Fish Type: Cod Price: $9.50
Overall, I would recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Excellent Miscellaneous Score: Good |  |
Comment: If you love sports memorabilia (and who doesnt?) Pooleys is the place for you. If you love Fish Fry (and who doesnt?) same deal.
I showed up this Friday hoping to try Pooleys new bluegill, but found out its only available at dinner time so I was forced to settle for the cod (which isnt all that bad if you have to settle for something). I had a plate of steaming hot fish in front of me within minutes of ordering and got right down to business.
The cod comes as a 2 or 3-piece and I, of course, got the big one. Each of the three pieces featured Pooleys special breading which is incredibly flaky, heavily-seasoned, and really quite scrumptious. While the fish itself isnt pristine (a little greasy here and there), it is still flaky and works really well with the crumbly breading. Its the total package as far as fried fish goes, save for the fact that the breading is so crumbly and the fish so flaky that it has a tendency to fall apart in the tartar. No big deal though, thats why God invented forks.
Speaking of the tartar, its alright, but not thick enough for my tastes. It also has a little too much real dill in it, and while its not off-putting it doesnt do much for the already spicy fish. That said, I still used almost all of it.
I also ate most of the French fries even though there were a ton of them. The flock of fat crinkle-cut fries took over the far side of my wax paper lined basket and were quite satisfying. They were saturated with seasoned salt and peppered with parsley flakes, which wound up being a little overkill, but still much better than no seasoning at all.
Bolstering the lineup was a whole slice of pumpernickel-rye bread which was lightly toasted and heavily delicious. It was just right and complemented Pooleys homemade coleslaw perfectly. While the slaw wasnt super creamy, and there was some slaw-water to deal with, it was fresh, and sweet with a perfect zippiness.
While I wasnt able to get my bluegill fix this Friday, I still had a great Fish Fry at Pooleys and thats all that really matters. Overall, I recommend this Fish Fry and appreciate that Pooleys puts in the effort to do it right (which is more than I can say about a lot of places). If youre looking for a good Fish Fry on the east side of Madison feel free to jump in this pool, the waters fine.
www.pooleysmadison.com
5441 High Crossing Boulevard
Madison, WI 53718
(608) 242-1888
