Cookin' with Karl
Fish fry time
Photo courtesy of THYME 2 At Thyme 2 in Medina, Chef John Kolar is serving a beer-battered orange roughy with house-made hush puppies for the Lenten season.
Corkscrew Saloon is serving up a classic Lake Erie perch as a Lenten fish fry special. Photo courtesy of CORKSCREW SALOON
This Lenten season, Riverstone Taverne in Brunswick is featuring Florida grouper bites, fresh from Tampa. Photo by KARL GERHARD
Lent is upon us.
It starts Wednesday, Feb. 14 (Valentine’s Day) and runs through Thursday, March 29. In the culinary world, this means it is fish fry season.
My wife points out that lobster at Timber Lodge is also a valid option when it comes to abstaining from meat on Fridays. She would make any argument to get a good lobster. Cheese pizza is also a suitable Good Friday tradition for Lent.
But, alas, the big tradition in these parts is the Lenten fish fry. Many places have a Friday Fish Fry during lent, from churches like St. Albert the Great in North Royalton to VFWs and other civic groups. All of these are good options and I am a strong believer in supporting any civic group that has any sort of fundraiser.
These make our communities strong and you get to meet your neighbors and friends.
As a former alter boy, I can say that the Friday fish fry tradition is just part of who I am. We always went out for these, though, as cooking a lot of fish in a house in the winter does not lend to a great-smelling home.
On the pages surrounding this column, you will note that many of our restaurant partners offer either a fish fry or great fish options for you to take advantage of. I reached out to a few of them to get some input on what type of fish they use and why they use that fish.
I was speaking with Melissa, owner of Circles On The Square, a new donut shop in Medina, about Fat Tuesday and donuts for Fas Nacht Giggly Day when the fish fry topic came up. She told me that her family loves the to-go fish fry box at Dominic’s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant in Medina. So, I thought I would start the Fish Fry research there.
I sat down to discuss the fish fry with Dominic’s Dominic Carrino and was shocked to learn that he goes through over 1,000 pounds of fish and 1,200 pounds of hand-cut fries each Friday during lent. This, my friends, is a lot of fish fry boxes going out the door.
I have always said that you want to eat at the place with the crowd, with the volume, because it shows that place is doing things right. The box Melissa was talking about has eight pieces of fish, fries, cole slaw and rolls. Many people take them out, but Dominic says it is always best when enjoying them at the restaurant. He also does the “all you can eat” fish fry option.
Dominic says, “I was the first place to do this in our area.” Dominic uses Alaskan Pollack, a mild white fish. This is one of the big three regarding the most popular for a fish fry. Cod and halibut are also popular choices.
Right around the corner from Dominic’s is Thyme 2, a very popular Medina restaurant and home to Chef John Kolar. John has a pub style menu downstairs and fine dining upstairs. Chef Kolar uses a beer-battered orange roughy for his fish fry and serves that with house-made hush puppies and creamy cole slaw. He also has the option of breaded orange roughy on a sandwich.
John says, “orange roughy is a firm white fish that cooks up well. It is a step above cod for a fish fry.”
I had the opportunity to talk with Bruce Iacovelli, owner of Riverstone Taverne in Brunswick. Bruce uses grouper that he sources fresh from Tampa and is featuring a dish called “Florida grouper bites” for Lent. It is 8 ounces of grouper served as six to seven smaller pieces of fried fish and served with chili lime aioli and, of course, house-made tartar sauce. He brought some out for me to try and they were fabulous. Bruce describes this version as a “high-end” fish fry option.
Corkscrew Saloon serves the northeast Ohio classic Lake Erie perch for his fish fry, but Chef Ryan Marino says, “we have many other options, as you can see in our ad.”
Gandalf’s Pub in Valley City does a Guinness beer-battered cod fish fry. This is just what Valley City’s best pub should be doing, right? But they also offer seared salmon and Lake Erie perch served as dinners or sandwiches.
So many places to try, so many fish species to compare, so few Fridays! I am on a quest to try each one and see which I most prefer.
It starts Wednesday, Feb. 14 (Valentine’s Day) and runs through Thursday, March 29. In the culinary world, this means it is fish fry season.
My wife points out that lobster at Timber Lodge is also a valid option when it comes to abstaining from meat on Fridays. She would make any argument to get a good lobster. Cheese pizza is also a suitable Good Friday tradition for Lent.
But, alas, the big tradition in these parts is the Lenten fish fry. Many places have a Friday Fish Fry during lent, from churches like St. Albert the Great in North Royalton to VFWs and other civic groups. All of these are good options and I am a strong believer in supporting any civic group that has any sort of fundraiser.
These make our communities strong and you get to meet your neighbors and friends.
As a former alter boy, I can say that the Friday fish fry tradition is just part of who I am. We always went out for these, though, as cooking a lot of fish in a house in the winter does not lend to a great-smelling home.
On the pages surrounding this column, you will note that many of our restaurant partners offer either a fish fry or great fish options for you to take advantage of. I reached out to a few of them to get some input on what type of fish they use and why they use that fish.
I was speaking with Melissa, owner of Circles On The Square, a new donut shop in Medina, about Fat Tuesday and donuts for Fas Nacht Giggly Day when the fish fry topic came up. She told me that her family loves the to-go fish fry box at Dominic’s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant in Medina. So, I thought I would start the Fish Fry research there.
I sat down to discuss the fish fry with Dominic’s Dominic Carrino and was shocked to learn that he goes through over 1,000 pounds of fish and 1,200 pounds of hand-cut fries each Friday during lent. This, my friends, is a lot of fish fry boxes going out the door.
I have always said that you want to eat at the place with the crowd, with the volume, because it shows that place is doing things right. The box Melissa was talking about has eight pieces of fish, fries, cole slaw and rolls. Many people take them out, but Dominic says it is always best when enjoying them at the restaurant. He also does the “all you can eat” fish fry option.
Dominic says, “I was the first place to do this in our area.” Dominic uses Alaskan Pollack, a mild white fish. This is one of the big three regarding the most popular for a fish fry. Cod and halibut are also popular choices.
Right around the corner from Dominic’s is Thyme 2, a very popular Medina restaurant and home to Chef John Kolar. John has a pub style menu downstairs and fine dining upstairs. Chef Kolar uses a beer-battered orange roughy for his fish fry and serves that with house-made hush puppies and creamy cole slaw. He also has the option of breaded orange roughy on a sandwich.
John says, “orange roughy is a firm white fish that cooks up well. It is a step above cod for a fish fry.”
I had the opportunity to talk with Bruce Iacovelli, owner of Riverstone Taverne in Brunswick. Bruce uses grouper that he sources fresh from Tampa and is featuring a dish called “Florida grouper bites” for Lent. It is 8 ounces of grouper served as six to seven smaller pieces of fried fish and served with chili lime aioli and, of course, house-made tartar sauce. He brought some out for me to try and they were fabulous. Bruce describes this version as a “high-end” fish fry option.
Corkscrew Saloon serves the northeast Ohio classic Lake Erie perch for his fish fry, but Chef Ryan Marino says, “we have many other options, as you can see in our ad.”
Gandalf’s Pub in Valley City does a Guinness beer-battered cod fish fry. This is just what Valley City’s best pub should be doing, right? But they also offer seared salmon and Lake Erie perch served as dinners or sandwiches.
So many places to try, so many fish species to compare, so few Fridays! I am on a quest to try each one and see which I most prefer.
