Waypoint Public House

A few months back I wrote a piece for the Isthmus highlighting some of the best new Fish Frys in the area, one of which was the Flying Hound Alehouse in Fitchburg. The Hound gained instant acclaim for their Friday specials (specifically their cod) and have since spawned another restaurant called the Waypoint Public House in Monona. The Waypoint has its own Friday offerings which are akin to, but uniquely different from its Fitchburgian brother. I visited both places on the same Friday in order to draw a comparison between the two. You might be surprised at what I found.

The first stop was lunch at the Flying Hound which consisted of lake perch and French fries. The perch costs a reasonable $13.50 and comes with everything it should except bread. I've had perch at the Hound three times now and this was best of the lot although it was still exceedingly salty (and this coming from a guy who loves his salt). The fish was pliable and flaky, but all of the subtle fishy goodness was lost to the hyper-seasoned breading. It was simply overbearing and needed heaps of tartar to mellow it out, and even that couldn't quite do it.

Tons of skin-on matchstick fries are piled next to and beneath the perch, and fried right to the sweet spot. They were golden sticks of deliciousness, but like the fish, salted more heavily than most people could handle.

A unique house-made tartar accompanies the fish and has a good flavor. While mayo-based, it has much more in there than just relish. As an aside: there is a kid's fish and chips available as well. It's one piece of cod, served with fries, and ranch dressing instead of tartar. Weird I know, but that must be what kids are in to.

The Hound has some very interesting slaw which is clearly made in-house, but kind of runny. Much like the other items is also has a very unique seasoning applied. I couldn't say exactly what it was (coriander or something out of the ordinary), but it really overpowered the blend making for a very unbalanced dish.

While I really appreciate all the effort the Flying Hound goes through to make their Fish Fry unique the heavy-handed seasoning gets to be a bit much. What we found at the Waypoint draws a stark contrast. I've had the cod at the Waypoint in the past and thought it paled in comparison to that of that of the Flying Hound. This time I decided to try their $14.00 walleye and found it to be markedly better.

For starters, the Waypoint (and the Hound for that matter) are both exceedingly accommodating to families with young children. They seat smartly to ensure families have the space they need without taking anything away from the experience of other diners. The food also comes quickly at both places which is a godsend when you're sitting there with a hungry child. If you have a kid you know what I'm talking about.

The Waypoint walleye fillet was on the small side, and covered in a dark and crispy coating that melded well with the flaky fish. Since it was clearly a young fish it didn't have any musty flavors or anything which allowed the breading to take center stage (which it did thanks more to its texture rather than its taste). Since it was small, it went fast but was still better overall than the salty perch I had for lunch.

Both Point and Hound appear to serve the same fries although they more conservatively portioned at the dinner destination. The Waypoint tartar was noticeably different however, with more zip and much smoother consistency than its comrade.

The Waypoint mimicked its sibling in that there was no bread provided, but stood apart from it with a peppy, much more balanced slaw.

While the Flying Hound made my write-up in the Isthmus those many months ago, the Waypoint might actually have the better Fish Fry at this point. The perch at the Hound was again too salty, but I will say that of all the fish I've had between the two places their cod is still the best. The Waypoint is doing a better job of striking a balance, and while the Hound has the highest highs, it also reaches the lowest lows. Overall, we still recommend the lake perch and the Flying Hound, but recommend the walleye and the Waypoint Public House more. Both are good, but staying on the beam is critical and Public House strikes the right balance.

First there was the Free House Pub in Middleton. Then came the Flying Hound Alehouse in Fitchburg. Now there's the all new Waypoint Public House in Monona. These three sisters have surrounded the city with their suds and are doing everything in their power to put their stamp on the Madison Fish Fry scene as well - although some are clearly doing it better than others.

The newcomer has cod (fried or baked) and walleye available all day on Fridays. The 3-piece cod goes for $12 and is a very respectable rendition. The flaky fish features a satisfyingly crispy and extremely crumbly, dark brown breading. The brawny crust basically rules the roost leaving the fish no choice but to acquiesce to its might. Despite the coating's dominance it isn't as stellar as it could be as it lacks the seasoning that would put it over the top. As it stands, it's a step up from Free House's fish, but a few rungs below the Flying Hound's exceptional offering.

Lots of shoestring style fries attend and bring even more crunch to the party. Where the seasoning misses the fish it hits the mark on the fries making for pure munching enjoyment. The homemade tartar also strikes the right note as the pinkish sauce adds a little something the cod longs for. While it isn't as peppy as it could be, its uniqueness is welcome.

This is a breadless Fish Fry and I'll leave it at that.

The homemade slaw is also the take-it-or-leave-it type, although it is fresh and crunchy so there's that.

Out of the three sisters the Waypoint might be the youngest of the bunch but already has a leg up on its oldest sibling as far as Fish Fry goes. A reasonably- priced, respectable cod will always play in this town and the Waypoint's offering is all that and more. Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry and have to imagine it will improve incrementally over time.

I had a plan this Friday. We were going to meet some family members and take the drive to the Ding-a-ling Supper Club. The Ding-a-ling has been on my list for seemingly ever, and I was pumped - it was finally happening! Until...it wasn't. Something came up and they backed out at the last minute. I scrambled to come up with a sufficient alternative - The Fish Finder pointed to Angelo's in Monona, and off we went...we pulled up only to be greeted by a note on the door stating they were remodeling and the kitchen would be closed until sometime in July! Ugh. It was 5:00, the witching hour when you have a five year old, and I panicked. The wife was famished and didn't want to drive so we chose the next closest place with a Fish Fry - Waypoint.

Truth be told, I'd had a couple decent Fish Frys at Waypoint so I wasn't too worried, but wasn't really confident in that decision either. Turns out Waypoint has totally lost their way. They still have cod, lake perch, and walleye on the menu, and the $16 perch piqued my interest, but as soon as I saw the plate any optimism quickly faded. The five fillets looked hastily scattered on the plate, and were lukewarm at best. While they were real lake perch, their soft, flaky texture was buried under an unpleasantly hard and crunchy breading. This crumbly tomb was supposedly "Cajun" style, but it had no spice, no flair, no flavor whatsoever.

Looking almost equally unappetizing was the smattering of fries on the side. They were skin-on, but not cut in-house, and so scarce that they were gone in an instant. A thin ranch-like tartar didn't do a lick to help matters, while the lack of bread, and pathetic little scoop of watery slaw only sealed their fate.

It's funny how fast a night can turn from potentially legendary to pathetically lame, but it's bound to happen once in a while. The $16 lake perch was a huge bust and everyone was pretty unhappy with the night. Overall, we don't recommend this Fish Fry and probably won't be back to Waypoint until we hear they've changed direction.