Fish Type: Walleye Price: $18.00
Overall, I would not recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Poor Miscellaneous Score: Excellent |
Comment: Our first visit to the Lake Edge Seafood Co. was an overall positive experience. Everything was fresh and crisp, albiet a bit timidly prepared - mostly what you'd expect from a place just getting their feet wet in terms of Fish Fry. On that maiden voyage we perused the perch, which was good, although we thought it could use a little more oomph. Fast forward a couple weeks, we were back to try the walleye and hoping they'd found some of that gusto.
A fortnight later and it's clear LESC is still feeling their way around a bit. Like the lake perch ($16 and change) the walleye ($18 and change) was a little lackluster. Whereas we've become accustomed to the Villa Tap's massive $14.75 fillet, this one was on the small side and quite thin (it could have been the Villa fillet's baby). While the meat was flaky and grease-free the cracker breading was pretty dull and begged for tartar.
While I had a suspicion the sauce on our first visit was a commercial mix, the big squeeze bottle at our table today tasted different. It was much better, much thicker, and had far less of the stank. While I can't say it was made in-house just as much as I can't say it wasn't Thomson's Fish Camp it seemed to have a more balanced ratio or relish to mayo.
The fries were also much better 14 days later, and while they were still just crinkles they were darker in color and had some seasoning on 'em. They were crinkles on steroids and while I would have gone for the hot chips I saw last time it was replaced by 1/2 Caesar salad on the menu... :|
There was no bread so the only thing left was the second side and instead of slaw I went for the mac-n-cheese which turned out to be a very wise move. The mac was super creamy and had an alluring peppery flavor. It was probably the highlight of the meal and and "too spicy" for the little guy. This is definitely a daddy mac...or maybe it was a mac dad? either way it made me want to jump jump.
While the Lake Edge is showing some great potential the walleye today missed the mark. The fillet was small, and just didn't have IT. Everything else was pretty standard as far as Fish Fry goes save for the exceptional side of mac and cheese, and therein lies the rub. When the best part of your Fish Fry is the mac and cheese you know something has to change. Overall, we don't quite recommend this Fish Fry although it's right on the edge.
www.lakeedgeseafood.com
4100 Monona Drive
Madison, WI 53716
(608) 467-9491
