Fish Type: Cod Price: $12.00
Overall, I would barely recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Excellent Bread Score: Good Miscellaneous Score: Good |  |
Comment: Mount Horeb has a thing for trolls. Its the self-proclaimed troll capitol of the world. The main street is referred to as the Trollway. Theres troll-related paraphernalia all over town. Troll this, and troll that. Here at MFF were not really into trolls (although a Troll Fry does sound intriguing). Were more into fish so when we found ourselves in Mount Horeb on a Friday there was only one bridge we wanted to cross.
The Grumpy Troll offers cod and lake perch on Fridays and since its a brew pub both come beer battered. Since beer battering freshwater fish is a no-no in our book we went with the cod and a side of waffle fries. As expected, the four thin pieces of cod were cloaked in a thick batter that basically drowned the fish. Mercifully, the batter tasted good and was surprisingly grease-free so all was not lost.
Plenty of waffle fries partnered with the cod and were well-seasoned and crunchy. They added some much needed spunk and seemed to be a sage choice. There are a lot of other potato options as well so if waffles fries arent your thing fear not, the Troll has you covered.
When thick beer batter is the name of the game a thick and creamy tartar is a prerequisite, and the Grumpys sauce complies. It was a big, bold blend that quelled the fish to some extent and made it more enjoyable overall. Some sassy slaw also did its part with a pleasant pop and smooth finish.
Trolls are a little different in general, so its not totally unexpected that the Fish Fry at the Grumpy Troll would come with a twist. Luckily, this twist was a subtle and very welcomed one. A nice, little pretzel roll came in the place of a boring dinner roll and was soft and fresh. It was unique, but not off the wall and gave this Fish Fry an added dimension.
The Grumpy Troll is easily the most well-known dining spot in Mont Horeb and we can see why. The place itself is pretty nice, they have gimmick that clearly works, and they brew their own beer (which a lot of people really seem to enjoy). All that adds up to a winner, but even winners dont always ace the Fish Fry test. The fish was okay in every sense of the word, but were honestly not sure wed make the drive to get it again. Overall, we barely recommend this Fish Fry and would probably come back if we lived closer, but since we dont we might leave this one to the trolls.
www.thegrumpytroll.com
105 S. Second Street
Mt. Horeb, WI 53572
(608) 437-2739
