Fish Type: Cod Price: $10.00
Overall, I would not recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Fair Potato Score: Fair Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Poor Miscellaneous Score: Good |
Comment: Ah, Village Green. Will we ever learn? Weve been lured to your doors by the promise of Bass Ale Beer Battered Cod before, only to walk away disappointed. Did we learn nothing from that experience, or do we just want to give you the benefit of the doubt? It was 2007 after all, and that was a long time ago, things could have changed for the better, right? We hoped they had.
Even though plenty of time has passed, things at the Village Green have pretty much stayed the same (at least as far as the Friday Fish Fry is concerned). The fish is still pre-battered, the fries are still from a big brown bag, and the sides just kinda sit there. To be fair our $10 Friday special came quickly, especially when you consider how many burger orders were in line before it... Thats about where the praise ends.
The number one no-no at a Fish Fry is pre-battered fish. It just isnt the same as the freshly hand-dipped stuff and has a distinctly processed taste. The Green trots out three pieces of the freezer fish, and even though they claim it to be Bass Ale Beer Battered, it must come from the distributor that way since they clearly arent doing it in-house. Its just like the cod you get at the Glass Nickel (which is a pizza place for god sakes). For being frozen its somewhat decent, but it just cant compete with the fresh stuff you get almost everywhere else on Fridays. Crispy? Yes. Tasty? Sorta. Satisfying? Far from it.
The thick, Julienne-cut fries were poured from a brown bag, and not even all that well-fried. Like the fish, they werent the worst thing weve ever eaten, but certainly arent going to wow anyone. The best thing on the plate may have been the tartar, which was thick and creamy, and mercifully masked the weak fish when liberally applied. Thanks be to Sysco for the respite.
An additional Solo cup was filled to the brim with some creamy coleslaw, but it didnt have any zip, and had a distinct apple aftertaste which was mildly off-putting. The fact that no bread comes with the Fish Fry is also off-putting, and the two hushpuppies they plop on the side far from make up for it. The crusty balls were oniony (good thing), but also dry and hollow (bad thing). No thanks.
The Village Green is one of those places we really want to like, but their Fish Fry just doesnt cut it. Perhaps if this was Madison Burger Review theyd receive the glowing marks we want to bestow upon them (burgers are clearly their specialty), but as far as the fish goes youre looking at Cs and Ds. Overall, we dont recommend the Fish Fry at the Village Green and definitely wont come back for it a third time Although the Big Daddy might get us back in the door someday. That looks like one badass burger.
www.thevillagegreenmiddleton.com/
7508 Hubbard Avenue
Middleton, WI 53562
(608) 270-3600
