Nitty Gritty - Downtown

I'll just say it right here - I met Ryan Kirby, the new head chef at the Nitty Gritty, at a foodie meet-up one time. While I'm not a "foodie," dude is a real chef and I told him I'd come by the downtown Gritty sometime to see what he was going to do with their Fish Fry (which historically was not good). Turns our Ryno is a beast in the kitchen and has turned a once awful Fish Fry on its head. Here's what I think about it...

While his fish is not a cheapy ($14.75) I'd say it's worth what you get. Four fat chunks of cod come in the wax paper lined basket and are head and shoulder above the beer battered nightmare of yesterday. These prime chunks are home to a heavily-seasoned dark brown breading that is brined in beer beforehand to the point that a dark ring was evident - much like a smoke ring you'd find on a good brisket. The fish itself was flaky and pure and formed a very nice dichotomy with the crunchy coating.

Sides abound at the Nitty and the spicy waffle fries wound up being a smart choice. These babies are straight out of the Dexter's mold and as satisfying as the come. The tartar on the other hand didn't really do it for me as it was kinda thin and didn't pack the punch to take the fish to the next level.

It's tough to tell if the Kirb slaw was made in-house, but didn't look like Sysco to me. Either way, it was good and more than satisfying. There was also no bread, which for a Fish Fry made by a dude from the north woods left me scratching my head. Oh well, it was lunch so maybe there's a slab of rye come dinner time?

It should be noted that Mr. Kirby did recognize me sitting at the bar, but it wasn't until after I'd ordered and had the food in front of me. I am the everyman, and the last thing I want is any sort of special treatment (extra pieces, bonus fries, etc). Had I announced that I was there I almost certainly would have received something so I'm glad it worked out that way it did which gave his fish center stage. Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry and will definitely come back again. Who knows maybe next time I'll order it "Buffalo Style" as he recommends...I just need some other people to order it that way before I do so he won't know it's me doing it...*hint hint*

The Nitty Gritty has long been known as the "Birthday Bar of Madison" and with good reason since they generously offer up free beer on your special day. While that is definitely a great thing, it doesn't tell you much about to their food, and after overhearing a conversation among their employees who were recommending Fitzgerald's, apparently even they know it isn't exactly the "Fish Fry Bar of Madison."

I showed up at the Nitty for an early lunch and grabbed a stool at the bar because I was rollin' solo, as my fishy friends happened to be otherwise occupied. I quickly grabbed a Cow and put in my order for the $10 "Gritty Fish Fry" at the same time. I got about half way through the beer in about 7 minutes and just as I did my super long Fish Fry basket appeared from the kitchen. It was fresh fried and ready to go - so was I.

At first bite it was immediately apparent that the fish was good, but not top notch. While it was fairly flaky it was rather bland, and had accumulated a tiny bit of that white fish-gel stuff between the flakes due to some grease that was present. The grease fully saturated the second piece, and by the time I reached the end the batter had gotten a little mushy and fairly unappetizing. Speaking of the batter, it looked really good when the fish first appeared but was lacking any real flavor. There was clearly some spice, as black pepper was clearly evident, but unfortunately the taste did not come through. At the least, it was nice and hot up until the end, which is something... not much, but something.

Partnered with the two average sized cod fillets was a veritable pant-load of Nitty fries. This drove of skin-on Julienne cut potatoes followed suit with the fish in that they were well fried, but nothing special. The tartar sauce was also nothing special and I would say it was well below average. It stood on a thick mayo foundation, but deviated from the ideal mayo/relish ratio with a hefty dousing of the latter. What's more, it was a sweet relish, which really gave it an odd twinge and didn't improve the pedestrian cod one bit.

The slaw was also in abundance, but like pretty much everything else, the finely chopped mixture was uninspired, and just not tasty in any way. Most of mine sat uneaten until the point the bartender removed it from my sight.

Based on their performance up until this point this was not going to be a recommendable Fish Fry anyway, but when we realized that there was no bread of any sort included the camel's back was officially broken. It was definitely the final straw and a lackluster end to a mediocre meal.

Overall, at $10 this just doesn't add up to a recommendable Fish Fry. Everything was just so-so and even spectacular service from the friendly bartender wasn't enough to save the day. The only thing that shined was the service and the speed with which the food was served, but I gotta chalk some of that up to the fact they just opened and I was literally one of the very first people in for lunch. The Nitty is still definitely the place to go on your birthday, just make sure that if it falls on a Friday, you get your fish fix somewhere else before you head over for the bottomless beer.