Fish Type: Northern Pike Price: $16.00
Overall, I would recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Good Miscellaneous Score: Good |  |
Comment: Stuck in Illinois on a Friday, but thankfully we found a pretty darn good Fish Fry.
The Dutch Inn West in Elgin gets billed as a dive, but it’s reasonably clean and well kept (at least by Wisconsin standards). What’s more, they have a legit Friday Fish Fry and we got to sample both versions of their haddock - battered and dry breaded.
The bar was pretty slow at 5:30 this Friday and our food hit the table about two seconds after I heard the ding from the bell in the kitchen. While the styles aren’t mix-n-match I was savvy enough to order the battered for the kid and dry breaded for myself so I got to sample both. If I had to do it over again it would be battered all the way…That’s not to say the lightly-breaded version wasn’t good (it was), the battered just had a little something extra starting with thicker cuts of fish and a more decadent flavor.
Diners can choose fries or baked potato with their fish and the house-cut fries were truly tasty although salty as hell. As a sodium fiend I loved them, but the kid thought they were a bit much. A nondescript tartar came along for the ride and made the fish marginally better, a cup of thinly-chopped slaw did its duty, and two tiny slices of home-baked bread were a lovely addition.
While I realize 99% of people who see this will never venture to Elgin for a Fish Fry I’ll admit this is likely the best one I’ve had south of the border (and that includes a couple fancy schmancy spots in downtown Chicago). Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry and are pretty pleased with what we got stuck with.www.dutchinnwest.com/
2288 Foothill Rd
Elgin, IL 60123
(847) 888-9560
