Friday nights there is a fish fry here that, well, is edible, but one can find better in this great city by a great lake. But, we had to try it.
Haute cuisine, it ain't. I'm talking the golf course club house, not the Zilli group. Zilli is down the road a ways at Boerner Botanical Gardens. Here, you have a fry cook cooking your meals and college coeds delivering the plates to your table.
The setting is fairly nice, with the golf course on one side of the building and a hill rolling down to the pond on the other side. The deck, which I didn't know was an option and was not mentioned, would have been nice to sit on, as it is surrounded by lilacs which were in full bloom when we visited. We were seated in the dining room, which isn't very large, but there is a rustic stone fireplace and golf memorabilia on the walls.
I ordered the baked cod and Mark G. and his sister got the fried. By the way, this is NOT all you can eat. Mark and I opted for fingerling potatoes while his sister chose waffle fries. A small cup of cole slaw and tartar sauce came with each dish as well.
When my plate arrived, it looked rather bland....everything was the same color, even the plate! The fish came apart nicely and I didn't find any bones, but the flavor was just as bland as the color. The tartar sauce helped a lot. The potatoes were covered in butter and parsley but were also nothing special. I don't eat cole slaw, so I can't comment on that. I tried my sister-in-law's waffle fries and they were exactly what you would expect from a fry cook. I tried Mark's fried fish and it was ok. The breading had some flavor to it. Dessert was a large cookie, and you got to choose either oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip. We all chose chocolate chip. They were your standard, run of the mill caterer's cookie. They only serve Pepsi products, as far as soft drinks go, but it came as a 20 oz. bottle, which was nice, since I was able to take it with me when we left. Alcohol is also served, but I believe it was limited to things in a can.
Now, since this is a club house and not a "restaurant", you should not expect the best meal of your life. I mean, the guy cooks burgers, etc. for a bunch of golfers all day, everyday and only cooks the fish on Fridays, so cut him some slack. Is the food edible? Yes, and I would come here again if someone else wanted to try it out, I just wouldn't make it my regular go-to spot.
I've had better, but I've definitely had worse.
85/2015 read more