Fish Type: Lake Perch Price: $13.00
Overall, I would not recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Poor Miscellaneous Score: Excellent |
Comment: If you like a good dive bar (and good wings) the Dutch Mill Sports Club is the place for you. The Fish Fry isn’t half bad either…
I was grabbing some Christmas gifts on the East Side and had the @madcitycocktails book in tow so I figured it was as good a time as any to try the Friday lunch special at the Club. I had a sense that at $13.00 the 5-piece perch wasn’t going to be hand-breaded to order, but I knew the bar was going to be awesome so I thought, what the hell?
The bartender, Cheryl, was a total badass and had my food ready in an instant. I could tell the perch was pre-breaded straightaway, but it was easily some of the best pre-breaded fish I’ve had (and it did look to be real yellow perch). It paired surprisingly well with the homemade pickle-y tartar and was bolstered by the homemade slaw - both good.
The fries were pretty basic and there wasn’t any bread with the Fry so what you see is what you get - kind of like any good dive.
The DMSC made some waves recently thanks to a Facebook post about their wings putting Chicken Lip’s to shame, so my mission today was two-fold (I grabbed some wings to-go and sampled one on-site). While I thought the wings were very good, the dry rub didn’t hit quite as hard as Lips’ (and the blue cheese certainly didn’t hold a candle to the CL’s chunky dressing). If pressed, I’d still pick Lips (if you care).
As for the FFF, the club isn’t specializing in it, but they don’t really need to. It’s a classic dive bar with a surprisingly good food menu and great atmosphere. Overall, we highly recommend the bar and the wings, and think the perch is downright decent if the mood strikes you.www.facebook.com/RealDutchMill/
4818 Dutch Mill Rd #4112
Madison, WI 53716
(608) 222-2508
