Review
At lunch golfers (and the general public) can swing away with a 4-piece lake perch or 3-piece cod for $9.25. This Friday we were the first customers of the day despite the fact it was already after the noon hour. As such, our food came alarmingly fast and looked crisp. For starters the lake perch is the real deal yellow perch, and has the light texture you'd expect. It's home to a wispy beer batter that matches the texture of the fish just right. It also tastes of celery salt and cumin which is something we can definitely get behind. Of course, for only $9.25 the portion is going to be on the small side but that actually makes for a good lunch. The cod is also conservatively portioned and shares the same batter as the perch. The crunchy coating seems to work equally well on both which is a hallmark of good batter...like Frank's Red Hot, you can "put that $hit on everything!"
Curly fries and regular fries are available and we sampled both this time around. While they undoubtedly come from big brown freezer packs they are tasty and fried to perfection. The inherent seasoning on the curlies are reminiscent of the best of Hardee's, while the regular had a little salt sprinkled on them fresh from the fryer so it stuck. We liked both just fine, and would recommend either depending on our mood.
The tartar was somewhere in the middle consistency-wise, kind of like a 4 Iron or some other middling club. It had a strong flavor but didn't spread out on the palate and didn't shoot for the green. It was solid, but not special.
Similar to leaving a putt short, there is a noticeable absence of bread with this Fish Fry. Oh what might have been with a little more oomph, or a little more starch. Luckily, the slaw was good enough and, like everything else, came in slightly under par.
While we're not going to tell you have to run right out and get this Fish Fry it's certainly a nice one to have in the bag. Sometimes you need to pull that one club that no one else is using and see what it can do. Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry, and will keep it in our arsenal for instances when we don't want to battle the crowds but still want some solid fish.
Bridges has a cod, lake perch, walleye, and shrimp available every Friday and this week they also had bluegill on special. I stuck with the with the $13.00 3-piece cod, and opted for the default side of coleslaw instead of tacking on the basic-looking salad bar.
The fish came super-fast since we were super early and looked okay but was inconsistent. Two of the hunks were very similar while one had a dramatically different appearance. Regardless, they were all tasty as the middling-quality cod was superseded by a flavorful, light and flaky batter. It featured something distinctive that was tough to decipher but totally appetizing. Was it chipotle? I don't know. Was it cumin? I can't be sure. Rest assured it was something...something delicious.
My choice of side was hash browns and they were as plain as can be. The cheese and onion were an upcharge and probably not worth the extra buck or so. The onions were scant, while the cheddar was simply shredded and sprinkled on top; it wasn't melted or anything. Oh well.
The tartar was straightforward too and not really memorable although every drop of the ¾ full cup got eaten so it was at least passable. A standard slaw followed suit and was of the creamy persuasion with a little punch but not much.
Perhaps the highlight of the meal was the crusty half-loaf of bread that arrived on a cutting board before the fish. It was served with some sweetened whipped butter that really cranked it up a notch. It's only downfall was the dull knife that came with it and its inability to penetrate the formidable crust. *SQUISH*
If you're like me you watched a lot of Reading Rainbow as a kid as it was must see TV for the 6-12 crowd. If nothing else the show taught us how cool reading was and how not to simply take one guys word for anything. The Fish Fry at Bridges on the Green is kind of like reading in that it may not seem cool and you may not want to believe me when I say it is, but all you have to do is try it for yourself. Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry and go ahead and you can take our word for it when we say you won't be disappointed if you're willing to give it a whirl.
This trip was dramatically different. We wrapped up our Trick-or-Treating handouts about 7:45 and arrived at Bridge's around 8:00. I was very surprised at exactly how few diners there were. They were actually closing up shop for the night since there were only about five groups of people in the place. Regardless, we were hungry and ready for fish so we took a seat at one of the many available tables. As soon as we sat down our waitress was at the table taking our drink orders (I suspect the waitress' were eager to get out early this Halloween to hit up some festivities of their own). She brought our drinks back lickety-split and took our dinner orders. On Friday's Bridge's has a lovely variety of fried fish to choose from. Beer battered cod is $9 on special and the Beer battered Lake Perch is $12. I went for the (non-beer battered) Bluegill for $13.
