2019 Fish Fry Challenge

Week 6 Review : Asbury Eagles Club, Asbury, IA For our final fish fry we made the decision to go to one of our favorite fish fry's, and former Fish Fry Challenge winner. As we've known from past visits to the Asbury Eagles Club, you must get there early as it gets really busy, and they tend to run out of fish.  So we decided to head there at 6pm, and our little guy was in tow! When we arrived, we were surprised to see only a short line.  Needless to say, it didn't take us long to get our tickets.  The fish fry dinner buffet cost was $13/person, and this has been the price for the last two years, which was nice to see the price hasn't gone up.  After you pay, they ask you right away what type of fish you'd like brought to your table first--baked or fried. I ordered half baked and half fried fish.   As we looked for a seat, it was fairly easy to spot a opening for us to sit with our little guy. After we sat down, I went up to the buffet line and grab...

FFC Week 5: The Barn in Sherrill, IA This week we traveled to the 2018 Fish Fry Challenge Winner.  We were very excited to see if it would live up to its 'winner' reputation. I had called the Barn earlier in the week to make reservations as we would have a group of 7.  I made the reservation for 6pm.  We arrived to the Barn a few minutes before 6pm.  The server said our table would be ready in a about 10 minutes, so we went to the bar to grab a drink & wait.  We did have our little guy with us, so we hoped the wait wouldn't be too much longer than expected. We were called to our table at about 6:15pm.  The back dining room was packed, and our table did not fit our large group, and a highchair, but we had to make it work, so we packed ourselves in.  After being seated at our table our server came fairly quickly and the majority of our table were there for the buffet.  As we'd been here before, we knew what to expect on the buffet....

FFC Week 4: Knights of Columbus, Dubuque, IA It took me a while to decide where to go for this week's fish fry.  I had a few options in mind, but when perusing the Dubuque Advertiser for Fish Fry announcements, I saw the Knights of Columbus ad for their fish fry and was intrigued by items on their fish fry, as well as the reasonable price. So my friends and my little guy headed out for the Knights of Columbus fish fry.  Parking downtown can always be a pain in Dubuque.  The location of the Knights of Columbus is right downtown so I was anxious about parking, especially knowing I would have to park, walk, and carry my little guy inside.  But the parking was so easy! There were many parking spots behind the Knights of Columbus building that allowed you to park after hours, close and free! Upon entering the building, I was expecting to see a line of people waiting to get in to eat, however, I did not see any line.  I saw a steady stream of people going in and...

Fish Fry Week 3:  J.M.'s Tap, Menominee, IL This week's fish fry lead us to the very small town of Menominee, IL.   In a very small 'house' of an establishment. I contacted JM Tap for reservations, as we had 5 individuals (including an 18 month old), and made a 6:00pm reservation. Upon our arrival to JM Tap, it appeared we were going to be eating in a former 'house'.  As we entered JM, I was very surprised at how small the seating/eating/bar area was!  It was about the size of our kitchen and living room combined. We maneuvered  towards the bar in the tight seating area and were stopped by waitstaff who asked us if we needed a table. I stated that we had a reservation and she guided us to our table.  Our table was in the back corner (thankfully!) as we had our little guy with us.  The bonus to our table was that it was right next to the salad bar :) Our table had not been set up with place mats or silverware as we arrived; however, a ver...

FFC Week 2: St. Clements church fish fry (Bankston) This well known area fish fry has been dubbed by many as the great "Bankston fish fry."  But what's surprising is that it was not located in Bankston.  It's actually located at a church in the country area of Epworth, IA (near Bankston).  Needless to say I had a hard time ensuring that this church was the correct church.  My confusion was confirmed by friends. As this was a popular area church fish fry, it was said that we best get there early as you're going to wait.  And wait we did!  We arrived to St. Clements at approximately 6:45pm.  We walked in to the church reception hall and was extremely overwhelmed by how many people were there.  People were lined up along the walls, wrapping the line around almost two times.  We had friends that had arrived just shortly before us and had gotten in line, so we sneaked ahead and got in line with them. While waiting in line I observed all of t...

7th Annual Fish Fry Challenge has begun!  This year we're adding a little one (18 mo.) to our fish fry outings. In starting my 7th year of fish fry reviews, I headed back to the area where it all began--Madison, WI. As we were scheduled to visit my sister and brother-in-law for the Friday night, I asked her for a recommendation of a place in Madison area that had a fish fry, took reservations, and was toddler friendly.  She recommended a fairly new (2017) establishment called The Verona Woods, outside of Madison, in Verona, WI.  She made a reservation about a week in advance for 4 adults and 1 child, at 6:30pm. We arrived that Friday evening 15 minutes early and the restaurant was buzzing in the bar and dining area.  First impressions of the restaurant were that it was a high-end restaurant/bar.  It was surprising that our table was ready for us, even though we were early.  They sat us in a corner at a table made for 6.  The host brought us a hig...