First time here. Definitely not the last. This place has been on my AYCE Fish Fry list for several years. Finally made it. I called ahead to make sure they are still serving it. The lady that answered the phone was super happy to tell me about the details of the Fish Fry. It made me feel good in wanting to drive there. Our GPS got us there with no issues. Driving through Vermillion, I believe they have one main paved road through the town, with all the side streets being gravel. This is a blink and you'll miss it type place. While a lot of cars parked, there was enough open spots to find one easily. Alyssa R & I walked in and the host stand was immediate. We waited 30 seconds for somebody to tell us to sit wherever we wanted. We choose a booth and our server greeted us within a minute.
She asked us about drinks, and we noticed 5 or 6 on tap. Alyssa R went with a Blue Moon on tap, I did the High Life in a can. She also asked us if we were doing the Fish Fry. We said yes. She gave us a choice of potato. That was French Fries, Hash browns, or Baked. Alyssa R went with hash browns. I did French Fries. Our server said she would put in our order right away. We never got to see a menu for the place, so I can't offer any insight as to what that consists of. Being that the place is called the Steinhaus, I searched for some kind of German theme. Nothing of that sort, however, there are a row of beer steins on a couple of the walls. The place isn't done up fancy. It's a small town place and has a small town feel. A nice bar area right next to the seating area. Nothing blocking the two off from each other. The fact it's small town doesn't make it loud and rowdy. We never noticed any noise coming from the bar.
Our server brought our drinks a couple of minutes after ordering, and we proceed to take in the place. There were squeeze bottles of tartar sauce on every table. Also, bottles of Malt Vinegar. That's being prepared. Our suppers took about 10 minutes to arrive. The plate set in front of me consisted of 4 2"x 2" pieces of lightly golden fried Cod and crinkle cut french fries. Alyssa R had the same, but with a mound of hash browns. We were brought a soup cup full of baked beans, a soup cup full of coleslaw, and a basket with 4 pieces of garlic toast. A little "family style" with the sides. We had to ask for lemon. When the lemon came, it was the little drink wedge size. Squeezing some tartar on my first piece, and biting in, I wondered immediately, why the hell did it take us so long to come here? OMG. Great fish. The perfect beer batter. Light, crunchy, flavorful. The Cod was done right. White, flaky, steamy. The tartar was house made. Perfect tang to it. The baked beans had to be Bush's Baked Beans. I LOVE Bush's beans, and these had nothing other than that Bush's rich flavor to it. They doctored them up a bit with onion chunks. The coleslaw was creamy & crunchy. They made that slaw right. The garlic toast was little round slices lightly brushed & toasted. It was alright. Nothing special. The fries & hash browns were the same thing. Alright. Nothing special.
When our server came by to see how things were and to see about more fish, we went with 4 more pieces. Those came out within a couple of minutes. Just as perfect as the first batch. It's the Beer Battered North Atlantic Cod I've been searching for. Dreaming about. Now I'm drooling over. I took 3 of the 4 pieces which made Alyssa R ask for 1 more piece. When that was brought. I asked our server, not that we wanted anymore, if the sides were AYCE too. She said everything is but the potato. Solid.
Our bill was brought, which totaled just over 32 bucks after tax. $11.95 for the All-You-Can-Eat Friday Night Fish Fry. There is nothing wrong with that price point. You get almost everything as AYCE. It's Cod. It's Beer Battered. It's damn near the best. This is one we urge Fish Fry'ers to make the trek to try. I can see this place having lines out the door come Lent time. Rightfully so. read more