Fish Type: Bluegill Price: $12.00
Overall, I would highly recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Excellent Potato Score: Excellent Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Good Miscellaneous Score: Good |  |
Comment: Ive grown progressively fonder of the Big 10 over the years. While I originally thought it was over-hyped (and over-dilled) they have made some subtle changes over the years that have really made me stand up and take notice. Essentially, theyve cut all the loose ends and are offering the best example of a comprehensive Fish Fry downtown Madison has to offer.
What do I mean when I say comprehensive? I mean they do all the major fish varieties (cod, lake perch, bluegill, and walleye), and most importantly, do them all well. They also feature potato pancakes which are very traditional but also very hard to find outside of the Milwaukee area. Since they offer so many kinds of tasty fish I always have a hard time choosing one, but usually settle on the perch or the bluegill. This time I landed on blue.
In addition to dropping the dill from the tartar, the Big 10 has altered other parts of their Fish Fry. It all starts on the ground floor with some fancy new rectangular dinner plates ooo la la. The quaint quadrilaterals are gracefully decorated with an abundance of fish, a couple of the cakes, a hearty dinner roll, and ramekins of: tartar, apple sauce, sour cream, and coleslaw. With such a masterpiece painted atop the one in front of me I almost couldnt bring myself to destroy it. My belly had other ideas...
I started in on the fish and was wowed. It was likely the best fish I've had at the Big 10 to date and some of the better bluegill Ive had anywhere. The eight fillets were small (as you might expect expect), but were flaky and moist with just a hint of elasticity (as you should also expect). The fillets were home to a light and crumbly breading that had a good amount of seasoning for just the right balance. The spice worked well with the airy fish enhancing its subtle flavors to just the right extent. Quite Remarkable.
Under the pile of sunfish hid a couple near-prefect potato pancakes. Like the bluegill, the PPs were well-seasoned and expertly fried. They were joined by what appeared to be a homemade applesauce that had big chunks of fruit in it. The cinnamon laden sauce topped the pancakes perfectly and added a luster that plain cakes didnt have. The applesauce was an amazing addition to the pancakes, and the duo was well worth the extra buck and a quarter they cost.
I used to loathe the Big 10s tartar sauce since it was dominated by dill, and had all sorts of random stuff in it that threw the flavor off. The blend still has all kinds of items in it, but most are benign enough to let the mayo zest shine through, and whats more, the dill has been diminished to the point where it is unnoticeable. Touchdown Wisconsin!
Rounding out this most impressive of Fish Frys was a beefy bun and some superb slaw. The baseball-sized roll was hearty and ample. The crusty loaf was dense as can be and ate like a meal. The slaw pranced along playfully behind radical roll, and was simply marvelous. It was a shining example of a finely-chopped mix that is perfectly zesty and incredibly satisfying.
Talk about upping the ante The Big 10 just went all-in. It didnt happen overnight but they have morphed into something really great, and our representing the Fish Fry tradition admirably in a place where not many people expect to find it. Overall, I highly recommend this Fish Fry and have no problem calling it the best downtown Madison has to offer.
big10pub.com/
1330 Regent Street
Madison, WI 53715
(608) 251-6375
