Fish fry

A fish fry is a meal of battered or breaded fish, which is fried. With the fish, there are French fries, hot sauce, dessert, tartar sauce and/or hush puppies.

Fish is often served on Friday nights during Lent as a restaurant special or under church fundraisers.

Fish fries are very common in the Midwest and Northeastern United States.

Northeastern United States

Battered or breaded haddock and cod fish is one of the trademarks in Upstate New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. This is especially for Buffalo, Rochester, Utica, Syracuse and Albany, New York. The majority of eateries in these cities serve a fish fry on Fridays, even outside Lent. These meals are usually a piece of fish, French fries and a dinner roll.

Southern United States

In the Southern United States, a fish fry is a family or social gathering. Catfish, flounder and bass are the usual fish served at Southern fish fries. The fish are battered and deep fried in cooking oil. However, in Georgia and South Carolina, fish are dipped in milk, then into a mix of flour, cornmeal and seasoning before being served.

Midwestern United States

The modern fish fry is strong in Wisconsin. In the state, hundreds of eateries have a fish fry on Fridays and sometimes on Wednesdays. The Friday night fish fry is a popular tradition for religious and non-religious people alike. Fish fries in Wisconsin are usually offered at many non-chain restaurants, some chain restaurants and at Roman Catholic churches as fundraisers. A usual Wisconsin fish fry comes with beer batter fried cod, bluegill, perch and walleye. Sometimes, it comes with catfish along the Mississippi River. The meal usually comes with French fries, potato pancakes and/or coleslaw.