Fish Type: Cod Price: $8.25
Overall, I would not recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Good Potato Score: Fair Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Poor Miscellaneous Score: Good |
Comment: I like bars (a lot), and I like a cut-and-dried Fish Fry (a lot more). So it stands to reason I would love the Fish Fry at Alt n' Bachs (an unbelievable amount), but for some reason it just has never all come together for me.
ANB's has a couple different options on Fridays, but the difference is just in the - numbers it's all cod - a 2-piece, a 3-piece, and an all out AYCE. Since it was lunch I figured the cheap $8.25 3-piece made the most sense, although in retrospect I should have just gone for the $11.50 AYCE and I'll tell you why. The 3-piece is basically fish and chips (that's fish, fries or slaw, and tartar) with no bread and yes a choice of fries or slaw (wft?). The AYCE option comes with usual sides, including fries AND slaw, a roll, and also adds a cup of soup. Coulda, woulda, shoulda...
The last time we had fish at Alt n' Bach's American TV was still next door and the bar's claim to Friday fame was called Cod Lite (which was anything but light). For some reason those thickly battered cod loins no longer appear on the menu and have been replaced by a lightly breaded version that is markedly better. These smaller pieces are no longer the big wet cod sock they once were, but are still far from prefect. The fish was incredibly firm and although easy to handle, very dry. It literally had to be gnawed apart and lost all its inherent flakiness. Sure, the breading clung like nobody's business, but it didn't have much choice, or flavor for that matter.
A small portion of plain Jane Julienne-cut French fries sat sadly on the side as if to say: where's the rest of me? There isn't much to say about them really beyond the fact they were adequately crispy. A very thick and bold tartar tuck pointed the cracks in the cod admirably, but could only do so much. As said, there was no bread and no slaw so I've given you about all I can.
While I like a straight-forward Fish Fry this one might have been a little too linear even for me. Overall, we don't recommend this Fish Fry since there is just isn't much there, and what is there is isn't all that great. I'm thinking I need to come back for the AYCE and give them a fair(er) shake.
altnbach.com
2602 Whalen Lane
Madison, WI 53713
(608) 271-9955