After our order went in it could have been no longer than 5 minutes before the food was out of the kitchen and in front of us. The Bluegill was excellent. It was not fishy tasting at all and had a lovely, light batter, sprinkled with some spice (Rosemary?) which was delicious. The French fries were thin cut (almost shoestring) style and were ungodly hot. They were also very good, although not overly plentiful. The tartar sauce was also great and had me scarping the bottom of the cup with seventh and final piece of fish. I knew the Bluegill was good, but I didn't remember it being this good. Needless to say, I was a happy camper. Gabe got the cod (because he always does) and was underwhelmed. The beer batter just didn't do it for him and as I have found it can be very difficult to do beer battered cod well.
Before the fish came we got an awesome loaf of warm bread served on a cutting board with a knife to cut it yourself, simply the best way you can get it. The coleslaw that came with my fish was also very good and I ate almost all of it. Overall the food was spectacular, and served lighting quick due to lack of patrons.
The service this trip was great, especially compared with our previous visit. Much of this can be attributed to the fact we were one of the only groups in the place, but at least this didn't make our waitress complacent. She was very attentive and did a great job.
Overall this was a great Fish Fry. We got in and our in less than an hour and had some fantastic fish to boot. I can safely say the Bluegill is worth a trip but I would be hesitant on the beer battered options since the last time I went they were not great and this time they were not a lot better. Try Bridge's on the Green if you are in the mood for a nice plate of Bluegill at a nice place on the East side.
There are a couple Fish Fry options for lunch and we chose the cut-and-dry 3-piece cod for $9.00.While the pieces were on the small side, the flavor loomed large. Good things definitely come in small packages. The cod was decent quality, but had a superb beer batter that took it from ordinary to extraordinary. The intoxicating coating was ultra- flavorful with plenty of season salt, possibly some cumin, and likely a whole bunch of other secret spice. It was very satisfying, and we could definitely have eaten more. Like, lots more.
Some skin-on freezer fries played second fiddle but got into the season salt spirit as well. They were reasonably portioned and a little on the limp side, but not too bad.
A zesty tartar with a medium-thick consistency was provided for dipping, and while it could have been better there was certainly plenty to go around.
What there wasn't plenty of was bread which was simply absent. Bah humbug.
Finishing of the Fry was a creamy slaw was basically an extension of the tartar as it had a very similar flavor and consistency. It was scooped onto a lettuce leaf, which made it presentable, but hard as hell to scoop. I appreciate the showiness, but would rather be able to eat it all with ease. I could definitely have gone without it.
The most important part of any Fish Fry is the fish, and Bridges made theirs count. While the fries, tartar and coleslaw were middle-of-the-road the fish shone bright and is easily enough to draw us in for another round. Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry and will tee-off with it again soon.
We arrived at Bridge’s right around the peak Fish Fry hour and had no trouble getting a table which seemed kind of strange, but whatever. Our waitress came by a little later, dropped off some menus, and went to get us some beverages. When she came back we put in our orders: 1 bluegill with fries, 1 cod with pub chips, and one salad bar. While we waited for the fish to arrive she also brought a warm loaf of bread on a cutting board which was very good and kept us satisfied during the interlude.
The $13 bluegill was on the table before you could say “can you grab me something from the salad bar when you go?” The 9-10 filets were good sized and nice and hot. The batter was fairly light, but seriously seasoned and a little firm which actually made the fish easier to hold on to. Gabe opted for the cod which looked great, but was not really hot resulting in it being a little chewy. I assume if it would have been scalding hot it would have been much better, but he seemed to enjoy it either way. The bluegill again hit the mark and was so plentiful I barely got into the last piece.
The French fries were also quite good. They looked homemade as they were fatter than normal and had the skins on. Like the fish there were served in a hearty portion leaving me in no danger of running out. The tartar sauce was also plentiful and had some chili or chipotle spice in it that really kicked it up a notch. It was tasty and worked well with both the seasoned bluegill and the homemade fries.
Usually I don’t put too much stock in coleslaw. It can’t really ruin a Fish Fry but it can’t put it over the top either. The slaw at Bridge’s was gooey and fairly decent, but didn’t really do it for me. The service was also decent, but could have been better considering they were not that busy.
The Bridges is a public golf course and being such draws a different crowd than a lot of places in Madison. They are older and certainly more conservative, the kind of folks who like a nice inoffensive Fish Fry. Bridge’s knows what they are after and caters to them, creating an environment which is kind of sterile. However, when push comes to shove the food is good, the place is clean, and everyone leaves satisfied. I can easily recommend the bluegill and will probably try the cod again sometime soon.