Fish Type: Walleye Price: $14.50
Overall, I would highly recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Excellent Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Excellent Bread Score: Good Miscellaneous Score: Good |  |
Comment: Some places have a trademark fish at their Fish Fry, a calling card if you will. Its what theyre known for, its what keeps people coming back time and again, and its usually their most popular option. More often than not theres something special about it, and if for some reason it were no longer available the place would certainly suffer. The Villa Taps trademark fish is lake perch and when the Canadian government cut back on exports of the famous fish we thought for sure the Villa Tap would feel the effects. Turns out Chicos got a few tricks up his sleeve.
Lake perch is essentially unavailable in the Madison area right now, but there aew plenty of fine substitutes if you know where to look. The Villa Tap has always had amazing walleye alongside the perch, but being the savvy entrepreneur he is, Chico simply brought in a freshwater fallback to fill the perchs substantial shoes. Bluegill is available for a limited time only and has all the hallmarks of greatness.
The bluegill goes for $13.50 and like the pricier perch is worth every dime. While some people find the subtle fishy flavor of bluegill off-putting it is muffled by the Villas signature breading making it pretty much indiscernible. The 10 fillets are very light and smooth and serve as a great surrogate for the prominent perch. Obviously, Chico will get the perch back ASAP, but as long as the bluegill is available fans of freshwater fish have a suitable alternative. Of course, there is always the $14.50 walleye fillet as well which shares the beautiful breading and is oh so flaky, and oh so delicious.
Chico is a master of the deep (fryer) and despite the fact that the fries come straight from the freezer they are tasty. They are fried to perfection and thats all there is to is. The tartar at the Tap is also does as well as can be expected and offers a thick and creamy texture to go along with a pop that cant be beat. It makes the fish better, and when fish is already this good that is tough to do.
Before the fish finds its way to the table a basic dinner roll and a cup of slaw will. The dinner roll is just that, while the slaw is the de facto standard. Nothing more, nothing less out of these two.
When we got wind of the perch shortage we had a feeling that that it was going to hit Madison hard. To this point it hasnt been as devastating as we thought it might be, and rumor has it the perch are swimming again, but even if it takes another few weeks Chico has plenty to fall back on. Overall, we highly recommend both the temporary bluegill and the indispensable walleye at the Villa Tap, and while we kinda feel bad ranking the bluegill so high (since it wont be sticking around) its just too good not to.
www.facebook.com/ChicosVillaTap/?sk=timeline&app_data
2302 Packers Avenue
Madison, WI 53704
(608) 244-9627
