Review
Of course, I wasn't the only one who knew of the quasi-grand opening and the LESC was already busy by noon on day one. There were a few open tables scattered throughout the length of the neat and tidy space and we grabbed the one closest to the ordering counter. I got in line, waited about 5 minutes to place our order, and had a pretty plate of food not more than 10 minutes after that. Lake Edge slings fried walleye ($16.80) and cod ($12.80) seven days a week, but have a separate Fish Fry section on their menu board that lists those two along with "perch" for $15.95 and a $21.95 combo platter the includes all the fish along with some jumbo shrimp. Since the perch felt special I went that route and added some creamy slaw and French fries as my sides.
The perch is the real deal yellow lake perch and five fillets in a light and ultra-crispy breading took center stage. These buggers were well-fried and had absolutely no grease whatsoever. The fish itself was supple and juicy and the breading added a nice contrast in texture. While I would appreciate another dash or two from the salt shaker they were still very tasty and a heck of a good start.
The fries were typical crinkle cuts and essentially as basic as they come save for a few flecks of pepper. If I had a mulligan I would definitely branch out to the options - homemade hot chips, mac-n-cheese, onion rings, and potato salad among them. The tartar also missed the mark somewhat and I have a sneaking suspicion that it was a commercial sauce - they sell a brand called Thomson Fish Camp (or something like that) off the shelf in the market and I'm thinking it might well have been the same stuff. It had that odd tang like Kraft does, but to their credit, was more diverse. Lots of relish and a thin consistency made it more of a scooper than a clinger which is never ideal.
In addition to the sides listed above there are two kinds of slaw to choose from and I tried traditional creamy. It wasn't bad and the portion was massive, but pretty middle of the road as far as slaws go. It really didn't have a punch and next time would definitely try the vinegar variety (or just another side altogether). No bread came with the Fish Fry and serves as another example of how our beloved Friday Fish Fry tradition is devolving into a simple fish-n-chips affair.
You have to love a place that serves Fish Fry every day of the week and from the looks of it Lake Edge is going to do just fine. While the market portion was slow during the lunch hour this Friday I imagine those looking for fish to take home come in at different times of the day. The restaurant portion was bustling and I can hardly wait to buzz back in for a second round. Overall, we recommend this Fish Fry and will likely try the walleye or cod on the rebound.
A fortnight later and it's clear LESC is still feeling their way around a bit. Like the lake perch ($16 and change) the walleye ($18 and change) was a little lackluster. Whereas we've become accustomed to the Villa Tap's massive $14.75 fillet, this one was on the small side and quite thin (it could have been the Villa fillet's baby). While the meat was flaky and grease-free the cracker breading was pretty dull and begged for tartar.
While I had a suspicion the sauce on our first visit was a commercial mix, the big squeeze bottle at our table today tasted different. It was much better, much thicker, and had far less of the stank. While I can't say it was made in-house just as much as I can't say it wasn't Thomson's Fish Camp it seemed to have a more balanced ratio or relish to mayo.
The fries were also much better 14 days later, and while they were still just crinkles they were darker in color and had some seasoning on 'em. They were crinkles on steroids and while I would have gone for the hot chips I saw last time it was replaced by 1/2 Caesar salad on the menu... :|
There was no bread so the only thing left was the second side and instead of slaw I went for the mac-n-cheese which turned out to be a very wise move. The mac was super creamy and had an alluring peppery flavor. It was probably the highlight of the meal and and "too spicy" for the little guy. This is definitely a daddy mac...or maybe it was a mac dad? either way it made me want to jump jump.
While the Lake Edge is showing some great potential the walleye today missed the mark. The fillet was small, and just didn't have IT. Everything else was pretty standard as far as Fish Fry goes save for the exceptional side of mac and cheese, and therein lies the rub. When the best part of your Fish Fry is the mac and cheese you know something has to change. Overall, we don't quite recommend this Fish Fry although it's right on the edge.