Fish Type: Cod Price: $9.00
Overall, I would not recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Fair Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Poor Miscellaneous Score: Good |
Comment: We've been asked: "What is the weirdest place you've ever had a Fish Fry?" At that time it was probably Dobhan (a Nepali restaurant on Atwood), which has since closed. If we were to get asked that question again, this time around the answer would probably be Buraka...
Buraka is in the old Jolly Bob's space on Willy Street, and when I heard they had a Friday Fish Fry I almost couldn't believe it...I mean, that seams odd for an African/Ethiopian restaurant, doesn't it? Regardless, I knew I needed to try it, and slipped in on a random Friday for lunch. Of course, the full-blown Fish Fry is only served for dinner, but they have a hand-battered fish and chips app on the menu so I rolled with it. The fish claimed to be Guinness beer battered so my hopes weren't totally dashed, until I saw what I was up against.
The three small pieces may well have been hand-battered with the fabled Irish stout, but if they were it was likely done prior to freezing. These sticks had the look and the taste of a pre-battered fillet. It didn't have any real flavor to speak of outside of the frying medium, and the batter had a sheath look to it that is indicative of freezer fish.
The fries were fat julienne cuts and nothing special. To the cook's credit, they were well fried, but beyond that they weer pretty average. Since it was just an app, there was no slaw or bread either. THe highlight of the meal was probably the Buraka sauce which had some serious spice to it. It made the fish much more edible, but then again, it was essentially all you could taste.
Overall, we don't recommend this Fish Fry, but I still think I want to come back and try the dinner some time. It sounds like a much more substantial, although untraditional meal. It's still a 2-piece cod, but the fish comes in a a light, berbere spiked batter (no mention of Guinness with this one). It's served with the same Buraka sauce, but also a lentil and rice pilaf, and spicy sweet potato fries.
www.buraka-madison.com/
1210 Williamson Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 286-1448
