Fish Type: Cod Price: $12.00
Overall, I would not recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Fair Potato Score: Excellent Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Poor Miscellaneous Score: Good |
Comment: Its fair to assume a place called Mad City Frites just has fries, and for the most part youd be right. That is, you would have been right until a couple month ago when they suddenly started a Fish Fry on Fridays. Of course, the moment I heard about it I had to have it and took the first available opportunity to do so.
Arriving at 11am made us the first customers of the day and although the Fish Fry wasnt listed anywhere on the menu the big mixing bowls on the counter were a dead giveaway that it was indeed available. The Frites Fry is a 2-piece cod affair and goes for $12 (additional pieces are available for two bucks a pop). MCF is a small place and the pieces of fish seemingly take a cue from their surroundings. The two tiny cuts of cod looked tasty and were flaky, but little else. They housed a breading that was light to the touch but also light on seasoning. By and large it wasnt noteworthy, but has plenty of room to grow.
A place that specializes in frites had better know their way around spuds and these were as advertised. They were thick (at least 10mm according to their thorough definition), crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside. Of course, they were double-fried (as all frites are) and well-seasoned (as the fish was not).
Obviously a Fish Fry is supposed to come with tartar sauce, and maybe it was because I asked for the Mad Sauce with my frites, but no tartar came with the fish. MCF is big on the sauces (its kind of their shtick), and this stuff was spicy and delicious, but much better with the fries than the fish as you might expect. No bread or slaw came with the $12 Fish Fry so it was a very bare bones affair and really left me wanting more.
Mad City Frites is a great little spot and their specialty spuds are delectable, but the Friday special is a little rough around the edges. Small portions, no bread, and no slaw really dont add up to $12 worth of food. Overall, we dont recommend this Fish Fry but see a lot of potential in those fryers.
www.madcityfrites.com
320 State Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 204-6150
