Friday night fish fry: County Clare

Winner winner, fish fry for dinner!

I've found it! A fish fry that dreams are made of! Yes, it warrants all of these exclamation marks. I've been searching for a long time — long before I started documenting the search here. Most times, I find a fish fry that's pretty good; it gets the job done. But County Clare was more than pretty good — it was pretty outstanding. 

First and foremost: the fish. It was perfectly battered, hot, never soggy, just amazing. With the fish you get a lemon wedge, a slice of rye bread and butter, a container of coleslaw, and a container of tarter sauce. I've found that bread and slaw are apparently a luxury item for a lot of other establishments boasting a fish fry, so make a mental note: County Clare knows how to dress a fish fry. 

Then there are the potato options, of which there are three: fries, tater tots, or homemade mashed potatoes. The mash changes daily, and the Friday we visited offered a garlic mash. I tried some off a friend's plate — amazing. If I wasn't the type of person who insists on eating a bite of crispy potato with almost every bite of fried fish, I'd get the mash in a heartbeat next time. That said, the tater tots were just as tots should be, and you don't even have to ask for ketchup! 10 points to County Clare for putting said ketchup in a little cup so no one has to struggle getting the damn stuff out of the bottle. This is the way to a hungry girl's heart. 

 
















To top off the experience, County Clare also has its weekly Irish music session starting around 9:00. It's hard to think of a better way to spend a Friday night in Wisconsin's bleak wintry months. At County Clare, there's tunes, beer, and fried fish — and while it's a plenty lively place, you can still hold a conversation with friends you haven't seen in a while. Milwaukee, you and your other Friday night fish fries are going to have a hard time beating this one!