Sand Bar Sports Pub, Pewaukee Lake

I'm going to make this short, sweet and to the point. 

I've neglected this blog for some time, but I promise when I do go out for a fish fry I will most certainly blog about it.  

On the Friday of Labor Day weekend a group of friends and myself went to the Sand Bar Sports Pub on Pewaukee Lake to enjoy the ambiance.  We wanted to sit outside, at sunset and enjoy the last bits of what summer was about to give us.  

It was Friday, we were hungry ... why NOT order fish? 

The Sand Bar offers all you can eat cod for only $10.00.  You get your choice of potato pancakes, french fries, sweet potato fries or onion rings.  

Three things I loved about this dining experience.  One, the new waitress was beyond friendly and very attentive to our needs for additional drinks. Two, the price was unbelievable for the location and three, the fish was beyond good.  

I did not expect to enjoy my fish dinner as much as I did at the Sand Bar, I'm not sure why I was pre-judging the fare, but I did and I was wrong. The fish was cooked PERFECTLY.  The batter was light (a little greasy) but not overwhelming. The flavor was good and I even enjoyed the tartar sauce.

The coleslaw was a bit of an afterthought and I suggest you do not order the sweet potato fries. They were cold and soggy.  However, the potato pancakes (not homemade) were a very good addition to my plate.  

I'd give the Sand Bar a solid 8.5 out of 10. I'm definitely going back. 

As I conclude this blog I suggest you soak in these last warmer days of 2012, stop out at the Sand Bar.  Enjoy a fish fry, soak in the scenery and maybe indulge in a few cocktails. 

Cheers!

Eric's Porter-Haus

Fist of all an apology.  I've neglected the blog as of late, I realize that and I apologize.  By reading the numbers alone, I can see clearly that people in the area are interested in my thoughts, opinions and most of all the addresses and websites of local fish fry joints!  Thank you to everyone who has visited my little blog and I hope you've found the information helpful and continue to do so.  I may not write as much as I used to, but we definitely have a great base of restaurants to choose from.  I've gone back to several of them a second and third time and unless you read differently, nothing has changed.

This week I decided to try something different, I went to Waukesha. I rarely get the opportunity to dine in that fair city, mostly because I can't find my way from one end of town to the other.  Without a GPS I'm simply useless in downtown Waukesha. Thankfully, I wasn't driving so being directionally challenged was not an issue.  We found Eric's Porter-Haus (229 Wisconsin Ave., Waukesha, WI) without any problem and I have to say, I was quite impressed with this little destination.

The exterior of Eric's reminded me of a plantation-like estate with it's enormous white columns and statuesque presence.  I had no idea the history of the place and I was intrigued from the moment I walked in the door.  It is an old house (built in 1848), and it's easy to visualize yourself in someone's house as you parade through the various small dining rooms and quaint bar area.

Our party of five arrived was greeted warmly and we found some seating at the bar area and were tended to by Eric himself.  Within 30 minutes we were seated (my guess is the crowd is an early one, a little older) at our table that was nestled in a corner of one the lower level rooms.  We ordered the family style fish fry, which is Baked Cod, Fried Cod, Baked Chicken, Potato Pancakes, French Fries, German Potato Salad.  It's served with Cole Slaw and warm Rye Bread (absolutely mouth watering fresh bread with a delightful sea salt crust).  The all-you-can-eat family style fry was $11.00 per person and more than enough food for five women.

I tried both the baked and fried cod, potato pancakes and a couple of fries.  The baked cod was pretty good, it was a little on the cool side, so I must admit I used the drawn butter generously. I could tell the seasoning was a little lacking, but again, that happens so many times when making baked cod in bulk.  The fried cod was delicious, the breading was light and perfectly distributed, not heavy at all.  Fish was cooked perfectly and I truly enjoyed that part of the entree. Unfortunately our potato pancakes were cold and I never really got past that when trying them. They were flat and underwhelming.  I did not try the chicken, however, a member of our party did try it and enjoyed.

To top everything off we all shared a beautiful homemade schaum torte. Delicious!

Overall I am going to give Eric's Porter-Haus an 8.5.  I think if I ever go back there I will order a fish fry plate, rather than do the "party" ordering, I cannot wait to go back though, to taste the steaks.

I hope you all are enjoying a beautiful spring season and looking forward to warmer weather and more fish frys!

In the meantime, don't forget to cherish the moments you have with the people you love -- and dine with them ... often!

Uncle Johnny's - Colgate, WI

It's been over a month since I've written a blog and I'm finding this more difficult by the week.  I have great intentions and sometimes life gets in the way.  I hope you enjoy the installments and are patient with the fact that life happens.

As we embark on another Lenten season, though, I'm hoping to get a few more in as all the good Catholics of this world need some options!

Last week I decided to join some friends at a Colgate, WI favorite, Uncle Johnny's 4600 County Road Q. For those of you not familiar it's just west of the roundabout at Hwys 164 and Q.  I'm not sure it's technically "Lake Country" but it's proximity to Lake 5 gives me reason to believe I'm ok with this destination choice.

Uncle Johnny's is your typical "local" watering hole and I'm sure they are much more accustomed to seeing familiar faces, but they treated us "strangers" very well and we quickly made friends with our waitress.  The place wasn't terribly busy, but it was a little later (8:30) Uncle Johnny's stops serving fish at 9:00 p.m. – I know a lot of Wisconsinites like to eat early, but I'm not one of them and I was feeling slightly rushed.  

The place has your typical fish fry menu and the bonus for all you cod lovers is they have an All-You-Can-Eat for the deep fried fish lovers.  I was not disappointed at all in the quality of entree I was treated to that evening, the fish was done perfectly.  The beer-batter was light and full of flavor, no tartar necessary folks – an added bonus in my book.  The waitress told me the potato pancakes were homemade and I disagree with her (too perfect in their shape, and tasted very average).  I was also treated to some homemade mashed potatoes and they were amazing.  

Coleslaw was cream-based and a little heavy for my liking and rounding up the sides was a store bought piece of rye bread. 

Uncle Johnny's also has a baked cod option as well as a tasty Cajun baked cod (which I also had a small portion to taste).  The Cajun is a little spicy, but overall I liked the pop of heat with the fish and would definitely order this upon a repeat visit. 

The prices for the dinners were typical (between $9-$11 for entrees) and the drink specials were even more pleasing!  

Overall I'd like to give Uncle Johnny's an 8 out of 10.  Fish was fantastic, but the accompanying notes to the dish were average at best.  But we don't go out to eat for side dishes, now do we? 

I hope you all are enjoying this extremely mild winter and pray this leads into an early spring and we're not shoveling our driveways in May.  

Remember to hug the ones you love! You never know when you won't be able to hug them again.