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.

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 update - Catch this!

In case you missed it last week, check out the Cod Squad article at the St. Louis Review site. This group of university students is forming their own Fish Fry world tour in St. Louis.

The Cod Squad will appear tonight at the fish fry at St. Pius V parish on South Grand at Utah in South St. Louis.