Review
While what the CT&T has is good, there is room for improvement - at least in the Fish Fry department (or fish-n-chips department as it were). The Middleton Heights hotspot is always busy, and this Friday was no exception. Luckily, we were able to get a couple stools at the crowded bar, and figured we'd just eat there since the wait for a table was lengthy. Our food came relatively quickly after we got our order in, and looked simply delicious when it arrived. The Fish (-n-chips) Fry consisted of two long pieces of haddock draped over a bevy of house-cut fries, and surrounded by some caper-crazy tartar and a bowl of slaw. Of course, there was no bread to be seen (damn you fish-n-chips!).
We started in with the fish and it was initially pleased with it. It had a flaky texture, and was capped with a very light beer batter that had an adequate amount of seasoning. The first piece was almost flawless, but unfortunately part of the second piece got saturated with grease. Despite the soggy last couple bites the haddock was tasty in general, although the portion size left a little something to be desired. While the pieces were long, they were also thin, and didn't fill me up. It was what we would call a good start, but a third piece would certainly make for a much more satisfying finish.
If there is one thing MFF loves, it is house-cut French fries. The Craftsman does the in-house duties, but while my plateful of sinewy spuds tasted fine, they weren't scalding hot which detracted from their overall greatness. They were clearly well-fried at one point, but must have sat and waited for the fish which resulted in the thin strips being a limp and lifeless. Of course, every one of them got eaten anyway.
The tartar was also a bit of a misstep, and was very "flavorful," but not necessarily in a good way. It was loaded up with a ton of capers, and a noticeable amount of dill. While the overall taste sensation wasn't awful, I'd honestly take a food service industry sauce over it any day. It kind of seemed like an unnecessary attempt to reinvent the wheel, and you know what they say about a good classic tartar - if it ain't broke,why the hell are you trying to fix it?
Probably the weirdest part about this Fish Fry was the coleslaw. It started off well with some fresh, finely-shredded cabbage, but from there took a turn for the worse. It was loaded up with an overpowering amount of white wine vinegar, and while we tend to like vinegar based slaws, they usually aren't the white wine variety. At best it was unexciting, and really just tasted off altogether. The lack of bread was a letdown, and one area where we really hoped the CT&T would have made a change. They didn't.
This was what I'd call a typical "Food Fight Fish Fry." While we have come to expect good things from the food conglomerate they rarely transcend our expectations, and while we always leave satisfied we are rarely blown away. Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry, but just kind of wish it was something more.
When we arrived the venue was as we expected it would be - packed. The young, seemingly overwhelmed, hostess greeted us and with no hesitation quoted us a wait time of... are you ready for this... 80 minutes! 80! I know, right? Nuts. I'm not sure if the grandiose estimate was a means to scare us off, or just the hostesses' way of hedging her bets, but this ain't MFF's first rodeo, and we could tell from the size of the place and the amount of people that that estimate was a little high. We got on the list, and immediately headed to the bar to grab some drinks - come what may.
Our 80 minutes turned into a quick 30 and we had a table with a view in no time (the view was of Frank Lloyd Wright Avenue, but hey, beggars can't be choosers). When our waitress came by soon after we were ready for her since part of our time at the bar was spent studying the menu.
It took 20 minutes or so for our fish to fry and the 2-piece haddocks came hot, but not scalding. We were immediately struck by the breading on the fish which appeared to be cornmeal-based, but a unique take on the southern-style. My first bite almost ended tragically as my slippery fish squirted out of its fried sheath. Luckily, I was able to grab it up quickly and salvage the ship. Thereafter I made sure to keep a firm grip on the slick fish and had little trouble for the duration. While the coating wasn't thin and flaky, its gritty texture housed a really nice flavor, and paired well with the smooth fish. The haddock itself was flaky, and bred a tiny bit of grease, which almost acted as a lubrication to enhance the meat. I thought it was very good, but Gabe simply loved it (although I think it was partially due to the fact that Gabe hasn't been taking in as many Fish Fry recently so his frame of reference is a little off). In any case, it was very good.
Some homemade "tavern fries" came along in a large portion and were superb as well. The skin-on, thin-cut spuds harkened back to the Hub's Fries of our youth, although were not as legendary as the County Fair fries. Again, Gabe simply loved them while I thought they were very good, but lost some luster due to a few lukewarm individuals scattered throughout my pile.
As is often the case, most newcomers to the Fish Fry game think they can put their own stamp on the tradition with a new take on tartar sauce- these attempts usually fail. Craft Table and Tap took this oft travelled path, and while their speckled sauce didn't veer as far from the trail as some, it did appear to have some non-traditional elements. The thin blend was also a bit heavier on the dill flavor than we care for.
Some slack was picked up by a delectable Dijon-infused homemade slaw, but was quickly let out again by the absence of bread. No matter how tasty the creamy coleslaw, or how hearty the haddock, they just can't span the rye void, which I have to say, I was surprised to see at a place clearly trying to mark their mark in the Fish Fry universe. No bread? Not too crafty, fellas.
Growing pains are to be expected, but we can easily say we already like the CT&T way more than its predocessor. I have to imagine, given another month or two, the place will be running like a well-oiled machine and their fish and fries will find some friends worthy of their stature. As it stands, even with the atypical tartar, bet-hedging hostesses, and absence of bread we still thought it was a fair deal. Overall, we feel comfortable recommending the fish we ate this time around, and sense that the best is yet to come as the Table & Tap continues to hone their craft.
The Craftsman Table and Tap seems like a place that should be able to fry a piece of fish, but either they're overthinking it or they really don't know what they're doing. Regardless, they never seem to get it right. They always have fish-n-chips on the menu, and this Friday their special was Tilapia which tells you something right there.
Since Tilapia isn't a traditional Fish Fry fish, and it doesn't fry very well in my opinion, I just stuck with the $13 haddock fish-n-chips. Previous experience with the daily haddock didn't give me the highest hopes and that trepidation was quickly realized. Two small pieces of fish make up the portion and are home to a beer batter that is actually really tasty. The batter did soften a little on the underside which made the cornmeal-based coating a less crispy, but the seasoning made it work - save for the moment when the fish slid right out of its home. This coating is definitely not a clinger.
Lots of house-cut fries come with the fish, and while I love house-cut fries this batch was practically all nubs and slightly over-fried. If you're going to cut your fries in-house you have to use long potatoes and these clearly were not; sure, they tasted fine, but I needed to have the pinchers out the whole time to get at them.
The tartar was good but not really memorable and no bread comes with the fish-n-chips (as you might expect). The slaw didn't look fresh nor did it taste crisp, but at least the flavor was there.
While I basically knew what I was getting into by going to the Craftsman on a Friday it was no less disappointing when the food didn't deliver. Overall, we don't recommend this Fish Fry and will make sure the next Food Fight gift card gets used at Monty's or maybe DLUX.