Well, we finally made it to Pike Street Fish Fry. I’ve been meaning to try this place ever since it opened back in late April. I’m not sure why it has taken me so long. I’m a huge fan of fried fish, and Pike Street Fish Fry is only a couple of blocks from my apartment. Plus, I just love the term fish fry! It conjures up images of a different time and place. A fish fry is pretty much just what it sounds like: a meal made up of fried fish, usually served with fries and coleslaw. Fish fries are very popular in the Midwest and Northeastern part of the country, especially in areas with significant Catholic populations where fish is traditionally served on Fridays. My mom, who grew up near Chicago, remembers her dad stopping to pick up fish fry every Friday night on the way home from his job at the steel mill. Now, I too can stop by for some fish fry on my way home from work (although, since Pike Street Fish Fry is open every day, I don’t have to wait until Friday to get my fried fish fix in!)

Pike Street Fish Fry is located right next door to Neumo’s in the space previously occupied by Frites, a popular, but ultimately doomed, Belgian frites shop. Everything I’ve read about Pike Street Fish Fry makes a point of describing how exceedingly tiny it is inside. Fully expecting to walk into a space the size of a small closet, I actually ended up finding it to be almost roomy. It is small, but not claustrophobically so (although, if you are very tall, you may feel a bit cramped; unlike at most of Capitol Hill’s new restaurants, all of which seem to be competing to see who can achieve the loftiest space, the ceiling at Pike Street Fish Fry is extremely low.) Pike Street Fish Fry’s small size doesn’t matter too much, though, because it isn’t really meant to be a sit-down restaurant. There is only one small table inside and a few others outside; otherwise, you eat standing up at one of the counters or you order your food to go. Cal Anderson Park is conveniently located two blocks away and is the perfect spot for a fish fry picnic.

The menu is divided up into several categories: Battered & Fried, Just Fried, Grilled and Sauces. The Battered & Fried section lists five or six choices of fish as well as one or more seasonal vegetable (asparagus in the spring, green beans in the summer, etc.) Fish is brought in daily from Mutual Fish, and there is a strong emphasis on sustainable seafood. The Just Fried section includes French fries and “Spanish fries” which are French fries served with a sweet chili sauce and sour cream. Grilled offerings include octopus, steak and fish of the day. Finally, there are the sauces: classics such as tartar sauce as well as more unusual options like smoked chili aioli, salsa verde and curry ketchup. Everything is ordered a la carte, and each individual item costs anywhere from $4 to $10. Anything on the menu can be turned into a sandwich with slaw for an extra $1.

I gluttonously ordered straight off the Battered & Fried menu: smelts, zucchini and lemons. Robert chose catfish and Spanish fries. Our order came up, and we immediately realized that we had ordered way too much. I’ve never had so much fried food in front of me before. It looked like we had joined some sort of battered and fried Olympics. How embarrassing. My smelts were pretty tasty, though. They were fried in a very light batter, similar to tempura. It was nice and crisp and actually stayed crispy the whole time! This was a real treat. I absolutely hate soggy fried fish, and it’s amazing how many places can’t seem to get it right. The smelts measured about 6 inches each, edging close to the size at which I would no longer consider eating them whole. But, I ate my smelts head to tail, taking a slightly sadistic pleasure out of dipping them head first into Pike Street Fish Fry’s delicious salsa verde.

The fish, fries and zucchini were all very good, but my favorite thing was the lemons! Battered and fried lemon slices come with each serving of fish at Pike Street Fish Fry. I had heard great things about these lemons so I ordered an extra helping. I’m glad I did because I only got two measly slices with my smelts. I wouldn’t have thought fried lemons to be very good, but these were tart, sweet, crispy and totally wonderful. I put forth a good effort, but I wasn’t quite able to finish my extra lemons. I ended up giving them away to the people sitting next to us (as fellow fried lemon aficionados, they were more than happy to take my leftovers.) Overall, everything that we ate at Pike Street Fish Fry was really good. The prices and location are pretty hard to beat, and I’m looking forward to working my way through the various types of fish on the menu (the fried fish balls and grilled octopus are next on my list.) I see many, many fish fry picnics in my near future!

Pike Street Fish Fry is located at 925 E. Pike St.