Review
What comes once you're seated is one of the most expansive Fish Fry menu's you'll ever feast your eyes on. In addition to COD SPECIALS (BAKED COD, LIGHTLY BREADED OR BEER BATTERED FRIED COD - available as a 2 or 3-piece), they are ALSO SERVING: BLUE GILL, CATFISH, GROUPER, WALLEYE PIKE, DEEP FRIED SHRIMP, and COCONUT SHRIMP, in addition to their FRIDAY CHEF FEATURES which this week were: RAINBOW TROUT, MAHI MAHI, LAKE PERCH, ORANGE ROUGHY, TILAPIA, FRIED SMELT AND CRAPPIES (WHEN AVAILABLE). Whew... Oh yeah, there are steak and chicken specials too, in addition to a great kid's menu! With so many options I was incredibly overwhelmed and bopped back and forth between the smelt, perch, bluegill and walleye, eventually settling on the walleye since that's what I'd told myself I was getting before seeing the exhaustive menu. I stuck to my guns at least...
The "WALLEYE PIKE" runs $20 and, while I should have asked how it was prepared, I just assumed deep fried since the menu didn't specify. While it was fried, it wasn't immersed in oil as expected. This fillet was pan-fried and served on a bed (albeit a very thin bed) of spinach. While it was still good, and meant to be eaten with knife and fork, I dove in as I normally would - with two bare hands. The fillet was smallish as far as walleye goes, and without any sort of breading didn't have a ton of flavor. That said it was moist and flaky and very well-prepared. Oh well, you live and learn...
Whereas the fish led me astray the hash browns were all that and a bag of chips. They slippery spuds were expertly fried and capped by a slab of ultra gooey melted cheddar and heaps of coarsely-cut white onion. While a little more care in the onion distribution would certainly have been welcome that's a pretty petty complaint, as they overall flavor was still superb.
While the name says nothing of it, Springers is a supper club through and through and they have the traditional tartar to prove it. This stuff is as thick as molasses and measures up to any you'll find. The lakeside location also provides a whole basket of breads to diners before their entrΓ©es complete with: rolls, fritters, cellophane-wrapped bread sticks, and cold-pack cheese spread. It's as supper clubby as it gets and makes the Springers' experience so much more.
The last thing to mention is the homemade slaw which is a real zinger and landed a punch where my walleye whiffed.
Being fixated on one thing and/or making up your mind before you've seen all the options can be a good thing. It shows resolve and the ability to follow through, but you can also get burned, and I kind of feel like I got singed this Friday. Sure, my walleye was still tasty, but not what I was expecting; if able to do it over again I'd certainly pick the perch or select the smelt since those weren't just specials, they were FEATURES! Oh well, as I say, you live and learn and next time flexible will be the name of the game when playing Fish Fry roulette at Springers. Overall, we still recommend this Fish Fry and while I liked it, I'm sure the more health conscious among us would absolutely LOVE it.
My relatives tried to make reservations for 7pm, but were informed that on Friday, Springers (like most Supper Clubs) does not take reservations. We agreed to meet at 7 anyway and take our chances. Since there were two of us coming from Madison we decided to get there a little early and get our name on the list. We arrived a little before 6:30, accomplished our goal and grabbed a couple beers. It didn’t take long for the Janesville crew to show up, and no sooner had everyone grabbed a drink, than our name was called and we headed to the dining room.
On Friday nights Springers offers up a very impressive list of fried fish starting with beer battered or plain battered cod. From here, they branch out to offer: lake perch, walleye, bluegill, rainbow trout, Tilapia and a Mahi Mahi special. Oh, and this particular Friday they were also offering fried Smelt. That is pretty much everything under the sun which gave me a tough choice to make, but since I had freshwater fish earlier in the day I picked cod and went for the plain fried. Once this choice was made the next option for 2 or 3 pieces was upon me; I went big and chose the 3-piece, when, in retrospect, 2 would easily have sufficed.
