A funny thing happened at the Phoenix...

Good afternoon everyone, thanks for taking some more time to read my little opinionated piece about my favorite Wisconsin tradition.  The fish fry.

This week I'm "re-blogging" -- which means, I wasn't creative enough to find a new place because I was absolutely CRAVING the haddock at the Phoenix, 129 Cottonwood Ave., Hartland, WI 53029-2014, (262) 367-9020.  We decided to go with the original "four" members of the fish fry group, Ann, Dave, Mike (Z) and myself.

I'm going to copy a paragraph from my December 2009 blog, because nothing has changed.   The Phoenix offers two different Friday buffets, one is a Fish/Chicken buffet (11.95) and a Seafood buffet ($15.95), the boys opted for that dinner choice, while Ann and I, decided to go with the baked Haddock ($15.95). I was delighted when I saw Haddock on the menu and jumped at the chance to have it, I really didn't care who had what at that point, as my mind was made up the minute I saw the choices. This haddock was outstanding. To give you an idea of how impressed I was, I called my father on the phone after eating this dish to let him know that it was better than the haddock recipe at Blanck's. Yes folks, it was THAT good.

Well, our experience in 2010 was very similar to that of 2009, with one exception...I finally met a blog follower.  And I feel absolutely horrible for not asking a name, but I was so full of excitement that someone actually reads this thing!  The couple I met brought along their two children and were nestled in the back corner of the dining room.  They must have overheard me talking about the blog with the waitress, and politely asked if I was the author of the blog, I replied yes, we shared some words (they ordered the baked cod) and I was giddy after a rotten day at work.  Again, I'm so sorry I don't have your names, but please know you really touched me that day, and completely turned around what was an incredibly crappy day.  Oh yeah and I also called my mom and dad about that little "run-in" -- my dad is now a loyal blog reader.  :-)

This dining experience, Mike once again had the seafood buffet, Dave the fish/chicken buffet and Ann & I went with the baked haddock.  I will tell you one slightly negative thing, if you choose to eat an item off the menu and not the buffet, you will wait at least a good 20 minutes for your entree.  There are positives to this, like you get the best cooked baked fish in all of Waukesha County, which is broiled to perfection and served right out of the oven.  But, don't be in a hurry.  I did get a chance to sample some items from the buffet, and they were good, but I always prefer off the menu - as fried food has a very quick shelf life in a buffet line.  With that said, the staff at Phoenix is constantly making sure the buffet is "fresh" of fried goodness.

I also want to give out props to our waitress, who was such a positive and fun woman.  She remembered us (from almost a year ago) and her service made a great meal, nearly perfect.  And when she overheard about the blog and the couple who was out to eat there because of this blog, she comped the table a round of drinks.  Which, I thought was unnecessarily nice.

I can't do any better than a 10 out of 10 stars for the Phoenix, but I wish I could -- I realize there is probably something comparable out there, but I have yet to run into it and I will definitely recommend the Phoenix first it to ANYONE who asks, and even if you don't.

Have a great week everyone and I look forward to meeting or hearing from you some Friday night down the road.

Don't forget to follow the blog posts on facebook :

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-Country-Wisconsin-Fish-Frys/153633424672319
Who knows, I may start with twitter, but that one still confuses me. 

I know it sounds sappy, but again, please...tell someone you care about you DO care about them, and what better way to do it than with a big fat hug!

Peace!