Fish Type: Lake Perch Price: $10.50
Overall, I would not recommend this Fish Fry.
| Fish Score: Fair Potato Score: Good Tartar Score: Good Bread Score: Good Miscellaneous Score: Fair |
Comment: Weve all seen the commercials. JBs is one of those places that claims to offer a better Friday Fish Fry and when assertions like that are thrown around you just know there are going to be those out there who actually believe them. Since we need to have the lowdown when people ask if a place like JBs worth trying or not, we decided to bite the bullet and pay them a visit.
I was briefly optimistic as we pulled into the parking lot at the Sun Prairie nightspot since it was almost full, which usually means a busy Fish Fry (busy Fish Frys are usually good Fish Frys, you see). Unfortunately, we got hoodwinked and the part of the lot we pulled into was the bar-adjacent side which skewed our perception and made JBs seem far busier than they actually were. Any optimism faded quickly once we got inside and passed the crowded bar only to find the hostess station deserted. Eventually someone came by, scooped us up (knocked over a bunch of stuff in the process), and found us a booth in the sparsely populated dining room. It took a while for our apathetic waitress to finally come over, which gave us ample time to look over JBs three Fish Fry options.
I was tempted to try the walleye and coaxed by the cod, but I stuck to my guns and ordered $10.50 lake perch I had planned on. It took while for the food to arrive, but it was nice and hot when it did. Only four small fillets comprised the order and while they tasted good there were just not enough of them. The quartet was cloaked in a breading that was a little thicker than average and I would say almost bordered on a batter/breading hybrid. The perch cocoon had a nice flavor and complimented the moist and flaky fish pretty well, actually. The fish was pretty flavorful, but loses some points for swimming in such a small school.
Offsetting the pintsized portion of perch was a French fry feast. The classic freezer fries were the thick-cut Julienne variety, complete with skin and all. Suspected to be straight from Sysco, the pervasive potato product paired perfectly alongside the thick and creamy tartar sauce, which also appeared to adhere to the Sysco standard.
An above average multigrain bun joined the party and brought a side of coleslaw as its date. The sassy slaw had a horseradish kick, and played ever so lovingly with the soft buns, making for a very PG-13 moment (which aren't all that rare at JBs judging by the scantly clad cocktail waitresses).
You know, when it comes right down to it, the food really wasnt all that bad, but there were certainly some glaring issues with JBs in general. If our waitress would have come back, even one time, between dropping the food and bringing the check, it might have helped. If there were more than four skimpy fish for my ten-fifty, it might have helped. If literally anything would not have been Sysco, it might have helped. Then again it might not have too. Oh well... Overall, we cant recommend this Fish Fry, and likely wont be back to JBs any time soon - well, maybe for a drink someday, but thats probably about it.
www.jbsitaliangrille.com/
1086 Emerald Terrace
Sun Prairie, WI 53590
(608) 837-6016
