Fish Type: Lake Perch Price: $12.00
Overall, I would barely recommend this Fish Fry.
Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Good Miscellaneous Score: Good |
Comment: It had been 7 years and roughly 750 Fish Frys since our last visit to the Blue Moon. March 2011 was two jobs, one child, and seemingly a lifetime ago. To be totally honest we didn't even really remember what their Fish Fry was like and were surprised to see lake perch listed on the white board when we entered (even though that's exactly what we had the last TWO times we were there). Oops.
The lake perch has followed inflation trends and sits at $13 in 2019. Since I was skeptical that a plate of perch could be that cheap I asked the waitress if it was the real deal. "What do you mean?" was her response. "The box says lake perch on it, so if it's not I guess it's false advertising." That follow up was good enough for me, and true to the box's word these were real yellow perch fillets. Six come to an order and have a light breading that is just there to cover the fish. It was essentially flavorless, and while the lack of seasoning really allows the perch taste to come through, I'm really more of a overly spicy kinda guy.
Crinkle cut fries are the name of the game at the Moon and give me the blues. Sure they are the standard side, but with so many other places doing house-cut fries, specialty hash browns, or at the least skin-on freezer fries, they just sort of pale in comparison. A dill laden tartar and an extremely dilly slaw were both surprisingly decent, while dill pickles also come as a side with the kid's grilled cheese. I guess the Blue Moon really knowns the dill...
A dense football-shaped roll rounded things into formation and was crusty enough to set it apart texturally, but really not an improvement over a soft potato roll.
With so many great Fish Frys around town it is tough to get them all in, and some get forgotten about from time to time. However, 7 years is really too long to forget about this one and we regret that it's taken this long. The Blue Moon is what it's always been and they aren't showing signs of changing any time soon and we like that. Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry and will try to not let it go seven years before we get over there again.
www.bluemoonbar.com
2535 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53705
(608) 233-0441