Review
We have known about the Fish Fry at Rev. Jim's Roadhouse for a while now, but as tends to happen, we never rolled the dice on the unheralded establishment. Rev. Jim's is located on the frontage road to De Jope, and if you're like us, you don't necessarily expect much from a Fish Fry at the remodeled McDonald's on the way to the casino, you just don't. I arrived around noon to find only two other cars in the parking lot, and all I could think was "Oh well, at least this will be cheap."
The Friday lunch special at the Roadhouse runs a mere five bucks and I had mine in a matter of minutes. As soon as I saw the fish I knew I was holding a winner and my $5 gamble was going to pay off big. My plate was piled high with upwards of ten small fish nuggets, a generous helping of shoestring fries, and a couple of Solo cups full of coleslaw and tartar. I dug in.
The fish was hand breaded and made to order (for $5 I was half expecting Van de Kamp's or some such nonsense). The breading was light and flaky with a fair amount of salt giving it a pleasant flavor. In addition to the 10 fish bits, a few stray breading chunks made the journey from the fryer, and even without any actual fish in them, were salty and delicious. The cod itself was fine, but didn't look to be of the highest quality as some pieces were translucent looking rather than pure white. While these oddballs were still mostly flaky, they got a little greasy and were not the most appetizing to look at. Luckily, the breading was enough to compensate any flaws the fish may have had and make for an overall pleasurable plate.
The shoestring fries were mixed in with the fish in such a way that both fryer baskets appeared to have been dumped onto the plate simultaneously. It was a matrix of frydom that even I felt the need to organize if for no other reason than to see exactly how many nuggets were mixed in there. The thin-cut spuds were your standard freezer-to-fryer fare and just about average, but certainly adequate, especially for $5.
While it came in the standard 2 oz. Solo cup, a surprisingly splendid tartar sauce was anything but basic. The Rev's tartar was thick and creamy with enough zest to mask any irregularities in the fish. Good stuff.
Rev. Jim's Roadhouse bills their Friday special as a "Fish basket" which in our book usually means "no bread". Well, lo and behold, we were right, and even though the menu stated there would be a roll, none was provided. Instead we settled for a 4 oz. cup of shockingly good coleslaw. The crispy, creamy slaw did its part as the mellow zest added a nice change of pace to the meal.
What can we say? Once again our gambling ways paid off. I guess when it comes to Fish Fry you just never know so you might as well take a chance now and again. Overall, we are very impressed by this little Fish Fry and we have no problem recommending it especially at that price.
You'll find Rev. Jim's Roadhouse on the access road to Ho-Chunk and while the casino can get expensive the grub at the Rev's is anything but. The Friday special is a Fish Basket that goes for a scant $5 (which is just a buck more than a tap beer). As you might expect, the portion is on the small side, but for $5 you can't really complain.
Things are a little different at the Roadhouse and rather than 3 or 4 regular-sized pieces the basket comes with 8 fish nuggets. The nuggets are extremely pop-able, with flaky meat, and a light breading. Despite the flakiness the fish isn't pure white which leads you to believe it isn't of the highest quality. The breading has a great texture, but lacks the seasoning that would enhance the fast food feeling fish.
A conservative allotment of julienne-cut fries fills out the basket and are fine, but nothing special. They're likely from one of the major food distributors, but still tasty when adequately fried. Some zippy tartar scoots along on the side and tastes pretty Sysco-y as well. The eighteen-wheeler origination theme continues with some zesty slaw that is almost certainly not made in-house.
For five bucks it's hard to expect bread with the basket and sure enough the Rev keeps the starches all to himself.
While I appreciate that Jim's is keeping the cost of their fish down, it certainly comes at the expense of quality and quantity. Overall, we don't recommend this Fish Fry even though it's the cheapest we've ever found. There's just not much to like, unless you're one of these people who only cares about the fact that it's cheap.