Good Friday. A night I was thinking we would avoid the All-You-Can-Eat Friday Fish Fry. However, my Fish Fry levels were at an all time low. We've been taking a break from Friday Night Fish Fry's during Lent due to the high demand in them. When I mentioned to Alyssa if she was interested in one, she said she really wasn't. Good Friday. Busy. Pheona. Could be trouble. When I mentioned McCarron's, which is right around the block from us, she thought, maybe. We'll see how busy it is & go from there.
McCarron's is the old Dean's Tavern. Dean's had the cheapest AYCE Friday Night Fish Fry known to humans. $7.95. Yep. Alyssa & I had that one at least a half dozen times. Basic. Nothing to write home about. Lightly battered Pollack. Fries. Slaw.
When McCarron's opened, I stopped in a few times for a beer & a burger. However, no Friday Night Fish Fry's to be had. I asked in person about one. I wrote an e-mail to wonder about one in the future. Nothing. Then one day, I was shooting at some food, and up from the ground came a bubbling crude. Wait. No, no, no. One day, I noticed the sign out front claiming an All-You-Can-Eat Friday Night Fish Fry. This was before Lent. Maybe it'll be served year round?
Pulling into the parking lot, we knew we had a good shot at eating a Fish Fry. Maybe a dozen cars? We walked into the front entrance which brings you right into the bar. To the left, you could seat at one of 10 high top tables. To the right is the "dining room". A row of High Tops along the wall, with the rest of the void filled in with regular 4 top tables. The 4 tops were all taken but one. We snagged that one. We got there just after 6 o'clock & the "dining room" side was all AARP card carrying members. Oh boy, did they perk up when they saw Pheona. Lot of waves & smiles coming her way. Right by the table was a stack of high chairs. I took one to get Pheona set up. Threw a few Cheerios in front of her and we got her occupied for 3 minutes.
In those 3 minutes. I saw a couple of servers, but nobody stopped by to greet us. I saw a stack of menus so I got up & grabbed a couple. After that, the bartender came by. He asked us what we were drinking. Alyssa asked about Happy Hour, but it ended at 6. No luck there. I ordered a bottle of the High Life. Alyssa, a vodka Red Bull. After he got our order a server stopped by. We told her we gave our drink order to the bartender. When he brought them, we inquired about the Fish Fry. He explained it as Beer Battered Fish, Fries or Baked Potato, & Slaw. He told us that our server will be by to take that order. That server never came by. After 5-10 minutes, he must have noticed this and came by to take our order. Two AYCE Friday Night Fish Fry's. He never asked what potato choice we wanted. The High Life I got was super cold. Wonderful!
Pheona was getting restless, so I took her out and had her walk around. There is a stage in the back corner which Pheona gravitated to. She climbed up on that thing & started rocking out. At least that what all the AARP card carrying members thought. They couldn't stop watching her. Commenting on her. All that. She was a Rock Star. A couple of dart boards also kept her interested. Buttons to push. Noises. Lights. Perfect for a 17 month old.
I kept an eye on our table & noticed when our food arrived. I gobbled up Pheona & brought us back. I got her strapped into the highchair & Alyssa got a bit of food cut up for her. My plate had two golden fried pieces of Fish, a tin foiled wrapped Baked Potato, a large plastic ramekin of colorful coleslaw, & a small plastic ramekin of tartar. No lemon included. But Sour Cream was included for the Baked Potato. I asked for lemon when the bartender stopped by to ask how things were & if we wanted more Fish. We both ordered reorders.
The Fish was good, bordering on great. Smallish pieces/strips, but perfectly battered and fried. I would guess it's Cod, but I really don't know. I'm sure it wasn't Pollack. The pieces were nice & pearly white inside. Flaked away beautifully. The Baked Potato was a surprise & average. No butter for it. The Slaw was disappointing. Looked stellar. Tasted bland. The tartar was average. Seemed store bought. Reorders come in two pieces. They came out hot, fresh & with lemon. I even asked for one more reorder after this.
When we were finishing up & Alyssa was in the bathroom, I took Pheona over to the video game area. This is right by the kitchen. I was able to get a really good look into it. Closet sized? Super small fryer, which is why we weren't given a choice of potato. It seemed like they were pumping out the Fish & that things might come to a halt if fries were ordered. One other thing I noticed was that the cook took pride in what he was serving. He took his time because he cared. He drained that Fish out fully in the fryer. Then put it onto a flat top grill to make sure that all the little flakes of batter and grease aren't being served to you. High Five, cook! The price? $9.95. read more