Madison VFW 8483

Without a doubt, fish fry’s are a cold weather activity.  They’re usually indoors, use heavy, fried food and the best supper clubs feature wood panels and a fireplace.  With the recent change in weather, my cohort and I got all antsy-in-the-pantsy and went for a brief journey just to the north of Madison to VFW Post 8483.

  

It was the first few gorgeous days after a long winter and obviously, we spent as much time outside as possible and didn’t show up until just before 8 o’clock.  This was not a good idea.  Apparently, they shut down the kitchen at 8pm since it is just a VFW hall and don’t have a full time menu.  I panicked upon hearing this, since I was the only one in my party to arrive.  Compounding my anxiety was the fact YOU HAD TO ORDER AND PAY ONCE YOU WALKED IN THE DOOR. 

Fortunately, I’ve prepared for this situation my entire life.  Hours of shooting baskets, pretending I’m winning the state championship.  

Squatting with small Volkswagons on my back thinking about tackling people at the goal line. 

Ordering countless fish fry’s without even looking at the menu to build my confidence in making “the Perfect Order”.  *quemontage*

Here was my moment.

Cashier: Well we’re about to close, what can I get you?

Me: I have to order now?

Cashier: Yep, and pay too.

Me: uhhhhhhhhh…… I’ll take the fish fry

Cashier: Which one? (there was cod and walleye)

Me: Yes… I mean cod.

Cashier: just the one?

Me: Nope I’ll take *counts on fingers*…Six

Cashier: that’s Fifty-eight dollars

Me: do you take cards?

Cashier: Nope.

Me: Super

It wasn’t what I had envisioned, but I made it through the ordeal and fish was on the way; time to find the bar and a Brandy Old Fashioned-Sweet.

The bar side of the VFW was actually pretty nice looking with plenty of TV’s showing the opening weekend of “The Big Dance” and a good setup with tables you can stand or sit around.  Big enough to fit food or a bunch of empty beer bottles.  Fish Fry aside, this would just be a nice place to post up and watch a few games.  As to the BOFS, I’ve ranted about fancy pants bartenders who think they’re really hot spit…Looking at you Craftsmen Table and Tap…and try to free hand the venerable BOFS only to produce a shitty drink while looking like a douche bag.  Well the VFW’s delightful barmaid started muddling the cherries and I was all, “here we go again”.  I was never so happy to be wrong!!  It was fantastic! Equally balanced sweet with bitters, and medium brandy presence; a gentlemen’s Old Fashioned.  Don’t get me wrong, I went to UW-La Crosse and LOVE a good stiff pint-sized mixer, but to be an accurate reviewer and maintain integrity in the evaluation process, it’s best to stay conscious for as long as possible.  They get 4 Tumblers.

                    

            Despite a limited menu served in a VFW dining hall, there was much class to be appreciated in this joint.  For instance, there was wood paneling everywhere decorated with multiple types of military insignia, pictures of veterans and plaques commemorating feats of yore.  Also, they served the meal in courses. First was the bread bowl, a vanishing luxury, then came the cole slaw.  The slaw was of the cream variety, but was still very light.  Oftentimes, the mayo-base will overcome everything else, but this VFW slaw was, as a fish fry friend and overall health enthusiast put it, “Balanced” (check out herblog).  This was the end of the courses though, the fish came out pretty fast and included baked beans!  I’ve found the bean dish to be an increasingly popular choice, perhaps replacing salad bars due to the filling nature of the legume, but without the cost to the restaurant.  In any case, they had good ones.  The potato choice was different as well with wedges covered in a crispy, tasty batter adding to the usual crinkle fries and baked potato.  The cod was a 6 inch filet, nicely fried, flaky and plenty warm.  A solid entrée to go along with decent, likely store bought tartar sauce.  Three Fish for a solid, but not special, fish fry

 

 Bottom Line: Great Bar scene worth revisiting with solid food but nothing extra special. Big time American points since it’s a VFW.

  

                          THE FUTURE

Loyal Fish Fry Followers,

I know the posts haven't been super topical to the Madison area, but I just moved back and will be hitting up area establishments tonight.

 Do not dispare.

I will lead you all to the holy grounds of goodness and steer you away from fish fry folly.

Sincerely,

The Fiend.

ARDIES/Flipside

            When I started out with this Fish Fry blog, I envisioned a catalog of classic Wisconsin supper clubs, speak-easies, gin joints, and road houses (Swayze).  I never thought my travels would take me into a family restaurant, and yet, my hardy crew and I found our way into Ardies.  A La Crosse fixture right near Menards known to me for an excellent hangover breakfast and AUCE wing nights.  Ardies does have a dark alter-ego called “Flipside” where they dispense their liquor, trivia and Karaoke. 

                                                                    

                                                                    I Love the 'Yoke

         This is where my comrades and I were seated, in the “cool” section, far away from the grandparents and children where our Tinder discussions and hook-up stories couldn’t violate virginal ears. 

            Given the bar was only 15 feet away, we immediately took advantage of our locale and ordered the classic BOFS.  There is only one word to describe the Flipside BOFS: “Terrible”.  It was clearly made from too much syrup out of a Jero bottle, without bitters and only one Maraschino cherry.  The sickingly sweet spirits didn’t just lack taste…it lacked soul. I can’t blame the bartender for his ignorance of the finer points of mixology since 92% of drinks made in La Crosse, WI follow the formula:

RAIL LIQUOR + DIET SODA= DRUNK

Expecting a symphony from someone who plays the recorder is really a failure on my part.  

                                               The BOFS deserves ZERO cocktail glasses

I feel bad for one of my cohort who was at her first Friday Fish and experienced this travesty.  I apologized to her and promised better things to come…which was a terrible idea.  

            As for the food, there was no individual Friday menu or special, just the regular menu, which always included fried fish.  I imagine this is a sound business decision given their proximity to the UW-La Crosse campus and the variety of patrons they have to serve over a week.  However, unlike many places, Flipside added a chicken option to their fish dinners…Friday fowl fry?  It didn’t have the same ring.  I thought it was an excellent idea on paper, but reality proved a bitter chicken to swallow.  The pieces of fish and chicken were both fairly small, which is to be expected from a financial standpoint given the amount of stock the restaurant has to carry.  What I didn’t expect is that they were fried to a crisp with very little meat left on the chicken and the batter was really just mundane.  Not a strong effort on the entrée.

          What Ardies lacked in size of entrée they tried to make up for in tubers, that is, potatoes.  We got a huge portion of crinkle cut fries that were pretty soggy, likely from being left out under the heating lamp too long, or not being fried long enough.

Bottom Line: Maybe they had an off night, but their weren’t many redeeming qualities to the production of food or drink and the underlying quality was poor as well.  I give them ONE Bouy, but only because I’m having a hard time figuring out how to crop out half the bouy so I can give them a HALF Bouy.