Fish Type: Lake Perch Price: $17.00
Overall, I would recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Excellent Bread Score: Good Miscellaneous Score: Excellent |  |
Comment: Our first visit to Club 60 outside of Columbus was a knock-down drag-out knuckle-buster. Everything about it was out of this world and I left fish drunk and loving every second. I knew I needed to come back, despite the lengthy drive into the country, and found a Friday where I happened to be out that way. I showed up before 5:00 and the family joined me about an hour or so later (when the place was jumpin').
The Club has a lot of fish options on Friday nights which for me starts and (basically) ends with the $17 lake perch or bluegill. There's also cod for $12 or $13 (depending on size) and walleye for $17 (which are available on the everyday menu). There's also a TON of other fishy friends on Fridays like shrimp and scallops. All the entrees come with their impressive salad bar which contains all the usual salad bar suspects save for clam chowder - today it was cheesy veg and French onion instead!? This is a fine Sysco salad bar and come complete with some superb rolls that are kissed with a brush of drawn butter.
Since I'd bit the bluegill on the first visit i decided to peruse the perch this time and the portion was comprised of four fat fillets. These were some real honkers which had me wondering if they were pike-perch or some sort of farm-raised mutants. It said nothing of Canadian waters on the menu (as the walleye did) so I presume that was the case. The meat looked the part - flaky with the waffle-like pattern, so I presume it was the genuine article. Rather than a breading this perch comes cloaked in a light beer batter, that is more grease-prone than your typical dry breading. A bit of the oil remained in the fish and needed to be licked off the finger tips from time to time. It wasn't a problem by any means, but was certainly notable. Overall, it was good, but not great.
The typical supper club side options abound outside Columbus and I stuck to the ubiquitous fries. This rendition was battered up and crispy, but Sysco through and through underneath. Don't get me wrong, they were still very good, but the kid's assortment was much better as he got lots of nice long cuts where my portion was nub-filled.
A smattering of a superb tartar left its mark, and was as thick as glue and just as sticky. The perch loved every ooey gooey dollop and the combo made it possible to get down every last bite despite being fulled beyond capacity dues to the bowl of heavily-salted popcorn I'd enjoyed at the bar while waiting.
Our first visit to Club 60 had me thinking this might be not only one of the best Fish Frys in the area, but in the entire state. After this second stop we definitely need to pump the brakes a little on that overly-enthusiastic outlook. Yes, this is a very good Fish Fry, but there are clearly some other major players in that game and this one doesn't quite reach those lofty heights. Overall, we still recommend this Fish Fry, and think the hour + round trip to get your hands on it is still justified.
www.club60supperclub.com
2164 State Rd 60
Columbus, WI 53925
(920) 623-3113
