Saturday, March 7, 2009

tour de lenten fish fry 2009


i am not catholic and i certainly did not give up anything for lent. i do LOVE fish fries though so some friends and i are touring the local clubs and bars and trying to eat as much fried fish as possible in the next few weeks.

churches are out as they do not serve beer but lil' ethnic clubs and VFWs are right up our alley!

last friday we tried out the fraternal order of eagles medina aerie #2224 because stormin' norman's dad is a member.
and a past president!

the eagles charged $9 and did it all-you-can-eat buffet style. delicious! there was a lil' salad bar, breaded (not battered) cod fillets, fries, cheesy potatoes, green beans (eh, i can always pass on canned green bean. blegh.), bread and chocolate pudding.

good eats (and a lot of 'em!), cheap beer and fantastic conversation with stormin' norman's folks leads me to grant the eagles high marks. a B+ for the eagles!!

last night the crew tried out the ancient order of the hibernians on brown street in akron. a few of my friends have become members and really have been talkin' this joint up.
i was stoked to give it a whirl.

for $7 you got one piece of fried cod and two sides - i went with cole slaw (nice and vinegary - none of the mayonnaise-y shit. blegh!) and mac-n-cheese (delish! but such a teeny lil' bowl of it). we each got a lil' ticket and college girls came along and took 'em back to the kitchen.

and then we fell of the radar apparently. luckily the $3.25 guinness kept my hunger at bay. when the food finally came out (an hour and a half later!) it was pretty darn tasty. however, the service was so poor and the set up so wobberjawed that i cannot in good faith give them marks as high as the eagles.

i think the hibernians were a fine crowd - just very unorganized and ill equipped in the kitchen (order some more fryers hibernians!). i'd love to go there for cheap beers but i don't think another fish fry is in my future.

good friends and guinness on draft are definite bonuses and helped the score however it wasn't enough to overcome an hour and a half wait for one piece of cod. the hibernians get a C+.

next week the polish american club is on the agenda.
i've heard a lot about this place. it's a lil' more pricey ($9.25-$12.75) but their menu seems pretty fancy - perch, orange roughy, scallops and shrimp!

i'll report back.

oh, and if you're interested in local akron fish fries check out this list that the beacon printed on ash wednesday.

and the tour continues......

2 comments:

C said...

You wouldn't happen to know a good recipe for vinegary coleslaw, would you? I don't eat evil mayo slaw.

the erratic epicurean said...

let me get back to you on this xenia. or rather - stay tuned and i'll see what i can rustle up after i get paid. fresh slaw sounds gooooood.