It had been a while since our last trip to the Brass Ring (nearly seven years to be exact), and we really didn't remember a whole lot about their Fish Fry. We knew it was okay, but nowhere near the best, and we knew that the bar would be busy, but nowhere near the busiest. Turns out we were pretty much right on all counts.
We showed up around 7:00, and found a few open booths awaiting our arrival. The $12.00 3-piece cod was featured on the chalkboard when we walked in so when the waitress came over it was just a simple matter of ordering the special and a Spotted Cow.
The food came quickly after that and looked cute all cuddled up in its miniature wicker basket. The "Spotted Cow beer batter" seemed more like it was breaded than battered, but could've potentially dipped in Spotted Cow then breaded? 'It was tough to tell. The three pieces were on the smallish side as a whole with only one of the three actually being "normal" sized. It was probably only around 5 oz of fish total and since it was light and flaky felt like even less. The breading was good, and had enough spice to cover some of the flaws in the fish but wasn't enough to fix it altogether.
The fries were much more plentiful than the fish and decidedly tastier. They were well-fried, skin-on numbers, and while they weren't cut in-house they were still commendable. The tartar was also laudable but could have been thicker. It has a notable dill-relish essence which didn't help the fish, but didn't necessarily hurt it either.
What did hurt this Fish Fry was the total lack of bread which is unfortunate since the coleslaw pulled its weight. The slaw was a super creamy blend with a ton of zip (some would say too much though we thought it was really good).
While seven years might seem like a long time, it was a justified hiatus when talking about the Friday special at the Brass Ring. It was a good, solid Fish Fry, but nothing special, and probably not worth the $12. Overall, we don't recommend this Fish Fry and don't see ourselves coming back for it any time soon... or in another seven years.
Cod
Visited August 1, 2007
77.5/100
🐟 Fish
56.0/65
🍳 Fry
9.0/10
🥣 Tartar
8.5/10
🍞 Bread
1.0/5
✨ Extras
3.0/10
Fish was pretty good, not great. Had a cornmeal style batter, much like you would normally find on perch. A little spicy (compared to normal batter). Fries were 'shoestring' style and were spectacular. Tartar sauce was right on but cost $0.50 for additional. No bread served as it came basket style, as I predicted. The Brass Ring is a nice place to go out drinking and pretty nice for a Fish Fry. Service was kind of slow considering they were not that busy.
We showed up around 7:00, and found a few open booths awaiting our arrival. The $12.00 3-piece cod was featured on the chalkboard when we walked in so when the waitress came over it was just a simple matter of ordering the special and a Spotted Cow.
The food came quickly after that and looked cute all cuddled up in its miniature wicker basket. The "Spotted Cow beer batter" seemed more like it was breaded than battered, but could've potentially dipped in Spotted Cow then breaded? 'It was tough to tell. The three pieces were on the smallish side as a whole with only one of the three actually being "normal" sized. It was probably only around 5 oz of fish total and since it was light and flaky felt like even less. The breading was good, and had enough spice to cover some of the flaws in the fish but wasn't enough to fix it altogether.
The fries were much more plentiful than the fish and decidedly tastier. They were well-fried, skin-on numbers, and while they weren't cut in-house they were still commendable. The tartar was also laudable but could have been thicker. It has a notable dill-relish essence which didn't help the fish, but didn't necessarily hurt it either.
What did hurt this Fish Fry was the total lack of bread which is unfortunate since the coleslaw pulled its weight. The slaw was a super creamy blend with a ton of zip (some would say too much though we thought it was really good).
While seven years might seem like a long time, it was a justified hiatus when talking about the Friday special at the Brass Ring. It was a good, solid Fish Fry, but nothing special, and probably not worth the $12. Overall, we don't recommend this Fish Fry and don't see ourselves coming back for it any time soon... or in another seven years.