Fish Type: Haddock Price: $9.00
Overall, I would recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Excellent Miscellaneous Score: Good |  |
Comment: ¡Hola, señores! If you are like me, then you are no doubt are skeptical when it comes to ethnic restaurants offering our famous Wisconsin Friday night tradition. Needless to say, I have been less than pleased with the offerings at places like Dobahn or The Bourbon Street Grill, and have made a concerted effort to avoid them all together. When word came down the pipeline that Pedros Mexican Restaurant was quietly offering a great Fish Fry, I was indeed skeptical, but knew what had to be done. I saddled up my trusty burro, and hit the dusty trail to risk my Friday on the rumor of Fritada de Pescado delicioso a Pedros.
We arrived at Pedros right around 7pm and were somewhat surprised to see the IMMEDIATE SEATING light aglow above the entryway. We figured they might be busy with a bunch of anti-fish folks, but the sign turned out to be accurate and we had no trouble getting right in. We were ushered to our booth adjacent to the tortilla station without a wait, and our waitress came by a couple minutes later with some chips and dip, and a basket of tortillas. She also dropped some menus before heading off to grab us a Negra Modelo and a margarita from the bar. When she came back with the booze she took our orders as best she could in between our mouthfuls of chips and salsa.
We polished of nearly the entire basket of chips and about 2/3 of the salsa by the time my fish arrived. At first glace the Fish Fry looked great. The tartar sauce and coleslaw were served in little tortilla bowls which gave them a festive flair - this is a Mexican joint after all. The three pieces of haddock, French fries and the rye bread were positioned around this decorative crockery and made for an idyllic scene. Unfortunately, the plate must have sat for a tad bit before being served because the food wasnt scalding hot which allowed the haddock to get greased up a little. While it looked like the fish was ultra flaky at one time, the grease caused it to lose some of its texture and the planes of fish started melting into one another. By and large it still tasted good, but if it came out fresh from the fryer with less grease it could have been great. The Dos Equis beer batter was fairly light, but as for taste, it was just so-so.
The French fries were fairly decent although there were so few of them they were gone faster than Speedy Gonzalez with a block of queso. Before I knew it, I looked down, and they were just none to be found, all that remained was a cloud of dust. The tartar on the other hand was abundant, although it was a little odd really. This Chipotle blend was an interesting take on the sauce, but actually pretty damn good. I used the bulk of it since it gave the fish a little kick that was lacking in the soggy batter.
Two full pieces of rye bread and some homemade slaw rounded out the meal. The marble rye bread is very traditional and actually tasted really good when paired with a few bites of the slaw. That being said, the hefty serving of slaw wasnt great by itself as it was a little runny and lacked any zest.
Overall, I was a little surprised by the Fish Fry at Pedros. While some of the individual items may not have been great, when you look at the whole picture this Fish Fry recommendable. The fish was fine, albeit a little too greasy, and their fries and unique take on tartar sauce were good. It seems like forever since I have had rye bread at a Fish Fry, who would have guessed that one of the few places keeping up this tradition would be a Mexican joint? Pedros is probably most famous for their Buy 1, Get 1 margarita specials, but they are also known for their reasonably priced, inoffensive Mexican cuisine and their version of the Wisconsin Fish Fry seems to follow suit. Inoffensive Fish Fry and plenty of it, I can deal with that.
www.pedrosmexicanrestaurant.com
499 Donofrio Drive
Madison, WI
(608) 833-9229
