Review
Nothing more than a county crossroads, the tiny village of Utica boasts one of these truly special little Fish Frys. Mitch's Utica bar is basically out in the middle of nowhere, and although it is close to the interstate, it isn't close to any on-ramps. This insulated location helps keep the out-of-towners at bay, and ensure a strong following from the locals. For those of us not from the outer limits of Stoughton or Cambridge the tiny tavern is out of the way, and somewhere you probably wouldn't go without a good reason. Luckily, for us there's a great one.
For a mere $9.75 Mitch pitches out 4-piece cod dinners, complete with all the trimmings. Dinner in Utica is a pretty straight-forward affair, and it all starts with a stiff Old Fashioned or a cheap beer at the big old bar. As you enjoy your drink the seemingly omnipotent waitress will come out of nowhere to grab your order - only seating you in the "dining room" when it's ready. Ours took a good 45 minutes to an hour, but that just gave us more time to have a couple drinks, inquire about the eggs in the beer cooler, and play the jukebox.
Once summoned, it took my eyes a second to adjust from the dimly-lit bar to the even more dimly-lit dining room, but when they did what they saw was awe inspiring. A full-stocked table awaited us, complete with steaming hot plates of fish, a huge bottle of tartar sauce, and a basket of warm rolls. We drank it in, and got to business.
I'm not sure the right term even exists to describe Mitch's beer battered cod, so I'll just go with scrumtrulescent. The fish was unbelievably light and flaky, and incredibly delicate. I plowed through the four small pieces with no problem and thought the 2-piece option they offer must have been a joke - I easily could have eaten two, if not ten more. The main reason the fish is so good is the beer batter, which has to be the thinnest beer batter out there. It is seasoned perfectly, and plays with the elegant cod rather than overpowering it. While every bite of fish was 100% pristine, it wasn't 100% delicious thanks to the amazing batter. My god... scrumtrulescent.
Mitch's cod can easily be eaten with or without tartar, but do yourself a favor and use it. The Utica tartar is superb and pairs perfectly with the fish. It has lotsa mayo, and just the right amount of relish, with no other BS to cloud the mix. It might sound boring and basic, but this is about as good as it gets when you're talking tartar.
Continuing the gooey greatness is Mitch's coleslaw. It's rich and creamy, with just the zest you want in a slaw. The elongated white bread buns, offset the cool brew nicely, and are easily perked up by plenty of room temp butter.
If anything is lacking at the UB it's the potato options. While there are a ton of spuds to choose from, they are all processed, and uninteresting. Since there were three of us we got to try a few varieties, of which, the French fries were by far the best. They were the thick-cut Julienne variety, and were well-fried and hearty. The "potato pancakes" our friend Sean got were just little pre-formed hash brown rounds (basically Potato Olés from Taco John's), and come with packaged syrup, or apple sauce for $0.50 ea. (which probably isn't worth the up-charge). The actual hash browns were also of the pre-formed variety, and were just like the rectangular patties that come in the big log from the grocery store. Like the rest, the hash browns were fine, but mostly thanks to the $0.50 cheese and onion upgrade.
The only detractor to our dining experience in Utica (other than the so-so spuds) was the dude at the table behind ours. While the last time we came we got to sit next to the funny dad who was celebrating his birthday with the family, this time we got Joe Asshole. This jerk was literally berating his wife about "eating like a cow" in front of the whole dining room. It was totally out of line and while it didn't ruin our dinner altogether, it is something we won't soon forget. What a dink.
Despite the dink, this was another great trip to Utica. If you're willing to make the trek to the southeast you'll be rewarded with one of area's truly special little Fish Frys. Overall, we highly recommend this Fish Fry, and will have to make it a point to get to Utica more often - it's more than worth the drive. And to answer their self-imposed question: "Where the hell is Utica Bar?" Fish Fry heaven, that's where.
U-ti-ca! U-ti-ca!
Getting to Mitch’s Utica Bar is pretty simply really. Just take the interstate towards Chicago and get off on exit 147 (Hwy N). Follow N about 2 miles south and take a left on Hwy B. Follow B until it hits the Bar on the corner of B and W. It is a good 15 minute drive once you are out of town but it is well worth it, let me tell you.
