Friday night fish fry: Kegel's Inn

Some say "solid" — I say skip the perch

Last Wednesday, we made a reservation for Kegel's for six people at 7:30. The next day, I saw this Thrillist list of the "Most essential restaurants in Milwaukee" — and Kegel's was on it! Trend-setters, amiright? So we got there in time for our reservation (which they won't honor until your entire party is present) and the place was hoppin'. Is it always like this, or only after Thrillist lists come out? Or only on Fridays during Lent? I'm not sure. 

I'd been to Kegel's once a few years back for my grandma's birthday. I believe we went on either a Sunday or week night and the place was pleasantly subdued. Last Friday was a bit of a zoo. Fun, but a zoo. Our waitress was crazy busy, running over the place — in a funny way, but also in a she-might-lose-her-mind way. When it came time to order, we unanimously decided on perch. 

Perch is supposed to be the high-end fish fry option, right? Like, I usually never get it because I don't want to pay $3.00 extra. So I guess we were all feeling a little extravagant last Friday; as our friend Saba said, "Cod is the poor man's fish." Well after having this particular perch... I'm sorry, but sign me up for poverty! I found the perch rather tough and "fishy" tasting — something I honestly don't recall experiencing at a local fish fry, ever. While others in our party deemed the experience "solid," my take was this: Live and learn, and order cod.

Of course, there's no way of knowing whether or not the cod would have been a vast improvement, and we all agreed: perch is just different! You can't really compare a great cod fish fry you had two weeks ago to a perch fish fry. Plus, given that Kegel's is a German establishment, the crust was much more Schnitzel-y than your average fish fry breading. But all that devil's advocating aside, I was honestly bummed over my experience at Kegel's after all the great things I'd heard and all the lists it's made. 

Am I in search of the perfect fish fry? Yes. But that doesn't mean I can't recognize a decent one. Kegel's just didn't hit the mark for me as far as the fish itself. Plus, the whole meal was like the "portion control" fish fry. I guess some health nuts would put that in the "pro" column, but if you're one of those people we probably shouldn't dine together. I enjoyed the potato pancakes and was told that the mashed potatoes were "really nice." Also nice: that we each got slaw and two pieces of rye bread with plenty of butter.

Would I go back to Kegel's? For the German food, sure. And maybe on a not-so-busy night. But for the fish fry? Not any time soon. I'd rather explore other Friday night eateries and hope that the next one won't be even a little bit of a bummer.