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Fish Type: Cod     Price: $13.00

Overall, I would recommend this Fish Fry.

Fish Score: Excellent
Potato Score: Excellent
Tartar Score: Good
Bread Score: Poor
Miscellaneous Score: Good

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Comment: The Madison Blind is ultra-new and so trendy that it almost hurts. In actuality, I was kind of surprised that they even have a Friday Fish Fry since it’s kind of an old fogy thing, but here we are, at the Blind. Let’s start with the (very) good.

The 7th floor bar is as cool as they come – subway tile, plaid bathroom (not kidding), amazing views, you name it, The Blind’s got it. We showed up early (early enough for the sunset special in fact – if you need to know what this is just show up a few minutes before sunset some day), and had no problem procuring a spot in the surprisingly spacious dining room. We kicked it, and had a couple plates of the $13 3-piece cod in due time.

The first thing you will notice is that the pieces of fish here are absolutely massive. You’re easily looking at a good 4-5 oz. each which adds up to damn near a pound of fish. Each is moist and flaky, and surprisingly grease-free. I say surprisingly due to the moderately-thick beer batter that enrobes it. This sheath doesn’t get soggy and has a remarkable flavor. While I love a hearty portion this was so much fish it is almost too much to handle – don’t let the pictures on Facebook fool you.

Duck fat fries are all the rage these days and The Blind is hip to the scene. These babies are superb as the thick, skin-on cuts are fried just right. Duck fat gives the spuds a truly unique flavor that really keeps you coming back for more (and believe me, I did).

Their tartar is also excellent with a subtle sweetness and perfect consistency. One cup was far from enough for the bevy of fish so look to add a second if you’re planning to pound the pound.

The Blind doesn’t bring the bread and there’s also no slaw so this is really more of a fish-n-chips affair than the “traditional” Wisconsin fish fry. Still, it is recommendable due to the quality of what you do get. There’s no doubt I’d come back in a heartbeat if that was the end of it, but unfortunately that’s not the case.

While the atmosphere was great, the drinks were tasty, and the food was excellent, everyone (and I mean everyone) in our party of four got sick to varying degrees afterwards. While I obviously can’t say that is was the food that did it, mine personally didn’t make it through digestion and I’ll leave it at that. It was a rough way to end what was such a pleasurable experience to say the least. Overall, we still recommend this Fish Fry and feel compelled to come back, if for no other reason that we want to reassure ourselves how great the food really is and our sickness was just a strange coincidence.



graduatemadison.com
601 Langdon Street
Madison, WI 53703

(608) 257-4391