Fish Type: Cod (AYCE) Price: $11.00
Overall, I would highly recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Excellent French Fry Score: Good Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Excellent Miscellaneous Score: Excellent |  |
Comment: If you take “The Great River Road” south of La Crosse about 7 miles you will happen upon the village of Stoddard. Boasting a riverfront location and a populous of roughly 700 it is exactly the kind of spot where you should expect to find a great Fish Fry. As you travel through town there is not a whole lot to see until you reach the intersection of Main and Center; there you will find the Thirsty Turtle (a great local bar) on one side, and Rocky’s Supper Club (a great local restaurant) on the other.
I visited Rocky’s once before and realized I needed to bring my folks sometime since they have lived in the area forever but never been there for the Fish Fry. As we pulled into the parking lot behind the restaurant I was tempted to jaunt over to the Thirsty Turtle for one, but resisted and decided we would just have one at Rocky’s own bar since we would probably have to put our name on the list anyway. The place wasn’t packed but I was still surprised when the hostess said our group of five could be seated immediately. Sweet, I thought.
The Fish Fry at Rocky’s is all you can eat and served family style when multiple people order it. It comes with deliciously zesty coleslaw and your choice of baked potato or French fries. In addition, the entire table is treated to a basket of soft, warm rolls and crispy garlic bread. We all polished off the slaw while enjoying a roll and a carrot or two from the “relish tray”. The fish came about 15 minutes later and was nice and hot when it hit the table.
Much like my last visit the cod was very good. It was light and flaky with very little grease. I quickly put away four nice sized pieces. To accompany the fish each person is treated to a massive cup of tartar that even I could not finish. The tartar was good but had a strange hint of something that I could not quite put my finger on. We postulated that it could well be a sweet relish but I am not 100% sold on that explanation. Either way it was good and when combined with the fish was very tasty, although not quite as flawless as my first visit.
The French fries on this visit were not great. They were slightly overcooked and not as plentiful as I would like to see at an AYCE, although I will take some of the blame as I forgot to ask for more when the waitress came to inquire about fish. The second round of fish was possibly even hotter than the first and tasted just as good. The pieces were much larger and I could barely even handle one more of the cod beauties.
After my second visit to Rocky’s and four consistently good plates of fish I can safely say this is one of the best Fish Frys out there. The fish is of the highest quality and fried just perfectly each and every time. The light batter allows the taste of the smooth flaky cod to come through and be highlighted by the tartar. The fries could be better but the quick and friendly service as well as the periphery items help to make up for their underperformance. Overall this is simply a great Fish Fry and probably one of the best in the La Crosse area.
www.rockysrestaurant.com/
101 N Main Street
Stoddard, WI 54658
(608) 457-2111