Everyone at our table got cod, but some went for the beer battered variety. After having samples of both styles we concluded that both were good, but nothing special. First, the pieces were absolutely massive, with the beer batter was some of the thickest I can ever remember. The crispy coating was good, but so thick and heavy that it made the fish underneath practically disappear. The regular batter was MUCH lighter, but lacked a unique flavor that the beer batter had in spades. It really would be nice if they could strike a balance between the two. Perhaps some of their other fish varieties have found this middle ground?
The “seasoned” French fries I got were good, but nothing outstanding. They were basically straight cut, but with “curly fry” seasoning. There were about 10 other potato options to try as well, and on our next visit we may be inclined to try an alternative. The tartar sauce also fell in a similar category. It was good, but nothing to write home about (at least it wasn’t ultra dilly). The basket of bread served was very nice however, and came with fritters (donut holes) which were almost like free dessert. Score!
Since Springers seems to be the restaurant of options it is only fitting that they would give you the soup/salad/coleslaw/cottage cheese choice to top everything off. I went for the clam chowder which was heavy on the bacon, but very average.
Overall, this is a pretty good Fish Fry, but I was actually expecting a little more from Springers. The service was good and the Supper Club itself is actually pretty nice inside (from the outside we weren’t sure what to expect). If, and when, we come back I will try some of their other fish options, but at this point the cod is recommendable. If you like options upon options, Springers on the Lake might just be the place for you. What's more, if you come in the summer, you even have an option to come by boat. Like choices? Choose Springers.
Springer's is a Fish Fryin' kinda place and the Stoughton community clearly knows that all too well. When we pulled in just before half past five the parking lot was already overflowing into the neighboring yards, the music was in full swing on the patio, and the locals were loud and loving every minute of it. It was a great scene which was magnified 10 fold by their idyllic setting on the shores of Lake Kegonsa. We put our name on the list, grab a Cow on the patio and romped around listing to Natalie Imbruglia and Doobie Brothers covers. Within 30 minutes our name was called and we headed to the dining room for our feast.
Springer's is staffed largely by high school kids, but don't let their ages fool you, these kids are trained to bust ass. Our waitress, who may or may not have been of legal smoking age, was on us in a flash and had another round of drinks and our orders into the kitchen in a jiffy. Lazy Millennials my eye... SoLK has just about every fish you can fry, but having tried the haddock previously (albeit many moons ago) I felt the need to branch out. I went for the exorbitantly priced bluegill and paired it with a side of hash browns (cheese and onion of course).
While the freshwater finsters were far from free the allotment came in large so it wasn't a rip off or anything. Upwards of 10 triangular shaped fillets were splayed across the plate and definitely the genuine article. Each tasty tidbit was home to light breading, that wasn't devoid of flavor but didn't scream salt either. A pleasing balance was struck and while I'd take a hint more seasoning the portion size was definitely there to make up for it. Truth be told - I crushed those little devils.
Springer's puts real cheddar on the hash browns and while I love a good sharp, it just doesn't melt like American does. The crudely cut onions also left a little something to be desired and while they were still good for the most part, they didn't hit home like they should have.
While the fish was missing a piece that tartar was there to complete the puzzle. This sassy sauce had it going on and caressed the sunfish every so tenderly, as if to say "I'm here for you. We got this." The basket of rolls, cinnamon fritters, cellophane sticks, and cheese spread also pulled their own weight and mostly came home in our to-go box (I know, we're getting old).
When you're given the choice between soup, salad, and coleslaw, it's hard to stick with they typical slaw and today I just had to branch out. In all honesty, I probably should have just stayed in my lane as the clam chowder was largely forgettable and overloaded with potatoes. Oh well.
Our last visit to Springer's was back in 2009 and I regret that it has taken us this long to return. This is a great Fish Fry and one we should go out of our way for more often...hell they still have walleye and lake perch I've never been able to sample. Overall, we highly recommend this Fish Fry even at it's lofty price point. It's just that good.