in and out of line within 10 minutes. St. Joan of Arc has one of the most diverse menus I've seen lately. They have both baked (lemon pepper) and fried fish--cod, jack salmon and shrimp. In addition, they also cheese toasted ravioli, mozzarella sticks, and cheese pizzas. They also have a variety of items on their kids' menu.

SJA, like Epiphany, also sells sides by 8oz, 16oz, and 32oz cartons, and they have a wide variety, including Irish potatoes and their own homemade vinegar and oil cole slaw that is really delightful--not too sweet and not too sour. SJA also has homemade bread. I chose the Italian, and it was fresh and good. (I just wish they would have given me two pieces instead of just one!). Drinks and desserts are a la carte, but note that senior citizens get coffee and dessert free.

My dinner with baked fish, Irish potatoes, cole slaw and bread was $7.00.

Ratings:

Epiphany parish
Atmosphere: B
Food: B
Price: B

St. Joan of Arc
Atmosphere: A-
Food: A
Price: A

Reviewed March 7, 2008

Fish fry review - St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, South County

Hubby and I hit the road again with Bubba, our son to visit St. Margaret Mary Alacoque's fish fry last night. SMMA was pretty busy, so we had to park near the church to get into the fish fry. As we walked around to the fish fry entrance, we noticed the sign that SMMA has a drive-thru lane for fish fry pickup, which explains why we saw people hanging in the left lane as we drove back to more parking.

We arrived just after 5PM, so there was a crowd, but the lines moved quickly enough. SMMA segregates the lines for dine-in and carryout, so this should get you moving reasonably quickly if you're in a hurry. Just remember, crowds vary, so take this into account. Lots and lots of kids in attendance, with parents and grandparents. It's a good family crowd if you're thinking of bringing yours.

SMMA offers cod squares, cod loins, shrimp and baked tilapia. Dinners for adults eating in are approximately $7.50 or more and include drinks (lemonade, coffee or iced tea) and dessert. Kids are $5.50-$6. Our baked tilapia included one hot side (green beans, spaghetti or fries) and our choice of cold sides, which included two types of cole slaw, beets, applesauce, or tossed salad. Note: you can pretty much mix and match your cold sides on your plate, since these are self serve items. Beer is also available from concession stand at the entrance.

After we paid, we got our order sheet with our family's order and headed to the line. We found a seat, with Dave, one of the SMMA Fryers folks (you can't miss them in their navy shirts) and he told us about his prep work for the fish fry. He and his wife, Norma, let us in on a few of the amenities at the parish center, including the 1/16 mile indoor track over the gym. We ate, talked some more, and thanked him for the info.

SMMA was also hosting a girls basketball game, so Hubby and Bubba watched that for a while. After that, we let Bubba loose on the track to do a couple of laps. It's a great way to get kids to burn off that excess energy.

Atmosphere, amenities: A+
Food: A
Price: A

Reviewed February 29, 2008

Fish fry review 2008 - Immaculate Conception

I stopped by this fry on my way home from work. Immaculate Conception parish is in Maplewood at Marshall and Anna Avenues. Fish fries are held every Friday in Lent from 4-7PM.

IC is still a reasonable deal, but like everythng, the prices have gone up, and the selections have widened. There's the standard cod, catfish and jack salmon, along with shrimp dinners. IC also has half orders this year to make the selection even more affordable. Cod, catfish and jack salmon run $6 for a two pieces, two sides dinner, and shrimp dinners are $8 for eight decent sized shrimp. The sides are your usual suspects: green beans, slaw, macaroni, spaghetti and even side salads.

There are no kids meals, so I bought a half shrimp dinner for my five year old, which was $5. The cat and cod half dinners run about $5. Desserts and drinks (including beer) are a la carte. The dessert selection was very good this time, as evidenced by the multiple kinds of cakes and cookies available.

Crowds were pretty good and the line moves fast, so I got my meals to go pretty quickly. Everything was still very hot by the time I made it home. IC still has some of the hottest food around.

Atmosphere: B
Prices: B+
Food: A-

Reviewed February 9, 2008