From the outside the Utica Bar looks like a standard bar that you would find at any rural intersection in Wisconsin. Once inside it is not a whole lot different. There is a good size bar, which we were able to get three stools at rather easily, a few tvs and the usual bar atmosphere. Since it is Utica, and not Madison, patrons are welcome to smoke which for me only enhances the ambiance. There are no menus at the Utica Bar. The food options are written on the black felt boards with the little white press-in letters and do not change from what I could gather. I avoided the top 2/3 of the board and looked straight to the bottom where the “Friday Menu” was listed.
We came to Mitch’s Utica with one idea in mind and that was a delicious Fish Fry so that is what we ordered. The only choice was cod, although I think there were some other non-fish alternatives like clam strips and shrimp. We ordered at the bar and waited for our spot in the “dining room” to be ready while watching CC Sabathia destroy the Nationals. That guy is good, probably almost as good as the Fish Fry we were eagerly awaiting to enjoy. After about ten minutes our waitress was back and gave us directions to our table. When we sat down everything was ready and waiting for us.
We wasted no time and immediately began to devour our spread. The cod was simply delicious with no weird tastes or textures. It was not as screaming hot as it could have been but all my pieces we hot enough. The crinkle cut style French fries were also great, exactly what you should expect at a bar Fish Fry. The tartar sauce, while sitting in a big squeeze bottle at the table, was also delicious; I would say it was almost perfect although being at room temperature. The basket of bread was okay but the buns were somewhat dry and flavorless. Lastly, there was an option for coleslaw or cottage cheese and I opted for the cottage cheese which was alright, but I overheard on of our fellow diners comment on how great the coleslaw was and I immediately had buyer’s remorse. Next time, the slaw.
The table next to ours was a family out celebrating Dad’s birthday, and Dad was half in the bag. It was hilarious and provided the perfect ambiance for a Fish Fry at a bar. We overheard him several times saying “I have the best family,” and I had to agree with him because any family that would go out for Friday Fish on Dad’s birthday to the Utica Bar must be the best. The best bar Fish Fry for the best family, that is the way it should be.
Overall Mitch’s Utica Bar was awesome. This is probably the best Fish Fry I can remember having at a bar. The big three items (The Fish, The Fries and The Tartar) were all phenomenal and the periphery items were all perfectly acceptable. $9.25 for a four piece Fish Fry? You can’t really ask for much more.
The fish out in Utica is still cheap ($10 for a 3-piece with extras for $1.50 each), but a shell of its former self. There are also shrimp and clams available on the menu so if you're feeling frisky there is some diversity there. It was pretty busy this Friday and took the lone waitress a bit to find us milling around the bar and grab our order (they do it Toby's style here - you hit the bar first, the waitress finds you there, you place your order with her, then you're seated when there's a spot open and food is ready). It took all of 90 minutes to get to our table which left plenty of time for cheap Old Styles and Rum Chata shots with said waitress, Elisa (it was her birthday - she was lovely). As soon as we sat down I could tell things were different. The plate looked pretty boring. The pieces of cod were relatively small (maybe a couple ounces each), and not of the highest quality. They were home to a leathery batter that had no seasoning to speak of. While I was hungry enough to eat all four pieces it wasn't because they we great, but more because I'm used to eating much earlier these days.
Several spud choices populate the concise menu, but all three in our party went for the "funeral potatoes" based on Elisa's recommendation. Of the four options (fries, baked, and potato pancakes among them), these hash browns are the only truly homemade one and reside in a fryer-side Nesco roaster. They are clearly made by hand, with plenty of cheese mixed in. The gooey goodness saturated our souls and made up for the middling fish to some extent. Being finger-fed bites of them by the Elisa's mother beforehand is another story...
Solo cups of tartar sat to the side and I got two of the skunky sauces with my 4-piece. The mix was thick, but the relish contingent was prominent, and stuck out a little too much in my opinion. The cup 'o slaw was the next size up and fine, but little else. Strangely, there was only one roll in the basket for our table making it feel misplaced, or more than likely, Elisa just grabbed the wrong basket from the kitchen. Either way it was just a plain roll, and I'm sure we could have had more if we'd wanted.
While this may all sound negative plenty of positive changes have come with the new ownership at UB as well - the wait staff and bartenders seem more friendly and outgoing, and they have a nice new outdoor patio area. The Fish Fry has taken a serious downturn however. Overall, we don't recommend this Fish Fry, and are holding out hope they can turn it back around. Maybe they need to pick Mitch's brain, or bring him back as a guest chef of Fridays? It's also worth noting that Utica Bar is still cash only, but they do have and ATM if you're forgetful.