Fish Type: Haddock Price: $12.00
Overall, I would recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Excellent Potato Score: Excellent Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Poor Miscellaneous Score: Good |  |
Comment: Sauk City and Prairie du Sac are interesting communities. On one hand they feel small, kind of like my hometown, but on the other had they have a surprising amount of culture including a relatively vibrant dining scene. Some of that can be attributed to their location along the river which lends itself to the whole tourism economy bit, and some of it is certainly due to their proximity to Madison, but it's an intriguing dichotomy nonetheless.
From the looks of things the PH is about 50% bar and 50% restaurant so to see them put as much effort as they do into their food is pretty unique. On Friday they feature a $12 3-piece haddock, or $10 2-piece and also have walleye that is available every day. Things started off a little odd as the ONLY server in the dining room at the time didn't realize we were in her section immediately, but quickly apologized and got us some drinks. All went smoothly after that initial hiccup and the fish came out nice and hot. Of course, I went for the 3-piece and despite the fact the haddock looked waifish it wasn't at all. The pieces were dense and meaty and fell apart effortlessly. There is something that differentiates haddock from cod...it smoother and even more inoffensive (if that is even possible) and really lets the batter/breading take over if it desires. The flavor is also slightly less buttery and when paired with a light breading with subtle seasoning like that of the Prairie House excellence is easily achieved. It was quite well done.
There are a couple different French fry options in the House and I branched out with their signature Prairie Fries (or something of that nature). These super spuds were dusted with Parmesan and chives and absolutely scrumptious when paired with garlic and Sriracha aoilis. It was a dipping extravaganza! You could have called me the big dipper. I was mixin' and matchin', shuckin' and jivin' and generally going overboard with my selection of sauces including the tartar which was thick and tasty, but actually not as appealing as the aoilis. After all the sampling was complete I'd say the Sriracha took the cake...and I'm a spice wuss.
Maintaining the theme of excellence was their coleslaw which had a little sweetness that set it apart. It was almost like a mango or something that wasn't overbearing, but definitely let you know it was there. The only real detractor to our meal was the absence of bread, which isn't totally surprising in 2018, but still makes things a liiiiiiiitle less traditional.
As near as I can tell the Prairie House, much like Sauk and Sac themselves, is a place for all people. From the dudes at the bar, to the foodies in the dining room, and the families somewhere in between, there is good booze, good food, and good times to be had. Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry and only regret that to get to it we have to drive past the Dorf Haus, Green Acres, and Wood BBQ amongst others which might make a second date a little harder to schedule, but believe me we're going to set that date.
prairiehousesp.com/
1920 Prairie Street
Prairie du Sac, WI 53578
(608) 643-4416
